#you’d think we’d learn to do gear check BEFORE pull after that time I had to heal vi naked through 2 encounters of dxun

[vespertine-legacy]

Back at EC NiM prog, notice that Ray’s health is about 100k lower than normal and his parse is over 10k less than usual, so I whisper him after the first wipe

Me (whisper): hey, is uh, is anything wrong with your gear?

Ray (whisper): hmmm. maaaaaaaaybe

(Ready Check, only Ray is not ready)

Princess (voice chat): you okay, Ray?

Ray (voice chat): yep, just need ooooooone second. Anyone have a legacy bay?

Ray (whisper): yeah, I was missing my gear. like. all of it.

#november plays swtor #ops shenanigans #I wasn’t gonna judge #maybe it was something new he was testing out #and hey as long as a sniper has a MH weapon they are still dangerous #but yeah he did a lot better once he was geared lol #you’d think we’d learn to do gear check BEFORE pull after that time I had to heal vi naked through 2 encounters of dxun #but no

[backtobackbakubabe]

Speak Easy Part 13

Dabi x Reader , Bakugo x Reader

Words : 3125

Masterlist

Reader has a siren quirk and has spent the past several years of her life as a captive being experimented on by “heroes” Now that she’s out she needs protection and safe place to heal. Who will be the one to put her pieces back together.

Words with ‘this’ is dialogue written in her journal rather than said out loud and and words with ~this~ is dialogue said in sign language rather than out loud.

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

You watched as Dabi paced in front of you as you hugged your knees to your chest. Shoto had come to sit next to you and you were grateful for his calming presence. He kept giving you a weird look and then looking at his brother. He obviously wanted to ask what was going on between the two of you, but you mouthed, “later” at him and he shrugged it off.

“Ok. So what? He has a list of my safe houses. That’s okay… That’s arguably a good thing actually.” Dabi was thinking out loud trying, and even though his voice sounded calm, you could see the way his hands balled into fists so tight his staples were pulling.

“No one knows about this place. This is the safest house out of all of them. I bought it after I left the League, it’s in the middle of nowhere, and the security is the best money can buy.” He stopped his pacing and looked at his brother, “So…”

Shoto draped a lazy arm around you and you released a tense breath you hadn’t realized you were holding. He quirked his head at his older brother, “So…? What? Why is that a good thing?”

Dabi’s eyes got this scary look. They practically glowed and you could tell whatever he was thinking probably wasn’t good. “It means we can pick them off. Set up traps for them at my other safe houses. It might take some time… we won’t know what houses they’re targeting so at first it’ll be a lot of guess work.” You could see a scheme hatching behind his eyes and for once he truly looked like a villain. “You said Bakugo was already out looking for them, right? I can meet up with him! They’re my houses after all, no one knows them better than me.”

He took off towards the bedroom mumbling something about needing to pack. Your wide eyes connected with Shoto’s, “How long before he remembers he’d have to leave me behind and panics?”

Shoto hummed, “I’d say about thirty seconds after he’s done packing.” He shrugged, “It’s not a bad plan honestly. I see he’s gotten rather attached to you lately though.”

You could hear the unspoken question and you weren’t sure you were ready to jump into that conversation just yet. It was bad enough that Katsuki knew. You shrugged and averted your eyes back to the door Dabi had disappeared behind. “We’ve gotten pretty close. You learn a lot about someone when you’re stuck in a house with them.”

“SHIT!”

Shoto sighed, “Sounds like he just remembered.”

Dabi stomped back into the living room and stopped a few feet in front of you. His stare was intense almost like he was trying to see through you. You could see his frustration growing as he battelled internally over what he should do. “I can’t leave you here by yourself… I don’t want to leave you at all. But- But I can’t take you with me either.” You could see his mind running a mile a minute trying to come up with a solution.

“You can leave me here, I’m not totally useless. I have the collar, so you can call me, check on my location and vitals and all that creepy shit.” You gestured to the younger Todoroki sitting next to you, “And I’m sure your brother and Izuku are dying to have some time to catch up. They can keep me company. Kiri too if need be.”

Dabi kneeled in front of you and laid his arms on either side of you, caging you in. “It would drive me insane leaving you here.”

You brushed your thumb over the spot between his eyes, smoothing out his worried expression. “More insane than if you stayed here and let Katsuki handle this on his own?”

His body sagged and he leaned his forehead onto your shoulder. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say it sounds like you want me to go.”

You leaned your head on his. “Of course I don’t want you to go idiot. But I hate to break it to you, I know you pretty well… And I don’t think sitting here day after day listening to you complain about how you could do it better, sounds like fun.” He groaned because he knew you were right. “So, go ahead and go. I’ll be fine here I promise. Go catch some bad guys with Katsuki.”

“Ugh don’t say it like that. You make is sound like a cheesy buddy cop movie. I just hope your little hero friend isn’t squeamish because I’m not going to hold back.”

Shoto cleared his throat, “Some of us… little heroes… have seen enough shit to last a lifetime. Bakugo’s the hardest working and grittiest out of us all, so believe me when I say you don’t need to worry about him.”

Dabi narrowed his eyes at his brother who he had just realized was practically cuddling with you. “Seeing death and dealing it out are two different things. I know he’s capable of killing someone, but mentally I don’t think he could cross that line.” He held a hand up to stop Shoto from arguing with him. “And I don’t care if he doesn’t want to get his precious hero hands dirty. Because that’s what I’m here for, and I’m honestly looking forward to it.”

You huffed, “Listen, I really don’t like the look you get when you talk about killing people. It’s sick… killing isn’t supposed to be fun you psychopath.”

His eyes shifted back to yours, “Baby girl. I want to make something clear. I will find the sick fucks that kidnapped you. I will torture them in the most painful and humiliating ways possible. By the time I’m done… they will welcome death with open arms. I’ll be doing them a favor.” His forehead pressed against yours. “Unless you’d rather I save them for you…My destroyer of men.”

You hit his shoulder, “I’d rather you let Katsuki arrest them! You know how I feel about killing villains.”

His hand gripped the back of your neck hard to force you to look at him, “…No. You know I can’t do that. The sooner you accept that, the easier all of this will be.” His thumb rubbed your cheek, “I know it sucks. But this is the world you live in now. We can’t trust anyone but ourselves.”

Shoto cleared his throat, “Listen I don’t know what is going on between the two of you, but I would appreciate it if you refrained from being kinky in my presence.”

Dabi growled, “Fuck off! You literally let yourself in unannounced… When all of this over I swear we’re leaving the fucking country. I’m so sick of you brats just coming over whenever you feel like it. We’re gonna leave and you’ll never see us again.”

Shoto quirked an eyebrow, “So… Even after all of this is resolved… you plan to still live with y/n?” You could see the gears turning in his head as he pieced all of this together. “Hmm interesting.” He got up and stretched. “Well I guess I’ll give you guys some alone time to… do whatever this is… just without me having to witness it.”

“Hey before you go… You sure you’re okay with keeping an eye on her while I’m gone?” You hadn’t heard Dabi sound so uncertain before. Usually he carried so much confidence that it was overwhelming. But now he sounded lost.

Shoto nodded, “Yeah it’s not a big deal. Izuku and I can take shifts. Kirishima will probably take over every now and then depending on how long you are gone… But we don’t mind. Y/n was right when she said we’d like to catch up with her.” He gave you an awkward wink that was completely out of character for him. “You’ve been hoarding her all to yourself for months now.” He walked down the hall and shouted, “Try not to be too loud. I’ll just pick the room that smells the least like sex.”

“Good luck! I’ve fucked her on every surface of the hou—” You slammed a hand over Dabi’s mouth to cut him off.

You hid your face in Dabi’s shoulder to stifle your laugh. “I love your brother so much. He has no filter and it’s honestly so refreshing.”

A quick slap to your thigh had you gasping, “I don’t appreciate you talking about my brother that way.” He nipped at your earlobe harshly, “Especially after I just agreed to let him stay here while I’m gone.”

Before you could respond he was standing up and throwing you over his shoulder, “I think I need to remind you who you fucking belong to.” He slapped your ass as you shrieked, “I might be gone for a while, so I think I need to give you something to remember.”

“You are so ridiculous! He’s literally in a committed relationship with another man!”

Dabi tossed you onto his bed and immediately fell on top of you. “He’s also my brother and I know that slut swings both ways.” He bit down hard on your shoulder, “I’m going to leave my fucking mark all over you before I go.” He sucked a bruise into your neck, “Tonight… I’m going to claim every fucking inch of you.”

He had you naked underneath him within seconds, kissing down the column of your neck. He continued down to suck a nipple into his mouth and you had to bite down on your lip to keep from screaming.

“Come on baby, let him hear you. Let him hear how good I treat you. Let him know that there is only one Todoroki for you.”

You wanted to argue with him. There was no way Shoto was interested in you at all. He’d been in love with Izuku since high school. But you were also enjoying the way Dabi was marking his territory. There was something so peaceful about giving up control to another person, especially someone you trust.

You let him kiss and suck and grope every part of you. In this moment you were his to do with as he wished. You didn’t care he was leaving mark after mark on your skin. He was claiming you, he was daring others to lay a finger on what it is his. And you fucking loved it. You loved the peace and the comfort that came with the idea of him declaring that you are his. The security of knowing he wouldn’t let another soul touch you.

He bit harshly into your inner thigh, making you yelp and buck your hips.

He chuckled darkly as he came back up and rubbed his nose against yours. “Baby girl, just look at your face. I haven’t even touched your pussy yet and you already looked so fucked out.” He dragged his fingers lightly over your stomach, across your ribs, over your breast, and finally let them settle on your neck.

You shivered and closed your eyes, “Dabiiii, stop teasing me.”

His fingers tightened around your throat. “You said some shit earlier that really got under my skin. And now I can’t decide if I should punish you or not.”

Your head spun as it tried to think about what you possibly could have said to upset him. “What – what did I say?”

Dabi leaned in sucking your bottom lip into his mouth before biting down hard. “You said…. You loved my brother.”

Your heart pounded in your chest and you felt an intense heart overwhelm your face and neck. Was he saying what you thought he was saying? Was he jealous? Did he want you to say you loved him? Is that really what he wanted to hear?

You hadn’t noticed him pulling his own pants down until he was thrusting into you. “I’m a selfish man y/n. I’m greedy. I don’t share. And hearing those sweet little words said about someone else.” His hips snapped into yours harder, as his fingers got even tighter around your neck to the point where you were sure there would be bruises.

His pace picked up and you could feel the sweat dripping from his forehead, “I wanna hear you say it. Who do you love?”

Your eyes rolled back as you croaked out a horse “you”

“That’s not good enough doll. I said! WHO do you FUCKIN LOVE?”

His fingers let go of your throat and as intense pleasure washed over you, leaving your legs shaking, “YOU!”

He fucked you through your orgasm before he followed right behind you, “That’s what I fuckin thought.”

He only parted with you long enough to clean the two of you up. He wandered to the bathroom to get a warm, wet towel. You hummed contently as rubbed it all over your body, especially over the sore new marks he had made on your skin. When he was satisfied, he tossed the rag to the floor to deal with later and rejoined you in bed. He pulled you to him, your back to his chest, and let out a huge sigh. “I’m really nervous about leaving you here. And it honestly makes me angry. I’ve never cared about another person like this, hell I’ve never even cared about my own well being this much.” You could feel him resting his chin on your shoulder, “It makes me feel weak and I hate it.”

You intertwined your fingers with his that were wrapped around your middle. “You know what they say about bravery right? Bravery isn’t not being scared. Only stupid people aren’t scared of anything. Bravery is being scared of something and doing it anyway.” You sank further into his embrace. “If it makes you feel any better, I’m scared too. Which is equally as frustrating.”

You could feel him kiss your shoulder, encouraging you to continue. “I used to be incredibly independent. I lived alone, I worked alone, because of the classified nature of my job I was pretty isolated. I didn’t need anyone, and I was more than happy to get shit done on my own…Now the thought doing anything without you gives me anxiety.”

He sighed, “If anything that makes me feel worse… I believe we have a classic case of codependency… it’s your fault by the way. For sucking me in to your annoyingly needy arms.”

“Says the guy who has his arms currently wrapped around me like a vice.” You wanted to stay in this sweet moment. He was never this open with you, never this soft. “And even though it’s not my fault, I will admit that I did kind of need you for everything when I first got here.” You felt his chest rumble with silent laughter. “But you never really complained, did you? To be honest I had thought you would have been… I don’t know… a little more… cold I guess.”

His hands heated up as they rubbed circles into your stomach. “To anyone else I definitely would have been.” He turned you around so he could pull your chest to his and rolled onto his back, tucking your head under his chin. “I was fucking toast the second you fell into my arms though.” He groaned, “UGH! I sound like such a pussy. I hate it.”

You pressed several kisses to his chest, “Well I don’t hate it.”

There was a long stretch of silence in which the two of you just held each other, not wanting to burst your bubble.

Dabi cleared his throat and you knew he wanted to talk about it. “Listen… While I’m gone all of the laws are still valid. You still need to take care of yourself. Just because I’m not here to force you to eat lunch doesn’t mean you don’t have to.” His fingers rubbed up and down your spine. “I’m sure if you ask the guys, they’ll work out with you, but they need to keep their filthy hands to themselves.” His hand stopped at your collar, “And as much I hate saying this. Don’t call me.”

You lifted your head and gave him a confused look, “What? You worried your side chicks will hear?”

He reached down and slapped your ass, “Shut up. I literally live with you and we never leave the house. That jokes not even funny.” His hand started to rub the same spot he had just slapped, “I’m being serious though. I don’t want you to call me. If something happens and they get my phone, or hell if they somehow capture me, I don’t want anything tying me to you. Shigaraki suspects you’re with me otherwise he wouldn’t be going through my safe houses. But he doesn’t know you’re with me, and I want to keep it that way.” His voice got quitter as he mumbled into your hair, “Besides… I think if I heard your voice I’d give up and come home.”

You froze, “Okay, that is officially the softest thing you’ve ever said to me… and I love it.”

He growled low in your ear, “That’s it, I’m going to start calling you whore, and making you call me sir. I’m losing my damn edge.”

You just giggled, knowing he was bluffing, but then again… he did get you a collar.

“I’m going to miss you… sir.”

“I’m gonna miss you too… my special little whore.”

You sarcastically beamed at him, “Aww you think I’m special?”

That night, you barley slept. You were so worried he’d leave without waking you up to say bye. So, as a consequence you woke up several times throughout the night and every time, he’d pull you closer and mumble a sleepy “still here.”

When morning finally came you sat on the bed with your kneed tucked under your chin as you watched him finish getting ready. Your eyes followed him as he walked around the room, taking his time. He knew the sooner he got dressed the sooner he’d have to leave.

Finally, when he had no other choice, he laced his boots up and looked at you. “Come here…” He held his arms out to you and you quickly slid into his embrace. “You be a good girl while I’m gone, okay?” He kissed the top of your head. “Listen to Shoto and try not to give him too much shit. Follow the laws, don’t watch any of our shows while I’m gone, if there’s any big emergencies have one of the guys call Bakugo.”

You nodded and looked up into his bright blue eyes, “You be safe, and don’t do anything stupid. Come back preferably in one piece please.”

He chuckled, “I will do my best doll.”

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

Tags: tags: @falling4fandoms @wifunozomi @here-in-never-land @whore-for-anime @klecksstorys @aurorahoneybuns @theunknownrandom @insane-without-delirium @frenchsfryys @officiallydarkgeek @neofixcs @music-is-all-i-need @katsuki-bakubabe@unadulteratedtastemakerpoetry@dabislittlemouse@aimee1602@pinkhatlizzy @kunaigirlx44 @nii-sanfucker@bestgirlb @silver-stardrop@bakubby99 @squichymochi

#bakugo katsuki imagine #katsuki bakugo x reader #bakugou x reader #mha bakugou #bhna bakugou #bakugo katsuki #bakugo x reader #dabi my hero academia #dabi imagine #dabi #yandere dabi #dabi x y/n #dabi x you #dabi x reader #dabi bnha #mha dabi #dabi todoroki #mha fanfiction #mha x reader #my hero academia

[mischiefandspirits]

Doppelgänger (17/19)

Previously on Doppelgänger ~ Masterlist ~ Next time on Doppelgänger

Danny, Sam, and Tucker were just 14 when they took a look inside the portal Danny’s parents had built. From there, everything changed. They woke up with white hair, green skin, and powers they could learn to control. They were hybrids, halfas.

They were the hero Doppelgänger.

{Reign Storm, Part 3}

“It’s like shooting skeleton fish in a barrel,” Doppelgänger chuckled as they flew up to Valerie’s side, blasting one of the skeleton’s harrowing her as their own crowd rushed into the football stadium after them.

“They don’t put up much of a fight, but there’s a lot of them,” she argued. “You going to duplicate?”

“Already did. We've got our own crowds.”

“It’d be nice if you could make yourself a crowd in return.”

“Sorry, we’re still working on making more than three of us.”

“Hello, son.”

Doppelgänger gave a long, drawn-out groan as Plasmius flew up to the two despite still firing on the skeletons. The older ghost tried to speak when they’d finished, only for the ghost kid to start right back up.

“Are you quite done?” Plasmius asked over the groaning.

Valerie turned to fire at him, but he dodged to the side. He stopped with Doppelgänger between her and him.

The younger ghost stopped their groaning to say, “You know, a human shield only works if the shield’s both bigger than you and someone that the person you’re hiding from won’t shoot. We are neither of those.”

“You’re also not human,” Valerie pointed out.

“I think that’s debatable, but we’ll add it to the list,” they said and fired a blast at Plasmius.

“Calm down, son! I didn't come here to fight you! You have other things to worry about!”

“Okay, even if we were your kid -- which we aren’t because gross -- we’re nonbinary, so still not your son. So get lost. We have this under control!”

A blur of black barreled into them and rose up to reveal a knight in black armor atop a pegasus. The knight had Doppelgänger by the throat and pointed his sword at them. “You are the one who destroyed the King’s ring.”

“We’re not one, but we have destroyed a ring recently. Not sure if it was a king’s, though. Can we get a description?” Doppelgänger said before a swirl of comets wrapped around them and they disappeared.

Another swirl appeared behind the knight, leaving behind the ghost kid. They cheered and shot a blast that unseated the knight. “Yes, it worked. Still not as far as we’d meant to go, but we’ll take it.”

“If you would allow me to trai-” Plasmius started.

“Not interested. Now make yourself useful.” Doppelgänger pointed at the knight, who was pulling himself to his feet.

The knight’s eyes locked onto Valerie and narrowed. “You also carry the ring’s mark.”

She leveled her rifle at him, but a pair of blasts knocked him away before she could fire.

“Right on time,” Doppelgänger said as their two copies flew into the stadium. “Wait a second, is that the Fright Knight? Who? He’s the age-old spirit of Halloween.” The trio began to casually blast the knight back and forth across the field as they spoke together. “Legend has it that if his sword The Soul Shredder cuts through you, you get teleported to a dimension where you live out your worst fear. We read about him in the book we got for Halloween. Did the book have any way to defeat him? We think there was something about a pumpkin, but we can’t remember. We’ll go check.”

One of the ghost kids shot off, giving the knight a chance to finally dodge a blast. “Fools! All I wanted to do was retrieve those who destroyed the ring and return to Pariah's Keep, but now, you give me no choice.” He knelt and held up his sword, point down. “By the authority vested in me by my Lord and Liege…” The sword began to glow and he drove it into the ground, causing a wave of energy to roll outwards across the ground. “I claim this town now and forever under the banner of Lord Pariah, the King of All Ghosts!”

Energy shot up from the sword high into the air before rolling outwards to form a green dome across the city.

Both remaining Doppelgängers fired at the knight, but he ducked away. “The sword has sunk, your die now cast, The sword removed shall signal fast. Surrender your-”

He was cut off as a blast knocked him rolling across the ground.

“We hate rhymes. Did we find a pumpkin?”

The third Doppelgänger flew up with a smirk and pulled a fake jack-o'-lantern out of thin air.

“Found it in the boxes of old Halloween decorations like we said.”

They landed next to the sword and dropped the decoration at their feet.

“Gotta move fast. Cover us. Red, Plasmius, keep the skeleton’s back. We’ll handle tall, dark, and fashionable. Fashionable? Really? Yes, we love that aesthetic.”

Val nodded and pulled out her grenade launcher as the other two placed themselves between their third and the knight, but Plasmius’s attention was on the ghost kid.

“What are you planning?”

The ghost kid smirked and wrapped their hand around the sword’s grip.

“To cease the storm…”

“No,” the knight yelled, but the ghost kid’s copies kept him back.

“To end the fear…”

“Wait!” Plasmius yelled as the ghost kid began to draw the sword from the ground.

“The sword must sheathe…”

As soon as the blade left the ground, the energy feeding into the dome cut off and it began to crack. Instead of the sky being behind it, Valerie saw the endless green of the ghost zone.

“In pumpkin near!”

Doppelgänger sank the sword into the fake pumpkin and everything froze. Then the sky returned.

White and green light began to pour from the decoration as the dome shuddered then began to rise up and flow back into the sword in a reverse of how it had just formed.

“No, NO!” the knight shouted as a vortex formed above the sword and began to draw him in.

Valerie only had a second to feel victorious before the vortex began to pull at her as well. She lost her footing on her board, but the ghost kid flew in to help her. Two of them grabbed her and the last grabbed her board before they all flew to the bleachers and grabbed hold. Once she was sure she was safe, she looked over the field.

Plasmius had taken refuge on a goal post, but many of the skeletons were being sucked up. The knight was clawing at the ground, but soon lost his grip and disappeared into the swirling green. Once he was gone, the vortex slowed and dissipated while the pumpkin holding the sword -- now looking like an actual jack-o'-lantern, if purple with a green glow -- vanished in a flash.

“Well, that’s one down,” Doppelgänger said.

“You idiot! The sword was a signal!” Plasmius yelled, brushing himself off.

“Yeah, we heard. That’s why we got rid of it!”

“Not soon enough.”

The teens looked up to see a large ghost floating over them.

After a second, one of the ghost kids pointed at him.

“You know, we expected more from the King of All Ghosts. He’s just a guy. A tall guy, but still.”

Another nodded, looking disappointed.

“Yeah, what is this Odin wannabe nonsense? We thought we’d be facing some beautiful Lovecraftian horror. We feel ripped off.”

The third tilted their head.

“He’s not even that big. Like ten feet, maybe. The dragon made a more impressive sight, and she was literally just a fairytale princess. You’d think a king could do better.”

“Are you done ticking him off?” Valerie asked, watching Dark get angrier and angrier.

They shrugged. “We’re just saying. He doesn’t even have a crown.”

Then the one who’d tilted their head shot to the side, the one who’d nodded stepped in front of Valerie and raised a shield, and the one who’d pointed braced for impact as Dark sent a massive blast towards them.

The shield held, but the ghost kid was forced to a knee as they poured their strength into it and it shattered apart as soon as it wasn’t needed. Once it was down, Valerie could see that the one who’d taken the blast head-on had created a crater in the bleachers that they were pulling themself out of. Meanwhile, the one who’d avoided it was zipping around the field, keeping Dark’s attention. They fired upon the king while bobbing and weaving around the return fire.

It didn’t look like the attacks were doing much damage.

“That hurt,” they said as the one limped towards her and their kneeling copy turned to her. “You should get clear.”

“We should all fall back,” Plasmius said, appearing next to them.

“Even if we could, he’d destroy the town trying to chase us down. You can run if you want to,” they said then they shot towards the field.

One landed and held their hands out. Thick wires shot out of the ground and grabbed Dark’s legs, electrocuting him in the process. At the same time, the other ghost kid shot towards the fight. They engaged the king as the one that had been fighting him backed off. They reached to the side and plucked a pot holding a glowing spider-like plant out of nowhere. They chucked the plant at Dark’s head then re-engaged him as their copy pulled back to command the plant to wrap around the king’s eyes and neck.

“The boy has Chlorokinesis?” Plasmius said.

“You didn’t know that?” Valerie said, checking her rifle and calling her board to her.

“He’s never used it against me. He’s only even used the Technokinesis recently.”

“They’ve had both for as long as I’ve known them. They’ve tried to use it on me, but I’m usually too high for the plants and my gear’s protected against their control.”

“ENOUGH!”

The two looked up to see Dark snatch the plant-controlling ghost kid from the air and throw them. The other flying one tried to catch them, but they both ended up crashing to the ground. The third flew over to them as the king tore off the wires and burned away the plant.

“Our baby,” the ghost kid whined, one staring at the plant’s burning remains with fury.

“Surrender, children! You can't possibly win!”

“Surrender isn’t in our vocabulary. And we can’t possibly let you loose on our city.” The one that had been controlling the wires helped the one that had been thrown to their feet, letting them lean against them, as the other placed themself in front of the two. “Besides, we don't have to win. we just have to make sure that you lose.”

Dark scowled and shot a blast at them. The one in front summoned a shield, but it shattered almost immediately and the three took most of the blast.

Valerie leveled her rifle at Dark, but Plasmius yanked it away.

“Don’t be foolish, girl. He will kill you.”

“Like you care.

“Considering you’re my only help, I do. We need a plan.”

“Face it, children, it's over.”

Valerie turned back to the field to see Dark walking towards the trio as they slowly got up onto their knees.

“No,” they growled. “No!”

Shaking with pain, the trio looked up. 

Their goggles glowed with black energy and then three things happened at once.

The one on the left threw their head back and screamed. Black sonic waves tore through the field and slammed into the king.

The one in the middle doubled over, hands clawing at the ground as they keened. Thick black vines wove in and out of the ground in front of them until they could latch onto the king, wrapping around his arms and legs to tear deep gashes into his skin with their thorns.

The one on the right wrapped their arms around themselves and sobbed. Black tears flowed down their face and formed a void beneath them that stretched out underneath the king.

The vines held him still, the rings drained his power, and the void drew him in.

Dark thrashed against his bindings, but they held and he was soon consumed by the darkness.

The trio collapsed.

The field went silent, the vines shriveled into nothing, and the darkness faded.

Consciousness clearly fading, the trio latched hands and fell through the ground.

Oddly though, they didn’t seem to go intangible and Valerie swore she saw the faintest hint of a white-blue-purple light just before they completely disappeared.

Slowly, she turned to Plasmius to see him gaping at the now empty field. “Did you know they had that kind of power?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Danny stared out at the stars as Blobena nuzzled up against his cheek.

“My everything hurts,” Tucker croaked, the first sound any of them had made since Danny had dropped them into the Space Fold then promptly passed out. He’s not sure how long they’ve been in there now, but he’s been awake for at least an hour and he knew the others woke before him.

“Sh!” Sam moaned.

It was quiet for a few moments, then Sam asked, “Danny. Why are your blobs in here? More importantly, why is one trying to eat my hair?”

With a sigh, Danny turned to see Sam and the blob in question. “I think Blobson likes the taste of your shampoo. He did the same thing to me two weeks ago when you let me shower at your place after the fight with Garbage Manster.”

“Wait, you seriously named them all? And with blob puns?” Tucker said, pinwheeling slowly near Sam’s feet. “I thought that was just a joke you and Valerie were telling.”

“We had a lot of time in that cage, okay?”

“Danny, get this thing off my hair or I’m smashing it.”

The boy pouted, but reached over to scoop up the blob. He set him on his shoulder next to Bloberick.

“Now again, what are they doing here?”

“In my defense, I just meant to hide them in here for a second because my mom was coming down the stairs and I didn’t have time to get them all back through the portal. I’ve tried to get them to leave, but they won’t.”

“You keep my ghost plants in here!” she huffed, gesturing to the quartet of pots holding plants she’d gathered from the ghost zone.

“They don’t bother them, promise!”

“Speaking of which, how dare you throw Arachne at that jerk!”

“Our ecto-beams weren’t doing much! I thought the poison on her fronds would help!”

“We can get you a new one, Sam,” Tucker said. “It’s not like it was sentient like Audrey II.”

“We can get you a new phone, Tucker,” she shot back. “It’s not like it’s sentient like Audrey II.”

“She’s as good as!” Tucker gasped, pulling his phone out to clutch it to his chest. “Talk to me, baby.”

“Hello, Tuck-man. The time is 9:34 p.m.”

Danny snickered. “Tuck-man.”

“Shut it, Danny Blobton,” Tucker said, grabbing one of the blobs floating near him and tossing it at Danny.

If anything, the blob seemed to be pleased by the action, even as it squished against his forehead. It gave a singing buzz and nuzzled further against him.

“Great, now Blobnessa is never going to let go.”

“Dude, you’ve got issues.”

“Wait, did your phone say it was after nine at night?” Sam asked, turning to Tucker.

“Yeah, it said… Oh man, how long have we been gone for?”

“My parents are probably tearing the town apart looking for me,” Danny groaned.

“Not to mention your girlfriend. I’m sure my parents are already blaming you. Crud, I’m going to have to wear their stupid dresses for a week if they’re ever going to let me see you again,” Sam said, grabbing Danny’s arm and tugging him to her.

“I swear, if my parents try to take me on one of those tech-free relaxation getaways because of this, I’m moving into the fold. Blobs or not,” Tucker muttered, hooking his ankle around Sam’s.

Danny gently shooed and brushed all the blobs off himself then turned all three of them invisible and dropped them onto the football field.

Thankfully no one was around so they turned visible and climbed to their feet.

“We’re going to need alibis,” Sam said.

“Got cornered by some skeletons in an abandoned building?” Tucker offered. “Only came out when we were sure it was safe, but then didn’t recognize where we were and stumbled about until we found somewhere familiar.”

“Sounds good enough for me,” Danny yawned. “Can either of you transform?”

They shook their heads.

“Guess we’re walking.”

They only made it a block before the Fenton RV came roaring up and a hysterical Maddie Fenton tackled Danny to the ground.

#danny phantom #danny fenton #valerie gray #sam manson #tucker foley #Doppelgänger au

[pastelsandpining]

Santa Baby (Christmas List)

The second prompt in 12 Days of Christmas by @zelink-prompts​

Prompt List

**Note: For the stories actually involving Christmas, I and a few other authors changed the holiday to Hylia’s Day (credit to @fatefulfaerie​ for this) so that it’s more relevant to Hyrule

Cover Art: @neezlebums​ be sure to show some love to the original here!

Words: 2264

Summary: For their first Hylia’s Day together after everything that happened, Link just wanted to gift Zelda something special.

**If I don’t have explicit warnings, read with caution. It simply means there’s nothing I could think of that could be potentially triggering, but I could’ve just missed something. In that case, please let me know and I’ll be more than happy to put a warning!**

BotW, post-calamity with angry child Eggbert because I said so

Zelink-mas 2020  l  Masterlist

Relearning everything about his past and about Hyrule was no easy feat. A world that was so familiar yet so foreign still left him unsettled at times, because he was a young adult trying to understand the things that nearly everyone else grew up with. It was fascinating to learn about traditions and holidays and how they came to be, and he did genuinely want to know everything he once knew and more.

It was how he’d ended up awake until the break of dawn, listening to Zelda tell stories of Hyrule’s past. She was in her element when she got to research or explore or teach. Watching her was something he felt incredibly lucky to do, much less sit so close to her on the bed while they poured over books. He wanted to be as prepared as possible.

He’d heard of Hylia’s Day before, but it would be his first time experiencing it (that he could remember). Zelda explained it as a celebration of love and giving, of friendship and of victory. She told him of the festivals they used to hold, and the balls they’d been forced to attend, and of the parties they used to have. She told him of the traditions of gift giving and of family gathering.

And when they finally settled down to sleep, Link asked her what she wanted for Hylia’s Day. She replied just as she always did—that she already had all she could ever want.

It didn’t stop him from trying, though. He brought it up at the most nonchalant of times, during breakfast or trips across the kingdom. He would listen intently every time she spoke, more so than usual, and tried to pick up on any instance of an “I want”. Only once did she give a direct answer, saying she wanted a Silent Princess. 

Link was not satisfied with that. It wasn’t special enough, so he took it upon himself to fill Zelda’s nonexistent Hylia’s Day List.

He didn’t expect to feel as nervous as he did when the day actually came around.

“How does this look?” came the voice of Zelda from behind him. Link paused the stirring of his soup to turn around and answer her question. She’d been adjusting the decorations all morning, no matter how many times he’d promised her they looked fine.

“It looks perfect,” he replied. “Just like everything else.”

“Well, good, because I want this to be perfect,” she said, making her way to his side. “It’s the first Hylia’s Day we’ve had since—the first I’ve had outside of a castle. Getting to decorate and set everything up however you want is incredibly stressful. I want our friends to be comfortable and happy.”

“You worry too much,” stated Link in return, bumping her with his shoulder.

“I happen to worry a perfectly healthy amount, for your information.”

He chuckled and turned back to his task at hand: finishing up their dishes for the celebration. The traditions called for a family gathering, and their family was large in both number and size. A little extra wouldn’t hurt, even if their friends were all bringing their own dishes.

“You look beautiful, by the way,” he continued. Zelda’s cheeks flushed, even after a hundred years, and it made him want to smile. He loved when she wore things that were too big for her, including the white sweater that she had to keep pulling the sleeves up on because they were too long. The golden linings made it look fancier than it really was, but she called it comfortable on more than one occasion and it was soft to the touch, so it was one of his favorites too. 

“Thank you,” she replied, hugging his arm. “I dressed myself and everything.”

“Wow, impressive,” he stated, pulling his arm free so that he could take the bread out of the oven. He didn’t miss the roll of her eyes before she turned back to the tree tucked into the corner. 

“I can’t help thinking something’s missing,” she said. Link placed the pan on a rack before turning to face her again, reaching for one of her hands.

“It’s perfect,” he repeated, spinning her to face him. “The only thing missing is a star at the top, but I don’t think you’d fit.”

She gave his hand a gentle swat and huffed.

“You’re ridiculous.” But she was smiling anyway, and that was enough of a gift for him. He considered pulling her closer, spinning her around and trying to get her to laugh, but there was a knock on the door before he could. Link let go of her hand so she could answer it, and he was unsurprised to see Purah bouncing on her feet at the door, with Symin behind her carrying a far too large bag, probably full of presents. 

“Check it!” she exclaimed--her form of a greeting, apparently. “Happy Hylia’s Day, you rascals! I’ve been looking forward to this all year!”

“Purah,” Zelda greeted. “It’s lovely to see you again!”

“You can put the bag down here,” Link told Symin, gesturing to the area under the stairs after shutting the door, keeping the cold outside. Now that Purah had stolen Zelda away for some excited conversation about Sheikah technology, Link had an opening. “Did Robbie manage to.. do the thing?”

“Fix it up? Yeah, I heard he and Purah talking last night. He was able to restore it, but I don’t know if it’ll have all the same functions as before,” Symin answered, his voice lowered to keep anyone from hearing. Some tension in Link’s shoulders relaxed. That was one thing checked off the list—the one thing he was really nervous about.

“I’m gonna owe Robbie an entire decayed guardian for this.”

“He’ll take payments in increments.”

Link snorted and shook his head. As eccentric as Robbie was, he was positive the Sheikah would try and refuse payment. But Link didn’t exactly need his permission to haul a decayed guardian up to Akkala’s Tech Lab, so it would turn out either way. He just hoped, with a glance towards Zelda, that it was the right gift.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Symin asked. 

“You could take coats by the door,” Link joked as another knock echoed through their house. 

He was pleased to see Sidon, Impa, and Paya were the next to arrive. But he didn’t get much of a greeting out before Sidon, crouching to get through the door, lifted him from the floor in a crushing hug.

“Happy Hylia’s Day, Link! Lovely to see you!” 

All Link could really do was pat Sidon’s shoulder in return until his feet were returned to the ground. 

The arrivals began increasing faster than he expected, with Teba and his family arriving next—with Kass in tow, of course.

“I’m worried we won’t have enough space,” Zelda stated suddenly, scaring the living daylights out of him. “We could move it outside, but we’d need a fire. I’m sure the Rito are fine with the cold, but we could give everyone else some blankets and coats. Do Zora get cold?”

“I don’t think so,” Link replied, furrowing his eyebrows. “The water in East Reservoir Lake wasn’t exactly warm, and Ruta hurling ice blocks at us didn’t make it any better.” He was still bitter that he didn’t think to use Cryonsis until he’d already been knocked off of Sidon twice. 

“But the Zora are used to water, so perhaps they’re used to the cold as well.”

“Why don’t we just ask?” Link pointed out, bumping her with his shoulder. “We have a Zora.”

“You say that like Sidon is a pet,” Zelda scolded, crossing her arms. 

“He’s basically a huge Hylian Retriever, yes.”

“Besides, would it be rude?”

Link grinned and ruffled her hair as he said, “Nothing is rude in the name of science.”

“Except eating a frog, apparently,” Zelda bit back, swatting at his hand.

“Oh, let it go,” he laughed. “I ate tons of frogs.”

“And?” she asked, lifting an eyebrow with a smug smile.

“You were right.”

“What are you two love birds talking about?” Sidon asked, and Link jumped for the second time that day. How could someone so large sneak up on him so easy, even if there was a good bit of noise in the house?

“Sidon!” Zelda said quickly, her cheeks flushed with pink. “We were just discussing moving everything outside.”

“Brilliant idea! Do you need help moving anything?” 

Link thought of assuring Sidon he was a guest and didn’t need to lift a finger, but apparently those gears in Zelda’s head were turning.

“No, but we have a few extra strings of fairy lights,” she replied, tapping her chin. “We could put lights on the tree outside!”

“You,” Sidon said as he picked her up. “are a little genius, Princess! Everyone, outside!”

Link hardly got a word in before they were out the door. All he could do was laugh at them with a warm smile. This was more than he ever could’ve wanted.

“It’s good to see you happy.”

Kass was smiling at him, just in that way where he looked like he knew all he was thinking. 

“Holiday cheer,” Link replied with a shrug, but Kass hummed.

“Ah, yes. Holiday cheer and nothing to do with dear Zelda.”

“Well,” Link sputtered, glancing towards the door everyone else had gone out of. “She helps. How’s, uh, how’s your song coming?”

“Rather well, actually. I think she’ll be pleased with it. Come, we’re missing all the fun.”

And Kass was right. Riju and Teba’s son were chasing each other around the pond, occasionally being joined by other village children, and Yunobo was being used as a rock pile to climb over in the process—not that he looked to mind it much. Buliara was observing carefully from her perch on the ramp, discussing something with Teba and Saki, and he was pleased to see they were all smiling. 

Impa was busy scolding Purah for something, and Robbie was coming to her defense, and whatever Symin had interrupted with made them all laugh. 

And then, to his (pleasant) horror, he found Zelda and Paya up in the tree, wrapping strings of lights around the bare branches. Sidon was underneath, wrapping another string around the trunk. They were having far too much fun with it.

Zelda spotted him from her perch and waved, and he had no choice but to join them in the decorating.

A little later into the evening, they sat around a campfire that turned out to be a joint effort and swapped various stories while they ate—stories about the Champions, who were there in spirit, about troubles they’ve solved, and other funny recalls of their lives. Link tried to listen, but his attention shifted every time he saw Zelda next to him with a smile on her face.

A gathering so wonderful wasn’t complete without swapping gifts. They’d given and received so many things, but Link chose to wait until everyone was finished to approach Zelda with his gift. Upon seeing the big box, she lifted an eyebrow.

“Alright. I know a Silent Princess isn’t this big, so what could you have possibly gotten me?” she asked, sitting in front of the crate. Link only shrugged and gestured for her to open it up. 

Her careful fingers pulled the ribbon apart and she took the lid with both hands. He watched her closely, nervous for what her reaction would be. 

Zelda was quiet for a moment, her eyes locked on the contents of the box. When she lifted her head to look at him at last, there were tears glistening in the firelight. 

“Where did you find him?” she asked, her voice shaking.

“He was in that same crate on a shelf in your study. I brought it to Robbie and he was able to restore it,” he explained as he pressed the Sheikah Slate into her hands. Zelda tapped the screen with trembling fingers, and he bit back the urge to take her hand. 

A soft beep filled the air and a blue light burst from the crate. A metal claw gripped the edge of the box, then a blue eye appeared and flipped its lid in greeting. 

Zelda pressed a hand over her mouth and reached the other out towards the little guardian they’d found and studied all those years ago. It beeped again, pleased with her recognition, then scuttled out from the crate.

“It’s in near perfect condition. How did it get..?” But she decided she didn’t care and instead wrapped her arms tightly around Link, whispering out a million thank you’s. All he could do was press a kiss to her head and hold her close.

There were so many things he’d wanted to give her. There were so many things he wanted to say. But he knew of her love for the ancient technology, and he knew of her love for him. 

Even if her list hadn’t truly existed, he wanted to give her something special. He wanted to give her everything and more, but for now, he was okay just giving her comfort that he remembered. 

He remembered her, and he remembered their adventures, and he remembered her interests.

He remembered.

And by the kiss she’d given him, to the delight and cheering of the others, he thought it turned out to be the perfect gift after all.

Well, until the little guardian butted in with its opinion in not so polite beeps, but some things simply couldn’t be helped. 

#zelink #botw link #botw zelda #botw zelink #christmas prompts #zelink prompts #my writing #eggbert said this was supposed to be his reunion dammit link #stop stealing his thunder

[falseroar]

Dog Days Part 24: Three Shots Fired

((Marvin provides a distraction so Abe and Jackie can get into the studio undetected, Abe to find Wilford, Jackie to find his friends. This plan turns out to be terrible on every level.

Warning: Shooting/someone shown getting shot, no gore/details. I promise this warning will only show up one more time in this series. This is also probably the longest part in the series so far.

And here are links to the masterlist for the series and to Part 23.))

Any hopes Abe had of getting any answers out of Marvin or this other guy in the red hoodie on the drive to the studio were crushed, because once the magician was sure he knew where to go, he didn’t have another word to say to the hunter. In fact, as Abe pulled out onto the street and started driving, he asked again, “How do you two know Wilford? And why do you think he’s at this TV studio?” only to be met with silence.

Abe slowed at the red light and glanced in the rearview mirror, where he saw the two of them clearly talking in the backseat, but in the driver’s seat he couldn’t hear a single word of it. Apparently, they couldn’t hear him either, or were too busy arguing to notice.

Great. As if this whole situation wasn’t suspicious enough. Marvin might as well have held up a giant sign saying they were keeping something from him, and knowing that the magician could throw the whole “hired to stalk one of his friends for a shady client” thing back into his face didn’t make it any better.

“Why are we taking him?” Jackie asked, his eyes darting toward the hunter in the front seat. “Wasn’t the whole plan to keep him away from Y/N until we figured out what his deal is?”

“I think his deal is that he’s just an idiot,” Marvin answered. He had tossed up the silence spell as soon as the car started moving, because he suspected Jackie wouldn’t be able to keep from saying something. “And we need to get there as fast as we can, without drawing too much attention. We don’t know what we’re walking into, here.”

“Which is why we shouldn’t be bringing him! I can get there faster on my own, and don’t you have some kind of teleportation spell?”

“Sure, and we can set off every alarm in the place and never make it inside to find the others. You think a place like that doesn’t have security of their own?” Marvin asked. “Why isn’t Chase picking up his phone?!”

“I don’t know, it just keeps going straight to voicemail, and JJ’s not answering any of my texts either,” Jackie said, glancing down at his phone again. “I thought going to the studio was supposed to be safe!”

“How were we supposed to know the Colonel would be there?” Marvin rubbed his eyes, causing his shades to rise up before falling back into place on his nose. “I should have brought my mask, I just didn’t think…But if they’re stuck on a tour, then maybe they haven’t had a chance to run into him yet, if he even is there. From the way the hunter talks, it’s not like he hangs around anywhere for very long.”

“Even if we do get them out before they run into the Colonel, we still have to deal with him,” Jackie said, tilting his head in the direction of the front of the car. “I don’t trust him, and a public building where we already know one murderer might be walking around isn’t exactly the place I want to find out whether I’m right or not. He doesn’t know about Y/N, does he?”

“Of course not! But it’s not like we can hide them from him if he’s…hm.” Marvin paused, and despite his covered eyes, Jackie could see the gears turning in his mind before he said. “Then again, maybe he can be useful.”

Marvin heard Jackie’s noise at the suggestion and turned toward him as he continued, “No, listen. We can’t just go in there, guns blazing, but I also don’t think we’re going to get anywhere at the front desk without just being told to wait for the tour to end. I can give you two an opening to get in, and something to help you track down the others.”

Marvin reached into his chest pocket and pulled out a gold coin, before a twist of his fingers revealed him to be holding two coins.

“One for you, one for the hunter. I enchant them both with basic location spells, but while yours leads you to the others, his is focused on the Colonel, on Wilford. You can get them out of there, while he can have it out with Wilford like he wants without ever knowing Y/N’s there.”

And if he happened to take care of one of the men responsible for what happened to you in the process, then Marvin was completely fine with that.

“And if they’re all in the same place?” Jackie asked.

Marvin shrugged. “Then it’s already a disaster and you’ll just have to do the best you can until I can follow behind. Teleporting out will be a lot easier than getting in. Either way, we’re not going to have a repeat of what happened to Y/N the last time those two were together. Deal?”

Jackie hesitated and then nodded, determination settling in as he said, “Deal.”

Marvin snapped his fingers, dispelling the silence before he said, “Abe.”

“Oh, am I allowed to join in now?” Abe asked sarcastically. “Or are you just checking in to make sure your driver hasn’t made a wrong turn?”

Marvin chose to ignore that and explained to Abe about the coins, or at least what the one he was going to get would do.

“It’ll be kind of like a hot or cold thing,” Marvin said. “Coin gets warmer the closer you are to the person you’re looking for, as long as you’re focused on them. Not very sophisticated and doesn’t work when they’re too far away, but it’s fast to create and should work for this.”

“And what will you be doing?” Abe asked as he took the next turn. They were getting close to the studio now, and he still had no reason to trust either of these guys. “While I’m playing hot or cold with a chocolate coin?”

“This isn’t—” Marvin paused to sniff the coin to be sure and continued, “It’s not chocolate! And I’ll be providing the distraction, while Jackie will be…Look, we have friends in there we’d rather keep safe. You do your thing, and we’ll take care of ours. Deal?”

Abe frowned. One hell of a coincidence, their friends being in the studio where Wilford supposedly might be. Then again, Marvin had seemed genuinely surprised to learn the Colonel and Wilford were one and the same person, and the truth spell back in the coffee shop made it feel like that kind of thing would be hard to fake.

“Wait, the truth spell,” Abe said, glancing over his shoulder at the magician. “Did you get rid of that before we left?”

“Keep your eyes on the road,” Marvin said quickly, and slowly breathed out when the car returned to its lane before he answered, “It wasn’t designed to last long. Should be fine, as long as no troubled couples got into the booth right after we left…Nothing that a little therapy couldn’t work out, anyways. And if you don’t want to do this, that’s fine. Just drop us off outside the studio and keep driving.”

It would certainly make things easier, to the point Marvin was almost a little disappointed when Abe shook his head and said, “No, if there’s even a chance that man’s there, then I’m going in. You two do whatever you need to, and we’ll stay out of each other’s way.”

Marvin nodded and settled back into his seat, where he focused his attention on the two coins that he held in either palm. It was a simple spell, but he did need to concentrate if he wanted to have them ready by the time they reached the studio.

Still driving, Abe could feel the stare of the other man on the back of his head, and when he glanced into the mirror, he could see Jackie’s icy glare, his mouth turned down as if watching someone who just kicked a dog winding up to push a little old lady over in the middle of the street. Who was this guy, and why was he looking at Abe like that? Usually, the hunter could figure out what he had done or said to get that kind of hate directed his way, but as far as he knew the two of them hadn’t so much as shared a word yet. He would have blamed it on whatever Marvin told them about their conversation behind that spell of his, but he was pretty sure Jackie had been ready to throw hands the second he stepped out of the coffee shop.

Except there was that red hoodie of his, and with a sinking sensation Abe remembered the photos he showed Google, accusing him of being the red blur just barely caught on film. A blur that showed up outside of the clinic, very much like the man wearing red Abe thought he saw when he was talking to Jackson. Add in that the magician had thought he was responsible for what happened to the Host, and the doctor knowing he was being watched, and…

Marvin’s idea to split up was looking better and better by the second.

Abe found a parking spot on the street and heard, as he got out of the car, Jackie murmur to Marvin, “There’s his car. They’re still here.”

The magician nodded, looking grimly determined as he tossed Abe and Jackie their coins. “Keep these in your hand, and once you’re in the building, just focus on who you’re looking for. It works best if you have a clear image of one person in mind, which shouldn’t be a problem for you, hunter. Jackie, you’ll probably want to focus on Chase since you’ve known him the longest.”

Abe glanced down at the coin, taking in the ornate carving and what looked like an eye on one side and a bird of some kind on the other. “What kind of coin is this?”

Marvin shrugged. “Fairy gold, I think? The cheap kind that’s given to mortals to get rid of them and disappears after an hour or two.”

He paused at their expressions and added, “You know, get rid of in a general sense. Not, like, specifically, in this case.”

Jackie looked at his coin again and said, “This kind of looks like a doubloon, you know, the kind you’d find in pirates’ treasure?”

“Could be that too. You meet all kinds in the Other Realms, and they all kind of suck at cards, which…” Marvin patted himself down, muttering under his breath about everyone telling him to leave his working stuff at home and make a good impression, until he pulled out a pack of cards. “Right! Let me go in first, looks like there’s just a receptionist, so once she’s distracted you two can slip right in to the elevators.”

“Oh god,” Jackie murmured, realization dawning as he recognized the cards. “You’re not going to try to do that trick again, are you?”

“…The pick my card one, or the one that involves the flash powder?” Marvin asked.

“They’re both terrible! You can use real magic, why do you—”

“Shush, and watch a professional,” Marvin said, pressing a finger to Jackie’s lips before turning and walking through the glass doors of the studio.

“Oh no,” Jackie muttered again as the magician sauntered up to the front desk and leaned casually against it, flipping his hair out of his face before he started talking. From here, they could only see the young woman’s surprise turn into a bemused smile as Marvin began laying out the cards on the counter. “He’s flirting.”

“Is he that bad at it?” Abe asked.

“I don’t know, it just makes it that much sadder when he—” Jackie stopped with a sigh as the entire deck of cards scattered up into the air and began slowly drifting down, only for the first card to hit the floor with a flash and a bang that made the poor receptionist shriek, not helped when Marvin pulled her under the desk as the rest of the cards began to go off as they hit the ground. “Come on, before security gets here!”

Jackie grabbed Abe’s arm and ran inside, easily dodging the drifting cards but leaving the hunter to try and keep up on his own. By the time they reached the elevators, out of sight of the front desk, Abe was swearing and beating out a small flame on one of his sleeves.

“What the hell kind of distraction was that? Is he trying to let the whole building know we’re here?” Abe asked, but Jackie wasn’t listening.

“Still got your coin? Great, you can take one of the elevators, I’ll take the stairs,” Jackie said, pushing him inside of the opening doors after having already hit the call button.

“Wait, how am I supposed to use the coin in here?” Abe asked. “I don’t know which floor—”

But this was the perfect opportunity to ditch the hunter, and Jackie’s answer was to reach inside and run a hand over the buttons, lighting up as many as he could in one go before stepping out of the way of the closing doors. “Focus, and get out when the coin turns warm. From there it’s on you, so good luck with that, hunter.”

Jackie had to admit, it felt good to see the indignation on Abe’s face before the doors slid shut, but he didn’t have a lot of time to enjoy it. From the sound of it, the last of the cards were drifting down, and when he darted into the stairwell, he looked back in time to see Marvin backing toward the front doors, his hands held up in defense as his apologies were drowned out by the receptionist’s review of his performance.

He locked eyes with the magician and raised his phone, Marvin giving a subtle nod of understanding before Jackie began running up the stairs. On his side, Marvin had the phones he had retrieved from the bin behind the desk while the receptionist had been distracted, both of which he recognized as Chase’s and Jameson’s. Said receptionist who was now pulling off her shoe in a way that suggested he should probably go now.

Once outside and with maybe a block or two between him and the very angry young lady, Marvin could stop and take a breath before considering how he would get himself into the building if they needed an out.

“Should’ve brought the mask,” he muttered, already aware of the cracks forming in his shades as the spells built into them began to wear thin. Once those were gone, any hope of being “subtle” about this (not that there was much of one to begin with) went out the window. “Or the dagger, or the marbles, or the wind-up mouse, but no, it might look bad, Marvin.”

But the “I told you so” would have to wait until later, when he had the right audience for it. For now, Marvin made his way back toward the studio, careful to keep his distance as he watched the security guards trying to calm down the receptionist.

As he watched, they leaned over the counter and pulled up something on the computer. Marvin hissed, realizing that they must have cameras around here, just as one of the guards picked up a nearby phone and called someone before nodding to the other guard who went in the direction of the elevators.

Great. Hopefully Jackie and Abe were still moving, but Marvin couldn’t exactly wait around for a call. He squinted, and had to move closer to get the details from the guard standing at the desk, but once he was sure he reached up and rubbed the charm hanging from his left ear between his thumb and index finger until the illusion spell in it took hold.

Marvin opened the lobby door and walked in, passing by the receptionist and guard without slowing down or making eye contact. The guard glanced at him and then turned his attention back to the receptionist, who was saying something about how “that thing” creeped her out, sure in his own mind that he had just seen one of the other guards walk by. Not enough to answer if someone asked who exactly he had seen, just someone in the right kind of uniform with a face more or less like someone he had seen around probably.

The point was to act confident and keep moving, not to give anyone the chance to think about him twice or ask him any questions. To look like he knew where he was going, although when Marvin stepped into the elevator, he knew that couldn’t be farther from the truth. As soon as the doors closed, he pulled out his phone and sent a message to Jackie, hoping that he had managed to get somewhere in those few minutes.

Only to freeze when he heard the sound of gunshots somewhere in the building above.

Jackie had moved quickly, only pausing at the door of each floor to give enough time to make sure the coin hadn’t grown any warmer before running up the next flight of stairs. Keeping his focus on Chase was a lot harder than he expected it to be, with everything else going on, and he was starting to wonder if he was doing this right when he felt the heat start to spread out from the coin. He ran up to the next floor to be sure, only for the coin to immediately grow colder once he was just five steps away.

Jackie went back down and pushed open the door, listening for any sound or sign of anyone else, but the hallways were empty. He had lost count of the floors a while ago, but a sign across from the elevator proclaimed this floor to be part of Studio 5, whatever that meant. He glanced back at the elevator as it dinged open, but there was no sign of the hunter inside before it continued its way up, so it looked like Abe had either found where Wilford was hiding at or had been caught.

Either option worked for Jackie, really, and he trained his focus back on Chase as he kept close to the walls. By the time he reached the room with the recording light lit up above it and the glass window that looked into the small studio, the coin was practically burning in his hand, but the second he looked in and his concentration broke, it went as cold as the chill at the back of his mind.

Jameson and Chase were sitting at a table, arguing with two identical twins with a set of microphones between them, but there was no sign of you or anyone else in the room, not even when he leaned to get a better look at the corner near the door. Desperately, he knocked on the window, too thick for them to hear even when he shouted their names, and then yanked open the door.

Ignoring the protests of the other two men, Jackie asked, “Where’s Y/N?” and the coin in his hand became freezing cold.

---

When Abe stepped out of the elevator, a large sign pointed him in the direction of Studio 3, but the coin in his hand led him in the opposite direction until he finally found himself standing outside of a door with a star on it. The paint used to write the name “Wilford Warfstache” on it still looked fresh.

The hunter pocketed the hot coin and pulled out his gun. Still loaded with the five silver bullets, he turned off the safety and took a breath before knocking on the door.

“Come in,” came an all too familiar singsong voice inside.

It was all the invitation Abe needed.

He slammed the door open and raised his gun as he said, “Don’t move!”

“Hm? Well, I wasn’t really planning on it, but now I kind of want to,” answered the man sprawled out on a couch on the opposite side of a room that was such an eyesore of colors that Abe thought he could be forgiven for not immediately being able to pick Wilford out of the madness. The couch itself was a vibrant pink to match his mustache, as was the dressing table and mirror and the low end table between the two of them, the walls a bright cheery yellow, and the round rug that covered most of the floor was a spiral of pink and yellow. In the corner there was a yellow wardrobe with a carefully painted pink mustache on its front. Did this room used to belong to a clown or something?”

“Oh, the decorations? Do you like them? I picked them out myself,” Wilford said, leaning forward only to tilt his head when Abe made an incoherent shout. “You sure are jumpy, uh…Hold on, I know this one, it’s…Dave?”

Wilford pointed at Abe, his eyebrows raised and waiting for some kind of confirmation that didn’t come.

“Okay, not Dave. It’s never Dave, is it? Bim? No, Bim’s the other guy, the fluffy one…Steve? Dave?”

Wilford rattled off names, but Abe could only stare at him in disbelief before he had to shut him up.

“You know who I am! You shot me in the chest!”

“Now, that could be quite a lot of people,” Wilford said.

“You killed my partner, you killed my friend, you—” Abe sputtered, not sure why he was even doing this even as he exclaimed, “You killed so many people!”

“Well, yes, but you see—” Wilford bounced up onto his feet, only to pause and halfway raise his hands when Abe raised his gun again. Something about seeing the hunter ready to pull the trigger must have stirred something in his memory, because his eyes suddenly lit up and he said, “Abe! Abe. How have you been? I was just talking about you earlier with…who was it?”

“How have I—How do you think I’ve been?!” Abe moved into the room, using the heel of his foot to slam the door behind him. Not that it mattered, because he had no intention of letting anyone stop him now. “I’ve been looking for you, ever since that party. Ever since you…Ever since you destroyed everything!”

“Now, that seems like a bit of an exaggeration,” Wilford protested.

“An exaggeration? You killed your best friend, because of you the woman you loved and her brother, your other best friend, are both dead too, you tried to kill me, you killed Y/N—and then you think you can just walk away from all that, like nothing even happened?!” Abe’s grip was tightening on the gun, his finger close to pulling the trigger as tears began to sting the corner of his eyes, but he wanted to hear him say it, wanted to hear him admit to what he had done after all these years. Even if Abe was the only one to hear it, he needed this.

“I’m not sure you have the full story here,” Wilford started, only to pause when Abe pulled the trigger and nothing happened.

“That was just a warning,” Abe muttered as he pulled back the hammer on the gun. Internally though, he was cursing the luck that the one chamber that was empty happened to be the first one when he had a perfect shot lined up. “You really should stop talking.”

“Well, which is it that you want, for me to stop talking or to answer you? I’m getting some mixed signals here! And while it’s true that, in a sense, I may have done some terrible things, I never actually—”

Wilford ducked and pulled out his own gun when the hunter’s second attempt missed, but he just gestured wildly with it as he said, “Yes, I have one of those too, but if you would just listen to me, I think you might want to hear what I have to say!”

His eyes darted to the left as he considered his words and added, “Possibly. I’m starting to think you might just want to shoot me.”

“Really? What would you give that idea?” Abe asked sarcastically as he cocked the hammer again and aimed at Wilford’s face, determined that he wouldn’t waste this third chance. “You’re right. I don’t want excuses. I don’t want to hear what you have to say. I just want you dead.”

He pulled the trigger, but at the last possible second someone grabbed his wrist and threw off his aim. Abe hadn’t heard the door open behind him, partially because firing a gun in this small a space had temporarily wrecked his hearing, but he did hear his name being shouted as the last person he ever expected to see again stepped between him and Wilford.

“Abe! Stop! Just stop!”

“…Y/N?”

You were out of breath, but he sounded as breathless as you as the forgotten gun slipped out of his hand and hit the ground. At the noise, he suddenly realized how very close he came to shooting you when you did that. When you stopped the hunter from shooting him, but why? How could you do something so stupid, so reckless, so, so—

“What…? How…?” Abe struggled for words, his anger and concern fighting it out with confusion taking a chair to both of them, but you just shook your head.

“You need to hide, Google—” You froze, aware of the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps, and after a quick look around the room pushed Abe into a nearby wardrobe and shut the door on him, hissing, “Keep quiet!”

Abe started to protest, but he heard you turn and lean up against the wardrobe door just as the door to the dressing room opened and a voice he recognized spoke.

“Gunshots have been fired in this room,” Google said, staring around before focusing on you in the corner, and then turning back to Wilford when he shrugged and answered.

“It happens. Why, just earlier I—” Wilford gestured with his gun and Abe had to bite his fist to keep from crying out when he heard the shot and the silence before he said, “Sorry about that, Googs.”

“It’s…fine,” Google said, although his tone suggested otherwise. Outside the wardrobe, you and Wilford watched as the magitek unit wiped the splash left by the wax bullet off of his cheek with a noise of disgust before he said, “I am looking for unauthorized intruders in the building. One is currently unidentified, while the other matches my files for a hunter by the name of Abe Lincoln.”

That made Abe pause. Why would a TV studio have a record on him? Wasn’t like he had ever been here before, and from the little he knew of DE Studios they were more likely to hire the monster than a hunter. He wanted nothing more than to push open the wardrobe door just a crack, just enough to see what color shirt this Google unit was wearing, but you were leaning so hard against it that he couldn’t even hope for some fresh air to counter the smell of mothballs in Wilford’s catastrophe of a closet. What was the large fuzzy thing against his leg? It didn’t just move, did it?”

“Good for you,” Wilford answered cheerfully. “It’s good to have a hobby.”

“Looking for intruders is not…” Google paused and then decided to ask you instead, “Have you seen either of these men? They must be dealt with using the full extent of my abilities to handle such pests.”

“I don’t think that’s true,” you pointed out.

“…But it is the ideal option, and therefore the most logical one to take,” Google answered, making you wonder what was included in his definition of “ideal.” “I will repeat the question, have you seen these men?”

“Sorry, Google, I think you’ll have to look somewhere else.”

Google considered you for a moment before saying, “Based on my records, this would be the ideal location to find the intruder, although it is possible that he managed to get himself lost. Humans have a tendency to need…direction.”

“Nah, getting lost is half the fun, Google,” Wilford said. “You should try it some time. Right now, even.”

“I am incapable of getting lost, and such distractions are unnecessary at this time,” Google answered. “I am going to continue my search now.”

“Good luck,” Wilford called after him before he shut the door and remarked to you, “You know, sometimes I think that guy is a little—”

He paused as Abe fell out of the wardrobe, wildly kicking back what turned out to be, in the light, a large, pink afro. The hunter froze, unable to explain why that had seemed so much scarier in the wardrobe, but then he had more important things to worry about than his pride when his eyes refocused on you and the questions he just couldn’t begin to wrap his mind around yet.

“Y/N. You’re…”

Here. Alive. Real.

And shaking, your arms wrapped around your chest but not quite able to hide the tremors running up and down your body.

“Are you okay?” Abe asked, his mind immediately jumping to the worst. When he fired before, he hadn’t…? But there’d be a sign, they couldn’t hide it if the bullet had…For a moment, Abe thought he was going to be sick himself.

“There’s too much…Just, just give me a second,” you said, taking a step back and clenching your eyes shut. If you could just shut it all out for a second, just have a chance to catch your breath for once in what felt like forever, but you couldn’t do it. After seeing what had become of Damien and Celine, of having all of that rage and anger turn into fear and adrenaline as you raced down the stairs, following the sounds of gunshots while being terrified what you might find, running in to find Abe and Wilford with guns drawn, reliving the worst moment of your life again even if it didn’t turn out like that, it was no wonder you felt like your chest was trying to cave in along with the rest of the world. The corners of your eyes were burning, but more terrifying was the feeling that at any second…Why was it so hard to even breathe?

Abe stared, but then it wasn’t like he could take his eyes off of you. He could see the lines of your face, your shoulders and spine, shifting back and forth like you were trying to hold yourself in place. Like you were trying not to transform right here and now. More than that, you looked—afraid? Sad?

Alone.

Abe became aware of Wilford wildly gesturing to get his attention before making a gesture, and the hunter felt a brief surge of the same rage that had taken him just minutes before. What the hell did he think he was doing? Wilford shook his head and gestured again, before finally resorting to mouthing the words as large as possible without making a sound. Even then, Abe hesitated, unsure if it was because he didn’t want to take that kind of advice from him, or because he wanted so much to do it that it was almost terrifying.

Either way, it didn’t take long to give in and move closer to you.

You flinched backwards out of reflex, but Abe said, “It’s just me, Y/N. It’s just…”

He struggled for what to say before just pulling you into a hug. Something he’d never got the chance to do before it all went wrong. You pressed your face into his chest, focusing on the smell you wouldn’t have ever thought you’d miss in that life. Holding you, Abe could feel you slowly relax, the tension not quite disappearing but fading enough that you could sigh and speak again.

“I missed you, Abe.”

“I missed you too, Partner.”

“Oh, this is just lovely, isn’t it?” Wilford said, and Abe rocked back on his heels as he joined in the hug, his arms wrapping around the both of you. “Look at us, together again!”

“Where’s my gun?” Abe growled, already looking down to see where he had dropped it.

“Don’t,” you said, and Abe could hear the exhaustion in your voice. “Please, Abe, not now. You need to know what really happened that weekend, and I promise I’ll try to…”

You sighed, head already hurting at the idea of trying to explain everything that happened. Your chest ached again, but you could feel the strength leaving your body like it had the night before last when you changed back, as if staying human was too much of an effort on top of everything else.

But you just had to make it a little longer, that’s all.

“But we need to get out of here,” you continued. Google was still roaming the halls, and Dark… You grimaced at the thought and felt the fangs in your mouth for a moment before they receded back into your regular teeth. “Please.”

Abe hesitated. Wilford was right here, he could end this all right now, but you were clearly not okay. His mind went back to when he left you in that hallway, told you to leave while he went running after the Colonel. He had often thought about that moment, remembered the look on your face, your grief at losing your friend combined with the confusion and the pain from your own injuries, and what he would have done differently if he had been given the chance.

He just didn’t think it would be this hard, to say, “Okay. We’ll go.” To pick up his gun and holster it, to keep an arm around you for support. To walk away and leave Wilford there, smiling and waving as though seeing off a couple of old friends.

“Don’t worry, I’ll keep Googs busy for you,” Wilford said, and Abe felt the back of his neck itch with the desire to turn around and finish what he started. “I’ll make sure your name is added to the guest list, Abe, so feel free to come back any time!”

Abe made a noise at that but tried to hold back what he wanted to say for your sake. He had every intention of coming back here and settling this, once he was sure you were safe this time.

Wilford watched the two of you make your way down the hall, still waving until he stopped as if just noticing something was wrong. He rolled his shoulder back and then prodded it, his fingers finding the small hole in his shirt and then, with a bit of work, pulling out a used silver bullet.

“Huh.” Somewhere in the back of his mind, he had a vague thought that, if you hadn’t intervened and this bullet had hit where Abe had been aiming, it would have been very bad. There was also something familiar about that whole business, an old face reappearing in his dressing room…But that thought quickly passed and he tossed the misshapen piece of silver over his shoulder with a shrug before turning his mind back to what he was supposed to be doing.

Or he would have, if that little distraction hadn’t made him forget. All thought of you and the hunter had disappeared as soon as the two of you were out of sight, so he swayed on his feet for a moment in the hallway, mind blank. If it were really important, he was sure it would figure itself out on its own without him. Most things usually did.

“Wilford Motherloving Warfstache! What have I told you about shooting in the building?!”

Right. Kathryn, his producer. His very angry producer, judging by the look on her face. Wilford inhaled, an excuse ready on his lips, before he dove back into his dressing room and shut the door with the faint hope that maybe she’d just keep walking on. Maybe she was yelling at someone else who also just happened to be named Wilford Motherloving Warfstache too, in which case, rude, Wilford was pretty sure he had this name first.

Either way, keeping Google busy was something that would only occur to him days later, when he would decide the best way to do that was spill a martini down Google’s pants. Not exactly helpful to you, but the Jims would have a field day catching that moment on film.

For now, Abe walked you to the elevators and pressed the down arrow, although he wasn’t sure what the plan would be once you reached the lobby. Just walk out and hope no one was too worried about people getting out of here, although if they had already spotted him on the cameras…

“No, we need to go up,” you protested, pushing the up arrow. “To Studio…5, I think?”

You rubbed your eyes, trying to push back the headache forming behind them, and shook your head when Abe said, “No, we don’t. We need to get out of here, remember?”

“My friends—” you started, only for the stair well door to crash open as Jackie, followed closely by Jameson and Chase, came spilling out and froze at the sight of you and Abe. “Have really good timing? Jackie, what are you—”

You were cut off as Jameson pulled you into a hug and then stepped back to look you up and down before signing, “Are you okay? We heard shooting!”

“Wait, you know them?” Abe asked.

“We came as fast as we could,” Jackie said to you, but he was glaring at Abe, who could already tell this guy was going to be a problem. “What the hell happened?”

“You didn’t actually shoot anyone, did you?” Chase asked, eyeing the gun at Abe’s side.

“No,” Abe answered, probably sounding a little more defensive than he meant to.

“Long story,” you muttered. “But we should get out of here first.”

“Security’s looking for us,” Abe added. Well, him in particular, but Jackie had also been caught on camera even if they hadn’t IDed him yet. “They checked the cameras fast, too fast for one person they know walked back out again. Probably because the magician’s distraction was a little…”

“Much, yeah,” Jackie admitted. That card trick of Marvin’s had given them the space to get in, but something forgettable like asking the receptionist for directions would have also done the trick without alerting every security guard in the building. “Something to work on for next time, but how do we get out of here?”

“Well, the three of us have guest passes,” Chase pointed out. “It’s just the two of you we have to worry about.”

Jackie had a suggestion ready for that, and Abe saw it coming, but he was interrupted by the elevator doors finally sliding open to reveal it was already occupied. At first most of the group tensed, thinking it was one of the security guards until he spoke.

“Oh, hi,” Marvin said, looking around and taking them all in with a quick count. “Well, this is easier than I thought it would be. Get in, we can’t just hang around here all day.”

Abe exhaled slowly, his eyes narrowing into a glare that Jackie matched, and Marvin rolled his eyes as they all got in.

“Not my fault someone decided to start shooting,” Marvin remarked as he pressed the doors close button on the elevator over and over again until they slid shut. “Everyone is going to be swarming up here any second thanks to you, which should actually make it a little easier to walk out.”

Jackie said, “For you, maybe. Hunter and I don’t exactly have badges or illusions to help us blend in.”

“Like I was going to say, that’s easy,” Chase said. “They just saw you on the cameras, right? At a distance, probably not that great quality video, so all they’re working on is ‘guy in a hoodie’ and ‘bald guy with a black jacket.’ Just take those off, let us hold them, and JJ, let the angry guy borrow your hat. We keep our heads down on the way out and run if we have to.”

Jackie and Abe both hesitated, but Jameson shrugged and pulled off his hat. “He has a point.”

But you shook your head, eyes shut tight as you leaned against the elevator wall and wished it didn’t shake so much, that there was a window or some kind of vent or fresh air of any kind with this many people around you.

“Google said he had a file on Abe, so they know what his face looks like.”

Jackie gave the hunter an accusing stare as he asked, “There a reason this place has a file on you? Maybe something you should have told us before we came in here?”

“How should I know?!” Abe asked, before the realization hit. “Wait, this Google, what color is his shirt?”

“It’s…blue,” Chase answered, with an agreeing nod from Jameson. “But why does that matter?”

Because if it was the red one, then at least Abe would know why they knew him. It would make things a whole lot simpler, if he knew someone here was behind that loose end.

“They have a file on Abe for the same reason Wilford’s here and I’m on the guest list,” you answered, shaking the VIP badge hanging around your neck. “The studio manager, the one in charge of everything here, is Damien and Celine, or whatever’s left of them.”

Marvin slammed his hand on the emergency stop button, causing the elevator to immediately halt and everyone to stumble and catch themselves and each other while an alarm overhead began to go off.

“What are you doing?!” Abe said, his hand on your arm while Jameson was steadying you on the other side. “What happened to just walking out?!”

“New plan,” Marvin answered as he dropped to his hand and knees with a piece of chalk in hand. He drew a large symbol in the center of the elevator floor before scuttling around to draw a circle within the space the elevator provided, which meant pushing each of them out of the way in turn. “We are not taking any more chances, so teleport spell. Easier when we’re not moving. Now get in the circle, all of you, and try not to step on the chalk.”

“Didn’t you say this place would have something to stop people from doing this?” Jackie asked.

“To stop people from teleporting in, probably. Getting out though, why would anyone care about that?” Marvin looked at you, and when you met his stare through his sunglasses he asked, “Do you really think they’d let us leave?”

You sighed. After your talk with Dark, you weren’t sure of anything, and the scream of the alarm wasn’t making it any easier to think. “I don’t know.”

Marvin glanced at Jackie, who reluctantly nodded. Better not to risk it, if they could, not after what the twins did to you last time.

Once he was sure they were all in, Marvin stepped into the center of the circle and focused his energy. Around them, the chalk lit up with a brilliant blue light, reflecting off of the shiny walls of the elevator and giving them all a sickly color. To you, it was just a bright, colorless light that suddenly changed at the same second you heard Marvin’s breath catch.

The light in the elevator turned red before the circle suddenly drew in around the magician, whose head went back before he collapsed on the ground, flashes of red running up and down his body before they disappeared, taking the teleportation circle he had drawn with them.

“Marvin!”

The shout came from all sides, Jameson dropping to his knees first to look the magician over before looking up at the rest of you.

“He’s still breathing. I don’t know what he’s trying to say, though.”

There was a steady stream of words flowing from the magician’s mouth which to everyone else may have sounded like another one of his spells. You on the other hand could clearly hear that it sounded like every swear word Marvin knew, spoken as fast as possible under his breath, although you could only guess that was the case considering he had left English behind a while ago for German and had taken a detour into what now sounded like Gaelic. He was clearly in pain, but also not too injured from whatever just happened.

Jackie knelt to check his vitals, only to have to steady Jameson as the elevator floor suddenly jolted. The alarm stopped, and you all became aware of the elevator moving downward again just before the doors slid open to reveal the hallway to the lobby, along with Google and three armed guards who were all aiming into the elevator.

There was a moment of silence before Google said, “Intruders located. Lethal force suggested.”

His eyes changed as he stepped forward toward Abe or Marvin and Jackie on the ground you weren’t sure, and you could feel the hum of his machinery whirring up to do something before you blocked his path.

“Back off,” you growled, and it was a literal growl as you could feel the wolf taking over, as your features started to blur and shift. You felt the metal under his skin as you pushed him back out of the elevator, could smell the fear on the three all too human guards, could hear the others behind you holding their breath in shock as the fur began to show, as your teeth and claws came out. “You—”

Whatever you were about to say was cut off as one of the guards panicked and fired his gun, the blast of noise hurting far more than the punch of it hitting your stomach. It knocked the breath out of you, and for a moment everything seemed to slow.

Abe.

Out of reflex or instinct, your hand reached back and grabbed Abe’s wrist, stopping him before he could grab his gun and make himself a target. Your grip was too tight at first, and you tried to relax, to give him and the others behind you some signal that you were okay, even as underneath the ringing you could hear Jackie leaping to his feet and the panic of the others. Your mind felt like it was running too fast and too slow at the same time, but you felt strangely calm.

It was just a regular bullet, after all.

None of them managed to move faster than Google though, who without hesitation reached over and twisted the guard’s wrist with a sickening sound that was followed by his gun hitting the ground and a whimper of pain.

“Shooting VIPs is strictly forbidden,” Google said.

VIPs. The adrenaline racing through your system hit that word and stumbled across an idea that was completely ridiculous and stupid, mostly because you had a faint hope it might actually work.

“Google,” you said, drawing the magitek unit’s attention to you. It hurt, talking, each word a reminder of the sting in your stomach that was too slowly fading. “VIPs are allowed to bring guests, right? Is there a limit on how many I can have?”

Google considered the question while the other two guards just stared and exchanged looks, both very aware of their coworker lying in pain on the ground and the problem of this clearly non-human person who was still talking despite being doubled over a gunshot wound. “No, there is currently no limit in the policy. A concerning oversight that should be corrected.”

“But until then, there isn’t one. Which means—” You stopped to hiss slightly, your grip tightening on Abe’s wrist until the next surge of pain dimmed a little to continue, “—that as of now, everyone in that elevator is a guest of mine, understand? And if they’re guests, then that means they can’t be intruders.”

You could feel the fur start to settle and disappear, the claws and fangs slowly begin to retract. Too late to undo what they had all seen, but you couldn’t think about that right now. Even if a small part of you was wondering why Abe hadn’t pulled away yet, or if that flash of anger and what you could be would be enough to change how the others looked at you.

“Your logic appears to be…correct,” Google said, but his expression said he was still trying to find the hole in it. “But they do not have visitor passes.”

You hesitated, but Chase stepped forward and said, “That’s right, which you told us means they should be escorted out of the building, right? And since we’re already on our way out…”

“Understood,” Google said, sounding almost disappointed that he wasn’t able to break a few more bones. “Follow me.”

One of the security guards stepped forward and said, “Hold on, you can’t just—”

He paused, his eyes going to somewhere in the elevator behind you, and he swallowed and looked back at the other guard still standing who muttered back, “I’m not paid enough for this.”

Besides, it would be easier to blame Google than try to get involved at this point, or that seemed to be the guards’ point of view as they helped their third comrade up to his feet and out of the way.

Jackie picked up Marvin, who protested in a slurred voice, and you let go of Abe’s wrist only to find the hunter slipping his arm around you, his hand enveloping yours over the wound underneath.

“Lean on me,” he murmured under his breath as Jameson moved to support you on your other side.

“I’m fine,” you muttered, even though that was an absolute lie. “It wasn’t silver.”

It was Abe’s turn for his grip to tighten, holding you closer as the strange group followed the magitek unit across the lobby floor. He didn’t want to think about what he had just seen, the shot that was an echo of what his imagination brought to mind every time it went back to that night.

“At least until they’re not watching,” Abe pleaded, aware of the guards still in the lobby, the receptionist behind her desk. Aware that they had already seen you in your in between state, the fur and the fangs and something else he hadn’t really seen in you before now: anger.

You leaned against him, too tired to argue, in too much pain to pretend you weren’t, and asked, “Does it really matter anymore?”

Abe glanced over your head at Jameson, whose expression reflected what he was already thinking. You could hear Chase somewhere behind you, apologizing in a low voice to the guards before Jackie hissed at him to hurry up, just as you could hear the ticking of Jameson’s pocket watch that felt slightly out of sync with the steady noise coming from Google as he stopped at the glass doors of the studio and turned back to face your group.

“I am required to thank you for your time here at Dark Entertainment Studios,” he said, his eyes running over the six of you before focusing on you in particular. “I have also been asked to issue you your permanent VIP card for future visits, as well as a message from the studio manager.”

You stared at him in silence before taking the laminated card and the folded piece of paper, unable to think of anything to say before Abe and Jameson walked you out with the other three just behind.

Outside, you blinked in the sunlight and found it did nothing to get rid of the spots appearing on the edges of your vision, and let Abe and Jameson lead you in the direction of the parking lot while your aching, weary mind could only focus on the note Google had handed you.

Think about what I said, Y/N. And know that you’re always welcome here.

No training required.

-Dark

You recognized the handwriting, which made it sting that much more as you remembered notes in Damien’s handwriting, passed to you in crowded lecture halls or left on your desk at work early in the morning or after a rough full moon. A fresh little reminder that the man you thought you knew, that man…

You wanted to be furious, angry, to let all those feelings he left you with come spilling out of your head so they would just leave you alone, but as you stared at the note you just felt so tired, so done with it all. You just wanted to close your eyes and forget it all, for a little while at least…

Abe pulled your hand down, his concerned face swimming in your vision as his mouth moved, saying words that seemed out of sync with what you heard before it disappeared entirely with the rest of the world.

Abe had been arguing with Jackie about which car to take you to when he felt the shudder run up and down your body. Jameson stopped on your other side and looked at Abe, his eyes filled with panic, but neither of them could say or do anything to get through to you in time to keep you conscious or to stop you from crashing to the sidewalk in the shape of the wolf.

((End of Part 24. Thank you for reading. I’m sorry to end it there, and I had hoped to have the next part ready soon, but I don’t think that’s going to happen. So just to be clear in the mean time, the turning back into the wolf thing isn’t going to be nearly as long-lasting as it was in the beginning, and Marvin is (mostly) fine. He just really, really sucks at flirting and rescue operations, so that’s something for him to work on before the end of the story.

I may try to get the rest of the story written before I start posting again, but we’ll see. Technically, we’re getting near the end, but there’s a lot left to happen and I haven’t exactly been very good at sticking to an outline, even if I like where the detours have gone (this whole studio section was supposed to be completely different, for example). For now though, it’s going to be another break until the next part is posted.

Scratch that, Part 25: Catching Up is now up.

Tagging: @silver-owl413 @skyewardlight @withjust-a-bite @blackaquokat @catgirlwarrior @neverisadork @luna1350 @oh-so-creepy @weirdfoxalley @95fangirl @lilalovesinternet-l @thepoolofthedead @a-bit-dapper @randomartdudette @geekymushroom @cactipresident @hotcocoachia @purple-anxiety-blog @shyinspiredartist @avispate @missksketch @autumnrambles @authorracheljoy @liafoxyfox @hidinginmybochard ))

#markiplier #jacksepticeye #fanfiction #werewolf au #monster hunter au #abe the detective #wkm district attorney #wilford warfstache #googleplier #marvin the magnificent #jackieboy man #flashy and cool isn't always the answer marvin #remember when Damien was the one who could help keep y/n human when it was getting to be too much?

[galactic-magick]

Kiss Me: Logan x Reader

Request: Hmmm. So from the prompt list, maybe number 7 (“If you don’t kiss me right this second I swear I’ll strangle you”) with childhood best friends to lovers logan x reader? Thank you!

Summary: You have a summer party with the sides and come to terms with your feelings for Logan.

Words: 2100+                                        

Warnings: swears, some kissy kissy

Author’s Notes: I got a little carried away with this one XD This is probably the longest one shot I’ve ever written lol, hope y’all like it!

Taglist: @luluwinchester​ @nerve-ous-love​ @zarieslayer​ @amayaisokay​

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“Food’s ready everyone!” Patton calls, sliding the last burger onto the serving plate. He’s always been fantastic on the grill, and today he made pretty much everything he knows how. He made burgers, veggie burgers, hot dogs, kabobs, and everything in between.

It’s been a while since you’ve had a fun gathering with the sides, so when he suggested having a summer party in the backyard you all were ecstatic. You’ve all been friends for years, but sadly life gets in the way sometimes and you don’t get to hang out as much anymore.

As much as you’re happy to see everyone there, you can’t help but be extra excited to see Logan. He’s your best friend, and has been through thick and thin. He’s always the first to check in on you and help you out whenever you need it and you truly feel like you can be yourself around him. He lifts you up yet isn’t afraid to be honest with you. He balances you out perfectly.

“Hey guys!” you wave.

“Y/N! So glad you could make it!” Patton runs over and gives you a hug.

Virgil and Janus wave back and Roman and Remus greet you as well.

“Hello,” Logan nods with a smile.

You skip to him as your grin brightens, “Hello,”

“It’s very nice to see you,”

“Of course it is,” you laugh. “It’s nice to see you too. How’ve you been?”

“Very well. Everything appears to be working smoothly. You?”

“I’ve been alright,”

If you’re not mistaken, he’s gotten even more handsome since the last time you saw him. Is that possible?

Wait, what are you thinking?

No, no, it’s fine. It’s totally normal to find your friends attractive, right? You’re sure he’d say the same about you, and it wouldn’t be weird at all.

But damn does his smile make your heart flutter, and the way his slightly grown out bangs fall around his forehead gives you an irresistible urge to touch it. As you grab your food together his hand brushes against yours just for a moment, but it sends shivers down your spine for several more. He makes you laugh whether or not he’s trying to and fascinates you with his extensive knowledge on various topics. He makes you happier than anyone on the planet.

But of course none of that really means anything, right? Never mind the fact that since seeing him today you haven’t been able to get the thought of kissing him out of your head, how badly you want to just whisk him away to the side of the house, grab his shirt and make out with him ‘til you can’t breathe.

Alright, maybe that’s not normal.

It’s not like it would ever happen anyway, you’re sure he sees you as just a friend and you’re honestly fine with that. You’d never want to lose your best friend simply because you caught feelings.

As everyone finishes up their meal, you notice Remus running to the porch and shuffling around in a trash bag.

You turn to Logan, “What’s he doing?”

“I’ve found it’s best not to wonder,” he rolls his eyes. “It’s probably nothing of importance…NO WAIT WATCH OUT!”

Before you know it, you’re completely soaked head to toe and swivel around to see Remus pointing a huge water gun directly at you.

“WATER FIGHT!!” he screeches, pulling out more guns from the bag and tossing them to everyone.

Logan got a bit wet too, but not nearly as much as you, “Oh, Y/N, I’m so sorry, allow me to grab you some towels-“

“No, no, it’s fine, it’s just water,” you glare at Remus. “Hopefully,”

“Neither the color or smell indicate that it’s not,”

You chuckle, grabbing a squirter from the ground, “Come on, help me get back at him,”

“I really shouldn’t, I would prefer to stay as dry as possible,”

“Come on,” you grab his hand and pull him up. “Please?”

He stares at you helplessly, searching for an excuse but unable to resist, “Alright,”

You smile, grabbing him another gun and racing across the yard.

Patton starts filling up some water balloons while Roman flings them around, no one can tell whose side he’s on because he’s barely hitting anything. Janus is taking advantage of his extra arms by having a super soaker in each and aiming at literally everyone. Virgil has teamed up with you and Logan and focuses everything he’s got on Remus.

“Roman I must say, your aim is absolutely preposterous,” Logan comments.

“Oh, would you like to try it? I highly doubt you could do any better,”

“Actually, yes,” he grins, taking a water balloon and throwing it directly at Remus’s face.

Everyone’s mouth falls open.

“Where’d you learn how to do that?” Roman gasps, completely baffled.

“It’s not too difficult, just a few physics calculations and some practice,”

“Can you show me?” you ask, taking another balloon and squinting your eye towards Remus.

“Of course,” he places his hands on your shoulders and straightens out your stance. You desperately hope he doesn’t notice you stiffening and holding your breath from his touch. “The key is to have your arm in line with your eyesight. Even when you pull it back, if you’re not focused the follow through won’t work,”

You nod, gulping a bit and trying not to shake.

“Okay, now try it. It’s alright if you don’t hit him immediately,” his palm stays on your back as you throw it, hitting Remus’s leg.

“I hit him!” you squeal.

“Wonderful! Now we just have to work on aiming a bit higher-“ he steps in front of you as Remus darts a balloon back in your direction. His shirt gets drenched and Remus cackles.

“Oh no, Logan-“

His expression isn’t angry surprisingly. Instead, there’s a fire in his eyes that you’ve never seen before, the face of someone genuinely having fun.

He smirks at you, the way he always does when the gears are turning in his brain.

“Patton, can I see that?” he points towards the hose he’s been using to fill the balloons. Patton nods and Logan gets to work, using all your water guns to build a big canon and positioning it towards Remus. He turns it up to the highest pressure possible and blasts him.

It doesn’t hurt him of course, and even if it did he probably wouldn’t care. He merely falls back laughing, rolling around on the ground and covering himself with dirt and grass.

“Wow,” you sigh, eyes wide.

“You did ask me to help you get back at him, did you not?”

“I most certainly did,”

“Well,” he sets everything down. “I hope I delivered,”

“You did…” your gaze is locked on him. Who knew such a silly water war could make you so much more in love with him, especially with the way his wet shirt clings to him and the droplets on his glasses-

“Are you quite alright?” Logan inquires, concerned.

“Mhmmm,”

“Who wants to make some s’mores?” Patton calls, snatching some firewood. Everyone agrees so he gets it started, wanting to give it time to turn into hot coals. He grabs some crackers, chocolate, and marshmallows from inside and some sticks.

Logan gets towels for everyone and tenderly wraps one around your shoulders. The dampness is still cold, but the sweet gesture warms you up a bit.

Would it be crazy if you told him how you’ve been feeling tonight? Would it be completely irresponsible to flirt with him a bit? It feels wrong, but it feels more right than wrong. You just know he’s the one you’re meant to be with. You can’t imagine yourself with anyone else. He’s your best friend after all, and you’re sure any future partner you could ever have would be threatened by how close you are anyway. If you simply dated each other that wouldn’t be a problem.

But you’re terrified. You can feel your heart pulsing through your fingertips as you hold the marshmallow over the coals. The hot flames make your face burn and you can’t tell the difference between your sweat and the water covering you from earlier. You grow quiet, and Logan notices.

“Is there something wrong?”

Thankfully the other sides are engaged in their own conversation, so they don’t put any attention on you.

“I’m fine, just a bit tired,” you say, pulling your marshmallow away and squishing it between your graham crackers and chocolate.

“Did I mention that you look exquisite today?”

You almost choke on your sandwich, “What?”

“And I assure you our little water detour didn’t change that,”

“Oh, um,” you wipe your mouth with a napkin. “Thank you. You look really good too,”

“I hope that’s alright for me to say, please forgive me if I’ve crossed a line,”

“No!” you shake your head a bit too hard. “I mean, it’s fine. You can say that as much as you want, if that is what you want. Of course you don’t have to,”

Shit.

A smile tugs at his lips, as if he’s actually charmed by your bumbling, “Would you care to go inside? I believe Patton has quite a few card and board games if you’re interested,”

You nod. It’s getting a bit chilly outside anyway, and maybe being alone with him will settle your nerves a bit. Your newly discovered feelings for him aside, he’s always the one person who makes you most comfortable.

He grabs the checkers and sets it up on the table next to the couch, “You can go first,”

You move your first piece and the game begins. He doesn’t hold back of course, he’s not the type to let anyone win on purpose, but he doesn’t rub it in your face either. He makes you smile the entire time and you almost forget how anxious you were before.

That is, until the game finishes and it all comes rushing back. He won, and he looks absolutely adorable. Your stomach is in knots and you just want to look at him this satisfied forever.

“Hey, Logan?”

“Yes?”

“Do you ever wonder if we’d work well in a relationship? Like a romantic one?”

“I…” he considers it, his cheeks flushing a deep pink. “I can’t say I’ve never contemplated the idea. Why do you ask?”

“I was just wondering,” you shrug it off, assuming he’ll want to move on from the topic.

“I think we would,” he says confidently, yet still not able to meet your eyes. “If I’m being completely honest, which I assure you I am, I’ve thought about it many times,”

Your heart pounds in your chest.

“You’re wonderful, Y/N. I admire everything about you. You’re everything I want and value in both a friend and a partner, and I daresay even more. If you ever wanted to escalate our relationship to a deeper level, I would oblige immediately. I truly would,”

You don’t really know what to say. He just confessed his affections for you better than you ever could’ve, and quite frankly you don’t think you could top it. It feels like your heart is beating faster and slower at the same time, the relief of knowing and the panic of what happens next. Obviously he wants you to say yes, right?

But all you can think about is how much you want his lips on yours.

You meet his gaze, “If you don’t kiss me right this second I swear I’ll strangle you,”

“I’m sorry?”

“I love you. It took me a long time to realize, but I know it now. I love you,” you release all the nervous energy. “Now please just kiss me,”

“I…I love you too,” his eyes dart around your face and his grin lights up. It’s as if he can’t take you all in not matter how hard he tries. Nothing in the universe could ever compare to you or what he feels for you.

He kisses you gently at first, resting his hand on your neck. His lips taste like chocolate from the s’mores and they’re perfectly warm.

He pulls away, “Is this okay? Is this what you want?”

“Oh my gosh yes please don’t stop,” you pull him back to you, wrapping your arms around him and kissing him harder. He becomes more self-assured as you go, running his fingers through your hair and holding your waist to bring you closer.

He apologizes when his glasses hit you, but you don’t care. All you can focus on is the fact that his body is on yours and you’re finally kissing the love of your life.

After a while you fall back on the cushions breathless. Logan props himself up on his elbows and grasps your hands, holding them to his cheeks. You smile up at him, giggling a bit.

“I can’t believe we waited so long to do this,” he says, kissing your palm.

You smirk, “Well let’s not wait to do it again,”

#logan sanders x reader #sanders sides x reader #logan sanders #sanders sides #ts logan

[thekytchensynk]

Business Lunch (Fictober Prompt 15)

Prompt number: 15

Fanfiction Fandom: Ducktales

Rating: G

Warnings: No warnings

Read this story on AO3

The letter had arrived without a return address, which had set off some warning bells for Fenton and ALL of the warning bells for his mother.

"What is this?" She gestured to it. "What sort of fool thinks we'd-" She trailed off as Fenton just opened it the way he would any other piece of junk mail, giving him a look of disbelief mixed with anxiety that, once upon a time, would have meant he was grounded, big-time.

"No one would send me a bomb or something through the mail," he argued.

But it didn’t turn out to be either junk mail or some sort of booby trap. It was, instead, a letter inviting Fenton to a “lunch meeting to discuss a potential scientific opportunity.” It didn’t even use a name, just starting “To the lucky resident” instead.

His mother’s eyes further narrowed. She didn’t even need to say anything -- he knew the contents made her even more suspicious. And to be fair, Fenton couldn’t blame her. To a detective, this had to look like step one in either a scam or crime.

But he’d already decided to check it out. The “meeting” was to be held at a fairly popular cafe called Serene Subsistence, so the chances of someone trying something were low. And if the person knew where he lived, they also probably knew he was Gizmoduck -- he wasn’t sure anyone in the neighborhood didn’t. So if they did try something, he had ways to handle the trouble.

So the next day, Fenton made his way to the cafe. Since it was a nice spring day and since the letter hadn’t specified any particular seating arrangements, he chose to sit at a small outdoor table in front of the place, shaded by a blue-striped umbrella and looking through the minimalistic menu.

Fenton hadn’t eaten at Serene Subsistence before, and now that he’d arrived, he sort of understood why. His instincts must have seen something in the decor, or in the sign design, and warned him off. Instead of describing the various options, the menu gave each one just a picture, a name -- something like “the Green Continent” or “the October Surprise” -- and a small list of icons to indicate whether the meal was low-salt, low-fat, gluten-free, all-organic or a host of other things. Huge swaths of white space surrounded each entry.

“You’d think they could put a few lists of ingredients,” Fenton mused out loud, squinting at the menu as though that might reveal hitherto unseen text.

“Awww. come on, where’s the fun in that?”

“You.” The word was out of his mouth before he could stop it, disgusted and angry and very out of place in this hip cafe. If that hadn’t drawn people’s attention, the way the glassware and silverware rattled as he slammed the menu to the tabletop would have.

Mark Beaks waved a hand at him dismissively as he pulled up the selfie camera on his phone and snapped a picture of himself in front of the table. “Come on, calm down, we’re not here to fight. We’re here to talk business.”

“I wouldn’t be here if I’d known I’d be talking business with you,” Fenton said, enunciating hard to prevent his full anger from leaking through.

Beaks grinned at him as though he were a kid who just got his times tables right. “Of course. That’s why I didn’t put my name on it. Uh-duh.” He pulled one of the other chairs at the table out and plopped into it without looking, eyes already back on the phone. “So, yeah, thanks for not looking into that too much, I would have felt really stupid if I get here and you hadn’t shown up.”

Fenton would have loved to have done that. He would have loved to be anywhere but here. Just showing up had given this arrogant tech addict a win, and this guy liked nothing better than wins. Which left him which the difficult task of trying to decide if leaving or staying would give this guy another win.

Or, which would be better for him. After all … what did Beaks want? Why would he be here? If he was plotting something, odds were good that just letting him talk would get it out into the air. Would that be worth dealing with a bit of Beaks to find that out? Maybe stop something before it started?

With a sigh that couldn’t even contain all of the disappointment he felt at doing this, Fenton sat back down. “All right,” he said. “What do you want?”

“Simple. I’m headhunting.”

For a brief moment -- blame too many supervillains -- Fenton thought he was talking like … literal headhunting. Like decapitating people. Luckily, before he could let his reaction to that get onto his face, the clinical part of his mind reminded him that this was a business meeting, and that in business parlance, headhunting had a whole other meaning.

“So, what, are you checking someone’s references?” Fenton asked, trying not-terribly-hard to cut the venom out of his voice. “Looking for recommendations? People who might be willing to build a body-bulking villain serum to-” His mind put two and two together and came up with an answer he did not like.”Are you trying to hire Dr. Gearloose away? Because whatever his reputation, he’s very loyal to the-”

“Gear wha?” Beaks finally looked up from his phone again, and he looked and sounded so puzzled that Fenton felt sure it had to be real. Any skill Beaks had at deception didn’t really center on fooling others with an act so much as just ignoring most people so you never had to worry about fooling them.

Despite that Dr. Gearloose not being the target was good news, Fenton found himself somewhat insulted on his mentor’s behalf. “He’s one of the greatest scientific minds on the planet,” Fenton said. “But you’d never get him away from his lab.”

“Ohhhhh! The guy whose stuff always goes evil!” Beaks said, looking pleased at having worked this out. “Yeah, no. Not interested. Scrooge can keep that stuff. Not good for the Waddle image when things suddenly go all…” He finished the thought by curling one hand into a claw-like shape and making a rasping sound that Fenton assumed was meant to personify “evil.”

But if he really, honestly didn’t care about Dr. Gearloose … “So why are you here?”

“For you-” something about the way he said it made Fenton think there was initially meant to be another word there -- his name probably. But Beaks had probably forgotten it. It was certainly on brand. “I said it in the letter, right?”

“The letter was vague,” Fenton pointed out. “And it’s not like the two of us are exactly on good terms.”

Again Beaks wave a hand, as though dismissing the entirely valid criticism out of hand. “Past is past,” he said. “Just let it go. I want to offer you a spot at my company and I don’t want any misunderstandings to get in the way of that.”

“Misunderstandings?” Fenton’s voice rose again, drawing more stares. Forcing his tone back to an annoyed murmur, he added, “Like when you put countless lives in danger just for your … your click count?”

“Clicks? What, no,” Beaks said, seeming scandalized. But Fenton counted in his head. Three. Two. One. “It’s likes, man. Engagement is key. Clicks. Who even clicks on something anymore…”

“Whatever,” Fenton said.

“But yeah, I meant misunderstandings like that,” Beaks added, almost as an afterthought. “We just need to move past that and see if we can come to a beneficial arrangement.”

The absolute nerve of this guy. “Listen,” he said, and this time it really was a bare whisper. “The suit will never go anywhere near you or your-”

“Wait, wait wait.” Beaks interrupted, shaking his head. “Not that. You. I got to hear some of what you showed off to Dee on that infiltration mission, some seriously interesting stuff in there. We could use someone with that sort of brainpower in our labs.”

That brought him up short. Him? The offer still wasn’t tempting, but that one reveal had changed the entire perception of their conversation. This was about him? About science?

And also about the info he learned from spying on what you thought was a date, the logical part of him mind reminded him unhelpfully.

“You want me to … invent things? For Waddle?” Fenton repeated, just to make sure. This felt wrong, like a trap. It seemed like something that might actually be part of a real business, not the sham that Beaks seemed to run.

Beaks was back on the phone again, and Fenton would have assumed he’d checked out entirely if he didn’t keep on answering questions and comments. “Well, yeah,” he said. “The awesome Waddle devices that trendy young influencers just have to have don’t invent themselves, you know. Slap our name and logo on them and boom! Instant must-have gear. Something for the shareholders to talk about. I gotta prove I can still bring in the cool -- and the cash, too.”

Ah. “So anything that the people in your lab, you take credit for?”

“Duh.” Beaks looked across the table at him, and for the first time in this entire conversion, it felt like he was actually being serious. “People don’t just want the goods, they want to feel like they’re buying into something larger than life. If I sold our phones under some other random name with a stodgy old buzzard as the CEO, you know what sort of market share that would get? None. Because people don’t just want a phone, they want a phone from me. It’s the same reason people react so strongly to you when the cops could usually do the exact same thing. Because they weren’t just saved, they were saved by a hero.”

He hadn’t thought about it that way before, and now, he sort of wished he never had. A hero? His mother was a hero. She’d saved as many people as he, probably more, and she also did the things needed to bring them to trial, to let justice do its work. All he could really do was stop what was right in front of him. Maybe Beaks was right about how it worked in business. But that was maybe the best reason of all to just stop listening to the idiocy that came out of his mouth. All it did was validate Beaks’ own sense of importance.

He stood. Started to leave. “Thanks, but I’ve got to go.”

A chair scraped. “Hey!” Beaks’ indignant voice followed him.

He felt the hand on his shoulder, trying to tighten with some degree of command or control, but it felt laughable. Weak. And then Beaks said, “Hey, amigo, hold on, tell me what the problem is. We can work something out.”

Whirling, Fenton said, “If I was interested, what would the starting pay be?”

Except he said it in Spanish. Not as fluid as his mother’s but still far more dancing than that one thudding word when Beaks has uttered it.

He expected the confusion -- the tech CEO wasn’t fooling anyone into thinking he could actually speak another language. But he got the other thing he expected to see almost immediately. The narrowing of the eyes. The darkening of the expression, as anger took the edge off Beaks’ carefree attitude. He’d been asked a question, he didn’t understand the question, and he thought not being able to answer it made him look foolish. That more than anything else told him all he needed to know.

“All right. Not interested, thank you.”

He didn’t even wait around to see if Beaks reacted to that. He just walked away.

#fictober20 #15 #ducktales #fanfic #fenton crackshell cabrera #mark beaks

[notalwaysthevillian]

Parent Trapped

Warnings: Friendly teasing, anxiety, a little bit of self-deprecation

Pairings: Eventual Romantic Remile, platonic LAMP

Word Count: ~2.1k

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Masterlist

Chapter 7: Spring

The winter came and went. The kids exchanged gifts with each other just before school ended for break. The Sanders flew to New York to have Christmas with Roman’s birthmom, while the Picanis stayed in town, opting to celebrate the holidays in their new home.

Soon enough, the snow was melting and spring sports and clubs were starting.

“DAD!” Roman screeched as he burst through the door one afternoon, clutching a few papers in his hands.

Logan, Virgil, and Patton were right behind him, carefully taking off their shoes and lining them up on the rug.

“I was taking a nap.” Remy grumbled as Roman dragged him into the living room.

“You’re always napping! And I have news!”

“Good or bad news?” Patton asked as they filed in and sat on the couch.

Roman grinned at him. “Amazing news!”

Once they were all settled on the couch, Roman flipped the paper in his hands around. “We’re doing Into the Woods for the spring musical!!”

“...what is it about?”

A gasp fell from Roman’s mouth at Virgil’s question. “You mean - you haven’t seen it?!”

Virgil shook his head, a small smile on his face. “I’m not really a musical guy, Ro.”

“You watch Disney movies!”

“That’s the exception!”

Roman heaved a dramatic sigh. “Into the Woods is about some of the classic fairy tales. Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood, and Rapunzel. But it’s kinda dark, which is why I’d assumed you’d seen it, you heathen.”

Virgil stuck his tongue out at him. “Then why don’t you show it to me, ass-”

“Virgil!”

“Dad’s not even here and Mr. Sanders doesn’t care.”

Remy tapped the top of Virgil’s head with a finger. “Hey. Do as I say, not as I do.”

“Are you gonna join anything, Mr. Emo?” Roman teased, earning a pillow to the face.

As Roman sputtered, Virgil shrugged. “I don’t know. I gotta check.”

“Let us know when the meeting is and we’ll join you.” Logan said from the other end of the couch. Virgil gave him a thumbs up. “As for myself, I’m going to join the astronomy club. Remind me to thank your dad for helping me out with that.”

“I can tell you right now that he’d say it was no problem.” Patton gave Logan a smile, which he returned. “I think I wanna join cooking club.”

“Dad, you should join cooking club.” Another pillow hit Roman in the face, causing him to sputter.

Virgil and Remy high-fived each other before Remy turned to his son. “Just because you’re right doesn’t mean you should say it.”

“Virgil, perhaps you should try a sport.” Logan cut in, hoping to stop the rain of pillows. Roman gave him an appreciative look. “It might help get rid of some of your nervous energy. Obviously it won’t get rid of all of it, but it certainly would help with some of it. In addition to that, it would keep you physically healthy, which could assist with your mental health.”

Virgil couldn’t help but smile. “Lo, did you do research for me?”

“Of course I did. You’re my friend.” Ignoring the chorus of ‘awws’ from the other people in the room, the loudest coming from Patton, Logan turned to his brother. “Please tell me I won’t be your rehearsal buddy.”

“Nah, you’re off the hook. Patton already offered, remember?”

Patton nodded. “I don’t mind doing lines with you. There’s always some waiting time in cooking!”

As the two started discussing what song and monologue Roman would use to audition, Logan moved over to Virgil’s side. He had the school website pulled up on his phone to the spring sports page.

“Is there anything that appeals to you?”

Virgil scanned the list. He wasn’t the biggest fan of anything that could get him seriously injured - which took out baseball and lacrosse. Tennis and volleyball were out too, considering he tended to duck things coming at him rather than hit them back. Which left two things.

“Swimming and track seem okay.” He said, pointing them out on the list. “I’m not a very strong swimmer though, so I guess track?”

“You do seem to have a powerful fight or flight reflex.” Virgil could practically hear the gears turning in Logan’s head as he spoke. “That would account for some speed, though it would likely only do that when your response is activated…”

Remy coughed, getting his son’s attention. “You are not scaring Virgil before the track meets to get him to run faster.”

“It was just an observation!”

“Logan, most of your observations lead to hypotheses, which then lead to experiments.” Remy got off the couch, heading out of the room. “No experiments on siblings or friends.”

Pouting, Logan settled deeper into the couch. “Fine.”

After the four of them had figured out which meetings they wanted to go to, they parted ways.

Logan started to head to his room, stopped immediately by Roman.

“And just where are you going?”

“To do my homework.”

Roman got up, grabbing Logan’s wrist before he could run. “Nope, you’re going to do it out here. That way you can help me if I need it, and I can keep an eye on you. Mr. Picani told you not to overwork yourself, remember?”

“Yes, but -”

“Emile’s a smart guy, you should listen to him.”

The boys looked up as Remy re-entered the room, grabbing a blanket off the couch. Logan raised an eyebrow at him. “I thought you two didn’t get along?”

“We’re making an effort.” Was the response that came over Remy’s shoulder before he disappeared again.

“I won’t be able to focus if you start singing Disney songs.” Logan said, slowly trying to pull himself free from Roman’s grasp.

The grip only tightened. “Then I won’t sing them. And we’ll be using the Pomodoro Technique so that you have to take breaks.”

“You know the Pomodoro Technique?”

Roman rolled his eyes, dragging his brother over to the coffee table. “Of course, that’s how I study. Do you really think I can pay attention to anything for longer than twenty minutes?”

“That doesn’t seem to be an issue for movies.” Logan teased, earning a nudge from his brother.

“Whatever, nerd. Just study.”

True to his word, Roman forced Logan to take breaks when the timer went off. After four bouts of studying, they broke to eat some dinner.

“Normally we’d go back to studying now, but I’m not counting dinner as a break.” Roman told him after they’d cleaned up. “Stay here, I got something at the library for you.”

“Roman, you know I don’t enjoy fantasy novels!”

“Just wait!”

Logan sighed. He was glad that Roman had thought of him enough to get him a library book, but he knew his brother’s taste. Roman tended to only read high fantasy while Logan preferred the mystery novels. Particularly ones that he could figure out before the big twist was revealed.

It was a shock when Roman bounded back down the stairs, an astronomy book in his hands. He held it out to Logan, grinning at the surprise on his brother’s face. “You said you wanted to join the Astronomy Club. I figured you’d like to know some things before the first meeting.”

“Thank you.” Logan took the book from Roman’s hands, immediately shuffling through the pages.

The next day at lunch, Logan was telling them all about what he’d learned from the book.

“Did you know our sun is technically considered a Dwarf star?”

As Logan rambled on about Dwarf, Giant, and Supergiant stars to Virgil, Patton couldn’t help but smile. He whispered to Roman, “It was a really good idea for you to get that book for him. Dad said that he wasn’t sure about Astronomy Club at first, but he seems like he’s going to love it now.”

“I asked the librarian for the biggest book on stars they had.” Roman popped a few grapes into his mouth. “They had to go get a stepstool to get it down from the highest shelf.”

Laughing, they tuned back into the other conversation.

“So, the spring sports meetings are today...one of you will go with me to the track meeting, right?”

“I’m free.”

“As am I.”

“Me too!”

Virgil shifted in his seat. “You don’t all have to go if you don’t want to.”

“Why not? It would be informative.” Logan said, glancing at the other two.

Roman shrugged. “I can check out the hot track guys.”

“We gotta ride home together anyway, silly!” Patton flashed his brother a smile.

Relaxing, Virgil let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. “Thanks guys.”

Once the bell rang they all headed off to their next classes, promising to meet up after school on the front steps.

Virgil ended up getting their first, having speed walked out of his last class. He leaned against the railing, doing his best to keep his cool. But he couldn’t help his anxiety bubbling up, making his thoughts swirl.

Thankfully, both Logan and Patton had anticipated this, showing up at the same time. Roman wasn’t too far behind them, completing their group of four.

“Where’s the meeting?” Logan asked.

Virgil’s eyes flew wide. “Oh my god I never figured out where the meeting was.”

As the other two immediately started reassuring Virgil and trying to calm him down, Roman pulled a sheet of paper out of his backpack. “This says it’s in the gym with Coach Leo.”

“Where did you even get that?”

Roman shrugged. “I like knowing what’s going on at school.”

Now that Virgil was much calmer, the four of them headed to the gym. There were a few other sports meetings in there, grouped up around the room. There were only a few kids there for track, Ted being one of them. He waved as they joined him.

“Are all of you going out for track?”

Roman shook his head. “I like exercise, but sports aren’t really my thing.”

“I’d just trip over all the hurdles.”

Logan simply shook his head.

“I’m the only one of us joining.” Virgil said.

Ted gave him a smile. “Cool. Maybe we can carpool to meets and stuff.”

“Good to see you boys!” Coach Leo said, making Virgil jump. “Who’s joining the team.”

Virgil raised his hand, his voice failing him for a moment. “I am, sir - Coach.”

“We’re glad to have you on the team.”

“Don’t I have to try out?” Virgil looked completely confused.

Coach Leo laughed, before bending down to their level. “Yes, you do. But I’ve seen you in gym class. You’re a fast kid, I have no doubts that you’ll make the team with ease. And if you don’t make the team, you can always help me out if you want.”

Shockingly, Virgil realized that he wasn’t very anxious with Coach Leo. Something about him exuded an air of safety. He gave him a rare grin. “That’d be awesome.”

They stayed for the meeting, hearing all the boring details and the more fun ones. Virgil was a little nervous that he’d have to take the bus to away meets, but Ted was quick to reassure him that they could sit together.

“Tryouts will be this Saturday from 9-3. Come when you can and we’ll get you set up.”

With that, Coach Leo started handing out the packets for the students to take home. Virgil was one of the first to receive one, getting a wink from the coach before he moved on.

The four of them headed back to the front of the school, where their parents were going to pick them up.

“No one else has any meetings today?” Logan asked, pulling out his phone. He gently took a sheet from Virgil, adding in the dates of the home track meets.

Roman shook his head. “Auditions aren’t for a few weeks.”

“The cooking club meeting is tomorrow.”

“As is the astronomy meeting.” Logan handed the sheet back to Virgil. “Roman, did you know when the shows were for -”

“April 24th and 25th.”

There was an eye roll from Logan, mostly to hide his small smile.

As the four of them exited the double doors, they saw Emile and Remy talking in the pick up area.

Waving a hand toward them, Roman asked, “Who wants to bet they’re fighting?”

“I’m sure they’re not -” Patton started saying, immediately stopping once they were within earshot.

“I’m not saying anyone needs therapy, I’m just saying it helps a lot of people.”

“I’m not one for dumping my issues on someone else.”

“Dad!” Patton called out, getting their attention. “Virgil has something for you to sign.”

Remy waved to Emile as Roman and Logan got in the car. “See ya, babes.”

“Yes, goodbye, Remy.”

Virgil and Patton exchanged a glance. Something had to be done about those two, they just didn’t know what.

#platonic moxiety #platonic logince #platonic lamp #sanders sides #sanders sides fic #logan sanders #roman sanders #patton sanders #virgil sanders #ts sleep #remy sanders #emile picani

[livia-dovehallow]

I Am a Shadowhunter - Cecily Herondale

{Based on the song “Salt” by Ava Max. It’s quite long for a solo story, but you can read it on AO3 as well. This turned out MUCH longer than I originally anticipated.} Uh oh / I’ve got breaking news / and it’s not about you / Uh oh “My name is Cecily Herondale, you see. And I’ve come to be trained as a Shadowhunter.”

The room was deathly quiet. Several pairs of wide, shocked eyes gazed at her. Cecily only cared about one of them. “Gwilym,” she breathed. 

Will did not answer her. He stared back, pale and unmoving. He had grown up considerably since the last time she saw him. He was much taller, muscular, and covered in dark tattoos she knew only as Marks. She had hoped he would have been much happier to see her. 

“Miss Herondale,” said the woman standing at the head of the dining table. Her voice did not waver, but her eyes betrayed her clear shock. “You wish to join the Nephilim?”

“That is what I said,” Cecily answered, her eyes not leaving Will. The other people about the room continued to flicker their eyes between her and her brother. Finally, the boy with silver hair cleared his throat. 

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Miss Herondale,” he said. “I’m James Carstairs. Call me Jem.” Cecily nodded. His silver hair matched the bright silver eyes that met hers. He seemed wary of Will’s reaction, glancing back at him for a moment before continuing. “I’m your brother’s parabatai.”

Cecily only moved her attention back to Will. She had no knowledge of parabatai and did not intend to gain any. She had come to bring Will home. “Nothing from you?” She asked him, ice evident in her voice that had not been there before, when she first saw him and whispered his name. “I should think you’d be glad to see your sister after so long.”

The woman who had spoken earlier clasped her hands before any more could be said. “Sophie, please prepare a bedroom for Miss Herondale. It is nearly time for bed and she should not have to rest in the drawing room after such a journey.” The maid in the corner nodded and dashed out of the room.“My name is Charlotte Branwell,” the woman said to Cecily. “I am the head of this Institute. As Nephilim, you are welcome to stay with us here and train. We will provide you gear. Have you any prior training?”

Will finally made a sound, though it made little difference to Cecily. “No,” she answered. “But I am a quick learner.”

Uh oh / I’ve been breaking hearts too / and I learned it all from you / Uh oh

Will roughly caught her arm after dinner as she stood to leave. “What are you doing here?”

The last person quickly fled the room and Cecily cleared her throat. “So, this is where you ran off to.”

His head jerked up. For a moment, Cecily thought he had looked defeated. 

“Yes,” he said to her flatly. “And you were not supposed to ever follow me.”

“Why not?” She snapped. “I am Nephilim, same as you.”

Will looked at her and she could clearly see he was holding back pain. “Cecy,” he whispered. She had not heard her nickname in five years.

“What did we do that was so horrible, Will, that you left your family and came here,” she said, her voice lilting. “To the people who forced our father into exile simply because he fell in love? To the people who never wanted us to exist?” Will flinched at her words. 

“I did it for you, Cecy. For all of you.” The words seemed to spill out.

She opened her mouth to answer but found no words. She had not thought that was what he was going to say. “Excuse me?”

He sighed, his body shaking ever so noticeably. “I did it to protect you. What happened to Ella was my fault, Cecy, and I couldn’t let it happen to you, too.” Cecily felt her chest tighten at her sister’s name. “I ran so you would all forget me. It was the only way.”

“The only way?” She asked, incredulously. “I was nine, Will. I thought you hated me.”

Will’s eyes widened. “By the Angel, Cecily, I could never hate you.”

“I came here to bring you home,” she told him. “I saw the warlock you sent to check on us at Ravenscar Manor. He told me you missed me. I thought—” she paused, then whispered, “I thought you wanted to see me.”

Will continued to stare at her, shocked. “When I saw you at Ravenscar, I didn’t know what to do. I did not think I would have seen anyone there, least of all you.” He ran his fingers through his hair, leaving it a wild mess. “Something came over me and I tried to run to you. But it wasn’t safe. Jem stopped me.”

Cecily felt her body heat up. “You were there,” she struggled. “And you said nothing.”

“I couldn’t.” Will reached for her, but she pulled away from him instinctively. He winced. “I would have put you, all of you, in more danger if you saw me.” He seemed to realize something. “But a warlock? I never sent any warlock.”

“Well, I saw him. Hiding in the grass on the hill, spying. I asked him if you sent him to check on us and he told me you missed me. I thought it meant you wanted to come home. When you didn’t come, I left. I probably broke Mam and Da’s hearts, same as you did, to come to Shadowhunters.”

Will gaped. “Mam and Da don’t know where you are?” 

“Maybe. I left them a short letter. I told them I was coming to bring you home. I assume they only learned of it long after I was gone.”

They stood for a long moment, looking at each other. Cecily suspected that the look on her face had fallen to the same look of heartbreak that her brother’s face showed. “Why did you leave?” She finally asked again, her voice no higher than crackling of the fire.

“The curse,” he whispered. Upon seeing her face, he continued. “Cecy, when I opened that Pyxis, the box in Da’s office, the demon that killed Ella told me that he’d cursed me. That anyone who ever loved me would die. That night, Ella died, and I knew I had to leave. I couldn’t let that happen to you or our parents. It was the only way I could keep you safe from me.”

Cecily’s eyes widened. Will hadn’t broken his eye contact with her. He looked so somber and broken. He continued. “I was at Ravenscar Manor because we’re looking for someone dangerous. We followed a lead to the manor, thinking we’d find him there. But instead we found you.” “Mortmain,” Cecily whispered. “Why are you looking for Mortmain?” Will shook his head. “The point, Cecily, is that everything I’ve ever done in the last five years has been to keep the people I love safe. But—” He choked.

“But what?” 

“But today I learned there was never any curse.” He sank back into his seat. “The demon only convinced me there was. He confessed to fabricating the whole thing when I faced him tonight. I left Wales thinking I was protecting my family, but I only hurt them. I hurt you.” Cecily stood, stunned. “There is no curse,” she said slowly. “So, you can come home.” Will shook his head violently. “I can’t come home Cecily. This is my home now. You have to understand. It is you who needs to go home.” Cecily curled her hands into fists. “I will not go home without you. If you will not return with me, then I will stay right here and train to be a Shadowhunter.” Will looked up at her, suddenly furious. “No! You are going home, Cecy. This world is not safe. Curse or no curse, you have to stay away.” She glared back at him. “Oh, I will stay. And I will train until you choose to come home with me.” I’ve got my thigh-highs on / feel like Wonder Woman / that’s when you want all in / but I’m not your woman / when my lipstick pops / and I feel like Monroe / that’s when you want me most / Uh oh The rush was exhilarating.

With every swing of a blade and release of a knife, Cecily felt more and more at home. When days turned into weeks of training, she felt less motivated to return to Yorkshire. She had even relented in begging Will to return, asking him only to write their parents a letter.

Even the feel of gear against her skin felt right. She had never worn trousers before, but it made practical sense to her. A lady’s dress would only slow her down. She looked about the training room and closed her eyes for a moment, reminding herself where she was. She remembered the feel of the stele on her right hand, where she received her first Mark.

“Why should I bother if you’re not going to listen?” Her brother’s voice had snapped. Cecily opened her eyes and glared at Will.

“Because you have to,” Cecily had answered. “I’ve joined the Nephilim, I must be trained, and you don’t trust anyone else in the Institute to train me.”

She knew he was never going to be happy that she had stayed. But, as she spent more time amongst the inhabitants of the London Institute, she understood why Will did. When Cecily landed on the rough gravel of Chiswick House, she had expected to be more graceful about it. Instead, she stared at her wrist, which bent in an unnatural manner. She felt someone’s arms around her help her off the ground. She initially thought it was Will, whose voice she had heard shout as she fell. When she looked up, she was surprised to stare into green eyes instead of blue.

The boy said nothing, but he looked at her in wonder. She felt his fingers under her chin, holding her head up and keeping her gaze on his. She wondered if that was surprise she saw in his eyes. Recognition? Awe? Moments later Will appeared, shoving the boy from her. “Stay away from my sister,” Will had yelled at him. “That was one of the bravest things I’ve ever seen a Shadowhunter do,” the boy said to her. His voice was definitely full of awe. 

Cecily glanced at him and bit back a smile. I’m all out of salt / I’m not gonna cry  / won’t give you want you want / ‘cuz I look way too good tonight / I’m all out of salt / tears are running dry / won’t give you want you want / ‘cuz I look way too good tonight Cecily felt at home, standing before the London Institute, her hair pinned and dress neat. She held her head high and smiled. “I intend to stay here, Charlotte, at the Institute,” she had said, though her announcement was to everyone. “I want to remain a Shadowhunter.” Charlotte smiled. Gabriel gazed at her, smiling the way he had in those moments in the stables. Will, despite everything he had ever done to prevent her from staying, smiled at her, too.

“I know I belong here, with my brother and with all of you,” she continued. “I am most like myself here. I feel it when I wake up and I feel it when I sleep. I am a Shadowhunter.”

“And you are a member of this household, Cecily Herondale,” Charlotte said. “Welcome home.”

///////

#cecily herondale #will herondale #gabriel lightwood #the infernal devices #tsc #shadowhunter chronicles #the last hours #tlh #tid #ch: cecily herondale #song based fic #jem carstairs #charlotte branwell #i didnt realize how damn long this was until i had to go through and put spacing

[thorman-barnes]

Unexpected || Part 4

pairing: stucky x reader

requests: yes?

prompts: none

summary: Y/N and Steve briefly talk about it

warnings: none?

Masterlist || Series Masterlist

Steve sat across from Y/N at the desk of the old, run down motel. Their vehicle had broken down from all the bullets it had taken and they had to ditch it on the side of the road and walk a couple of miles until they ran into this sketchy motel with their gear and luggage on hand.

Y/N’s feet ached by the time they got to the motel and she refused to get up from the bed until the pizza they had ordered had arrived and they set it on the desk because the table looked just about close to collapsing.

The pizza wasn’t that good but it was the closest thing they have had to food in the past two days and neither complained. They lost connection with the gang a few days ago and they have been on their own ever since. Natasha was on the other line giving them directions while she healed from a broken leg but when they in the middle of the fight, their connection gave out and they have been running loose.

“You think she got our message?” You asked quietly as you sipped on your water that Steve bought for you at the liquor store across the street.

“Yeah, if not, our pictures would be all over the news asking for information on our whereabouts,” he commented and bit into a slice of pizza. He just hoped Bucky wasn’t worrying his ass off about his safety. He hasn’t called in the past few days when he had promised he would check in every twenty four hours and has failed to do so.

“How long do you think until they know our exact location?”

Steve shrugged and looked up to see you staring at the pizza - trying to decide which slice you want to eat next. “A few days maybe? We’re a few hours away from where we last had contact with them. It shouldn’t take long but they have to be quiet about it so no else finds us before they do.”

You nodded slowly and pulled at a slice until it was free from the other slices and took a big bite, your stomach growling even after already eating three slices of pizza. “Can I ask you something, Steven?”

He chuckled at his name but nodded anyway thinking you were going to ask about the mission or something related to your current situation.

After a few seconds, he choked on his soda when you asked him what he and Bucky thought about your offer. It was a few minutes before he even responded. Truth is, he and Bucky thought a lot about your offer. They made a pros and cons list, they daydreamed about it, they avoided you for a week because they couldn’t look you in the eye as they thought about your offer. The thought of getting you pregnant so her and Bucky can have a child was both exciting and scary at the same time.

You thought that his silence meant the didn’t want to talk about it and went back to focusing your energy on the pizza before you so then you can move onto the chips you had made Steve buy you as well.

Sighing, he caught your attention. “We’ve been talking about it.”

You looked up and slowly chewed on your food as he talked while not making eye contact. You figured he was going to by shy about it but if this was something they wanted, you had to talk about it no matter how embarrassing and awkward it would be.

“If we do this. . . what’s in it for you?” He asked and his eyes flickered up to you and landed back on the window beside you both and tried to act as normal as he possibly could.

One thing he learned quickly was that talking about this was a lot easier with Bucky than it was with you. Because at least with Bucky, he could speak his mind without judgement and with you, he wasn’t sure where he stood. 

“Nothing,” you shrugged like it was no big deal - like you hadn’t talked to Wanda about this just the other day before you went on your mission. She made some valid points about why you shouldn’t do this but you ignored her. “I just want you both to be happy is all.”

“You know this will ruin us if you change your mind last minute, right? We won’t be friends if you decide you want the baby - we can’t go through that again especially Bucky,” Steve stated in a firm voice as walls began to build up to protect his own heart and his husband’s. The pain they had from when the woman decided she couldn’t give the baby up was starting to find its way back to him and the last thing he needed was to have a break down in front of you but when you spoke up again, he was thankful for it.

“I know that,” you nodded once and studied his features. He was trying hard not to make eye contact and although his features were firm if he looked you in the eye, he might just break. “But I wouldn’t have offered if I had some doubts. Steve, listen, you and Bucky deserve happiness and a chance at a family. And I want to give you that.”

“He wants to move away, you know that?” he turned to look at you and sucked in a deep breath as his voice wavered. He wasn’t sure if he can have this discussion because he still wasn’t okay from what happened last time and he didn’t want to get his hopes up. “If we have a baby, he wants to retire and buy a house somewhere on the outskirts of New York or California or anywhere really. He wants to live a quiet life and be a stay at home dad and I’d do the occasional missions. . . He talked about family road trips, family movie nights, all that kind of stuf-”

“He’d be a great dad,” you commented as Steve was getting lost in the possibility of having everything he and Bucky ever wanted. But hearing Steve talk about a future with Bucky, a weird feeling erupted within you and you weren’t sure what it was. “But what do you want, Steve?”

He sighed and chewed on his lower lip as his heart pounded in his chest and it was all he was feeling at the moment. He was anxious and he wasn’t sure for what. He was just talking to you and you were one of his best friends and it shouldn’t be awkward at all. But it was. Because you guys were talking about the possibility of either him or Bucky sleeping with you so they can have a baby and start a family.

“I just want to be happy. For Bucky to be happy. I want to have start a family and have a life” he gestured to the room - to the mission you were in the middle of- “out of all this crazy. Too many bad things happening around us and I just want one good thing, you know?” When you nodded, he offered you a shy smile.

It was quiet for a moment before a thought hit you. They wanted to move away. That meant you’d hardly ever see them. Maybe it’d be for the best. They were married and as Wanda has often pointed out - having a crush on two married men was messy. And add having a baby for them into the mix? It’d be all sorts of complicated.

“Seems like you know what you want,” you commented and cleaned your fingers on a piece of napkin. 

He shrugged, “We talk about it a lot.”

You raised a brow and leaned back, arms crossed over your chest. “Oh, yeah? Like what?”

The corners of his lips twitched and were inching towards a smile as he got lost in his own thoughts of wonders and joy. “Like - Like we’d get a place with a big yard. You know, like huge. Maybe with a white picket fence too. Probably have a dog. . .”

He had a vision in his dream as he spoke to you that he had forgotten he has never told Bucky this because of the fear of getting his hopes to high. He can see himself and Bucky having a baby girl. He wanted to spoil their daughter rotten. Buy her all the pretty dresses she wanted, all the stuffed animals that could possibly fit in her small bed, hold her when she was sick, learn to do different hairstyles each morning before their day officially began. . . 

“You want a daughter?” You smiled and it only grew wider when you noticed his cheeks turn a light shade of pink.

“I just always saw myself having a daughter,” he admitted and it was the first time you saw him smile in a while. It held hope and it held longing as well. Perhaps it was the fact that he was so close to having his dreams come true.

“So then let me do this for you,” you reached across the table and rested your hand on top of his, giving his hand a soft squeeze. Setting your feelings aside, you wanted them to be happy whether you were part of that happiness or not. “Think about it, Steve, in just nine months you can have the life you and Bucky have been dreaming of.”

Cautiously, he looked between your connected hands then into your eyes. He was trying to read for something but he wasn’t sure what. He knew this was too good to be true but his emotions were overwhelming and he couldn’t think straight when he was so close to getting everything he wants. Suddenly, he felt like Bucky - full of hope and joy and it was uncontained.

Tag List:

@iamalphanow @my-marvelside-bl0g @m-a-t-91 @hoewkeye @im-just-another-monster @scarsout @mcuwillbethedeathofme @wonderlandfandomkingdom @ssaaraw

Bucky Barnes Tag List:

@hour-to-hourglass

Stucky x Reader Tag List:

@ravennightingaleandavatempus@mydogisthebest@hellaqueerangelofthelord@hockeyshmockey@multireality@letterstomyself21@themusicalweirdo@multifandomwriter121 @firstangeldragonranch @aactuaaltraash @marshyrebelcloud

Series Tag List:

@zorsefoal @this-is-mycrisis @owlyannah @joyofbebbanburg @delicatecapnerd @bi-bi-bi-bisexualz @evansiess @steebrogurz @henderwhore4life

#stucky x reader

[striving-artist]

Someone stop me! what are we stopping you from doing? Also Im p sure im not gonna stop you

That doc is a Wip of the opening of a TV pilot that I really like, but that is too similar to Lovecraft country to go after. Amusingly. I wrote it before LC came out, but it’s got a similar cast, including terrifying over-perfect white lady as the gatekeeper to the world of Other. And the MC’s name is Nick. The concept is basically, 30yo needs a job, cannot freaking get one, gets offered a job working for the Fae.

And since this now can’t go anywhere, thus I do not need to be stopped, I may as well post all of it:

but below a cut bc long.

Shot of a folded futon with a rumpled pillow and blanket, in a tiny room, obviously partitioned from something larger. The curtain is obviously a fitted bed sheet taped in place. The futon has a messy pile of overdue bills. Electric, gas. Phone. Notice of cancellation for insurance. Notice of delinquency from Fedloan. A stack of boxes serves as a desk, pulled close enough that the futon is the seat. A laptop with a crack in the corner of the screen, duct tape along the battery, is making angry noises as it loads up the next page of a job search website. It’s the final page, and the message saying so is taunting. 

Oops! Looks like that’s all there is here!

We see NICK, lit by the screen. Black, 30, artsy, if he could afford it. He’s slim, but fit - the side effect of living around actors and performers. 

He takes a breath, gearing up, and starts a new set of google searches. 

Jobs without a car

Jobs anyone can get

Best city for artist jobs

Best city for jobs?

Companies that will hire anyone

Companies that will hire anyone how to tell if evil

His phone chimes, interrupting his fruitless search, its screen is also cracked. The alert is from his calendar telling him he’s got Coffee w/JESS in half an hour.

__

Interior of a coffeshop. Exactly like any other coffee shop, with the same jazz covers of pop songs and decor that’s trying too hard. NICK’s got better taste than this, but JESS chose the place. NICK is standing against the wall, watching the barista, waiting to hear his name. It’s busy, but not crowded. 

JESS arrives. She’s a whirlwind. A bag looped over her chest, The strap of a purse crossing over it. She’s short, dressed in at least four different bright patterns, and has her hair pinned back into a mohawk, which gets her an extra few inches. NICK waves, and winces when a Woman brightens her plastic looking smile and waves in reply. THE WOMAN is dyed blonde, with unnaturally white teeth. 

His name is called, but the only table available is even closer to her. He sits with his back to THE WOMAN. 

JESS joins him, setting down a venti latte with a pastry bag balanced on top. 

JESS

Is that a cup of hot water?

NICK

I’m not allowed to drink tea?

JESS

Yeah, but that’s water. 

NICK pulls a crumpled tea bag out of his pocket and drops it into the cup. 

JESS

Wow, so you’re like broke broke, then. 

NICK goes for the power move, taking a sip of the tea while trying to look angry. He burns himself

JESS

Oh hun, you are not tough enough to pull that off. And your tea’s like, barely steeped. You just dropped the thing into the -- Sorry -- alright, yeah, you got on unemployment finally, though right?

Flash shot of NICK on the computer, 404 errors, Unknown Error has occurred, Site is down for maintenance. Phone calls; We’re sorry the call cannot be completed as dialled. We’re sorry, all our operators are busy, please call back later - dial tones. That terrible sound that old fax machines make. 

So… I’m gonna take that as a no? 

NICK

Universe hates me. McDonalds said I wasn’t the right fit. The Sanitation department? Literally got told I wasn’t on the level to be a garbage man. 

JESS

You sure someone didn’t steal your identity? 

NICK

I spent the 30 bucks to check. No. 

JESS

You have a masters degree, this shouldn’t be so hard. Even what’s his nuts - uh - the guy with the weird diet? He played uh, uh, in the show with the paper mache? Him. 

NICK looks sort of nauseous. 

NICK

Eddie got a job?

JESS

(reluctantly) In the art department for a film. Look, it just doesn’t make sense, you were doing great. We all figured you’d be getting us jobs ten minutes after graduation. We were all buddying up to you so we’d be first in line. Jesus NICK, It’s like you’re cursed or blacklisted or something.  

NICK

Right. 

JESS

(joking) No, seriously. You had a catastrophic safety failure in the space for your thesis for something that the school should have noticed like a decade ago, and ever since? It’s like - Just. I don’t know. Have you tried going to church? Drink some holy water? Ouija board? Burn some candles maybe?

NICK

What was that stuff that Sarah always talked about? Maybe I should have her do my tarot. No, wait. What was her thing? Chi? Karma? Crystals? I’ll try anything at this point. 

(he laughs, but he’s not kidding)

JESS

Oh sugar, you brought your own tea bag to starbucks, you can’t afford good enough crystals to do anything about all this. 

He takes another sip, burning himself and dribbling tea onto his shirt. 

NICK

How’s your project though?

JESS

I feel bad talking about it with you.

NICK

Come on, just because I’m debating whether I need both my kidneys doesn’t mean I’m not happy for you. Tell me about it. Maybe your good luck’ll rub off on me. 

JESS

(giddy) Yeah, alright. Well, we’ve got concept books out this friday, and the presentation is next week, and it’s so cool. So so cool. The DP saw me doodling while the director was talking and stole it - scariest moment of my life - and showed it to everyone, and they just -- we made some changes, but basically my stupid little sketch is now in the package, and they had the art department turn it into renders and they asked me to review it? I swear, my soul just. Exited my body. It was amazing. 

NICK

Handled it real smooth, huh?

JESS

Screw you, I was so professional they didn’t even notice that -- Yes?

JESS stops, looking over NICK’s shoulder. He turns to check. THE WOMAN is behind him, smiling the smile of a charity worker who’s more interested in posting about it on instagram than helping anyone. It’s fake, but not threatening.  

Woman

I overheard you guys talking. Bad luck lately? That sucks. 

JESS

This is a private conversation so if you don’t mind---

Woman

(interrupting) You should try contacting these guys. 

She hands NICK a napkin with an address written on it, and a rough signature shape on the bottom. 

They’ll help if you ask.

JESS

Great, thanks, bye. 

THE WOMAN’s smile is static when she turns to JESS, like it’s glued in place.

Woman

You should really learn to be nicer to people. Bye.

She leaves. 

NICK and JESS share a moment of WTF before he looks back at the napkin. JESS snatches it out of his hand and crumples it up. 

JESS

No. We don’t go to random addresses given to us by botoxed white ladies that think you’ve got no other choices. Don’t you ever watch the news? That’s how people get their asses kidnapped. You’re too pretty to go walking into that. We’ll find you some work, NICK for now, drink your store brand tea, and I’ll tell you about what the AD said to me.

Time passes. JESS keeps talking, until they need to leave. She gives him a hug, whacking him in the leg with the heavier of her bags.  

JESS

Come on, you’re too good to be unemployed forever. I know you sent it before, but can you bump the email with your stuff to the top of my inbox? I’ll see if I can get it in the hands of anyone on the team. 

NICK

Sure. 

JESS

And don’t go after dumb crap just because you’re broke, you’ll get through this, and it’ll look great in your biography one day. Okay, I gotta run before the parking fee goes up, bye!

NICK waves, grabs the garbage from their table to clear it. He throws everything away, and stoops to grab the bit that didn’t make it into the trash. Half crumpled, with a grease stain and some coffee smeared on it, but the napkin is still clear. He scoffs, almost drops it with the rest. His phone chimes. Another email:

Thank you for your interest in the position, unfortunately at this time…

NICK shoves the napkin in his pocket and exits. He doesn’t see THE WOMAN watching. 

#my writing #my original writing

[akar0ku]

“Do you think if we met differently, we’d be friends?” Jack and Jarvis

“Cooling off”

Their mission for the day hadn’t gone over particularly well. Not that they ever really did to begin with. Though this one was really one for the record books.

“How could you mess this up?!” Jarvis shouted as he pushed his way through the dense undergrowth that blanketed the ground of the Nowem forest. Congealing greenish fluid and chunks of spongy organic matter covered him from head to toe. “Only you could make getting some stupid fruit so complicated.”

“How was I supposed to know that that thing was alive?” Jack argued, drenched in the same sticky, putrid smelling gunk as Jarvis. Only Daniel was the clean one out of the group, choosing to stay as far away as he could without being left behind and keeping quiet as the other two argued.

“You practically climbed right into its mouth! Is that what they teach you in the knights? How to run right into things and die without thinking?”

“If you knew that was it’s mouth then why didn’t you say anything? Isn’t it your job to, you know, be a leader or something?”

Jarvis spun around, pointing a finger at Jack and opening his mouth to make a retort. He quickly clamped it shut when he realized he had no argument to make that didn’t reveal he had known just as little about the weird plant creature as Jack had.

“I should have just left you in there to get digested.” Jarvis huffed, waving a hand with finality as he returned to pressing his way through the foliage.

“Yeah about that, you got swallowed up to. Talk about running into things without thinking.”

“REALLY wish I had left you in there!”

“Hey, at least you’re both okay. And we also got the fruit that...we came...here…” Daniel attempted to lighten up the situation but was cut short by two sets of glares. Accusatory glares that; without words, berated him for standing by and doing nothing while the owners struggled to hack their way out of a creature's stomach. Daniel fell back into silence as the two carried on with their bickering.

The row didn’t last for much longer though, as the party came across a section of river.

“Finally! Now we can clean up a bit and follow this back to that dark elf village.” Jarvis said, sounding over all pleased with the situation despite Jack’s incredulous look.

“Have we been lost this whole time?”

Jarvis paid minimal attention to the accusation. Instead kneeling by the water's edge and removing his helmet so he could clean the mess from his face and hair.

“We just need to follow this upstream, use the pig statue there to get back to Radiata, and then we can be done with this day.” Jarvis explained as he finished with his face and dunked his head gear into the rushing water to try and clean the grime caked to the inside and outside.

“I think the Forest Metropolis is the other direction.” Jack disagreed, frustrated and feeling defiant against the idea of cleaning up, purely out of spite. Though that feeling was waning quickly as his skin began to itch from the mucusy feeling substance on his skin.

Jack heard the long sigh and could picture the eye roll his comment earned.

“Well it doesn’t matter what you think because I’m the one who’s in charge.” Jarvis shot a patronizing look over his shoulder at Jack, reigniting his frustration back into anger.

“I dunno, your leadership hasn’t really been very useful to us so far.” Jack didn’t have the chance to see the expression on Jarvis’ face. Before he knew it a helmet full of water was being thrown at him, forcing him back a few steps as he sputtered in shock. 

When Jack cleared the water from his eyes, he found Jarvis snickering up at him with the most punch-able smirk plastered across his face. Without missing a beat, Jack planted his boot on the older man's shoulder and shoved him with enough force to send him sprawling into the rushing water.

The self righteous smirk on Jarvis’ face was quickly replaced with rage as he scrambled back to his feet. He glared Jack down for a long moment, growling when the boy refused to back down or show any hint of subordination.

Jack didn’t move a muscle until Jarvis lunged for him. He tried to jump out of range but failed when Jarvis managed to catch him by the wrist and pull him into the water. The two grappled for a brief moment, paying no mind to Daniel as he yelled for them to stop. Though the river bed was rather muddy, Jack’s foot managed to find a slick rock which caused him to slip and lose balance. The slip caused enough of an opening for Jarvis to successfully throw the boy over his hip and into a deeper part of the river.

“There! How do you like being thrown onto YOUR ass for a change?” Jarvis waited for Jack to resurface, expecting him to have finally learned his place. As the seconds went by, Jarvis’ expression shifted to concern. He scanned the area for any hints of Jack’s body, but the shade from the trees and the sediment constantly being churned up by the current made it impossible to see anything under the surface.

“Hey, this isn’t funny kid! Knock it off.” Jarvis tried to maintain the irritated edge to his voice as he waded out into the knee deep waters, but he failed to hide his growing concern. Had Jack hit his head and was now lying unconscious at the bottom of the murky river? Was the currant stronger than it looked and had he been swept away by some river undertow? Was that even how rivers worked?

Jarvis didn’t notice the grip on his ankle until it was too late and he was being dragged down into the water as well. He thrashed around for a few moments before eventually righting himself to sit on his knees, coughing and gasping for air. He glanced over his shoulder, finding Jack sitting in the water, pouting at him a couple feet away.

“Why you manipulative little piece of…”

“Serves you right!”

“I should have just assumed you’d drowned and left you here!”

“Are you trying to say I should be grateful you bothered to come check on me after you smashed me into the water like that?!” Jack turned his head away and downward as Jarvis slapped a wave of water in his direction.

“Insolent, half-witted runt!” Jarvis raised his arms in a futile attempt to block the sheet of water Jack splashed back at him.

“Washed up, old wino!”

They continued on, hurling water and insults back and forth with no signs of stopping. They’d long forgotten their third squad member as he watched on with fading patience.

“STOOOOP!” Daniel screeched, catching both their attention. Jarvis and Jack stared in shock at him from where they still sat, chest deep in water and huffing from their shouting match.

“Sarge, you’re always scolding me and Jack whenever we start arguing with each other. You should be setting an example by not doing that ether!”

Jarvis practically bristled indignantly at being scolded by yet another subordinate.

“You don’t get to…”

“No!” Daniel cut him off with a petulant stomp of his foot. “You don’t get to have a double standard like that! And Jack, you need to stop egging him on when he gets like this!”

The smug grin Jack previously had in response to Jarvis being scolded quickly melted away, being replaced by a look akin to a scolded puppy.

“I’m so sick and tired of listening to you guys fight over the messes you both make.”

The duo remained silent for a long moment, the only sounds being the trickle of the water as it sloshed past them and the rustle of the leaves in the trees. It was this time that they realized just how late it was starting to get, with the sun no longer visible through the canopy and the light pink and orange hues in the sky alerting them to the oncoming twilight. Had they really spent that long aimlessly trudging their way through the forest, arguing the entire way?

“Hey, Sarge.” Jarvis snapped his gaze back to Jack, finding him starting sheepishly at the water. “Do you think if we met differently, we’d be friends?”

The question had caught him off guard, and he found he didn’t readily have an answer. If Jack hadn’t absolutely floored him on their first meeting, would they have gotten along better? Even then, would their personalities end up eventually  clashing anyway? Jarvis huffed and shook his head.

“Honestly, I really don’t think it matters how we first met. We’re stuck together now and I guess we really need to make the best of it.” Jarvis pushed himself to his feet, and extended a hand towards Jack to help him up.

“So are you going to get over the fact that I kicked your butt that one time?” Jack willingly took the offered hand, now smiling his usual dopey puppy smile as Jarvis hauled him to his feet.

“Tell you what, I’ll admit that I wasn’t at my 100% and accept that you were lucky. So long as you cut the attitude and at least try to follow orders.”

“Only if you don’t send me to climb up man eating plants again.”

“Fair enough.” Both men shook on their deal and started making their way back to dry land, with Jarvis pausing to collect his helmet which had luckily snagged on an exposed root.

“Soooo, is that it? Are you guys going to get along now.” Daniel asked, surprised his outburst had given positive results.

“I dunno. I guess so. At least I don’t think Sarge is going to throw me into a river again.” Jack shrugged as he busied himself with wringing out his clothes..

“Hey, at least we’re clean now. And as for you.” Daniel gulped nervously as Jarvis approached him, suspiciously holding his upturned helmet. Before he could think to run, Jarvis had already swatted off his own hat and replaced it with the piece of armor, making him shriek as cold water and mud splashed down his face and the back of his neck.

“And that’s your punishment for yelling at me.” Jarvis hummed as he patronizingly patted the boy's helmeted head. “Now come on, let’s find this stupid tree village so we can go home. I need a hot shower, dinner, and drinks.”

“Sounds really good right about now. Minus the drinks part.” Jack agreed.

“Great! Should be this way.” Jarvis pointed off in his initial direction of upstream and both he and Jack hurried off, leaving Daniel behind once again.

Daniel grumbled to himself as he wiped the mud from his face. In the process he noticed lights not far downstream from them, in the opposite direction that his two squad-mates stalked off in. Deducing it must be the Forest Metropolis, Daniel turned to call out to Jack and Jarvis, only to find them quite a distance away already. He watched after them for a moment with an unimpressed look before turning and making his way back to civilization alone.

#radiata stories #fanfiction #ask prompt #Jarvis #Jack Russell #Daniel #What kind of creature did they fight? #hell if i know

[yehet-me-up]

Our Firsts / My Last

Pairing: Exo Mall Chanyeol x reader 

Genre: fluff/emo/angst (all the feels)

Rating: PG13 for language and mentions of sex

Word Count: 2,089

Request: fuck can i add 12 to that too. i’m sweating 12. ‘I can still get you wet and I can still make you laugh.’ @yeoldontknow I hope you like your 90s dream husband <3 Also including the “Semi-charmed life” song fic request in here since it’s already a 90s boi smorgasbord!

The first time I saw you it was seven a.m. the morning of our first day of Junior year at Burke, it was cold and rainy. Unsurprising, given it was Seattle, but sometimes the freezing sleet even caught me off guard. 

I was hiding under the cover of the walkway by the gym, making plans with Baekhyun for a back-to-school concert at the fountain when I saw you sprinting through the rain.

I don’t know what it was that drew me to you, even all these years later. 

Was it the way your nose wrinkled with amusement as you stood under the cover of the opposite walkway by the student center? 

Was it the long black coat you wore, with the big silver buttons, that made you look so much older than your sixteen years? 

Was it the way your hair stuck to your face and made me wish my fingers could do the same in that moment? 

Was it your backpack covered with band logo patches that I could see even from across the way?

Whatever it was, it stuck. 

I watched you walk away and disappear through the doors until Baekhyun elbowed me. I had no idea who you were then, had no premonition of how you’d become my everything. I only knew that I wanted to talk to you.

The first time I heard your name, later that day in Advanced Placement Music Theory, I wanted to tattoo it across my forehead. 

From my usual spot in the back of the class I watched you take careful notes of the syllabus. Mine was already crumpled and shoved in my backpack. I’d long ago given up doing anything in school for the grades or the prestige; I did music for the love of it.

It’s still such a clear moment - how I was drumming my fingers on my knee, staring up at the Coltrane poster Mr. Caruso had hung alongside several others. 

But then you spoke, and my world changed. 

All I wanted was for you to keep talking and never stop. You could read the ingredients on a can of soup and I would be entranced. The phone book would sound like poetry in your rich and steady voice.

It was three days before I got my chance to talk to you one on one. After lunch and before class I learned you waited in the music room with your headphones on and your eyes closed. 

My heart jumped into my throat when I saw you sitting there, lost in the music. I focused on putting one foot in front of the other and sat down in the seat next to you.

The sounds of Van Halen coming through were not what I was expecting and I liked that. So many people are predictable, a puzzle that’s too easy to solve - and I was learning you’re nothing like that.

Taking a deep breath I tapped you on the shoulder. I’m sorry for the way I scared you, still. But I can’t deny your shriek made me laugh. Still does.

When you turned those eyes on me, I was a goner. 

When you smiled as me and told me about how your dad introduced you to the band, along with many others, I was a goner. 

When you leaned over and wrote the name of an album I knew, but pretended I didn’t, on a piece of paper, your perfume reached me and I was a goner. 

When you said my name, as more people started filing into the class, you looked so beautiful as you tried out the word on your tongue, I was a goner.

The first time Kyungsoo invited you to Dick’s drive in with us after class it felt so right I had to check myself from reaching for you. 

What would you have done if I’d slid my arm around your shoulders and pulled you against my side? Would you have given me one of those dazzling smiles and wrapped your arm around my waist? Would you have shoved me off and raised a brow?

I can’t know, but I know that night was the first time I realized I wanted to touch you more than I wanted to breathe. You dished it right back out to Baekhyun whenever he made a joke. You and Kyungsoo were friends first and it burned in my stomach for about five minutes until I realized you were really, truly, just friends.

You talked with me about Nirvana until a sleepy Baekhyun made us finally part. As I drove us back to our respective homes I realized I wanted to be yours and I wanted you to be mine.

The first time I touched you, two weeks later at a concert by the Needle, I didn’t want any hands but mine to know how soft your skin is. Baekhyun made us late and we were stuck at the back of the crowd, by the fountain. I held your hand to help you climb up on one of the concrete benches and I didn’t want to let go.

Did you know then, that I was falling in love with you? Is that why you let me hold on for far longer than the situation dictated? Is that why you smiled at me softly through your lashes before turning away suddenly?

When I asked you out a few weeks later, did you know that I was sweating underneath my hoodie? I was sure I’d die if you said no. 

I told you I liked you in every way. You said you felt the same. Nothing has ever come close to how my heart exploded in that moment. Well, nothing until last Halloween when you agreed to marry me.

I realized I loved you the first time I kissed you, in my car after the party. 

As I held your face in my hands and finally, finally, got to taste you, I was ruined for anyone else. 

In all the years we spent apart, whenever I’d see someone and wonder if I should go after her, I’d think of that kiss. 

The way we fogged up the windows. The way you laughed as you climbed over the gear shift and onto my lap so you could ‘get a better handle on me.’ 

The way our make up was absolutely ruined and neither of us cared. The way you were finally, deliciously, absolutely, completely mine.

The first time I told my parents about you, I said you were my girlfriend, but an odd part of my brain almost made me say wife instead. 

It’s funny to think about it, now that you’ll officially be that next week. But in the moment, at seventeen, I was shaken. 

It was like the wormhole in that episode of Star Trek Baek loves. As if the current moment when you were my newly minted girlfriend and the eventual moment in the future when we’d be married smacked together and exploded in my mind.

Did I look like I’d seen a ghost, that night when we went to the movies together? Did I play with your hair too much, kiss your shoulder too much, stroke the skin of your thigh too much? Did you wonder where the intensity came from?

I sat there for hours in the dark. I don’t even remember what the movie was anymore. All I could think about or see was you. I wondered what kind of magic spell you’d cast over me that suddenly I wanted nothing but you. You, my friends, music, Seattle. Nothing else mattered.

I held onto that wild dream for weeks, hoping you wouldn’t realize that I wasn’t good enough for you and leave.

The first time we made love I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. Holding you and being inside you was the most vulnerable and raw experience of my life up until that point or since. I know you felt it too, how my heart was yours and yours was mine. How we’d taken our souls and bonded them forever. 

When I woke up that next morning holding you I cried as you slept. I wept silent tears of awe and gratitude and love until I silently laughed to myself and woke you up. I wiped the wetness off my cheeks and kissed you to distract you from the fact that my heart was in my eyes. 

You were a tsunami that came in and swept all else away. All I could do was surrender to the glorious moment and thank the universe for sending you my way.

The first time we argued I almost got on my knees to beg you to stay. It wasn’t even a fight, really. Just me overreacting to the way Daniel Abrams put his hand on your shoulder at the concert my band played, just after New Year’s.

I listed endless reasons why you should stay with me that night. Said that I was the only one who could make you laugh so hard you snorted. That I could get you wet with a look. That I’d never be threatened that you’re going to be more successful than I was. That I was the only one who got your music taste. The only one who would never laugh at you when you cry over how beautiful meteor showers are.

I brought myself so small at the thought of you leaving that it scared me. When you crouched down and pulled me into your arms, when you said you loved me like you’d never loved anyone, when you said you’d never leave, that’s when I finally relaxed.

I knew in that moment you were my home and my family and I’d do anything to protect you.

The first time I lost you, it was my fault. I was terrified of holding you back, of being the thing to ruin your future. I saw the way my parents were dismissive of me and couldn’t imagine anything worse than waking up ten, twenty, thirty years later and realizing I’d failed you, tied you to a life you didn’t want.

It broke me apart to leave and only your faith and trust put me back together again, when you forgave me and took me back. When I woke in the morning after our second first time together I swore I’d never be stupid enough to lose you again.

I knew I’d propose to you eleven months before I did it. At the Rolling Stones and Third Eye Blind concert at the Kingdome you surprised me with for my birthday, I knew that I wanted to ask you on Halloween.

As we swayed back and forth under the lights, surrounded by the crowd, I could already see it. 

I’d be Gomez and you’d be Morticia. I’d set up that sweet gazebo in Baekhyun’s backyard with rose petals and turn on every single twinkle light he had. At midnight I’d take you out back and serenade you with all your favorite songs and probably cry (okay, by now you know I actually did cry).

I’d get down on my knee and take your hands in mine and kiss them and I’d tell you how you own every part of me. I’d tell you there’s nothing of mine that isn’t also yours. I’d tell you I love you wholly and completely, but without expectation. I’d tell you I never want to cage you in, I just want to be the one who gets to fly beside you.

I spent all night lost in the music with you in my arms, planning our future. It went even better than I planned. 

Now I’m sitting here, trying to write my vows, and all I want to do is tell our story to the world. 

About how I was a fool and let the person I loved go to save them, but by some miracle you still came back to me. I’d say that we became even stronger people without each other, and now that we’re together they’ll have to pry me off you with a crowbar. 

How I learned that if something is meant to be, if two people are meant to be, they’ll both fight for it.

All I want to sing is our love story. What else could I promise you that you don’t already have? 

My heart is yours. My body. My soul. My past. My present. My future.

My first. My last. My always and forever love.

My wife.

#DRABBLEPALOOZA #chanyeol x reader #chanyeol fluff #chanyeol fanfic #chanyeol au #exo x reader #exo fluff #exo fanfic #exo au #exodus mall

[dehvastation]

The Escape Room Part 1 (With @V_Bloodletter)

V: I was off patrol tonight and doing my diligence behind the wall of monitors. It seemed relatively quiet out. At the moment I hadn’t seen any things that go bump in the night. I was itching to get into something tonight, fuck anything. My boredom was at an all time high and nothing good came from me being inactive. I was randomly searching out areas through the helpful eye of Caldwell electronic eyes. Tapping into the city’s system had been too easy, especially in this day and time. Either way, I had access to everything Caldwell did. My fingers slid over the pad, scrolling through various alley ways. Nothing was out of order, the streets as per usual had your pedestrians that preferred the dark and your drunks stumbling down the sidewalks and of course there was your common back alley fucks going on. Absently I realized I was humming a beat and just when I was trying to figure out exactly what song it was, the phone line to the Brotherhood broke my concentration. Usually I let the Doggen at the Manse filter through the calls but yeah, I needed a distraction so here I was listening to the voice mails. ‘IT WONT STOP...THE FLOOR…….EVERYWHEREEE… PLEASEE HELP US!’ And that was what greeted my extremely fucking sensitive eardrums as soon as the recordings started. I sit up, grabbed the only info that was left behind which was the number, the call was too short for the trace to pick up. But that was cool because in under sixty I had the address where the phone was presently at, pulled up. I might have gotten a little excited when I quickly realized that for some odd as fuck reason I couldn’t bring the location up on my monitors. Now now now, I was just going on about how I had full access into the city street cameras and here I am now, unable to see anything surrounding the address where the phone is. I was on my feet and checking to see who was inhouse and not on patrol and lucky Dehv got the drawl. I shot a text to Mr. Suave “Yo, meet me at the location I’m pinging to your GPS now. V.” I wasted no time and gearing up and dematting.

Dehv: ~ I’d just settled in for the day when the door sounded like it was about to be broken down. The knocking was so loud that the fists would happily come through the wood without much persuasion. Qhuinn and I had frozen in the bed, hardly daring to breath in case they heard us. Not that it changed anything. Qhuinn had been marched off to the Mansion with barely a couple of hours until sunrise and that had left me at a loose end. I demated home and crashed around the place before my phone peeped. I felt my heart jump as I rushed to dig it out of my pocket on the hopes that it was Qhuinn. I felt disappointment flash through me when I saw it wasn’t Qhuinn, but my smile was still huge when I saw that it was Vishous. Though it quickly turned to a frown when I realised that he wanted me to meet him somewhere asap. Was he insane? It was almost daylight outside. We’d barely make it there and back before we were scrabbling to try and find shelter away from the death rays. I arched a brow and contemplated for about half a minute before shooting back a thumbs up. I quickly changed into a pair of jeans, proper boots and a heavy jumper over a lighter long sleeved tee. I shoved phone and keys into my pocket and then checked my phone, frowning even harder when I saw that it appeared to be in the middle of an industrial estate of some kind. What the actual hell was V thinking wanting me to meet him out there. I had to hope that he was just picking something up and needed an extra pair of hands. I didn’t mind if he wanted to take me back to the mansion afterwards to wait out the daylight. It meant that I could be there when Qhuinn finally got done with whatever he was needed for, and it meant that I could ensure Vishous was home in one piece while also catching up with the guy. I tried not to go overboard to talk to the Brothers when they were training us. Not that Vishous did, he just lurked now and again. I didn’t want to be different to the other trainees, and being wtih Qhuinn already meant I stood out. But with the amount of time it took to train and learn in the field and sleep around that I barely saw any of them. It would be good to see the male and possibly we could crash with his favourite poison and a good film while the sun did its thing.

Once I was sure that my place was locked up tight, I took a slow breath and dematted to the coordinates that Vishous had given me. I landed in a small enclosed area that was probably once a bus stop across from a run down looking building. I instantly settled my hand against the knife I’d had the foresight to hide under my arm before stepping into the flickering streetlight. “Vishous, you get here yet?” ~

V: While I was waiting for Dehv, I patrolled the area, checking out for any obvious signs of issues. At the present time there wasn’t anything that stood out. Not sure what I expected to find but absolutely nothing at all, was not it. Okay yes I didn’t think whoever was causing the disturbance was going to leave me a bloody trail to the crime scene. Although it would have been mighty helpful if they did, ya know, considering how damn close the rays of sun busting out were. But no such luck was laid at my feet this time. The location had been closed down twelve years ago, since then it had been bought and sold a few times and the newest owners had procured it about five years before. Public records fed me that info but as to the company that was holding the lease on the land now, I came up against walls. I would have delve more in depth but Dehv’s voice cut into my scrolling for info. I stepped out of the shadows, entering the barely illuminated area he was now occupying. “Evening, Dehv. Long story short, a 911 call came into the Brotherhood and I was able to trace the phones location to here.” I blew out a breath and glanced at the concrete structure that definitely had seen its better days before and my shoulders came up in a shrug as I turned my attention back to the male. “Let’s do a clean sweep, retrieve any bodies, alive or dead or remove any threats, whichever the case may be and then get the fuck out of dodge. True?” It my head it sounded like a simple enough job but my gut reaction to the place was not completely on board with that assessment. “Usually with the size of this place, I would say let’s split up and cut the time in half, but yeah this time around let’s stick together and see if anything goes bump in the night.” I moved out of the dim lighting and headed towards the entrance. “It use to be an auto parts factory and then after that it was transformed into a tire treading company and they leased out the upper floors. But that all seized years ago and it’s been abandoned since. Once one business started to close down around here, others followed soon and it seemed it has been deemed the ghost yard of factories.” I stopped at the double door entrance and cast Dehv a rakish smile. “If we find a ghost, I am for fucking real going to figure out how to keep it.” Chuckling low key, I turned back to the task at hand and what do you know, the doors were not even locked. Big surprise, not. “No wondering off, I haven’t had time to go over the blueprints and there is no fucking telling how many reconstructions have been done under each new owner.”

Dehv: ~ I turned at the sound of the voice behind me, my entire body telling me that I should just tell V where to stick it rather than go anywhere close to checking out the place. “That sounds like a solid lead. But I guess if they called and had to hang up fast, that would make sense. Though you’d think we’d see something.” I swept my arms in a circle, gesturing at the area that was quieter than I’d ever heard. I’d been to a lot of places growing up in the human world, and rarely to never was it basically silent. Normally there was birds, wind in trees, the hum of electricity as it moved through the wires. It was basically like a dead spot here. It was not normal and it was giving me the creeps. “You get signal here?” I tapped at my phone and tried to send a message, though nothing happened. I was glad I’d managed to let Qhuinn know that I was with V, and the coordinates he’d given me. Though he’d been stuck with Wrath all day, at least we’d have something to talk about when he got back. We’d started checking in on each other when the shit had hit the fan and we’d been pulled away every night to patrol or train or any other number of things. I liked it, and it made me feel a little safer for when the sun went down. Right now though I knew we only had a matter of time before the sun came up and trapped us inside one of these places.

I followed on after V as he made his way towards what was obviously the main entrance to the huge building that seemed to be shrouded in darkness. Even more so than the rest of the place. I snorted at his instructions and jokes, my lips twitching in amusement. “We see a ghost, you’re welcome to it. I’ll try not to scream like a pansy.” I grinned and pulled a gun out of its little holder at my back, keeping it trained on the floor while I stood behind Vishous, knowing that I wasn’t any good if I was nervous or uncertain. The plan to get in and get out was a good one, and it was something that we needed to do fast, without distractions. I nodded along and then chuckled. “You mean you weren’t 100% prepared when you came here. You’re slacking. If I walk into a room with no exit, I’m going to blame you.” I winked and then nodded towards the doors that separated us from whatever horrors were inside. I swallowed hard and rolled my shoulders. I’d been with the Brotherhood long enough to see my fair share of weird and horrible. I’d fought a few of my own horrors. But this was unknown, something neither one of us were prepared for, and I just had to hope I didn’t embarrass myself and throw up all over another Brothers boots. “Ready when you are. I’ve got your back, and I can follow instructions. Check it out, pull out bodies whether they are dead or alive and then get back to the Mansion before the sun comes up.” I nodded again and stepped in closer, thankful that my eyes weren’t bothered by the dark as the doors opened. It was pitch black inside, no light at all, had I been human I’d have been walking in blind. As it was I could see a wall ahead of me, and a corridor to the right. “Looks like we’ve only got one way in, one way out. Lead the way.” ~

V: I didn’t say anything back to Dehv after we walked inside and saw at first the simple layout. My brows drew down and I scanned the vacant lobby for anything. Not exactly the setup that I expected but that thought lasted about as long as it took to blink. Because with the next breath all hell broke loose and I had no fucking time to react. Doors slammed lock, walls that weren’t there before, were suddenly dropped in place and the corridor vanished with one of those spontaneous walls. My head was spinning in every direction as I heard all the strategic mechanisms clicking into place and then it was total quiet except for the sound of our own breathing. “What the actual fuck.” I had a blade in hand and cautiously approached one of the new walls that was decorated as if we had been yanked right back to the fifties. “We are gonna go with staying extremely in close proximity, Dehv.” I ran my leather covered hand across the hideous mustard yellow wallpaper, seaking out any kind of hidden lever, button or what the fuck ever might send this shit back to where it came from. But nothing, I fingered and rubbed all over that damn wall as if I was going to bend it over and fuck it next. I looked over my shoulder at Dehv. “We might have a small issue here.” That was putting it fucking mildly. It was as if we were in lockdown in one of those cheesy as fuck escape rooms. This shit was done with some severe elaborateness and more importantly, made to lock us in with no obvious way out. “I hope you like figuring puzzles out at a breakneck speed while killing what the fuck ever set this shit up because it looks like we might be a tad fucked.” And then those words were followed up but a stream of curses when I tried to demat and not a fucking thing happened.

Dehv: ~ I followed V as he moved slowly into the space. It wasn’t big, and I instinctively moved towards the one way deeper into the huge building. I’d barely taken more than a couple of steps when the noise rose in the building until even if V had spoken I was unsure I’d even hear it. I stepped backwards to put my back to the wall as I watched and waited for whatever was making the noise to appear. The wall disappearing from behind me made me stagger, and with effort I kept myself on my feet and the gun in my hand. “Fuck it. What is happening?” I spun on the spot and watched as walls appeared that hadn’t been there before, and others disappeared. No longer was there a space with an obvious corridor into the building. We now had a box of a room with apparently no exits. I felt my chest tighten at the thought of being trapped. This really was not the time for a panic attack. I heard V comment about sticking in close proximity, and my body complied with the request before my brain caught up. I moved in to cover as much of the room as I could while Vishous checked out the walls. I blinked slowly, eyes scanning the space, though it was just four walls and not much else. I focused on keeping my breathing even and my thoughts away from the fact we were about to be stuck in a tiny space for all eternity. “Small? Yeah, I would say that was the understatement of the century.” I turned in a small circle, eyes darting up and down as well as along the walls. I watched Vishous work his fingers across the wall in an attempt to find something that might help us. Then I blinked a few times and moved further into the middle of the room, there was something faint on the floor. It was glowing just enough that I could see it, and I was glad that I wasn’t a human in this place, no way would it be visible to them. “I have no experience with puzzles, but I do design for a living, so hopefully I can pick things apart and put them back together. Tad fucked is yet another understatement, Vishous. We have less than an hour until the sun comes up. So we either work to get out in an hour, or we’re going to have to fight to stay IN here for the rest of the day. I’m not sure which is worse.” I tipped my head and walked in a circle around the weird glowing markings on the floor. No matter which way I went, I couldn’t figure out what it was trying to tell me. “Found anything on the wall? This floor things isn’t really telling me much……oh no, wait, it’s maybe an arrow, but some of the paint has worn away completely.” I crouched and ran my fingers along the faint line. “You think that phone call was some poor humans who are stuck in this place, or a way to lure us here?” I followed the weird point of the arrow with my eyes to the wall, then up to the ceiling. Squinting once again at what looked like cut outs in the ceiling. Though it was higher than either one of us could reach or jump to. I couldn’t quite figure out why the lines seemed to line up with the glowing mark on the floor. “We’re completely fucked!” ~

V: “This was definitely a set up. By who is the question, because this is way fucking more elaborate than those pale fuckers get credit for.” My eyes narrowed and I drew in a series of breaths because this lock down thing was a head fuck. I wasn’t going to voice that out loud. The facts of the matter, was any kind of confinement was not going to go easy on me. If it was just me here, I’d burn this fucker down around me and take my chances on if I made it out or not. But it wasn’t just me, I had actually for once followed Wrath’s laws about doubly up on patrols or any Brotherhood business. I’ll blame the King for this shit. I blew out a breath and went about searching for any damn thing. I was coming up empty handed. No matter where I looked, felt or checked out, not a fucking thing. And then luck shined down on us, or as the case was, it shined up from a place in the false floor that Dehv found. I followed his line of site up the wall and onto the ceiling where markings are etched in place. “Alright, Dehv…” My face already had a smirk on it even before I spoke. “I’ll hoist you up and you see what those marks do or don’t do.” I closed the distance between us, which in this enclosed space it didn’t take long before I was right in front of the male and directly under the markings. My diamond eyes bore into Dehv’s and my tone was dry as fuck. “After this night, no talks of me giving you a piggyback ride. True.” I ended that with a teasing smirk before I turned around and crouched down.

Dehv: ~ I nodded at Vishous’ assessment. It would appear that the phone call was a way to lure us here, but was the person in charge of this weird ass game human or vampire? If they were vampire, why were they targeting the brotherhood, without picking a specific target. If it was human, was it by chance they got us, or was it someone who knew our secret and was deliberately playing with us? I checked my watch and saw that we’d been wandering around and looking for clues for nearly 45 minutes. We were not getting out of here before the sun came up. I opened my mouth to tell Vishous that when he came up beside me. Those intelligent eyes of his looking over the weird shape on the ceiling, and I hoped like hell he’d see something I couldn’t. The smirk didn’t bode well, and I felt my jaw fall open when he suggested that I get up on his back. Two 6 and a half foot plus males doing piggy back rides was not exactly how I’d seen my day going. But I’d learned a lot when I was training, and the first thing was that usually you had to think outside of the box if you wanted to get anywhere. I turned to look at the Brother beside me and met his gaze, nodding grimly as I tried not to laugh at the entire prospect. “No talks at all, unless of course it’s to tease you where you can’t kill me.” I winked, trying to lighten the mood before I moved around behind Vishous. “I am not sure I’ve ever done this before, so apologies if there’s a bit of a false start.” I cleared my throat and then placed both hands on Vishous’ shoulders, using them as a spring board to try and jump high enough to get my legs wrapped around his waist. At least then he could hold my feet and help me get higher if I needed to. The additional height gave me enough leverage to feel across the ceiling and poke gingerly at the little shapes in the blacked out surface. I pressed at one, and felt it give under the pressure, “They seem to open, though I’ve no idea why. Hold on.” I took a slow breath, willing my heart rate to go down as I talked myself into poking my fingers into the space without knowing what was beyond the little flap of metal. “If they take my fingers, I’m blaming you.” I snorted and looked down briefly to the male who was taking all my weight and holding me steady before shoving my fingers past the barrier and into the ceiling. I felt around for a minute, hitting what felt like a little box with a hole in the top. I gently poked until I felt the box tip. I indistinctly tried to stop it, jerking Vishous below me as I did. “Shit, sorry. Hang on.” I felt something under the bottom of the box and I pressed my finger to it, pain instantly shooting through the nerves with enough force to make me pull my hand back. My body jerked and I stuck my finger in my mouth to stem the flow, numbing around the digit “Feels like boxes with gems under them. The gems fit in the holes and then the boxes go upside down to connect the whole thing. All without being able to see a fucking thing. The little stone thingies are sharp and I am not entirely sure I won’t lose a finger doing this. If you want a break, warn me before you drop me so I don’t leave a finger behind.” I snorted and shook out my hand before sticking it back through the ceiling to try and work the little, stupid fucking puzzle out. ~

V: All I could say is I was glad as fuck that noone was around to see this display. I mean here we were, warriors giving piggyback rides. After this night I will just black this shit out of my mind and pretend it never happened. The problem with that was, I needed to make sure there was an ‘After tonight’. It was clear as fuck that whoever arranged this elaborate setup, had at least some brain cells. So far, I was slightly impressed. I mean yes, Dehv and I were the rats inside of this maze but still, it was hard not to give props where props were due. Even if the detailed trap was mostly devised to end our lives. I was a sick bastard like. I huffed out a breath and snorted when Dehv situated himself on my back and I locked my arms around his legs and glanced up periodically to see how things were progressing. Every minute felt like an hour. I was keeping the rage locked down. The one thing that would always fuck me up is having my freedom taking away, in any form, bondage or that of a prison. I blew out another breath, focused my diamond eyes on the wall before me, using it as a focal point. I was already devising ways to tear our captors apart in my mind. Taking my time seemed like a good a place to start as any. As a matter a fact, I think I will draw it out for however long it takes Dehv and I to get our asses out of this fucked up place. I just about missed what all he was saying as I was too caught up within my own head devising death techniques. “I’m used to taking the blame. Just get that fucker to open because it is not that noticeable yet but…” The ground shifted only slightly when Dehv yanked his hand free and I inhaled the slight scent of his punctured finger. I was pretty fucking positive that if he didn’t get that fucking puzzel figured out within minutes if not seconds, that the floor would do a lot more than barely shift. “I don’t want any kind of break. I’m pretty sure if you don’t get that unlatched up there, this ground is going to open up and swallow us whole...Literally. No pressure though man.” I looked up at the large as fuck male attached to my back and gave a smirk.

Dehv: ~ I could feel the blood slowly dripping from my fingers as I fiddled around with the tiny boxes. I had to feel for the little gem they hid, then try and figure out which box that went with before slotting into the right groove. Each time I touched the smooth gem thing, it’s sharp edges cut into the pads of my fingertips. I was going as fast as I could. Though Vishous was pretty stoic as males went, when he sounded like he did, I hurried. That smirk was there to reassure, or that is how I was going to take it, and I really didn’t want to go through the damn floor. Each time I tried to lock them in place I’d slip off the wood because of the blood. They never got a chance to heal before another was opened up. They weren’t even big slices, but they strung and hindered how hard I was able to push at each of the little locking mechanisms. I was not at all sure Vishous was going to toss me on my ass at any moment, with each shift causing me to grip a little tighter to the opening in the ceiling, which only meant more of my hands were cut open. I was glad that I was wearing a long sleeved shirt, it meant the blood trickled down to my wrists and then soaked into the material. Saving me from messing up the floor. After what seemed like an age I clicked in the last piece. I signed heavily and then jerked backwards so quickly that I managed to dislodge myself from Vishous and land with a loud thud on the floor. It took me a minute of gasping like a fish out of water to convince my lungs to inflate again, when they did I was up and on my feet. Eyes squinted to dispel the blindness and try and figure out what was happening. After another minute I realised that the windows on the main doors we’d come through had been blacked out, and they were now very much not. Letting in a stream of sunlight that slanted across the room like two death rays. I reached out to check Vishous was still with me, unsteady on my feet as I looked around for the escape. I spun and saw it behind me. “Thank fuck. Keep watching those doors and move with me.” I kept a hand on Vishous’ shoulder as we’d been taught in training, watching where I was going while trusting him to have my back. As I moved into the next room I had to blink slowly to get my eyes to focus again. “Holy shit.” I’d just passed the threshold of the room when I felt something snap against my ankle. I had a split second to tighten my grip on the Brother at my back before I threw myself forward and to the ground. “MOVE”.

I landed with another thump, wincing at the awkward ankle against my already bruised hip. The minute I did, my eyes started stinging again at the sudden brightness. I turned away and waited until the room started to dim again before trying my luck to look back towards the door. A shaft of light shone stark and unyielding across the doorway, which was now also closed. No way were we going back that way. And I had no choice but to slowly sit up and look around the place. The noise from the machines drowned out my thoughts. In any other circumstance I’d be like a kid in a candy store, but instead I just felt dread settle in my gut. “This shit isn’t made for humans is it? We’ve stumbled onto something specifically designed for our kind. Is it just me, or is that worrying?” ~

V: Time went from feeling like each sixty seconds that passed by, felt more like they lasted five minutes or more, to suddenly things were happening way to quick and I barely had time to catch my breath. I had been standing there, trying to keep my feet rooted in place while Dehv worked his magic on the puzzle hidden from sight in the ceiling. Then in the blink of an eye he was dislodged from my back and I was stumbling around, trying not to land on my ass which I was not too successful at. I knew the male had managed to slice himself up pretty good, I could easily smell his lifes blood in the air. But there was absolutely no time to dwell on anything because once the puzzle was solved, all things started to move and re-adjust in the makeshift room. It was pitch black and then there was light but fuckkkkk was it the wrong kind of illumination that we needed right now. My internal clock had already been screaming at me that the big ball of sun in the sky was approaching, so I knew we had missed our window to bail out of here at a decent time. Now the point was to survive this fucked up maze and hunker down until it was safe to travel outside again. I got up off my ass and followed the male out of the first escape room, keeping close as fuck to him but the second I heard that one word shouted from Dehv, I did just as he said. I moved without thinking, nose diving pretty much over his shoulder and eating the ground as I face planted and the once opening was now sealed up as if it had never been there. I rolled over onto my back, taking a moment to take full stock of myself before calling out to the warrior. “Thanks for the heads up, Dehv. Now tell me, what did you break?” I came up on my knees and closed the distance between us. “Yes, you hit that assumption on the fucking nose. This place is evidently designed to take out vamps and not humans.” On the tale end of those words the semi dark space we were in came to life as if someone had flipped a switch on. Lights of all colors flashed on and off, coming from various signs hanging on the walls and that was nothing of all the noises and blaring special effects that was bouncing off of each arcade game and pinball machine. If you were and eighties kid, then this place would be right up your alley, from the pacman game to the hair metal music pinging from the surround sound system setup in the room. “I really fucking hate games.”

Dehv: ~ I blinked again and let my eyes run around the room slowly. It really could have just been picked up and transported from one of those little seaside arcades. It had everything, from the pinball machines to the little air hockey tables and more. They were all crammed in together, and each one seemed to be numbered. I shook out my hands again, happy to see that they weren’t bleeding any more, and that the cuts weren’t as pronounced as they had been. Thank fuck for faster healing. Now if only the blood would work on my damn shoulder and hip I’d be a happy camper. I looked at Vishous, showing him my hands so that he could see I was fine. “Nothing broken, but I landed hard on my shoulder and hip. Nothing a little blood once we’re out of here won’t fix. I can move, so that’s all that we need to be worried about.” I moved to my knees as well and then stood, holding out my palm to help the Brother up if he would allow it. “It is for sure, the sunlight over all the entrances and exists tell that story. I wonder how many have gone through here, and when whoever designed it decided to involve the Brotherhood. Fucking dumb ass move on their part.” I snorted and then winced, “This place has been bleached to within an inch of its life. I’m guessing that means at some point there’s been blood spilt in this room. Watch your back.” I turned in a slow circle, not bothering to look for cameras or wires, I knew that Vishous could do that without thinking, and far more easily than I could do it. Instead I tried to see past the sunlight at the door into the other room. It was impossible though, the shaft of light was concentrated and fucking bright. Instead I moved slowly around the room, fingers drifting over each of the machines without clicking anything. The metal music that was blaring was really starting to wind me up, and I found my body practically vibrating with uncertainty. “I’m not bad at them, but they don’t look like they’re rigged. Can you see anything I’m missing? This air hockey table is set up for one player though, which is weird.” I exhaled hard and then stepped up to the pacman machine, rolling my shoulders I gave a quick glance over my shoulder to Vishous and then reached up to press the button to start it, swearing loudly at the electric shock that was delivered to my finger. “Fuck! Well that doesn’t look good if these aren’t even wired properly. They didn’t have you around to get it all sorted.” I shook out my hand again and then used the various buttons to move my little munching man around the screen. I realised quickly that the game was set up so that the levels were melded into one. The game got faster and faster until I was inevitably consumed by ghosts. The minute the GAME OVER came up on the screen another shock was delivered. Forcing my fingers into a fist with the power that zapped up my arm and constricted every muscle. It took every ouch of control to successfully pull away without breaking the various buttons as I scraped my fingers off the panel. I couldn’t speak, instead just curling in on myself while cradling my arm, breath coming in harsh pants while I tried to get myself back under control. ~ #TheEscapeRoomPt1

[literarytrashcollection]

Where Are Any of Us Going? (Part 10/10): I Might Have Already

(Bucky x Reader) Final installment in this fic! Let me know what you thought!

The week leading up to the mission was spent in training. Bucky spent most of it hitting things nearby, whether with fists or knives or bullets was determined by what I was learning. He didn’t say much to me during that time, but he always hovered nearby, his face set in a permanent scowl as he watched Natasha beat the ever loving shit out of me daily.

Some days, he’d let me train with him. He would correct my posture, or my stance, or how I was throwing my punches, but it always came out clipped and gruff.

When we finally got alone time at the end of the night, he would sit close to me, his arm pressed against mine or my leg draped over his, but he still wouldn’t really speak. Before bed, he would remind me how much he loved me, how scared he was about what I was about to do, that he wasn’t mad at me, just the world. That made me feel slightly better about the Winter Shoulder ™ everyone seemed to be getting from him.

By the time it was time for me to leave, he was all but vibrating with barely controlled rage. But he was still sweet; he hugged me for a long time, his fingers pressing into my skin. I could feel rather than hear his ragged breathing and when he pulled away, he just turned around and stalked off, his shoulders tight.

I wish I could’ve done something to ease his suffering, just a little bit. He thought he was saying goodbye.

The plane ride was silent. Tony piloted the jet while Steve sat across from me, reading another Star Wars installment. It was a surreal feeling, knowing that I was going on a mission with the Avengers, something people only ever dreamed about.

By God, I didn’t want any of it.

Bucky’s flight was taking off approximately twelve hours after ours. By that time, we’d be in our hotel, radio silent in case anyone was listening, baiting our time until we had to get into position. I wouldn’t be able to call him and let him know that we landed okay. I wouldn’t be able to wish him well on his trip.

“Y/N,” Steve shook my shoulder and my eyes snapped open. “Hey, sorry, you fell asleep. We’re here.”

I stood up and stretched hard, following him out the door and onto the helicopter pad on top of the hotel Tony had rented for us. Tony talked for a few minutes with someone from the hotel and then passed us both room keys.

“No room service,” he winked and turned on his heel, walking inside. Steve stayed next to me as I followed, his heavy steps almost as silent as Bucky’s.

Steve stayed with me until I got to my room, and even then, he waited until I was securely inside before going down to his room. Good guy Steve.

I dropped my bag on the floor and flopped on the bed, burying my face under the pillows. Maybe if I suffocated myself a little bit, I could go home. No. Steve would just tell me I was being stupid, that I would be hurting Bucky, and I would end up staying.

I turned on a movie and curled up instead, hiding beneath my comforter to stare out the window at the night sky. City lights made it not so dark, a welcome reminder of home. If I closed my eyes, I could almost imagine being back in the tower. Bucky could just be out on a run with Steve and Sam.

My day dreaming was rudely interrupted by Steve slipping in. “Y/N, you seem more… down than usual.” He commented, sitting on the end of my bed with his back to me. “Are you sure you’re okay to do this?”

“Do I really have a choice at this point?” I asked, peeking my head over the top of my blanket slightly.

He glanced back at me, his eyes were sad. “I suppose not.” His shoulders slouched a little and he scooted back so he was sitting next to me, my back to him as I remained in my little safety cocoon. “Bucky knows what you’re really doing, doesn’t he?”

I nodded a little, nestling down into my pillows.

“That explains why he’s been such a jerk lately.” He sighed and tentatively rubbed my back a little. “I see how scared you are. If I could, I would send you right back home so you never had to deal with this. I know Buck would appreciate that more too.”

“Aren’t you all about fighting the bully? Wouldn’t this be one of those scenarios?”

He shrugged a little. “If you want to fight the bully, then hell yeah. I see how violent and strong you are. You’d be good at it. But I also understand standing by and letting the people who are literally in charge of taking care of this stuff, take care of it.”

I nodded, rolling over so I could look at him. “What if I don’t come back?”

“You will. You’re indestructible, remember?”

“But what if they know how to destroy me? Maybe their plan all along was for me to be made of metal. Bucky was right, a big enough magnet would probably put me out.”

He shrugged again. “No way of knowing until it happens. If it goes bad, I will be there as soon as I can to help you.”

I sighed and scooted closer, resting my head in his lap for comfort. “I wish Bucky could’ve held it together long enough for me to get out the door. His fear and worry is only making me fear and worry more.”

Steve rested his hand on my shoulder and relaxed a little. “He’s always been good at hiding that stuff behind humor. That just kind of goes to show how scared his is.”

“You’re not helping,”

“I know, I’m sorry,” he sighed. “Did I ever tell you about the time when he got his orders and was leaving and literally had to pull a guy twice my size off me?”

I shook my head. Steve chuckled a little and launched into the story, then several more about his childhood with Bucky. It was reassuring. And it was distracting. I fell asleep, listening to Steve talk about Bucky.

“We’re leaving in ten,” Tony yelled through my door as I tried to shimmy into the bulletproof suit.

“I feel like a sausage being shoved into its casing,” I yelled back, jumping enough to finally get the suit over my hips. That was the hard part. Everything else was easy. I grabbed my jeans and the hoodie I had swiped from Bucky and shoved my feet into hiking boots, literally running after Steve and Tony as they walked towards the elevator.

Steve held the door while I squeezed in next to him and Tony and then we were on our way to the lobby. Tony drove, once we found the car he rented. Steve sat in the passenger seat, checking over all the coms and his gear.

It took almost two hours to arrive at our destination. Once there, the guys readied up, getting into their gear and confirming all of the coms and trackers were operational. Then I had a mile hike into the middle of the woods.

Steve was in my ear the entire hike, telling me more stories to keep me calm. I was alone, in a foreign country, on my way to meet my death.

“Quick question, can I get, like, a Valium for the nerves?” I joked, studying the trees that all looked the same. Tony piped up every now and then to make sure that I was going the right direction or steer me, but otherwise, he stayed quiet. My joke seemed to startle a chuckle out of him.

“Y/N, you’re nearing the clearing. Start hollering.” Tony said quietly.

I took a deep breath and did as I was told, yelling for help, telling some sob story about wanting to know why I was different, more yelling for help, still marching forward.

By the time I stepped into the clearing, there were five men in the middle of it, military grade assault weapons pointed at me, five red laser sighted dots hovering somewhere over my heart.

One of them started shouting at me in another language. When I didn’t reply, he yelled louder, a vein popping out against his forehead. When that didn’t work, another spoke up in broken English. “Speak your name!”

“Y/N Y/L/N!” I called back, hands over my head. I could feel Steve’s shield pressed against my arm and it comforted me knowing that if any of these guys tried to shoot me, I could at least protect myself for a little while.

The men whispered amongst each other for a moment before the weapons were lowered and the leader waved at me, holding his arm out invitingly. I stepped forward, dropping my arms. He led me by my shoulder to a hatch under a thick, sharp bush. Three of the men went down first, then me, then the last two. The hand and foot holds were slightly damp and absolutely freezing under my metal fingers.

“You’re doing great, Y/N,” Steve said almost silently in the ear piece.

We dropped down into a dark, moist tunnel, HYDRA emblems painted on the walls every couple hundred feet.

“Still getting good audio, visual and tracking signals,” Tony whispered.

The halls became twisty and winding as we went deeper underground, finally arriving in a large control room with hundreds of computers and just as many employees manning them. Easy.

The men led me through the control room to an office space, where one man sat behind a desk with four computer monitors on it. The monitors held images of the surrounding area.

“Y/N!” The man said loudly, his words thick with an accent I couldn’t place. “I was beginning to wonder if I’d lost you.” He looked like a heavy set man while seated, but as soon as he stood up, I realized that he was actually just a very tall, very big man. Stocky, despite his height.

“What did you do to me?” I asked, the words slipping from my lips before I could stop myself.

He ran his eyes over me, then nodded to the guards to leave. The door latched behind me and my heart skipped a beat. “I think you already know what we did to you. You’ve spent a good amount of time with the Avengers. Probably sent here to kill me for them.”

“They don’t know who you are. They don’t know I’m here.” I thought my voice sounded smooth, even, sure, but there was a glint in his eye. I think he knew.

“I’m sure you’re right, they don’t know who I am.” He nodded, walking around the desk and circling me, examining me. “Seems like they’ve given you an upgrade.”

“Stark was very generous.” I muttered. My heart was pounding so hard I was sure he could hear it. “I’m just a normal girl. Why did you do this to me?”

The man, I still didn’t know his name, stopped his examination and stood in front of me, a whole head and a half taller. Even with my extra strength, I was sure this man could still crush me like a bug. “Because you were available. You were young. You were grief stricken and unlikely to notice the extras we’d given you.”

“A crime of convenience?”

“You could say that.” He nodded, leaning back to sit against his desk. “And you were pretty. Pretty enough to win the hearts of the Avengers. Plain enough to be invisible in a crowd. Distraught enough to be a loner. You were a wonderful candidate.”

“What about the metal skin and bones?”

“That was just an added bonus!” He said cheerfully. “Both experiments ended up working beautifully, I see!”

“Stark gave me something to solidify my bones. They were like wet cement, he said.” I needed to seem cooperative.

The man nodded, stroking his chin a little. “Seems like they gave you a great many gifts. Enough that any young woman would feel indebted to them.”

“I, uh—” I floundered for a moment, trying to come up with a convincing lie.

“Of course, you’re also romantically involved with our greatest weapon yet, the Winter Soldier.” He rounded his desk again, tapping on his keyboard then turned a monitor to show me. “Him, yes?”

Before me was a CCTV image of Bucky in downtown Chicago, with Natasha.

“We’ve kept tabs on him too.” The man nodded.

“Because I’m like generation two?”

The man nodded again, leaning back in his chair. “Something like that. Remote control. Hidden prosthetics. Much easier to hide in a crowd.”

I chewed my lip, watching Bucky walk down a crowded sidewalk with Nat next to him, their lips moving in a conversation that I couldn’t hear.

“I’ll offer you a deal, Y/N.” The man said. “I will let him live if you work for me.”

“And if I don’t?”

He shrugged. “You both die. Waste of perfectly good parts, if you ask me. But regardless, a promise is a promise.”

I could hear Tony and Steve swearing in the background, then Tony talking on the phone with Nat. Go to ground, go to ground. Get out of there. You’re not safe. Tony’s words echoed through my head.

“I’m gonna need a clean up crew.” I announced. Tony and Steve both shut up and the man in front of me frowned. I slipped the gun Natasha had given me out of my hoodie pocket, the gun she had given me on Bucky and my first date, and fired before the man could even get a word in edgewise. I wasn’t there to listen to him threaten me.

He slumped in his chair and I immediately moved him in front of the door, using him and his chair to hold it shut as I shoved the USB stick into the port on his computer. A black pop up appeared on the screen and then a download bar appeared next to it.

The door started to bulge under the pressure of the men trying to get in.

“Y/N! WHAT THE HELL?” Steve shouted at me through the coms. “Not the plan, not the plan, not the PLAN!”

“Sorry, Steve. I don’t have time for threats.”

“Well, you’re going to have to hold off the entire fucking army down there until we can cut a path through to you.” Tony yelled. I took a deep breath and checked the gun to see how many bullets I still had. I also had Tony’s blasters and Cap’s shield.

And the dead guy, a voice in the back of my head whispered. It happened to be right. Upon searching his pockets, I found another pistol, a revolver with six beautifully unfired rounds.

The door burst open and I blasted the crowd that tried to shove through, men and women in black HYDRA suits with guns all trained on me. I deployed Steve’s shield, using the leader man’s desk to hide behind too as bullets hailed down around me. My hoodie was shredded. Thankfully, that was the worst of the damage done to me.

The pistols ran out fast and very few of the bullets actually made their targets.

Maybe that night at the charity event really was just coincidence, I thought as I blasted the next wave of agents. I grabbed one of their rifles and pulled the trigger, drawing the firing end across the doorway as I prayed. A line of agents fell and my face turned up in a small smile. Spray ‘n’ pray it is.

By the time Tony and Steve got down to me, I had amassed quite the collection of dead bodies. As soon as Steve was in sight, something in me disconnected and I fell to my knees, retching as I looked over all of the bloodshed at my own hand. I screamed when on of the agents grabbed the back of my neck, something sharp pressing into the soft skin at the base of my scalp.

The whirring of my arms started again as I pushed myself back to my feet, my whole body trembling. The coms started squealing loudly in my ear and I threw them off quickly, shrinking away from Steve as he tried to pull me away from the wreckage. Tony walked past and into the office, presumably to find the thumb drive.

“Y/N, it’s all over. You did such a good job. I’m so proud of you.” Steve murmured reassuringly, his hands held out as a peace offering. My head twitched a little and my body seemed to go numb, but I kept backing away from him. “Y/N, what’s going on?”

I shook my head, unable to speak. I could feel the warmth of my tears streaking down my face, the trails quickly cooled by the cold air around us.

A massive wave of nausea washed over me and I fell to my knees again, dry heaving. When I stood up that time, I was not in control. I watched myself pick up one of the discarded rifles and aim it right at Steve’s forehead. I’d almost pulled the trigger when something hard smashed against the back of my head.

“Sorry, Y/N, no team kills.” Tony said as my vision faded.

I woke up in the med bay, back in the tower. My hands and ankles were strapped to the bed, another big strap across my abdomen.

Steve was sitting next to my bed, his book almost completed. Today was Elvis.

“I almost shot you.” My voice was hoarse, like I’d been smoking a couple packs a day for the last twenty years. “I’m so sorry.”

He held up a little chip, much like the one that had been attached to my brain. “They tried to use you against us.”

I shuddered a little, thinking back to that base. I thought of all of the dead bodies, people who had fallen because of me. Yes, they were fighting the wrong side of the fight, but still.

“Where’s Bucky?”

Steve shut his book and took a deep breath. “Bucky’s in a weird place right now. He’s happy you’re alive and everything went well, but he…” He paused, looking for the right word.

“Doesn’t want to see me?” I offered.

Air hissed between Steve’s teeth as he tried to find the best way to combat that. “It’s not that he doesn’t want to see you. I think he’s just nervous that you’re not going to want to see him.”

“Of course I want to see him. Tell him to come down here. Hell, I’ll tell him.” I started to sit up, but Steve pushed me back down.

“He’s not here.”

“Where is he?”

He sighed heavily, so heavy it hurt my heart a little. “We don’t know. He took off after the call from Tony to Natasha and she had to finish the mission alone. We can’t track him, we don’t have eyes on him.”

I stared at Steve for a long time. “You’re his best friend and all, but you’re kind of stupid.” I sighed, getting out of bed before he could stop me. I was dressed and on the street fast, not really caring if Steve got in my way. He tried to yell at me, tell me that Tony and Bruce needed to run more tests to make sure that I was okay and that the chip hadn’t somehow messed me up, but I didn’t care.

I climbed the back of the café, my fingers sinking into the brick the way they used to. When I crested the top of the wall, I was pleasantly surprised to find two camp chairs and a TV tray on top. Bucky sat in one, leaned forward with his elbows braced against his knees.

“Hey, Sargent,” I called, walking forward slowly. He glanced over his shoulder and I saw his back slump a little. “I see you brought your own chair.”

“Got you a new one too.” He grunted, standing up slowly. The way he uncurled from his chair vaguely reminded me of the man, Arnold Schmidt, from the base, and I hesitated for a moment, my heart catching in my throat. “How’d you find me?”

I swallowed my fear and continued forward. “I like to think I have a decent insight into your mind.” He was quiet as I slowly slipped my arms around his waist. “A little too much insight, if you ask me.” I added, resting my head on his chest. He wrapped his arms around me tightly, his nose pressed into my hair.

“Definitely too much insight,” he murmured. “God dammit, doll.” He huffed, finally letting his walls down. “You scared the living hell out of me.”

“I think I scared the living hell out of myself.” I admitted.

“How did you kill all of those agents?”

“It’s kind of hard to die before they’re all dead when you’re indestructible.” I grinned up at him, but even I could see just from my reflection in his eyes that it wasn’t even remotely believable. “I was really scared. They threatened you and something just snapped. I had enough.”

He knotted his fingers in the hair at the back of my head and I quickly stepped back. “I’m sorry, I just…”

“They got you like that,” he held his hands up. “I understand.”

I nodded and sat down in my chair, watching the sun begin to rise over the horizon. “I could never do your job. I’ve seen enough dead bodies for a lifetime.”

“I watched the recordings. They confirmed one hundred and seven total kills in that base. Steve and Tony only accounted for thirty of them.” Bucky told me and bile burned at the back of my throat.

“Never again.” I shook my head, pressing my palms against my temples.

“How about some good news?” He offered. I looked over as he dug around in his pocket. He produced a small velvet hinge box and tossed it at me. I looked at it, and then at him.

“Bucky, you’re not…” I trailed off.

“Open it, doll.”

I did as I was told and a gold key fell out.

“When I ran off, I planned to come back for you. That’s the key to a house out in the ‘burbs.” He shrugged. “Figured it was better than always being stuck in the chaos at the tower. We’d have our own space. And you can still come into town with me for work.”

“And Steve and Tony are okay with this?”

“Does it matter?” He asked, the laugh that followed slightly exasperated. “They do not control our lives. Steve and I fought for the right to not have to answer to someone over every little thing. This is what I want. I thought you would want it too.”

I stood up and hugged him again. “Of course this is what I want, Buck.”

“Good, because I might have already moved you in.”

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[bthenoise]

Celebrate 10 Years of ‘Constellations’ With August Burns Red’s 10 Favorite Moments From The Writing, Recording & Touring Process

When it comes to most album anniversary tours, some fans tend to think those 10, 15 or even 20-year treks are just for the longtime listeners and nostalgia chasers. Instead, many seem to forget about the bands actually playing those beloved records on a nightly basis. 

Take metalcore juggernauts August Burns Red, for example. Gearing up for their 10-year anniversary tour for 2009′s groundbreaking LP Constellations, the seasoned outfit has thoroughly enjoyed tour prep as they’ve run through songs like “The Escape Artist” and reminisced about some of their fondest decade-old memories.    

Be it playing tour games on the road, surviving terrifying snowstorms or the impact of playing “Indonesia” live for the first time in the Southeast Asian country, looking back on 10 years since Constellations was released, JB Brubaker, Brent Rambler, Matt Greiner, Dustin Davidson and Jake Luhrs have all accrued memories that will last a lifetime. 

Speaking with The Noise about some of those life-changing Constellations moments, Brubaker, Rambler, Greiner and Davidson compiled 10 of their all-time favorite memories from the writing, recording and touring process dating all the way back to 2007. To check out the list to get you even more pumped for August Burns Red’s upcoming tour, be sure to see below. Afterward, to grab tickets, head here.      

Lastly, if you’d like a chance to win free tickets – yes, FREE! – head here.

Brent Rambler

The Constellations recording process and touring cycle houses many fond memories for all of us. Here are three of my personal favorites that stick out. Let’s get cracking in chronological order!

“White Washed”

The lyrics for “White Washed” were some of the first more aggressive and “angry” lyrics that I had ever tried to write at the time. However, the words flowed like water because they were very in the moment. I started working on them immediately after a youth pastor surrounded me with a group of teenagers directly outside of our tour van. He proceeded to condemn [me] and the other members of the band simply for having a case of beer on our [tour] rider. He wanted to try and make an example of me in front of all the kids he brought with him. The whole thing was super inappropriate and out of line, BUT the lyrics for one of our most popular songs came out of it so it was worth it!

First Home

The recording process for Constellations was extra exciting for me because literally a week before we left I had an offer accepted for my first house. I remember being very proud because it was a big moment in proving to everyone that I could earn a living off of making music. For weeks while we recorded, I was heading to notaries and post offices to work on the closing process of the home, and since we were in Florida while making the album, I had to sign over power of attorney and do the sale over the phone. We returned home super late from Florida, but instead of crashing at my parents where all of my things were, I grabbed the keys and just sat in my new house.

Chicago House Of Blues

Constellations came out while we were on tour in the summer of 2009. The tour had some cool highlights, but I think the biggest one was selling out the Chicago House of Blues for the first time. At that moment it was our biggest headline show ever and packing such a notable venue felt amazing. Afterwards, we had a big celebration with the other bands backstage and it capped off a great night!

JB Brubaker

“Put Him Up!”

In December of 2009, we were on the road with Underoath and Emery. We became really good friends with the guys in Emery and would hang out with them every night after the shows. They had purchased their own passenger bus and gutted it and turned it into a tour bus. It was DIY but so cool. We’d hang out, drink beers, have dance parties and tell stories. Emery taught us one “game” that we still play on our tour bus today. Occasionally, when someone new would walk on the bus, Toby (Emery’s bassist/vocalist) would slowly start chanting “Put him up! Put him up!” The chant would catch on with other people on the bus until everyone was shouting it, at which point the newcomer would be picked up and crowd surfed to the ceiling of the bus. It was basically a “welcome to the party” greeting and always got a good laugh. We are happy to continue to carry the tradition on a decade later.

Touring Australia 

It was August of 2009. Constellations had recently come out and we were invited by Parkway Drive to support them on a tour across Australia. It was our first time in Australia and an honor to be supporting them. They were the hottest metal band on the continent and drawing huge crowds. After the monster travel day to Australia, we arrived to find a bunch of luggage didn’t make it. Qantas Airlines outfitted us with small care packages to keep us afloat until our baggage was recovered. Inside were heather gray sweat shorts and matching t-shirts. The first show was in Brisbane at an outdoor hillside [venue] called Riverstage. They were expecting 7,000 people which was more people than we had ever played for at that time. When we were setting up our equipment on stage before the show, I failed to take into account the voltage difference between Australia and the US. I plugged in my pedal board and heard a pop followed by the smell of burning electronics. I had fried my pedal board’s power supply, rendering my pedals useless. I had to borrow a pedal board from Architects, who were also playing on the tour. (I think we need to do this same tour lineup again!). When we took the stage that night I was a ball of nerves. I unfortunately played sloppy for the large Australian crowd, but I don’t know if anyone actually noticed or cared. We debuted our song “Meddler” for the first time that night. (I played that song particularly poorly.) The tour was overall a great experience. I have very fond memories of hanging out with the guys in Architects and playing massive shows in every city.

Touring South America

In August of 2010, we were doing a tour of South America. It was our first time traveling there. Our buddies in Blessthefall were coming with us and it was going to be awesome. The first show was in Sao Paulo, Brazil and over 1,000 people showed up. We were treated like celebrities and it was a completely surreal start to the tour. The final show of the tour was scheduled for August 28th in Caracas, Venezuela. About a week before the show, we learned of political unrest in Venezuela. The president there was known for being a hot head and pulling stunts like closing down the airports. It was determined to be unsafe for us to travel to Caracas because of the possibility of getting stuck there should the president lock down flights out of the country.  Instead, we booked a last minute show in Quito, Ecuador. With a week to get the word out, we weren’t expecting much. The show was held in a small youth center. There couldn’t have been more than 150 people there but it was such a special show for us. The appreciation and enthusiasm the crowd showed us was unmatched. We felt honored to have been received with such open arms and on such short notice. What felt like a disaster waiting to happen turned out to be one of the biggest highlights of our South American tour.

Dustin Davidson

The Day The Van Died

Thankfully I found a journal entry from Thursday, April 16th, 2009 so that I can write accurately with every detail about the day that our van died. We were pretty early into a tour with All That Remains and Born of Osiris when as you may have guessed -- our 16 passenger Chevrolet van (unnamed to my knowledge) took its last breath of air and sipped its last ounce of gasoline (which in those days contained 0% ethanol for you engine nerds). According to my journal, we woke up at a decent hour, grabbed continental breakfast from the hotel and headed out on the road for the next show. I was first up to drive on that day and while on the road about 60 miles away from our departure our sound engineer Jade asked me, “So how long do you think this van is going to last? Do you think it’ll make it through the rest of the tour?”

“Yeah, I think it’ll last for the rest of the tour - at least I hope so,” I replied. Just as I finished that thought our speed began to decrease rapidly while ascending a hill on the highway. I let off the gas and the engine shut off. As I was pulling over to the shoulder the temperature gauge shot up, the breaks were extremely hard to press because the brake booster went out and smoke poured out from under the hood when I was finally able to bring the vehicle to a stop. “Well, I think we need a new van,” I said.

I don’t remember how many miles that van had but it was surely over 200k so something like that was bound to happen at any time. Born of Osiris was able to pick us up so that we could make the next show which was in Syracuse, NY and after the gig our friend Ricky picked us up and drove us back to Lancaster so that we could van shop the next day and get back out on the road to meet up with the tour again.

The Storm That Left Us Stranded

In the winter of 2009, we did a short tour with Underoath and Emery. It was a very fun tour filled with hangs and packed shows. However, the drive home was something that I hope to never be a part of again. After the tour ended in New Orleans, JB and Brent flew home while the rest of us (Matt, Jake, TM Josh, merch guy Mychael and myself) opted to save some bones and drive the van/trailer home. We knew there was a huge rain storm coming but we had plenty of time to beat it home by getting on the road directly after that last show - or so we thought.

Sometime in the early hours of December 18th during our drive home, we blew a wheel bearing on the trailer and had to pull over to take a look at it. This was an ongoing problem for us back in the day. You see, this was a time before the Axe-Fx / Kemper. A dark time when we carried many guitar/bass cabinets. Our trailer was always filled to the brim. We were simply carrying too much weight and would blow out wheel bearings left and right no matter how we packed the trailer.

This blow out was one of the worst ones we ever had. Since it was still dark outside, whoever was driving the van couldn’t see the smoke so they ended up driving for a while after the bearing gave out which led to the bearing fusing to the spindle which meant that we couldn’t fix the problem ourselves. We had to wait for a small repair shop to open up so that we could have the bearing fixed and while waiting to have everything repaired the storm passed us. It was only rain at the time but we knew it would turn into a mild blizzard. We finally got on the road in the early afternoon but it was too late - the damage was done.

I don’t recall which highway we were on, but it indeed was shut down and we ended up spending the night in the van on the highway until we could get moving again early the next morning. Around 6am when traffic started moving again, we opted to drive to the next closest exit and get a hotel since the roads were still covered in snow. Our drive home was supposed to be about 18 hours without stops and it ended up taking us 3 days. It’s fun to reflect on it now and talk to those that I share that memory with, but it’s safe to say from that day on, I never drove the van home from the end of a tour again.

Matt Greiner

Constellations Artwork

It was December 2007. I was getting inspiration for album artwork from the most unassuming source, a black and white movie from the 1940s. It's A Wonderful Life is a movie about a supernatural intervention in the life of a frustrated businessman. In the movie, an angel is sent from heaven to show George Bailey what life would have been like had he never existed. At their high-school graduation party, George is reintroduced to Mary who has had a crush on him since they were kids. Under the moonlight, they're walking outside when George suddenly turns Mary towards the sky and asks, "You want the moon? Just say the word and I'll throw a lasso around it and pull it down."

As I watched the scene unfold, I played out the idea of a rope tied to a star in the sky. I put pen to paper and ran with the concept, pulling inspiration from Matthew 6 where the idea of Heaven coming to earth is introduced. The stars represented steadfast anchors by which we find direction throughout our lives. The kites represent our own fleeting emotions that will alter direction just as the wind changes. I remember getting on the phone with Ryan Clark, the creative mind behind the company Invisible Creature, and explaining the artistic concepts that would eventually come to fruition in the pages of Constellations.  

“Indonesia” 

In 2007, I awoke to find that a relative had died in a plane crash. David Clapper had always been passionate about flying. It wasn't uncommon to see his single-engine Cessna flying over our family farm in Lancaster County, PA. He devoted his time assisting those in need in Southeast Asia by flying the sick and dying from the bush to the nearest hospital, which often times was a several hour flight. On one of his return flights to the bush, he encountered a storm that blew his plane into the side of a mountain. I remember going for a drive after finding out the terrible news. I was so upset that someone doing such a good thing had died in such a terrible way. Here was a man who gave his time and energy to helping others and, in the end, sacrificed his life doing so. I remember wondering what his last words might have been as the plane spun out of control, crashing into the side of the mountain where it still resides today. I learned an important lesson that day. That is, not every question in life has an answer, at least not one that will satisfy. "This is the time to turn down our heads and turn up our hearts."  

I remember traveling to Indonesia on the Constellations Tour. We played an outdoor venue for a large group of excited fans who were seeing us perform for the first time. When it came time to play "Indonesia," a feeling came over me that I'll never forget, an overwhelming sense of humility. The band I helped start in my parent's basement in Lancaster County, PA was playing in Southeast Asia performing a song written about my relative who had passed away on that very continent just the year before. The fans in the crowd seemed to sing about him like he was their relative, not some stranger who's name they merely read in the liner notes of a CD. Near the end of the song Jake screams the words, "David, rest in peace." I'll never forget hearing the crowd sing those very words so loud they could be heard over the amplification of our own instruments. A story goes a long way, sometimes even to the edges of the other side of the planet.  

#August Burns Red #Constellations #Solid State Records #Fearless Records #interview #Noise Exclusive