#god sorry if this is messy and unclear and hard to understand

[arrimorr]

im getting that the knight is the king's favorite skronkly skrimbo, so how would the knight react if the king got a new follower that he started treating as his favorite? would he get jealous or just be like "ah, an ally i can finally trust!"

Yeah...

BUT ACTUALLY YOU REALLY GOT ME WITH THIS QUESTION.

Short answer: I think the Knight would have sabotaged the poor bastard only to end up miserable about it afterwards.

Long answer: the Knight is the King's secial guy because he is the only follower he got to fully deconstruct and the only condition under which the King can get himself another favorite is if he manages to deconstruct someone again.

And here is the thing - the Knight has a really faulty "design" because of which he is incapable to connect with other followers that inhabit the road and he suffers from that inability to build a personal connection. Deep inside, especially by the point when the plot of the game begins, he wants there to be someone like him. The distance he has with guys like the Tenant and the Radio host is too big to cross because they got to keep a connection to their previous lives, while he did not, and he believes that this is the reason for his inability to bond with them (and, partially, he is right about this). If there was another blank slate like him, things may go differently.

SO, I think initially he would have been actually excited about someone like this appearing. However, I also think he wouldn't have taken it well if he was to lose his "favorite" status. That's basically the focal point of his entire existence, it's hard to lose something like this and not fall into an existential crisis. Especially given that, if given a chance to play doctor Frankenstein again, I think the King would have done a way better job than the one he did with the Knight. So, the Knight would have tried to put his competitor down, pushing the King to get rid of that person by damaging his trust in them.

However, as I said, he would have been miserable after that. Doing this will in no way fix the damage done to his self perception and, more than that, there will be an understanding that he destroyed his own chance to have someone similar to him to keep him company.

[levworship]

Okay but I just read what the other anon requested and that was so good?? I didn’t think I had a thing for receiving oral but wtf 😭🤚could I maybe request smth if you got time?? Could it be a reunion between volleyball teams from miyagi and tokyo? So nekoma, fukorodani, seijoh, Johzenji (terushima’s tongue piercing PLS), karasuno, itachiyama You were the old manager of nekoma and was friends with literally everyone, during the talk kuroo somehow mentioned that in the nekoma reunion like 2 years ago it somehow ended with the main guys all taking turns eating you out and that pisses off the rest of the guys because that was their fantasy?? This ends up with you (with consent ofc) being sat down on kuroo’s lap as the guys also take turns eating you out (inspired by the other anon because 😩) I understand if you obviously can’t mention everyone, but pls mention terurshima, sakusa (who would only let you make a mess on his face) and bokuto if you could <3 ALSO the idea of two people eating you out at the same time, maybe bokuto and terushima?? IM NASTY OKAY BUT PLS DO THAT

Ty in advanceeee

i’m usually pretty fast but this took me a whole two days to write smh i’m sorry anon. hope you enjoy tho <3 i wanted it to be a lil longer but i’m so tired and i rlly wanted to get this out for you.

cw: group sex (like.. big group), hella sub reader, also fem reader, anal lol, oral (fem reviving), kuroo is the ringleader, humiliation ig, reader kinda into it doe, dirty talk, degrading + praise, squirting, overstimulation

summary: basically everyone wants to eat out/fuck y/n. explicitly written in here is kuroo, oikawa, sakusa, bokuto, and terushima. the rest is implied.

word count: about 1.9k

your face was buried into kenma’s stiff shoulder, your whole body feeling hot as your group of friends continued to talk about you as if you weren’t even there. but clearly they hadn’t forgotten about you too much considering the way their eyes burned holes into you from all around so indiscreetly that you couldn’t even sit your ass still.

you weren’t quite sure how the previous conversation had shifted so suddenly, but kuroo seemed more than happy with the subject change as his signature asshole smirk never left his features. “- yeah, ‘bout two years ago i’d say. she was a good fuck too. poor thing was so eager to make us feel good that she passed out.” kuroo continued to drag his story as if to intentionally provoke the others, and the staring at you only got worse. your nerves were shot.

you looked and felt like a precious bunny being stared down by a bunch of wolves. and honestly? it was hot as fuck.

which is why you didn’t bother to argue when you were practically dragged into the locker room of the old gym, daichi hurriedly locking the door behind all of you. you couldn’t help but feel bad for just a second. ‘didnt some of these guys have girlfriends? couldve sworn i saw terushima enter with some girl.’ but how could you possibly focus on that when your clothes were being literally ripped off of you and disregarded to who knows where?

your legs felt weak, both out of shock and nervousness from being handled so roughly. “bring her here, bo. sit her down on my lap.” bokuto (for perhaps the first time in his life) was silent as he dragged you over to the other ex-captain, setting you down in his lap on his spot on the bench just as he’d requested. kuroo snickered and raised a hand to cup your cheeks, squeezing them together like you were a little baby before releasing.

“ease up, will ya? so damn tense i can feel it from here. you know we’ll take good care of you.” he spoke so lowly and reassuringly that you couldn’t help but to nod like a fool as he turned you around in his lap to fit the others. he tapped your thigh once, twice, and you quickly picked up on the hint and opened your legs for their viewing pleasure. you tried to put your face down as you were smothered in shame from just how quickly you got wet from their rough handling, but kuroo gripped onto your face once again and forced you to look up.

“look up, baby. so many big strong men dying to make you cum so fucking hard. be a little more thankful, yeah? say it.” “thank you.” he shook his head with a small laugh before releasing your face, but not before lightly tapping your face twice with soft slaps. still, you remained out of it even as oikawa settled himself between your legs, looking up at you with the same lazy smile you frequently saw him wearing around you.

“smells so damn good. finally gonna let me get a taste, cutie?” he spoke lowly as if he were to himself before diving in and holy shit. you figured he’d be pretty experienced. the guy was a literal chick magnet. but damn, this exceeded your expectations by far. your body threatened to curl over itself if it hadn’t been for kuroo’s sturdy grip on your twitching thighs. the way he sucked vigorously at your clit while swiping his tongue along your folds to capture more of your essence had you drawing nothing but blanks up there.

“haven’t even cum yet for us and already going dumb?” kuroo teased, planting a kiss just behind your ear, a shocking contrast to the way oikawa’s tongue worked against you just right.

the air around you was so thick you felt as if it could be cut with a knife. some of the guys surrounding you couldn’t figure out what to do with themselves, nervously shuffling their feet without taking your eyes off of you. others had clearly overcome any former shame, already slowly pumping their cocks in their hands as they hoped and prayed that they would get a turn soon. the whole scene made you feel so dirty— so wanted. the desire that leaked from their looks on you had your orgasm approaching faster than ever.

oikawa seemed to have noticed this, using his thumbs to spread your folds apart to make sure you felt him deep, muttering a quick “cum on my fucking mouth, princess.” the simple phrase alone made your orgasm crash down on you finally. your fingers tangled in his soft hair, which was now messy and tossed thanks to you.

you nearly passed out right there when he continued to lick you clean even as you violently shook in kuroo’s grasp, the black haired boy having to shove the other away forcefully just to separate his mouth from you. “that’s enough of that. did he make you feel good baby?” your eyes are still shut as you cling onto the leftover bliss, only offering a quiet “mhm.” “good girl. think you can give us another?” the question was clearly rhetorical, which should’ve been clear by the was he was already gesturing someone else forward. but still, you shook your little fucked out head ‘no’ and prayed upon some god that he’d have mercy on your poor quivering cunt.

but you knew better than to expect mercy from kuroo of all people. especially when it came to your body, when he kept whispering to you about how you were such a “perfect little toy,” and his “favorite doll to use.” before you knew it sakusa was diving into your pussy quickly without giving you time to do so much as muster up the energy to open your eyes again. his mouth was quick and desperate to get you off, moving with a sense of urgency as his hands busied themselves palming at his covered dick. he wasn’t nearly as precise or experienced as oikawa was, but his eagerness made up for it as he ate you out like a starved man.

your hips threatened to buck against his face wildly, cries of “please, please, please” falling from your mouth even though you didn’t even know what you were begging for. all you knew was that you needed more than what he was giving you right now. the man above you seemed to have read you like an open book once again as he released one of your thoughts to reach a hand around to your sensitive bud, pressing down on it softly. “see this?” he murmured, only receiving a small “hm.” in acknowledgement as omi continued his assault on your little hole. greedy fuck. “try touching her here. she loves that shit.” you cried out for more again, clenching tightly at the way he spoke of your body as if you weren’t even there.

the second sakusa tore himself away from your folds to wrap his lips around your clit, you were a goner for sure. there was a distant scream that you didn’t even recognize as your own until kuroo muffled them with his hand, body twitching and jerking more than it had the previous time. the room fell to a sudden silence even as you came down from your high, causing you to let out a confused hum.

kuroo’s chuckle broke the quietness, his large hand slapping your wet overstimulated mound and making you yelp. “didn’t know you were a squirter, baby. how come you didn’t do this for us the first time hm?” another rhetorical question. his hand trailed down lower, collecting some of your juices before he began to prod a finger at your other hole. “fuck- gonna let me bury myself in here again? want both of your holes fucked out?” and you couldn’t help but cry out because fuck yes! you couldn’t think of anything you’d want more. you nodded your head and panted like a sex craved mutt, and perhaps you would’ve been as humiliated as you were before if you weren’t so damn thirsty for it. every inch of you was begging to be ravished and destroyed, and you couldn’t help but grow more and more impatient as the time passed.

kuroo didn’t take his eyes off of you as he nodded towards the crowd once again, sakusa taking the hint and reluctantly scurrying off to palm at himself through his sweatpants just as he previously had. kuroo’s command must’ve been unclear though, as both of you were pulled away from your eye contact at the sound of a comical bonk followed by two grunts of “ow.” perhaps you would’ve laughed if the two aforementioned fools weren’t kneeling in front of your drenched pussy, ready to service you eagerly just as the other two had.

a chill ran up your spine as you surveyed each of their features. while both of them shared the same underlying expressions of lust and desperation, you couldn’t help but note how bokuto’s face resembled one of an excited puppy dog that perhaps would’ve been adorable in another circumstance while terushima’s was much more primal. “look at that” kuroo’s voice in your ear dragged you back out of your own head as he slowly sunk another finger into your tight ass. just because he was going to treat you like a whore didn’t mean you didn’t deserve prep. “making a fool out of themselves, all because they’re so desperate to get a taste of that perfect pussy. doesn’t that make you feel filthy?”

kuroo couldn’t do anything but shake his head at your lack of response, finally releasing your thighs for a moment to grab at both of their napes, silently demanding for you to hold them open yourself. “well? since you’re both so impatient, think you two can work together as a team? if i hear her complain even one time, i’m not letting either of you touch again.”

the two of them nodded obediently, and your eyes nearly rolled back at how demanding kuroo was being right now. it was clear that everyone knew who was truly holding the ropes here, and yet no one was complaining about the arrangement. seemingly satisfied with their responses, kuroo released their necks and his hands smacked yours away so he could replace them and hold up your thighs himself once again. “think you’re ready to take my cock now in here, y/n?” he smirked as he lined himself up. “gonna let me fuck this ass while you let both of them eat that slutty pussy? such a dirty girl. so fuckin’ good for us” he continued to spew filth at you as he lined himself up at your entrance, allowing you to sink down slowly.

you hissed at the stretch, but of course didn’t have much time to focus on the sensation because bokuto and terushima had finally decided that they’d been waiting for long enough. they worked diligently, the cool metal of teru’s tongue piercing flicking against your bud while bokuto slurped on your juices so loudly that the sound filled the room in the most embarrassing way possible.

yeah. you were in for it tonight.

sorry for mistakes or inconsistencie. requests for bnha and haikyuu are open.

[cina-full-moon-xanadium]

experience with phase 1 heisei kamen riders

Kuuga: Hooooly shit. Holy shit. This one’s a spiritual experience. There is absolutely fucking nothing like it in Kamen Rider aside from maybe ZO and it had such an impact on me with one of... in fact no, the greatest execution I’ve seen of a non-violence message and the best understanding of what’s important in reviving a classic series that I’ve seen. This show is just about perfect

Agito: You know how flowers posts about Agito? Yeah it’s exactly like that and I fucking love it. It’s not like completely over the top stupid but it is stupid as in that’s what’s built into its DNA and it benefits the goofy relationships in a way that I just rarely ever get from Inoue’s work and I’m shocked that I do like it so much despite him liking it. Lovable cast, solid mystery and plot, insane shit happening, a lot of things happening on a meta level that says a lot to me based on the type of person I am. Just a really really good show

Ryuki: I’d be lying if I said I out-and-out liked this show, but I’d also be lying if I said it wasn’t genius in its deconstruction of the franchise. Ryuki is a show I respect more than anything else for how much it believes in what it’s saying and how far it pushes what it’s saying and how much it goes against everything Kamen Rider is but it’s always always for a specific point it’s making. Really good show, at the end of the day though it’s not for me

555: This one’s a bit like Ryuki for me in that I think it’s good but I just respect it? Just a lot more extreme where unlike Ryuki it hasn’t come around to me actually legitimately liking it. Because I mean it is good, well it’s not, but I mean it is, but like, but it’s not really but yeah it is. Loved Takumi and Kiba, not sure on many others, don’t know who Delta is and Kusaka can go to hell <3

Blade: Now this one. This one. Thiiiis one. It’s not a good show but it’s also the best and I love it? Immensely?? Like Agito it’s a very stupid show but unlike Agito there is absolutely nothing clean or clearly-cut about it and nothing about it should work from its disjointed character arcs to its unclear direction to all three thirds of the show being wildly disparate but. Everything works. It’s never boring and they’re all fun in some way and because I’m gay the ending hit me like a ton of bricks. The perfect bad show that’s good

Hibiki: hhhhh. Okay. Tell me if you’ve heard this one before. Loved the first 29 episodes! Pretty much everything after that fucking sucked so hard oh my god! So I’m just gonna ignore post-29 because it doesn’t matter it literally doesn’t matter and focus on how good 1-29 are because like Kuuga it’s a super unique show where there’s nothing like it in all of Rider and everything it’s doing is for a purpose. Which I mean makes sense when Takatera’s on this show as well. It’s so chill and relaxed and nice and comfy and yet also contrasts a coming-of-age story with demons destroying giant crabs with music. The whole tone of it is wonderful and something that just makes me happy to recall. I love this 29-episode show :)

Kabuto: girl i dont know i dont even know. It... I don’t really remember much about it? I don’t know how I feel about anything that happened other than liking Gatack and Sasword (whose ending was awful)? The hopper bros are in it? The dark kitchen arc happened? It’s all a blur for me sorry. None of it worked for me at the time and I’d be lying if I said much of it works for me now. Just not a show I vibed with

Den-O: Now this is the good shit this is ABSOLUTELY the good shit. First of all, messy story! Very messy story! Do not really think much of what was going on with Yuuto and Sakurai and all that stuff and I couldn’t get into that. But I don’t really care when this show is just fun as fuck? Which is before saying it’s also a load of emotional bricks to the face? Do I have to convince anyone here that the Imagin are fun, or that you get so emotional over any time it looks like they’re gone for good, or that this little mini-franchise has so much going for it? It’s a magical show, and one that smartly prioritises emotion above plot in a way that’s extremely Heisei Kamen Rider. Love this show

Kiva: nope

Decade: This is a good show shut up. Literally shut up sit down this is a GREAT show that knows precisely what it is about and is screaming that meaning at you through every visual. I mean sure obviously some stuff like Narutaki doesn’t carry through that well and making you watch a post-series movie for the ending isn’t great, but what matters for me is that in retrospect this is a season that like Den-O might not have the most solid story but is so high on character and fun and emotions that’s impossible not to love. It’s hard to look past its flaws for sure but if you get over it for a few seconds you find something absolutely fantastic

[chiefnooniensingh]

if it goes over their head - a buddie one-shot

A/n: based on @stiilesstilinski's gifset because it's just perfect.

Summary: Eddie and Buck are both bisexual disasters. Hen intervenes.

also on: ao3

Eddie was at the end of his patience. He didn’t know what the fuck he needed to do to make Buck see that he liked him. He’d been incredibly obvious about his advances, inviting him to family dinners, flirting near constantly at the firehouse, on calls, out on the town with Christopher… Either Buck was purposely ignoring his moves, or he was quite possibly the dumbest person alive.

Which, to be fair, was probably true.

They were between calls right now, having finally managed to eat a full meal prepared by Bobby, and everyone was hanging around, recovering from the excellent food, hoping against hope the next call was still far away. Buck was lounging on the couch in the TV area, and Eddie was staring at him. What did he have to do to make Buck see?

“Just go to him.” Eddie startled out of his reverie, seeing Hen standing next to him, looking exasperated. “I’m tired of watching you pine after him. Just tell him how you feel!”

“Easier said than done,” Eddie scoffed, scrubbing his face with a hand. “I don’t want to ruin the friendship we have, if he doesn’t feel the same way.”

Hen smiled sympathetically. “I get it, Diaz, but this…crush of yours in interfering with your work. You gotta deal with it,” she said, clapping him on the shoulder, “or people around here might deal with it for you.”

Eddie stared after her as she walked away, horror-struck. He was pretty sure ‘people’ mean ‘Hen and Chimney’ and if those two maniacs told Buck about his crush…hell no. Groaning under his breath, he got up and moved towards Buck, his stomach coiling.

“Hey, man,” Buck said, moving aside a little to make space for Eddie, who dropped onto the couch next to him. “That meal was the best thing I’ve ever had, I can’t believe how much I ate.”

Eddie laughed. “Yeah, you were kind of a maniac.”

“Hey, you ate almost as much as I did!” Buck exclaimed, punching Eddie in the shoulder.

“’Almost’ being the operative word, Buckley,” Eddie teased, and Buck snorted. It was the cutest thing Eddie had ever heard and his heart did a little skip. Biting his lip for a second, he made a decision. “Hey, Buck, can I ask you for some advice?”

“Yeah, of course, man. What’s going on?” Buck said, sitting up and looking serious. Eddie smiled. Buck was always there for him, no matter what. It’s what had made him fall for Buck in the first place.

“So I’ve been having this serious crush on someone.” It was happening.

Buck’s face lit up, a salacious grin forming on his face. “No way, Eddie Diaz with a crush? That’s a goddamn first!”

Eddie tried hard not to blush, but it was a losing battle. “Shut up. Anyway. I’ve been dropping them the most insanely obvious hints for, like, a year now. No response.” What the fuck are you doing? Eddie knew it was a coward’s approach, but he couldn’t get the words out.

“Wow,” Buck said, eyebrows raised and laughing a little, “they sound stupid.”

Eddie couldn’t help but smile. “They’re not. They’re really smart, smarter then they think they are. They’re just…really dense.”

Buck shook his head, letting out a puff of air. “Well…maybe you need to be more obvious?”

“More obvious?” Eddie said, letting out a laugh. He was pretty sure he’d done everything short of jumping Buck’s bones.

Buck pushed him away again but nodded. “Yes. I don’t know, like…‘hey, I love you!’.”

Eddie stared at Buck for a while. Sweet, clueless Buck. “Okay, I guess you’re right. Hey, Buck,” he said, looking straight into Buck’s eyes, his heart beating in his ears and his stomach coiling worse than ever, but he forced the words out anyway, “I love you.”  

Buck smiled broadly and clapped Eddie’s shoulder. “See! Just say that!”

Eddie didn’t know what he expected, but somehow this fit exactly in how this entire thing had been going so far. He stared at Buck for a second before dropping his head in his hand.  “Holy fucking shit,” he muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose. Buck didn’t seem to notice his exasperation.

“If that flies over their head,” Buck continued, smiling like he’d just saved the freaking day, “then I’m sorry, Diaz, but they’re just too dumb for you.” Before Eddie could respond, Buck rose and clapped Eddie’s shoulder once more. “Lemme know how it goes, man!” Then he walked off.

Eddie could only stare after him. He went over the conversation in his head, wondering if he’d still ben unclear about his intentions or if Buck was just that dense. How much clearer did he need to be? He was about to run after Buck to just kiss his stupid mouth, when he noticed Hen standing a few feet away, the most hilarious look of disbelief on her face. He just shook his head at her. Groaning out load, she paced forward and grabbed Buck’s arm to stop him from leaving. “Buck,” she said, her teeth gritting, “do me a favour, and go over that conversation in your head.”

“What?”

“Just…fucking do it, you absolute fucking idiot,” Hen said, in her most dejected and simultaneously most dangerous voice.

Buck sighed and stayed still for a while. Hen and Eddie both watched him, Hen with impatience and Eddie with bated breath. His eyes flicked to Hen every once in a while, whose eyeroll was so aggressive she looked in danger of getting her eyes permanently stuck that way.

Out of nowhere, Buck spun around and stared at Eddie. “What?!” he squeaked.

“There it is,” Hen sighed with relief. “You’re welcome!” And with that, she left quickly, leaving Eddie and Buck staring at each other awkwardly.

Eddie stood up, nerves coursing through his entire body. His stomach felt like it was about to send the food back up. “Buck…” he began, his voice quavering.

But Buck shook his head, holding up a hand. “Wait, what?” he repeated, still staring at Eddie like he didn’t really understand what he was seeing.

“Yeah,” Eddie said, unsure of what else there was to say. “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you for a year. Thanks for the advice, by the way.”

Buck stared at him for a moment longer, which felt like an eternity to Eddie, who felt increasingly uncomfortable and stupid. “Oh my god,” Buck breathed, “I am so fucking stupid.”

“No, Buck…” But Buck moved quickly, closing the distance between them in two big strides. Before Eddie could say anything else, Buck grabbed Eddie’s face and crashed their lips together. Eddie froze for a full second, before melting into the kiss completely. The entire world faded away, with Buck still in full focus, and Eddie wrapped his arms around him, pulling him close and deepening the kiss.

This is what he had wanted for a full year, and it felt absolutely surreal to be kissing Evan Buckley, at the fire house, in front of all their friends and colleagues. But it also felt absolutely right, like his body had been made to fit exactly against Buck’s, like he was meant to kiss Buck. It was their first kiss, and it was messy and sloppy, and yes, their teeth also clacked together more often than was strictly necessary (or comfortable), but neither of them really minded.

Buck was warm, and his hands were steady on Eddie’s cheeks and it felt like home.

After what felt like an hour, but in reality probably was only a minute or two, the two of them broke apart, and immediately the world returned to Eddie. There were wolf whistles and cheers going up all around the fire house, and Eddie noticed Chimney slapping money into Hen’s hand with a half-amused look, and Bobby receiving some money from Athena. Eddie made mental note to ask which bet it was that they won.

Right now, he couldn’t really care. He stared up at the man in his arms, whose face was completely flushed and whose lips were red. Eddie could only assume he looked similarly wrecked. “I’ve wanted to do that for a long time,” Buck said, and Eddie burst into laughter. “Really! I think I realized it when I saw you and Chris reunited after that tsunami. That what I was feeling for you went way beyond friendship.”

“Wow,” Eddie said, remembering the day better than he would like. He remembered that woman telling him Chris had been looking for Buck. He remembered seeing Buck, wet, dirty, bleeding, collapsing with relief, having just put everything he had into finding his son…he’d realized how much he cared about Buck right there, as well. “That’s when I knew as well.”

“I guess we’re both idiots,” Buck said, laughing hard.

Eddie chuckled, “Well, you more than me.”

“You think I haven’t been flirting? Jesus, Eddie, we really are both idiots.”

“Yes, you are. But you made me some serious cash!” Hen said, still collecting money from their colleagues.

Eddie and Buck turned to look at their friends, each and every one of them smiling at them with joy. It seemed all of them had known before either of them. Eddie looked up at Buck, who was smiling softly. “Hey,” he said, catching Buck’s attention. “Wanna go out tonight?”

Buck’s smile widened, looking like a kid who just got offered candy. “Very much so.”

“After our shift. I’ve got the perfect spot.”

“Interesting, I’m in.” Buck leaned in and captured Eddie’s lips in a kiss again. The two of them sank into each other, sparking another round of wolf whistles, which died down when they did not break apart after a while. Eddie could kiss Buck endlessly, but they were at work, so in the end Bobby broke them up with a smile and a gentle reminder that this was a workplace.

Eddie walked on air for the rest of the day.

[lets-talk-appella]

i’m nobody’s but yours

Chapter 10/25 - Chloe

Summary: Beca is straight as an arrow. 100%, totally, completely straight. Except for one problem that 100%, totally, completely changes everything: Chloe Beale.

Title borrowed from Calum Scott’s “If Our Love Is Wrong.”

Word Count: 5k

Rating: M (for dark themes, homophobia, masturbation, and eventual smut in later chapters)

AO3, FFN, and below.

Chloe comes to awareness leisurely, stretching her limbs and inhaling slowly through her nose. She doesn’t open her eyes yet, preferring to bask in the joy of having nowhere to be on a Friday morning now that she’s graduated and has enough in her savings to not have to work the summer away.

She rolls to her side, movements languid. As usual, her first fully-formed thought of the day is of Beca. And as usual, she imagines how it would feel to wake up like this with Beca in her bed with her. That brown hair sleep-tousled, blue eyes hooded and unfocused from sleep, soft, warm skin pressed against Chloe’s where their bodies lie wrapped in one another. She thinks about how easy it would be to kiss Beca in that moment, how simple it would be to tangle their limbs and wake each other up properly, in a way that involves gasps and broken breaths and fingers dipping below the sheets...

No. She can’t think like this.

Chloe’s eyes open, shutting down her imagination.

Even now that Beca is officially not straight – which she’d called Aubrey to squeal over almost as soon she’d been able the day Beca had come out – it still feels inappropriate to think of her like this – naked, in bed – when they’re not dating.

And yet.

Chloe can’t help but wonder if today will be the day.

It has been sixteen days since Beca came out as something other than straight. Today will make seventeen. It’s not like Chloe’s some sort of stalker who keeps track of these things; the only reason she knows that is because for every single one of those days, she has been trying to muster the courage to make the first move and ask Beca on a date.

There’s an impatient monster living in her chest threatening to blurt out, “Date me!” or anything similar. It requires all of Chloe’s willpower to restrain it.

She wishes more than anything she could ask Beca on a date. It’s something she’s been envisioning doing since she first saw Beca in that red tank and gray top at the Activities Fair. Yet, even now that she knows Beca would potentially be interested in dating women, she can’t ask her. It’s too soon, it seems. After knowing Beca for as long as she has, Chloe understands that Beca needs time to process change.

And this seems like a big change.

It had never really occurred to Chloe that Beca might struggle with the realization that she’s not straight. To Chloe, it’s just something that is. It’s not something to be scared of, and it’s certainly not something to ever be ashamed of, but still Beca doesn’t seem totally comfortable with herself yet.

Chloe can see it in the way Beca blushes when Amy elbows her in the ribs whenever an attractive actress comes on screen. She sees it in how Beca has asked pretty much all of the Bellas if “it’s okay” that she likes girls (it’s almost insulting that Beca would ever think it wouldn’t be okay). Chloe even saw it in the way Beca seemed awkward and nervous when, a few days after the Treble party, Jesse had come to visit for the last time before moving to LA.

It’s hard to watch, and even harder to fully understand.

What Chloe does understand perfectly well, though, is that it’s not her place to push. So, she’s forcing herself to wait until Beca’s ready and comfortable. Then she’ll ask her out. Maybe.

Someone knocks on Chloe’s bedroom door, startling her from her thoughts.

“It’s open,” she calls, throat a little raspy from sleep.

The door clicks open and Chloe lifts her head from her pillow to see Jessica peeking in. “Chloe? It’s on, and it looks like they might announce it today,” she says, excitement in her voice.

Chloe takes a moment to process, her brain still fuzzy. When it hits, though, excitement kindles in her chest and she bolts upright in bed, her sheets falling down around her waist.

“Oh, God, sorry!” Jessica cringes, pulls back, and slams the door.

“What? Why?” Chloe asks loudly, alarmed by her exit.

“I – you’re – I didn’t know!” Jessica’s panicked voice sounds from the other side of the door. “Sorry!”

Chloe stares at the door, totally confused. That’s when cool air hits her skin and she remembers. Face warming, she winces and yanks the sheets back up to her chin, even though Jessica’s already gone from the room.

“Uh, sorry!” she calls out. “I forgot!”

“You forgot you sleep naked?” Jessica asks, incredulous.

“Yep!” Chloe replies honestly. “I do it all the time, so. Slips my mind.”

“I wish I could slip that from my mind,” Jessica mutters.

Chloe grins and teases, “You like it.”

“With the amount of boob I’ve seen in this house, honestly…” Jessica trails off, then clears her throat. “So. Anyway. It looks like they’re announcing today. Any minute now.”

“Oh yeah!” Chloe replies, rocketing out of bed to get dressed frantically. “I thought they were going to wait until Monday?”

“Well, now it looks like today.”

Chloe moves rapidly, impatiently throwing her hair up into a messy bun. Excitement courses through her veins, tinged with nerves. If it happens… if it’s passed…

She crosses her room in a few quick strides and throws the door wide, startling Jessica waiting outside.

“That was quick,” she says, looking impressed.

Chloe grins. “Big day.”

Jessica half-shrugs. “Maybe.”

By the way she says it, Chloe can tell she’s trying not to get her hopes up. Just in case.

“One way to find out,” Chloe replies bracingly, and together they make their way down the stairs.

The other Bellas are gathered and spread around the sitting room, all watching the livestream of the decision being broadcasted from Ashley’s (or maybe Jessica’s) laptop. Cynthia Rose sits slightly off to the side on a phone call – likely to her girlfriend – with Amy sitting next to her, for once not teasing but rubbing a hand up her back soothingly. Beyond them, Beca sits off to the side in her own corner, but still watching the screen. Flo and Emily sprawl on the floor, Flo’s head resting on Emily’s stomach.

When they enter the room, Jessica moves to the couch and joins Ashley, Stacie, and Lilly (who is flicking a lighter on and off as a nervous tick). Chloe wants to join Beca in her lonely-looking corner, but knows that she wants space. She instead sits on the floor with Emily and Flo.

“Did I miss it?” she asks, suddenly tense. Seeing them all gathered together and hearing Cynthia Rose murmur to her fiancée on the phone has made everything very real.

“Not yet,” Emily replies, her eyes never leaving the screen. “But it should be any second now. I think they said at 10.”

Chloe glances at the time on the laptop: 9:57am. On the livestream, the camera focuses on the crowds in front of the Supreme Court Building, from which Pride and Equality flags wave. The newscast banner on the bottom of the screen displays, “Supreme Court Decision on Marriage Equality Pending,” in bold, blocky letters.

Chloe’s stomach flutters with nervous anticipation. She supposes it won’t change anything if it doesn’t pass; things will stay as they are now. But if it does pass, it opens new doors for her and for countless others.

The tension in the Bella house is palpable, as if the very structure of the house is holding its breath right along with its occupants. It’s completely silent in the sitting room apart from the voices of the newscasters on the livestream; even Cynthia Rose and her fiancée on the phone wait in silence.

For a terrifyingly perfect instant, Chloe allows herself to imagine a future with Beca in which they could become legally married in any state across the country. She shoves the thought aside almost as soon as it forms, though; It’s dangerous to think like that with so many variables outside of her control.

“It’s starting,” Flo’s terse tone jolts Chloe’s stomach.

The Bellas draw a collective breath as the votes pop up on screen.

“The first is marriage,” Chloe hears herself say shakily.

“It’s down to Kennedy’s opinion,” Cynthia Rose whispers, but whether to the room at large or to her fiancée on the phone, it’s unclear.

The next second is perhaps the longest of Chloe’s life.

Then, something on the screen shifts and the Bellas are exploding around her in a flurry of cheers, laughter, and excited yells, and Chloe doesn’t – can’t – comprehend what’s happening even as she reads over and over the lines scrolling across the screen.

BREAKING: Fourteenth Amendment requires a state to license a marriage between two people of the same sex, and to recognize a marriage between two people of the same sex when a marriage was lawfully licensed and performed out of state.

It doesn’t make sense, those words don’t mean anything, so why is everyone celebrating? And then Stacie, Flo, and Emily are tackling her in a massive hug and yelling at her in excitement and meaning and sound return gradually until Chloe finally, finally understands.

They won. Marriage equality passed across the country.

And now Chloe’s yelling and screaming too, incomprehensible syllables falling from her lips and she doesn’t even realize she’s crying until Stacie pulls a tissue out of nowhere and shoves it into her hand with a watery smile of her own.

Around her, the Bellas are in chaos. Flo, Emily, and Stacie are still in a heap on the floor; on the couch, Ashley, Jessica, and Amy pass around a bottle of rum, taking swigs directly from it; Lilly has the flame on her lighter going full blast while she stares into it with a terrifyingly large smile; Cynthia Rose cries openly and yells into her phone, “We’re legal now, baby. We don’t have to go to Maine to get married! Our relationship is legal! Your grandma can come to the wedding.”; and in the corner, Beca sits alone and quiet, her eyes wide and stunned as she takes in the scene in front of her.

As Chloe watches, Beca blinks rapidly and looks up toward the ceiling, her chin trembling and jaw clenching. Chloe winces in sympathy; she counts to 30 silently to give Beca time, then extracts herself from Stacie, Emily, and Flo. She stands slowly, taking the time to stretch out her limbs, and makes her way over to Beca.

Thankfully, Beca doesn’t turn away as she approaches. She stares in the direction of the laptop, glancing up at Chloe and smiling a little in greeting, but Chloe can still tell she’s fighting to hold herself together.

“Pretty cool, huh?” Chloe asks, settling down next to Beca without touching her, though she desperately wants to reach out.

“Yeah,” Beca clears her throat. “It’s… awesome.”

Chloe waits for her to say more, but she doesn’t. It’s clear, though, that Beca wants to talk; she’s tapping her fingers in the way she always does when she’s trying to connect the words in her mind. Chloe watches her hands move, almost as if she’s mixing together her thoughts as she would music.

“Did you see it was pretty close?” Beca mutters after a moment.

It takes Chloe a moment, before she realizes Beca’s referring to the vote passing 5 to 4.

Speaking slowly, Chloe says, “Yeah, but we won.”

“Yeah,” nods Beca with a shrug. “I guess.” Then she exhales, shaking her head. “It’s just… I don’t know, Chlo. There are still people out there who’d – they’d stop others from being happy because of their own, stupid reasons.”

“Bec…” Chloe trails off, not knowing what to say.

“Sheila,” Beca continues, her hands clenching into fists in her lap, “is one of those people. The step-monster,” she clarifies when Chloe doesn’t say anything.

“Yeah, I know who you mean,” Chloe reminds her, “but I didn’t know she was... like that. I’m sorry,” she says, and she means it. She can’t imagine what that must feel like.

Beca shrugs in acknowledgment but doesn’t reply.

Chloe draws her lower lip between her teeth; she’s burning to ask if Beca’s come out Sheila or her dad, but she knows Beca will tell her if and when she wants to.

Instead, she sighs and says, “Listen. Those people who – they don’t like us, oh well. Forget those people. They’re angry, and full of hate, and…” Chloe has to cut herself off so she doesn’t start ranting. That wouldn’t help Beca. After a moment, she continues, “They’re the ones who are wrong, not us. And the fact that we won today… that says something. Yeah?” she asks.

After a second, Beca nods, looking the tiniest bit happier. “Yeah,” she says. Then, “Thanks.”

“Anytime,” Chloe answers. “And… any thing. You know that.”

Beca smiles at that, then her expression shifts to something Chloe can’t quite identify. Her eyebrows draw together and she takes a deep breath, her eyes darting around the room. For some reason, it makes Chloe’s heart pound in her ears and she suddenly feels nervous for whatever Beca has to say. Beca opens her mouth, eyes huge and scared.

“Chloe? Would –”

“Hey!” Amy’s loud voice cuts over her. “Champ’s has a special for the announcement! They just tweeted,” declares Amy, gesturing to her phone.

Chloe doesn’t bother to wonder why of all of them, Amy’s the one to follow the nearest gay bar on Twitter.

“Ooh, haven’t been there in ages!” Stacie says.

Amy grins at her. “Well, first three drinks are free starting at, uh, noon, so...”

“Wow, noon?” says Flo instantly. “Count me in.”

“Same!” Chloe replies excitedly.

“Me too,” Cynthia Rose adds, putting her phone away and wiping her eyes.

Stacie, Ashley, and Jessica look at each other and shrug. “Might as well,” Stacie speaks for all three of them.

“Twist my arm, I’ll go,” Amy says to no one in particular. “Though I’m not gonna be meeting any sexy men…”

“There’s free booze,” Emily reminds her, looking envious, and Chloe remembers that she’s not old enough to get into the bars yet.

“I can show you a dead body instead,” Lilly suggests to Emily in a whisper.

“Legacy, that was actually a good point coming from your dumb mouth,” Amy says approvingly, ignoring Lilly.

Chloe looks sideways at Beca, who stares at the floor with something like annoyance. Briefly, Chloe considers asking her what she’d wanted to say earlier, but the moment passed.

“Bec?” Chloe prompts instead. “Wanna come to Champ’s?”

Beca blinks and looks up at her. “I… it’s a gay bar?” she asks, a little uncertain.

Chloe nods in a way she hopes is reassuring.

“Just gay men or...?”

“Usually both,” Chloe replies quietly, sensing Beca’s discomfort.

Beca shifts in her seat, her eyes flicking over to where Cynthia Rose and Stacie are already planning their outfits. “Is it okay if I’ve never been there?”

“Totes,” Chloe promises. Usually, she, Stacie, and Cynthia Rose are the only ones who go to Champ’s. The others prefer to stay home and party or go to other bars. “You’re not the only one who’s never been before.”

“Oh, uh,” Beca hesitates, before making up her mind. “Yeah. Let’s do it. Free drinks right?” she says more loudly, getting the others’ attention.

“Woo!” Flo cheers. “Plus, you never know, Beca,” she adds with a wink. “You might meet some foxy lady.”

Chloe’s stomach flips.

Beca turns a little pink but doesn’t protest the statement. “Uh, we’ll see.”

“Eat some pineapple first!” Stacie calls out. “It’ll make you, uh, taste good, if you know what I mean.”

Chloe wants to strangle her for saying that. Um. No. That’s… no.

“Just don’t bring any girls back to our room,” Amy says, looking disturbed. “I don’t want your lesbian activity all over my stuff.”

Beca wrinkles her nose and says something in return, but Chloe can’t quite make it out over the buzzing in her ears. The image of Beca and some stranger getting together is… nauseating.

Chloe can feel Stacie’s and Cynthia Rose’s eyes on her but she refuses to look at them. It’ll only confirm what they already know.

Maybe taking Beca to a gay bar isn’t a good idea after all.

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

Chloe’s drunk. She hadn’t meant to drink as much as she had – she’s got a little bit of a cold and isn’t sure how cold medicine and alcohol mix – but she’s had at least six, maybe seven shots in the past hour.

It’s not her fault; both Stacie and the guy she just met keep buying her them. And she keeps drinking them.

The night wasn’t supposed to happen like this. It was supposed to be just her, Stacie, and Beca out for a girl’s night. They’re the last three Bellas in town for the Friday before Spring Break, and Chloe had been beyond excited to hit the bars.

And then they ran into Jesse, which was apparently a surprise, as Beca thought he’d already gone out of town for break. Before Chloe can spit out a comment about how great their communication is after nearly two years of dating, Stacie’s ordered her a shot of Fireball.

Beca and Jesse step aside, into the corner of the bar to have what looks like a serious discussion. Chloe knows they haven’t been doing very well lately, and she watches them argue with no small amount of satisfaction. She finds herself hoping the floor where Jesse stands is sticky.

“I think I know what that’s about,” Stacie muses out loud, nodding to Beca and Jesse.

Chloe glances at her, and Stacie elaborates, “She told me the sex isn’t very good, so she hasn’t been offering much.”

There’s a weird pounding in Chloe’s ears.

For an instant, she’s angry at both Jesse and Stacie; Jesse for not treating Beca like she deserves, and Stacie for being privy to that information, but then the moment passes and Chloe’s back to being just disgusted with Jesse in general. She doesn’t want to hear anything else about how Beca’s being subjected to bad sex while she’s with him. She doesn’t want to think about Beca having sex with Jesse at all.

Chloe reaches for the shot of Fireball that Stacie bought for her and downs it. Stacie smiles at her sympathetically and buys another.

Chloe drinks the second one as she stands there, watching Beca and her useless boyfriend talk. A moment later, though, she wonders if she’s misread the situation because suddenly Jesse’s lips are on Beca’s and Chloe has to look away, her stomach churning.

With a solemn grimace, Stacie buys her two more shots, tequila this time. Chloe downs them instantly, ignoring both the proffered lime and the worried expression on Stacie’s face.

The night turns into a blur, and she’s suddenly dancing in the middle of the bar’s overcrowded dance floor, Stacie nearby. “Dancing” may be a loose term; Chloe’s swaying and twisting her hips sensually, arms raised into the air as she grinds – not drops, grinds – low. She’s giving it her everything, doing as best as she can to forget Beca and Jesse dancing only feet away. Jesse’s standing behind Beca, arms wrapped around her waist to hold her hips close to his.

Out of nowhere, a strange body fits itself behind Chloe’s, pressing into her ass, and she can instantly tell it’s a male. She glances once at Stacie, getting an uncertain nod in return; the boy must be passably attractive. With a quick breath of air, Chloe rolls her hips backward with purpose, feeling his immediate approval.

Chloe never does this. Never. She’s left bars for something like this before. But tonight, with Jesse grinding into Beca, sharing kisses with her that pierce Chloe’s heart like a knife, Chloe pushes herself further into the stranger behind her.

His hands wander without shame over her body, starting at her hips and roaming up over her stomach, almost to her breasts, then down to her thighs before repeating the cycle. The fourth time he does it, he does reach her breasts, cupping them roughly.

Stacie steps forward at the exact moment Chloe turns around, breaking the guy’s hold on her.

“Hey, don’t!” she shouts over the music, supported by Stacie’s, “Back off, moron!”

The guy – a tall blonde about their age – drops his hands but doesn’t move away.

“I thought you were into it,” he slurs back, eyes unfocused, and Chloe can already tell he won’t remember any of this tomorrow.

Automatically, Chloe risks a look toward Beca. Her breath catches in her throat; Beca’s still dancing with Jesse, turned around now with her arms around his neck. She hasn’t even noticed the guy all over Chloe.

It sends a new wave of vengefulness coursing through Chloe’s veins. She gives Stacie a significant look, then grabs the random boy’s hand and drags him off the dance floor to the bar, purposely knocking into Jesse as they go. She only hears Beca’s confused, “Chloe?” before she walks faster, stranger in tow and Stacie on their heels. They reach the bar in seconds.

“Buy me a drink first,” she says to the blonde guy over the ringing in her ears. “Or maybe two.”

His entire face lights up at the prospect; he looks at Stacie questioningly, but she shakes her head with a frown, so he asks the bartender for four tequila shots.

By the time the shots arrive, Beca and Jesse are stood there awkwardly, having followed from the dance floor. Jesse looks confused and annoyed, and keeps trying to talk to Beca, but Beca’s attention is all on Chloe; Chloe can feel her eyes focused on the back of her head.

Good, she thinks savagely as she reaches for the first shot. She downs it as the boy drinks his own, then immediately goes for her second. He’s slower to react but matches her. As soon as he plops his empty glass on the bar, she reaches forward, grabs the back of his neck, and pulls him into a sloppy, alcohol-infused kiss that makes her stomach want to revolt.

She deepens the kiss, imagining it’s Beca, imagining everything she would do to make Beca feel good, knowing she’s a better kisser than Jesse will ever be, telling herself it’s Beca while she’s tasting tequila on this stranger’s lips. She doesn’t feel a single thing.

She hopes to God that Beca’s seeing this.

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

Taking Beca to a gay bar was the worst idea Chloe has ever had.

Well. Okay. Maybe deciding on the gold tracksuits for the Convention Performance was the worst idea she’s ever had. But taking her best friend (who she has much more than a little crush on) to a gay bar filled with single women looking for other single women is definitely high on the list of “Chloe’s Beale’s Worst Ideas.”

“You’re being dramatic,” Stacie yells to her over the deafening throb of ABBA’s “Dancing Queen.” “Stop staring at her and have some fun!”

“I’m having fun!” Chloe insists at the top of her voice, tearing her eyes away from where Beca stands at the bar chatting up some blonde. Her second blonde in the fifteen minutes they’ve been at Champ’s.

Chloe would be impressed if she wasn’t too busy trying not to scream. Somehow, with Jesse out of the way, she’d failed to consider that Beca might start dating anyone else. It hadn’t seemed like a possibility.

The blonde laughs at something Beca says and Beca grins shyly in response, taking a sip from her drink. Chloe doesn’t even realize she’s glaring until Stacie snaps her fingers in front of her face.

“Hey,” Stacie says. “You’re gonna give yourself an aneurysm.”

“Sorry,” Chloe sighs. “It’s just – I didn’t expect that. And did you really have to make that pineapple comment earlier?”

Stacie cringes, looking apologetic. “I didn’t think before I said it,” she says, then glances over at Beca and the blonde disapprovingly. “And, yeah, well. Let’s find the others.”

Everyone else had made a beeline for the dance floor as soon as they’d gotten their first free drink from the bar. Chloe had wanted to wait for Beca, and Stacie had stood by her side. However, as time goes on, it seems like Beca won’t be leaving the bar anytime soon.

Chloe shakes her head frantically. “I’m not leaving her. It’s her first time,” she insists.

Stacie rolls her eyes but doesn’t comment even though they both know that’s not the only reason Chloe doesn’t want to let Beca out of her sight. She stands on her tiptoes and scans the bar; after a moment, she waves at someone, and Chloe knows she must be flagging down Amy, Cynthia Rose, Flo, Jessica, and Ashley on the dance floor.

Once she’s done, she turns to Chloe and shouts, “Let’s take a picture!”

It’s barely 1:00pm, and yet, with the free drink special starting at noon, the bar is packed with people. The place is so crowded that Chloe barely has the room to extract her phone from her jeans to take a selfie with Stacie. She smiles at Aubrey’s congratulatory text about Supreme Court decision, then pulls Stacie in with an arm around her shoulder and snaps the selfie.

When she lowers her phone, her stomach twists; the blonde next to Beca has been replaced by yet another girl. This one has red hair.

Chloe is shocked; even for a Friday, the girls seem to be more outgoing than usual. Some nights, Chloe will go to Champ’s in her best outfits, and not a single girl will talk to her, and yet, in the span of only a few minutes Beca has had three different ones. Chloe tries to chalk it up to the free booze and the good news for marriage equality.

The fact that Beca looks absolutely stunning in boots, skinny jeans, and a dark red top that gives clear view of her cleavage might also have something to do with it.

The red-haired girl now talking to Beca leans forward, very much into Beca’s space. Chloe expects Beca to pull back, and she does, but only slightly. Then, instead of walking away, Beca reaches to touch the girl’s shoulder and laughs at something she’s said.

Chloe’s jaw just about hits the floor. She has half a mind to go over there and demand that Beca get a different drink – clearly the strange girl had put something in hers – when an arm throws itself over her shoulders.

“Whew!” Amy says, following her gaze. “Looks like Shorty’s gonna get some tonight.”

“Absolutely not,” Chloe says, icily. “She’s not ready to get some of anything. She’s still getting comfortable with herself.”

Amy stares at her, eyebrows raised. “Um, I don’t know about that. Looks more like she’s getting comfortable with that chick.”

Some sort of snarl tears itself free from Chloe’s throat and Amy reclaims her arm, looking terrified. Forcing herself to turn away from the nauseating image of Beca with The Red Slut, Chloe pivots on the spot and urges her body into her usual grinding, hip rolling dance. If Beca can meet some new people, then so can she.

Her bravado lasts approximately fifteen seconds. Chloe catches a very pretty Asian-looking girl eyeing her hopefully from the edge of the dance floor. Ordinarily, Chloe would have smiled back, maybe even winked at the girl. The second the thought occurs, though, Chloe realizes she doesn’t really want to do that.

So, to ease the awkwardness, she puts her arm around Stacie’s waist and tugs her close, smiling gently at the girl at the dance floor. Her eyes widen in understanding and she nods politely. Chloe watches as her eyes roam over the crowded bar to land… directly on Beca.

Of course.

Chloe’s stomach sours and she drops her arm from Stacie’s waist. She can’t stop herself from glancing over to Beca as well, just in time to see the red-haired girl reach forward to slip a piece of paper into Beca’s shirt, tucking it under her bra strap. She starts to lean in, as if to kiss Beca.

Chloe has to look away, a hot pain searing through her chest. She doesn’t see if Beca allows the girl to kiss her.

“Chloe? You good?” Flo asks, frowning.

Before Chloe can answer, though, Beca appears out of nowhere, looking slightly ruffled. Chloe pointedly ignores the scrap of paper she can see poking from her shirt.

Beca’s mouth moves, but Chloe can’t hear it over the bar’s remix of George Michael’s “Freedom ‘90.”

“What?” she asks, leaning her ear closer to Beca’s mouth. She struggles to ignore how hot Beca’s breath feels on her neck.

“This is a lot,” Beca shouts into her ear. “Can we please leave?”

Relief crashes over Chloe; she’d wanted to leave almost as soon as they’d arrived.

She doesn’t bother replying verbally because of the music. Instead, she just nods, grabs Beca’s hand (trying and failing to ignore the typical zing that comes with touching Beca), and leads her toward the exit. She makes eye contact with Stacie as they push past, and Stacie nods in understanding – she and Beca will have privacy for a few minutes until Stacie manages to round up the others.

As Chloe moves to the exit, Beca in tow, she locks eyes with one of the blondes who’d tried chatting up Beca earlier; the girl sends her a nasty glare when she sees Beca’s hand in hers, and Chloe returns the glare with a petty smile. It’s immature, and what’s happening between her and Beca isn’t what the blonde thinks, but it sure feels good to let her think that way.

They finally break free of the crowd and push their way outside, blinking in the midday light. Chloe pulls Beca around to the side of the building, where it’s quieter and they’ll have space from the line waiting for entry out front. As soon as they’re out, Chloe drops Beca’s hand and takes a half-step away, giving her room to breathe after the crush of people in the bar.

Beca sighs and leans her back against the brick building, closing her eyes and tilting her head up.

“You okay?” Chloe asks after a moment.

Beca inhales deeply, then nods and opens her eyes. “Yeah, just… it was kind of a lot.”

“You mentioned,” Chloe smiles tentatively.

Beca grins back. A second later, though, she frowns and looks down at her chest; she reaches inside her shirt and plucks the paper from under her bra strap. She stares at it wordlessly for a minute before crumpling it and tossing it into the wastebasket at the corner of the building.

Chloe takes that as a good sign. She partly wants to ask if Beca kissed that girl, but it’s really none of her business.

Beca looks down at the ground, covered in litter despite the presence of the wastebasket. She shuffles her feet, and Chloe can again detect that same nervous energy she’d been emitting earlier, back in the Bella house.

And when Beca looks up at her, more scared than Chloe’s ever seen her, she already knows what she’s going to ask half a heartbeat before the words leave her lips.

“Chloe? Will you go out with me, please?”

[jynxlovesluck]

To Love The Sky

The air wasn't right.

Of course, Logan thought it strange. As absurd as it sounded in the solid bases of his mind, the air… Wasn’t right.

It didn't feel right. He couldn't deny the way the air seemed heavy, like a great tension was increasing the pressure. And the warm, syrup like way it passed over his skin and pressed down every time he tried to breathe?

It was like Logan was drowning in a metallic haze of bitterness. Leaden. Familiar. Why was that familiar?

It scared a primal part of himself that shouldn't exist. Logic didn't get scared.

But Logan could.

Denying the absolute fear that seemed to cloud over with the haze of weight surrounding everything? That wasn't the smart thing to do. He, more than anything else he was suppose to be, needed to be smart. The way the things ran through his brain, it should be enough. But in moments like this, where he was alone that he was reminded how utterly useless he was.

He tried to move his fingers, but despite the air, he was bitterly cold. Every part of his body seemed frozen in place, numb to everything. Roman would make a snarky comment about how his outsides matched his insides as Patton slightly slapped his arm and covered him in blankets. Logan wanted to laugh. Roman was right in his regard. Logan, despite his effort, had emotions. He more than anything wished Virgil was there, holding him close. Maybe a show of emotions wouldn't be as bad in the others arms.

A pathetic desire, really.

A moment later, he could bend his toes and finger, his wrists and ankles next. If only he could get in control of his limbs, it would be the next steady step into figuring out where he is. He could practically hear Virgil’s voice next to him. “You have to get up Nerdex. Your first step needs to be to search your surroundings. And then start searching, hopefully without your curiosity completely getting you killed.”

Would Virgil be disappointed in him? Here he was, in a worse case scenario. Unable to move, unable to protect himself. It wouldn't be the first time he was incapable and inaquite when he should be strong. And there it was, his constant companion. The fear that Virgil and the others really… Didn't need him. That he was easily replaceable, another “logic” could appear and take over Logan’s role, make them all better in every way Logan failed at.

That too, was familiar.

He opened his eyes that had been fused together with sandman dust (and if, for a moment, the panic of having his eyes sewn shut made him scratch the dust away; that was his fear. Locked in the dark.) Logan looked around. Something about this place seemed like home, but he couldn't understand what.

He tried sitting up. Logan's limbs were things torn from his body and uncaringly stitched back to his torso, a toy someone cared enough to pull back together but not enough to make him feel whole.

He stood as a rubber skinned doll would, instead of a man. That was a concern he would have to deal with later. His itch to explore was overwhelming, a child finding refuge in the organized depths of his mind.

He felt like he should be remembering something. Someone.

As he walked along the pathless void, Logan wandered while pondering in wonderment. The strange, yet almost loving silence of this sleepy eternity surrounded him in a cocoon of comfort. Even if it seemingly tugged at the seams of his soul that barely connected to his body. He snorted. But instead of the crackling sound that was always much to loud, it was caught in the air like a moth in the spider's web.

He might fall apart. His hubris, created by the child named curiosity and the pride that fueled him. The contours of his brain were twisted with the knowledge that he embedded the worst sin to gain while holding on to his innocent endearment of the world. The drumming of his heart, despite the fact that it could only be felt and not heard, didn't lessen his need to discover.

To Logan, it only increased his need to move.

Time seemed meaningless. Unadaptable. Not changing.

Not real.

It could have been minutes or hours when a voice reached him. Distant and unclear, but just as beautiful as he remembered. But what did he remember? Logan had been there so long, he couldn't understand this utter want in his chest. This need for whoever was talking.

Wait. Talking?

Right. Logan could hear his voice. Calming and low in tone. One that hissed and grew louder despite never leaving pitch or volume. It belonged to his favorite paradox. His most fascinating mystery.

“Virgil.”

The whisper escaped his lips. And yet it had taken the energy of a scream. It left the same meticulous metallic taste.

It was only then Logan remembered what blood tasted like, what it felt like.

Was he bleeding? Or worse. Was Virgil injured, jaggedly walking with blood pooling down, dripping like rain on the inky floor of this boundless box?

No. Not Virgil. Logan almost wanted to be the one injured, if only it meant Virgil was okay. He had to be okay.

That's when a hand touched his shoulder and the air seemed to clear. He fell over, the combination of having clear air and the gentle touch that seemed like a punch of heat from his chilled bones too much. He gasped, holding his chest and wondering, if only vaguely, if this is where he would die.

“Logan. It’s okay. I've got you.” The arms surrounded him boiled him from the inside. But he didn't want those arms to let go. The panic in his heart made his insides a divergence of nerves smashing together like icebergs meeting lava rocks. “Just breathe. In for four,” fingers tapped on his arm, “hold for seven.”

It was hard. A little to hard. Logan lasted till the fingers taped to five. He tried to look up, mouthing the words that still wouldn't go past his throat. Maybe it was still coated, still trying to suffocate him under the weight of it all. Or maybe he just couldn't hear himself. He didn't know anymore, to lost in his own head

Always lost and always alone.

“Hey, it’s okay Logan. I won't let you go again.” The comfort he felt from those words was bright and warm. It was a gentle type of heat, something that whispered to him. A secret promise of safety. “In for four.”

It took them minutes to get it right, but to Logan, it might has well been hours. When Logan could finally sit up, finally get a good look at Virgil, it felt like his bones were creaking, just like a haunted house. He snorted, the sound muffled as if his body had been cleared. Old and unlikable. Causing a sense of fear for low maintenance. Abandoned.

Seemed like a good fit to him.

But as soon as he saw Virgil’s face… Something inexplicable tugged at his core. Virgil's eyebrows were lowered, slightly pinched at the center. His eyeshadow was messy, one eye’s worth smeared down his cheek, revealing the dark, tired circle underneath. His lips were chapped, skin flanking before being caught between white teeth, showing off his slight overbite. He looked like a wreck.

Logan didn't know how he could look more beautiful.

He couldn't help himself. A part of Logan’s brain demanded to know it this was really Virgil. And of course, the only way to check was to lift his arm up to touch Virgil's cheek. It was fake skin of course, an outer shell that contained something wild. Uncontrolled. Lovely in the way it could steal air, taking life and lungs along for the ride.

Virgil was a storm. One that never showed his true face, in fear of judgment for being something so free.

What led him to his (rather irrational) decision could be accounted for from a number of things. Maybe it was the way Virgil’s breathe hitched as Logan’s fingers ghosted over his pale cheek and his palm warmed as it laid bare in the side of Virgil’s jaw. Maybe it was the sure fire knowledge that his own form must be showing. His skin was chipping, flaking away as his real form pulsed. Like a heartbeat, a galaxy dying and another being reborn. Maybe it was the fact that Logan couldn't keep Virgil, in either of his forms, out of his head and heart.

In any case, Logan leaned forward, suns burning bright in his eyes, hair seemingly white until you looked to find it made of bright, colored stardust. Wild in a different way from Virgil, something that can be planned even in his infinity. When he laid his forehead against Virgil's, he was merely a man who didn't know how to love. When he spoke, it was not with a power of a god, but the care of a lover and the hope of a friend.

“Virgil. Can I see you?”

Virgil, at the very least, was a bit shocked question. He pulled just slightly away. “What?”

Logan gulped, using the hand that wasn't cradling Virgil's face to hold his hand. “Maybe it would be better to say; May I please see you?” he rubbed the back of Virgil’s hand in smooth, slow motions.

Virgil looked away. “Don't know what your talking about Einstein.”

“Falsehood.” He wasn't speaking with anger and embarrassment. Rather, curiosity and care. “Please Virgil. I only ever saw you for a moment during that raid of nightmares in the mindscape. Your were so beautiful. But you shut yourself down before you could even be yourself.”

Virgil did pull away at that. That's when Logan realised he had not only been held by Virgil, but he was also sitting in his lap. He felt a collapsed nebula on both of his cheeks, and started shifting off of Virgil.

Only for the strong arm that was still wrapped around Logan’s waist to pull him back.

He looked back. Virgil was biting his lip again. When he moved his thumb to remove the abused lip with a small mumble of, “Stop. It’s bad for your teeth and skin.” Well. No one had ever accused him for having tack in any situation, especially one where he asked something so emotional and vulnerable. Logan froze like Virgil did, but for a completely different reason.

Oh god. He asked Virgil about something very emotional and vulnerable.

“I. I am very sorry Vir-”

“-its okay.” Virgil interrupted. He had kept his head low, his eyes briefly looking into Logan’s own every so often. “Really. If there's anyone I trust with my real form-or wait, don't get me wrong, I trust Patton and even Roman with my life, but I just mean. Well I mean. I.” he seemed to get more flustered and off track the more he rambled. Logan was okay with waiting. He liked hearing Virgil talk anyway.

“Oh fuck it.” Virgil leaned forward, looking at Logan in the eyes. “Unless you tell me no or any indicators that you want me not too, I'm going to kiss you.”

Logan didn't say a damn word. In fact, he leaned close to meet Virgil halfway.

Kissing someone normally was a sort of chemical brain explosion in the first place. Kissing someone who was chipping out of their shell and turning into a combination of lightning and heat?

If this was how kissing was suppose to feel, Logan thought he could spend a great amount of time just doing it as so. Cracked and flaky lips that warmed his core, melting away into a pair that really burned. It was funny, how even though Logan was made of thousands of hundreds of millions of things that gave off heat, only now did he feel warm.

Virgil was just too magnificent for Logan to take his eyes off him. His skin cracked, bursts of bright blue and violet light illuminating his form. His hair seemed like it should be dripping, instead of lighting and lifting to glow. Virgil’s eyes were underneath his eyelids that quickly shifted back to their natural state of cloud coverage. His skin swirled and all Logan could do besides admire him was to pull him closer and kiss him more, deeper, intertwining themselves to each other.

Logan had never thought there was a heaven. Maybe he should devote some of his time studying about religion to see if there was one based off of kissing Virgil, see if one could experiment all the ways he could be held in Virgil’s arms.

He could have stayed like that forever, but unlike how it started, it ended in a slow decrescendo. Barely, Virgil pulled away only to softly return to Logan, and somehow each gently kiss took pieces of his heart, and every time they pulled just a bit away those missing bits ached.

They rested their foreheads against one others. A moment in this warm, comforting darkness that just moments ago stifled him. Logan felt free.

“Hey Logan?” Virgil whispered. It felt like a quiet type of time, something the two of them knew like a baby blanket to a boy.

“What is the matter Virgil?” His voice sounded a bit toneless, but it was too late to correct it.

Virgil looked at him with his eyes relaxed and his smile sweet. Logan was glad he always seemed to understand him, even when he slips back to his “before” stage.

Despite the warm air and in his soul, he shived. Never again.

“You can’t stay here.” storm cloud hands cupped glowing galaxy cheeks.

“What?”

Virgil’s eyes flashed, and that's when Logan noticed his cheeks were coated in ice that steamed away in seconds. Hail followed by tropical rain.

He was crying.

“It’s time for you to leave. You-,’ his eyes shifted around, as if Virgil was only just seeing were they were,”-have to go. Before I can’t save you.”

Logan squinted his eyes. Virgil was very solid and clear only a moment ago, but now Logan could have sworn…

Virgil smiled at him, his “everything will be fine.” grin.

It was the cruelest thing Virgil could have done to Logan. He only tried to be reassuring when there was no other option, when either the world was crashing or when it already burned.

By the way he was trembling as he held Logan’s face, the world was flaming, and their doom was near.

“Virgil. Why did you say ‘you’.”

Virgil didn't just stop. He froze.

“What do you mean Logan?” Big eyes gazed into his own. It was almost more than he could take in such a short amount of time.

“I mean.” Logan rolled off of Virgil’s lap, standing up and trying desperately not to sound as worried as his heartbeat seemed to say. “Why did you say ‘You need to go’ instead of We need to go.”

Virgil scrambled up after him. He opened his mouth and closed it. He did this several times, and in any other situation Logan would think about how silly the action was, and laugh a bit as Virgil glared.

But the cold dark of the place was suffocating. And the more Logan wasn't being held by Virgil, the more it felt like he could slip back into his mental fog like dream.

“Listen.” Virgil said, his poster becoming firm but his head bowed. “I promised to keep you safe. To keep everyone from harm. That's a little hard to do when your an embodiment of a storm.” He chuckled a little. Logan didn't.

Virgil looked at him for a moment and sighed. “I hope you can forgive me, one day.”

One single eyebrow rose. “Virgil, that's a statement based off of an event I am not aware of. What shall I “try” to forgive you for?” Logan crossed his arms and tried not to roll his eyes.

The control to do so apparently was lost on Virgil. Logan swore if he wasn't so… Himself than they would fight just as much as they did with Roman.

“For everything. For this.” Virgil leaned in and kissed him again. But before Logan could kiss him back, Virgil pulled away. “And maybe you'll forgive me for what I'm about to do.”

“Virgil-” Hands that already appeared to be reforming human skin shoved Logan hard in the chest. His vision faded away, and all he could hear was a even voice that didn't falter.

“I'm so sorry.”

_________________________________

When Logan woke up, it was to the relieved face of Roman hovering over him.

“Oh thank god, Logan you would not believe what kind of mad house it's been, when Patton couldn't wake you up, we tried just about everything. It was terrible, you wouldn't believe-” a hand that was very much still swirling in stars covered Roman's mouth. Logan pulled his arm back with a hiss.

“Rude.”

“Shut up Princey.”

Roman waved his hand like he was shooing him away, like he was a fly. It was ironic, considering the only one who could be a pest is the intruder in Logan’s room.

Roman threw his head back to flip his hair. “Well, anyway, we've all been taking shifts. Mostly the schedule is okay, but it seems the others have a habit of staying up much longer than they should be.”

“Well, that's pretty funny coming from you, kiddo!” Patton’s voice was as joyful as ever, but his face showed a different story. His hair looked curly and flat, his smile not quite full before he saw Logan, and his eyebags darker than Logan had seen in years. When he looked Back at Roman, he saw similar signs of fatigue heavily covered by foundation, cover up, and the dry shampoo Roman hated. Patton drew his attention back when he stuck a thermometer is Logan’s mouth. “After all, I seem to remember how someone made Thomas so preductive that he slept for hours just so they could come back to see Logan.”

“Lies and slander on my good name.” Roman raised his head high, despite the red flush on it and the slight step back.

“Where’s Virgil?” Logan interrupted.

The room went silent.

“I'm not sure your ready to hear about that yet Lo.” Patton seemed as chipper as he was when he entered the room, but his movements went still, and his eyes sad.

“Patton.” Roman clasped his hand on Patton’s shoulder. Roman looked him in the eye, and Patton started crying into his hands.

Logan reached out, hands moving before he could think, and really, it hadn't been the best day for his functions sake. “Patton, I’m sure everything's fine. It'll be okay.”

Patton cried harder, Roman lowering him down on the bed. He looked at Logan sighing. “Logan. He’s. He’s gone.”

Logan didn't understand. “What? No, Patton’s right here.”

Roman shook his head. “No, I mean.” he took a deep breathe. “I mean Virgil. He made a deal with. With one of Dark Sides, or maybe even one of the Parts.” he was shaking, and Logan noticed the brave prince was crying, too. “But he’s gone. You gotta understand teach, you've been asleep for the last week. Thomas has been running on us three only, Virgil and I trying to tire him out so he wouldn't do emotional based decisions.” Roman was down on his knees, crying into Logan’s lap. “I'm sorry. He did it before I could do anything. I'm sorry.”

Logan didn't know what to say. His cheeks started to glow, his skin chipped. Twice it would seem, that he wouldn't be normal. Twice he would lose himself.

Twice, he would break apart for Virgil.

It wasn't surprising, how his room started bursting with flowers that wrapped around Patton. It was normal, to feel Roman slowly start to weigh more and more as his skin turned to sapphire, tears flowing silver.

They were all breaking apart.

“No.”

Roman lifted his head. Patton stopped crying into his hands.

“What? Logan. He really is.” Patton couldn't even finish.

“No.” Logan moved Roman, standing and brushing off his pants. “ I will retrieve Virgil.” He looked at the two of them, his family, his friends. “Would you come with me?”

“Yes! Of course I will!” Roman ampted up the energy, standing tall. “A prince shall always quest for his loved ones.”

Patton rose, warm and alive. His face seemed calm. Logan knew he wasn't. “As if you need to ask. I want my kiddo back.”

Logan let go. They would get Virgil back. Logan wasn't going to let them end like they had.

Roman bit his lip. “We do need to hurry. We only have two days before Virgil will dissolve and Thomas makes a new Anxiety.” he brushed his hair back and transformed it into gold. Unsurprisingly, it stayed.

Patton summoned thrones to wrap around his arms and legs. “Into the subconscious we go, then. No time to waste.”

Logan looked at them both. He imagined the doorway, not to the hallway, but to the deepest, darkest parts of the human mind.

The door opened.

“Wait for me, Virgil.”

[kitseis]

THE PURPOSE (SANS AUs X READER) - ACT 1; CHAPTER 3 (Part 1)

When you opened your eyes, you half expected to awaken in a hospital room. But, instead, you found yourself in a musty little cabin space on a creaky old bed.

Just like when you fell asleep.

You blinked in shock. It wasn't a dream? No, that couldn't be.....it must have been, right? There was no way that soreness that you originally felt could have disappeared so quickly, not after being hit by truck. Not only that, but you had been there for hours, and you didn't even feel hungry. It could be possible that, in this realm, the limits of your body could have adapted. Or maybe time didn't work the same way there? You had read many a book where the alternate realms behaved as such, and your system could still be used to your original time. It was logical. You were an intellectual--you thought many of these things at once, causing one huge headache. Wanting to shake it off, you slid out of the bed and ran your fingers through your (h/l) hair, which luckily wasn't too messy. You wandered over to the edge of the floating island, gazing out upon all the others. Looking upon the view, most of them holding the unique doors you had noted earlier, apart from the one you were on and a select few others. For the first time, you also noticed that the center island held on exceptionally large chunk of land, almost resembling a garden full of extraordinary works and devices. You assumed Ink created all of it, considering he had devised this entire world. It really was quite spectacular. For years you had been plagued with anxiety and loneliness, but here you felt a sort of serenity, and for once, you didn't feel completely alone.

"(Y/N)!"

You snapped out of your thoughts and looked down. There, far below you, you saw Ink waving at you. You smiled and waved back. Internally you wondered if they had been discussing your fate, or if they had figured out how you got here, and how to get you out. Despite all the joy you felt there, a part of you still yearned to return to your world. You wanted to redeem yourself, wanted to prove to all of the people who judged you and broke you down that you were worth it. Yet....something didn't feel right about it.

Shaking away these thoughts, you made your way down the bridge to Ink. As soon as you met with him, he said, "Come on." He led you to the huge middle island, a rope ladder to climb up to it. There awaited Dream, kneeling beside a beautiful, clear pond. Multiple of his little vials, filled with small spheres, were lined up before him. When he heard you approaching, he shifted his attention away from his current activity. "Oh!" he exclaimed, "You're awake, (Y/N)!"

You made your way over to him and crouched beside him. "Are these....?" A memory rushed through your mind. It was of the first time you came to this world, when Dream had found you. He had opened up one of these, and everything you had ever seen and experienced in your life had flashed before your eyes.

These vials held your memories.

Something about this made you uncomfortable. Someone--a stranger, at that--holding every single memory you had in the palm of his hand. Beside you, Dream frowned. He could feel the negative aura drifting from you. He wanted to lay a comforting hand on your shoulder, but decided against it. He might just make it worse. Instead, he replied to your question. "Yes. I've had to review them, as to try to determine just what is it that allows you to come here," he explained, "Before, I assumed it was because of your timeline. But I've realized it's just....you."

You shuffled a bit. If this was supposed to be encouraging, it wasn't. You didn't like the fact that he had seen every moment of your life. Dream could tell this, realizing he was digging himself a deeper hole. Nevertheless, he knew he would now have to go on with his cruel theory. "It...it seems that each time you experience a sort of near-death occurrence, you come here. Only, before, it wasn't as severe. This last one may very well have caused enough trauma to keep you here for quite awhile...."

"So, it has something to do with the accidents?" you confirmed. You had figured such, considering the fact that both times this had happened were after you had encountered an immense amount of pain, along with unconsciousness. First, it was the alleyway, and now the truck. And all the time between them, the visions of this world kept returning. And then there was what Dream said about your 'timeline'....did it have something to do with you, maybe? You hated to put importance upon yourself, but you had never heard of anything happening to anyone else, nothing like this at least.

This in mind, you regarded the nearby Ink, then looked back to Dream. With that, you stood up. "I don't mean to be rude," you stated, "But...I think I want some answers about this place. About what you called my timeline, about the AUs I've heard about, about this 'core code' thing...." You took a deep breath. "I don't want to be in the dark anymore." Ink and Dream exchanged glances, then you saw Ink smile softly.

"Okay," he said, "I think you deserve as much. You might want to sit for this, though. We have a lot to talk about."

The three of you sat by the pond, in a small triangle. You held your knees tight to your chest, anticipating the answers to your questions.

"Well," Ink sighed, "To begin, I should probably explain the AUs. AU stands for Alternate Universe, parallel dimensions and such." He spoke with a certain solemnity you had never captured from him before, and it kept you completely drawn in. "There are countless AUs--" Ink motioned around to the doors, "Each of these doors leads to their respective AU. The most well-developed ones are Undertale--the original--Underfell and Underswap."

You tilted your head at these names.

"I'll get to that," said Ink, "These are just names assigned to these universes by the ones who exist outside of them. They create these different AUs."

"Like...God?" you questioned.

He chuckled. "Not quite, but close. All of these AUs exist within this realm that we--Dream, you, myself--live in. I don't entirely understand it, actually, but I assume I'm not meant to. Within these AUs, there are also multiple timelines. That's where we get into your story, I think."

You blinked. All of this was so much, so complicated, but you thought you were getting the gist. At least, you hope so.

Ink continued. "I think the timeline you sprout from is one of the original universe, the one that started it all--Undertale. Specifically, the timeline where the Fallen Child--Frisk--made peace with the monsters and led them to the surface to join with the humans. Am I correct?"

You nodded. "That...sounds right." Dead on, actually, but you were too enveloped in his elucidation to say anything more.

"But...." Ink proceeded, "Something went wrong, it seemed. Somehow, there was a defect in your specific timeline. Something like the possibility of you not belonging there."

His words struck your heart like a lightening bolt. Somehow, though he hadn't meant it in a hurtful sense, it still made you feel a pang of sorrow. You shifted your eyes down, trying not to let on the fact that the idea bothered you.

Ink frowned. What was wrong? He didn't mean it in a cruel way, but obviously it still wounded you. He felt bad, but he knew he had to go on. So, he tried to save it. "Which means you have a specific reason for having been there in the first place." You looked up again, and he internally gave an exhale of relief, and smiled. "We'll have to figure that out later, though. You obviously have something that makes you stand out compared to others, especially in your timeline. Otherwise, you wouldn't be able to get past the core code to access this world." Score. Totally saved it.

"The core code is what protects this place. The way to get into it is....erm....unsettling." Ink laughed nervously. "Which could partially explain the unpleasant way you arrived. It could have supplemented for the actual portal. So, do you think you understand now?"

"I..." You weren't entirely sure, but you assumed this was probably as unclear as it could get. "It's....a lot to take in, but I think I get it." You gave a firm smile and nodded. "Yeah, I think so...still confusing, but I think it'll clear up eventually. But...does that mean that this place is also an AU?" As soon as the words left your mouth, Ink stiffened, his eyes opened wide, as if you had shocked him. You felt a tap on your shoulder.

"That's...a touchy subject," Dream whispered to you. You felt a pang in your heart. Feeling compassion for the odd skeleton, you scooted closer to him and patted his shoulder.

"Sorry...I didn't know," you said bashfully, "You don't have to answer." Ink relaxed a bit, and his normal, casual smile settled back onto his face. He laughed and rubbed his neck.

"Haha, it's alright." He stood up and stretched. "For now, though, let's figure out what to do, before Error finds out....he'll want to...er....dispose of you, if he finds out." Ink chuckled nervously. You gulped. You didn't like the sound of that.

"But, wait, who's Error?" you asked.

"He's the destroyer of AUs," Dream told you, "He sees them as imperfections, as glitches and mistakes in the multiverse. He'll go into the AUs and...." Dream shivered. "He...completely obliterates them from the inside out, and he'll keep the Sanses of those AUs as...puppets."

"Each AU has it's own Sans?" you queried, though it was more of a statement, "I'm guessing both you and Ink are both variants of Sans?" You remembered the Sans from your world. A quirky, pun-loving skeleton with not an ounce of seriousness in him. He was so different from these two that it was hard to believe they were technically the same entity. "That's....weird."

Dream laughed. "Not once you get used to it."

Suddenly, Ink intervened. "Something's off..." You and Dream looked up at him. His face was set in a severe expression. "Speak of the devil..." Ink whispered, and took off.

"What's going on?" you inquired Dream.

Wide-eyed, Dream gazed at you. "Error." He grabbed your hand. "Come on. We have to get somewhere safe." He pulled you along, persuading you down the rope ladder and rushing your way opposite of Ink's direction.

"Will he be okay?" you asked as you ran.

"Ink's dealt with Error plenty of times before," said Dream, "He'll be fine. We just need to--" Dream was cut off my an ear-piercing static, causing both you and him to collapse, clutching your ears. You forced yourself to look in the direction of the noise. There, in the stark whiteness, opened a black hole rimmed with glitched-out colours. Behind all the static, you hear a deep, sinister howl of laughter emanate from the hole. Then, out of it came corrupted black hands, clutching the sides of the portal as the being dragged himself out.

What came from the chasm was unlike anything you had ever seen before. He was made of a malfunctioning black matter. His eyes were a swirl of red, yellow and blue, and he held an insane amber grin. He wore a bright red shirt underneath a heavy black coat with a dark, grim blue fur hood, along with blue-striped charcoal basketball shorts. His legs glitched between red and black, along with his fingertips and face. In fact, all he did was glitch as error messages emitted from him. This must have been Error, there was no doubt about it. Who else could it be, for crissakes?

"H̪͝e͕͑H̩́Ēͅh̫͠Ẽ͎ḧ̜́e̛̹!̩̎ the disturbing creature cackled, "Well, well, look-see what we have here!" His voice was deep and defective, changing from what sounded like radio waves, to high-pitched squeals, to low, demonic rumbles. As he emerged from the void, you could feel the world around you shake. The empty whiteness suddenly whirled into a pit of deep blackness.

You tried to stand, but found that the change had left you weak. Your head pounded and your stomach churned, your bones and muscles aching and throbbing. You clenched your abdomen in pain, hardly able to bare it.

You heard footsteps approach. Clenching your teeth, you gazed upwards. There he stood, grinning down at you maliciously. Cocky bastard, you thought furiously.

He leaned down, his face now inches away from yours. "You're unique," he pondered aloud. He then stood straight up again, snapping his fingers. Within a moment, blue strings burst from his fingers and shot straight towards you. Just as they were about to reach you, and arrow went flying towards Error. You looked the direction the arrow came from and saw Dream standing there, poised with his bow and another arrow ready to go. Error screeched in pain, clutching his side, where the shot had hit.

"Come on, (Y/N)!" Dream's usually soft and kind tone was now solemn and severe. You scrambled to your feet, following after Dream as he darted in the opposite direction. "We have to find Ink," Dream heaved, "Error must have somehow caused a distraction elsewhere as to get to us. Ink is the only one who can contend with Error. We wouldn't stand a chance--"

"(Y/N)! Dream!"

In the distance, you could see Ink rushing towards you. At the same time, you could hear Error's static not far behind you. You picked up pace, but before you could blink Ink darted past you, ginormous paintbrush in hand. You stopped and looked to see him clash with Error, tossing the bugged skeleton fly backwards. Error clenched his teeth, curling his hands into fists. In another instance, the same blue strings as before shot from his fingertips, attempting to wrap Ink, but the paint-covered Sans cut them off easily.

"(Y/N)!" Dream called to you, but you were mesmerized by the fray. When Dream had called your name, Error had somehow blasted Ink backwards. His gaze shifted to you, and he smirked.

"(Y/N), huh?" He chuckled. "W̛̮ó͎u̗̍l̬̽d̥̎n͇͆'̟̚t̔ͅ ͕͊y̡͂ȏ̦u̳̇ ̣̕l͉͋į̽k̰̀e̡̒ ̲͒t̜̉o̜̔ ͙͗b̰͌e̬̔c̖̓o̡͑m̼̈́e̻̍ ͔̅â̬ ͈͐p͓͑ā̭r͍͆ṭ͋ ǒ̜f̲͘ ͕̓m̼̈y̤̅ ̖͝c̡͊ò͇l̪͆l̨̉e̜͝c̥͘t̻̐i̢̊o̓͜n̆͜?͍̂" He lunged for you, but at that moment you felt yourself being dragged away from him. You whipped around to see Ink, who had grabbed your wrist and was now pulling you towards a mysterious looking door, on an island connected to the ground by a bridge similar to the one you had seen Ink build. Dream followed closely behind, firing an arrow every-so-often to keep Error back as best as possible.

"Where are we taking her?" Dream shouted.

[bgnsteal]

Ok thanks for that, lol-and See already knew that people hated him and I would try and look things up and they would be pieces here and there, but thank you for glueing them all together

"comes to a close and Butch Fartman" hahaha that made me laugh Bc your so pissed your using his name like that

"At this point I want to point out that Fartman is a Trump supporter. That’s not related to Oaxis, but I think that is still relevant to everything as a whole. And it actually explains a lot about what he’s all about."

"I’m unclear, but he wrote “Stephanie” and “She” just like that, in quotes. Yeah, I’m really lost in this but either way" yeah I saw that one... and I agree with you on both ways

"to Make Streaming Services Great Again" omg WHAT! Ugghhhh!-besides the whole “trump thing” if anything the streaming thing is getting BETTER.

"And yeah he’s basically going on about how Netflix and HBO isn’t Christian and it’s smutty and fucking shit like that and how his streaming service is going to be holy and shit." But.... didn’t he say it WASNT gonna be a religious thing??? Only for a safe kid place? And like.... I’m hustling pointing out how the... newer fairly odd parents seasons how they became... stupider and more gross out things-that doesn’t seem like-well what he says he wants in the oasis-how those became just doesn’t seem to me like they would fit in his “ Christian” Territory

"Then he goes off about how mental illnesses like suicide and depression didn’t exist" Yeah... I also saw the one about introverts, how they make everyone uncomfortable and “oh it’s all about me” wanting attention and all that.

I am an Introvert. I have social anxiety Bc of being bullied growing up and my family. And I feel more at peace being alone and not having to worry about anything. And being around too many people is hard for me Bc no one really understands and I WANT to be around people but I just can’t. It’s like an extrovert who can’t stand being alone.

"because of these non-Christian streaming services like Netflix and Hulu that people wanna commit suicide now a-days. He says something like, “Back in my day, when people got bullied they just got over it. And now you have depression and suicide. Where do you think that came from?”"

This is how my family is like. If I tell any of them that im depressed they would think I’m making it up or using it as a excuse, “no your not” “well there goes my day!” Or “then go talk to the school counselor about it” and not trying to help but have some stranger talk to me when really I want support of my family. And they don’t understand about suicide. Why people do that.-like there has been times in my life that I didn’t want to be alive at all but I couldn’t actually do it to myself Bc of reasons-but like-i get mad when people get mad at those people. And THATS the problem. They DONT understand. All they need to do is actually listen to the person. And not make any judgments when they talk. To just be there. Instead of blaming other things. Or telling them to suck it up or other-sorry I’m ranting...

"it’s literally just his Christian wet dream." That made me laugh

"Oh yeah and he hates LGBT+ people and thinks they’re the reason America sucks. Or something shitty like that. Who fucking knows honestly." The fuck. UGH. So like this whole trump thing really is messing with things! Before it was ACTUALLY getting better! Same sex marriages were becoming a thing. We had a black president. And all this gunk was coming into the light. Like equality for race to genders to women having the same equality to men. And yes. It WAS messy. But that’s Bc it wasn’t being shut down, or locked up-it was raw in the open and we can see how much of a mess things really were rather then being swept under the rug.

And I know people didn’t like Hillery but GOD I wanted her-first of all I hated trump when he was just a celebrity-but also imagine. Having a black president and then a woman? That would make ANYONE think “oh wow. I have a chance.” But nope. Back to an old white guy (instead of anything different I mean) and pushed us back from what we were going to break through.

Look. I hate trump. And I don’t want to deal with that in my life to I keep far away from him and his bull crap. So if you want to be happier I think you should do the same for fartman.

Sorry I came here laughing and understanding and what not and then I got into a rant mood just like you lol

Hey so there was another blog PISSED with butch-and now I see you are too-what the he’ll happened this time? Lol

Uhh ok wow ok. Just remember, you asked for it.

Let me tell you a story:

Basically Butch decided to start his own version of Netflix Kids called Oaxis Entertainment. Seems innocent enough, right? At first glance, yeah! That’s awesome! Finally just a streaming service for young children with ONLY clean content so parents don’t have to worry if their kid (once they get old enough to get savvy with technology) are using the main site on Netflix or whatnot.

People, knowing Butch is a DEEPLY religious man, asked if it was going to be a Christian streaming service with Christian shows and shit. He, on his livestream (that I watched pieces of actually) said “No, because we want people of all backgrounds to watch this.” Of course, I didn’t believe him for shit. And I ESPECIALLY got suspicious when then woman next to him (was that his wife? I don’t know their relation actually) interjected with, “But it will be run by Christians!” for Butch to immediately agree. Immediately after that they got spammed with a ton of “So will you have LGBT+ characters on your show?” for them to say, “Look, we can’t get to every question tonight but I promise there will be something for everyone on our show.” *end livestream* (it’s also important to note people had been asking about their LGBT+ representation earlier, like a LOT, and they never made an attempt at answering. And there really weren’t that many comments tbh)

I’m not sure how in-the-know you are about Butch’s history with the LGBT+ community, but it’s not good. Back in the day when Butch had a DP forum for people to post their DP fanart and shit, anything gay Butch would remove the pic, and straight up block the artist from his forum. Now I get that there was actually a huge problem with people shipping Danny/Vlad and that…I mean, come on…that’s pretty gross. But like ANYTHING LGBT+. Danny and Dash holding hands or cuddling? Blocked. Dani/Val? Blocked. Danny/Tucker? Blocked.

And that extended further than just his forums. If he saw anyone on any website posting LGBT+ fanart, he would block them as well. So this meant he was ACTIVELY SEARCHING for LGBT+ content so he could block the artist from any of his stuff. He even went out of his way to make an entire video where he casually slipped in “Danny wears a T-shirt at the pool because he gets sunburnt easily” during the height of the Danny is Trans headcannon stuff. Coincidence? I don’t fucking think so.

Ok, back to Oaxis. How does this all come together? Well, the DAY AFTER Oaxis’ Kickstarter comes to a close and Butch Fartman gets $268K, $18K more than the $250K goal they’d set, a BUNCH OF SHIT GOES DOWN.

At this point I want to point out that Fartman is a Trump supporter. That’s not related to Oaxis, but I think that is still relevant to everything as a whole. And it actually explains a lot about what he’s all about.

The first thing that surfaces as a tweet. He’s since deleted the Tweet so I can’t actually access the content of the Tweet, but essentially it features either a trans woman pre-HRT or a legit dude they dressed up as a woman and I literally don’t understand this tweet but I guess they were using her to make fun of trans people? I’m unclear, but he wrote “Stephanie” and “She” just like that, in quotes. Yeah, I’m really lost in this but either way it was stupid and really uncomfortable to read for anyone (even me, a cis girl).

The next fucking thing that happens, remember this is all not even 24 hours after the Kickstarter ends, is Butch gets up on stage and gives a LEGIT RELIGIOUS FUCKING SERMON ABOUT OAXIS. He rambles a lot but essentially he’s thanking God for everything and saying how like God gave him this opportunity to Make Streaming Services Great Again (he actually says/tweets that and looking at it makes me want to stab my aorta). And yeah he’s basically going on about how Netflix and HBO isn’t Christian and it’s smutty and fucking shit like that and how his streaming service is going to be holy and shit. 

Then he goes off about how mental illnesses like suicide and depression didn’t exist in the 80′s when he was growing up with Christian TV shows and although he doesn’t outright say it, he basically says that it’s only because of these non-Christian streaming services like Netflix and Hulu that people wanna commit suicide now a-days. He says something like, “Back in my day, when people got bullied they just got over it. And now you have depression and suicide. Where do you think that came from?” Just awful stuff honestly.

So basically he scammed people—who honestly just knew him as “that guy who made the TV shows of our childhood” and didn’t know him in the darker way that the Phandom has always known him to be—of nearly $260K for a streaming service they thought was gonna be like Netflix Kids but without the regular Neftlix part and they’re realizing it’s literally just his Christian wet dream. Oh yeah and he hates LGBT+ people and thinks they’re the reason America sucks. Or something shitty like that. Who fucking knows honestly.

Alright that’s about all I have today. I’m Lexx, I’m queer, I’m here, and I’m always down to educate people about Fartman in the holy year of 20-gayteen. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk. If anyone has anything else to add, feel free. I need to eat food. Peace!

[celebritylive]

Another Grey’s Anatomy episode, another reason to shed a few tears.

During Thursday’s episode of the ABC medical drama, titled “Love of My Life,” fans witnessed Maggie Pierce (Kelly McCreary) take on a new relationship, saw Richard Webber (James Pickens Jr.) experience a terrifying turn of events, and got an inside look at Teddy Altman’s (Kim Raver) shocking past — including her relationship with the love of her life, a woman named Allison.

Teddy — along with Maggie and Dr. Hayes (Richard Flood) — ventured to Los Angeles to attend the L.A. Surgical Innovation Conference and ran into some old friends along the way.

After Teddy, who is engaged to Owen Hunt but having an affair with ex-boyfriend Tom Koracick, bumped into her old roommate Claire, the two caught up and began reminiscing about that one special person in both of their lives — Allison.

Between flashbacks, fans quickly learned that Teddy and Allison (who was Claire’s girlfriend at the time) were madly in love with each other and carrying on an affair, right under Claire’s nose.

“There’s so much about Teddy’s past that we don’t know,” Raver, 51, exclusively tells PEOPLE. “ set it up so well with those flashbacks in Iraq and with Megan and I wanted to know more about her. They came up with the storyline with Allison, which blew my mind. It was like that moment, oh my God, yes of course this makes so much sense.”

RELATED: Grey’s Anatomy Showrunner Bids Justin Chambers’ Character an ‘Impossible Goodbye’

“Love is very real,” she adds. “It’s very complicated. It’s very messy. It’s very scary. What Teddy’s doing right now with the whole affair, I get that that’s really upsetting to fans. I think what’s interesting about it is it’s helping us understand the complexity of love and self love and so I feel like it’s really beautiful to see.”

While Teddy is still trying to figure out her personal life, Raver says she’s proud of who her character is and what she stands for.

“I don’t know ,” says Raver. “For Teddy, love is love. I just know that she loves who that person is and was. I just thought that was such an amazing move.”

“I think there’s going to have to be a lot of recovery in a way,” Raver explains. “I don’t think it gets wrapped up right away. I think there are a few explosions. What is it going to be like? What is the recovery going to be? Who is she going to end up with? What does that mean in the interim?”

During the episode, an apologetic Teddy admitted to Claire that she was wrong in hiding that part of her life.

“I met the father of my daughter in Afghanistan after Allison died (on 9/11) and he saved me from a grief so huge that I probably would’ve let it kill me,” Teddy told Claire. “For years, I loved him so much I felt guilty for loving him half as much as I loved Allison, guilty because he was with someone else, and guilty because maybe I wasn’t capable of letting someone love me fully. And Allison did love me, yes. But she loved you too, Claire. Allison was in love with the both of us. At the time, I didn’t believe it. I thought no one could love more than one person at once. I thought love couldn’t be divided like that. But now I do, I believe it. And I’m sorry for the lies, the betrayal. I was a bad friend and I was selfish and I never, ever meant to hurt you.”

Meanwhile, Richard was gearing up to present his PATH Pen, a surgical pen that can detect cancerous tissues, but found himself distracted.

During his presentation, Richard — who had spent the night and morning with his wife, Catherine, going over his speech — seemed disoriented with his thoughts. It was revealed that Catherine wasn’t actually there and that Richard had been hallucinating the entire time.

A few minutes into his speech, those who know him realized that something wasn’t right. A panicked Maggie ran onstage and escorted Richard, who seemed agitated, offstage.

He was then taken away on a gurney with Maggie by his side.

While it’s unknown what will happen with Richard, Raver says it’s “beautiful” the way his friends and family will support him.

Earlier this month, PEOPLE confirmed that Grey’s Anatomy had paused production over COVID-19 concerns.

“Out of an abundance of caution, production is postponed on Grey’s Anatomy effective immediately,” a letter sent from the showrunners to the cast and crew read. “We are going home now for at least two weeks and waiting to see how the coronavirus situation evolves.”

“This decision was made to ensure the health and safety of the whole cast and crew and the safety of our loved ones outside of work, and it was made in accordance with Mayor Garcetti’s suggestion that we not gather in groups of more than 50.”

“Stay safe, stay healthy, stay hydrated, stay home as much as possible, and wash your hands frequently. Please take care of yourselves and each other. As updates come in, we will keep you informed,” the letter read. “Thank you for all that you do!”

RELATED VIDEO: People Across the Globe Applaud Healthcare Workers For Their Efforts During Coronavirus Pandemic

Though it’s unclear for now how the season will end, Raver says the Grey’s family is working around the clock to ensure an eventful season finale.

“I think the Grey’s Anatomy family, they are work, everyone is working their hardest to kind of rally,” she shares. “Everyone in their department is working really hard to figure out what is best for our health and keeping everyone safe. How can we work from home? We shut down pretty quickly because I know that Shonda and Krista just felt that that’s really important to flatten the curve. I don’t think there’s been any decisions yet on what is going to be the finale. I know that everyone in Shondaland and Krista are working really hard to give the fans the best for the season finale.”

She adds, “All of us are kind of checking in with one another to see how everyone’s doing at home. Also, we’re sort of really a big family and checking in to make sure that the crew is okay.”

Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursdays (9 p.m. ET) on ABC.

from PEOPLE.com https://ift.tt/3dxBotp

[detectiveruiner-blog]

Plot Proper

               When he walks down the Berninghall street 607 he feels a little uncomfortable. He wanted to go to a place where no one can disturb and see him, where no one can judge. Tyler Collins,  who has an ocean blue eyes with a dark lines circling on its edge, a messy brunette hair, and pierce on his nose, cut class most of the time starting from the day when a tragedy happened in his life. He feels miserable that is why he decided to enter in a gang group. He thinks that the only solution is to get away from reality.

                On Saturday Morning, he woke up with dextrose, he was shocked. He tries to remember what had happened but he only remembered a gray fancy car with an unclear plate number. He tries harder but the only number he’s certain of is 3…0…6...?

                                                        ***

 Tyler’s POV

               Someone opened the door. A man in his thirties, in a white coat, together with my dad, they entered. “We did all we can b-but I am sorry.” Anger. Pain. Anger. Anger is what I felt. “Who killed my mother?!” I screamed so hard that my throat gone dry. “I swear to God! He will pay for this!”

                                                          ***

               When he gets to the canteen he met a girl named Sophie, a girl in his dream and a campus sweetheart. He suddenly falls in love with him but he couldn’t confess his feelings to her. The only thing that he had done was to tease her and make fun of her so as to have a little moment of time being on her side.

                                                          ***             

               On the 22nd day of August, he feels like wanting to go to school and spend time with Sophie, his crush. His peers shout out “What an early bird you are today”! He just smiled and he looked down the hallway. Something is weird, he remembers the tragedy that happens to his mom. He came to saw the gray fancy car with the plate number 30...6...7. The sadness, pain and anger hit him again. When he goes near the gray fancy car, Sophie came out. He was confused what to do. He remembered the promise he had for himself- to take revenge to the person who killed his mom. “It can’t be Sophie’s dad.”, he said. He is now torn between who to choose- Sophie or the justice for his mom. He tries to force himself not to make a scene but he can’t control himself.  He suddenly remembered the mom whom he loved so much. The mom who cared and loved him back. The mom who understands him. The mom who defended him when people bully him. The mom whom he could trust. The mom whom he will never forget but in the other side he thinks ”Would I give up on the girl whom I loved? The girl who made me feel happy again.” He was confused at first but suddenly gets decided what to do. “...and now this is the right time.” His face turned red and the anger was obviously marked his face. He goes near and punched the man whom he longingly wanted to find.

                                                         ***

               Unexpectedly, the man that Tyler hated the most is the father of the girl whom he loves the most. Mr. Slage finally revealed and confessed that he is the one behind his mother’s death. Because of so much hatred, Tyler refused to face him and instead, ran outside. Then accidentally Tyler was hit by a car.

               Tyler was brought to the hospital with Sophie in his side hardly crying with blood stains with her. “We needed blood transfusion.”, the hospital doctor said. Unexpectedly Mr. Slage is the only matched with his blood type and decided to donate to save the life of Tyler. After Tyler was discharged from the hospital, he was shocked that Mr. Slage helped him. “Out of all people, why him.”

                He finally accepted his apology.

                                                         ***

                Mr Collins arrived. When he saw Mr John Slage his hands started to tremble but decided to reveal the truth. “Son, Sophie’s dad is your dad...”, he explained. “What?” Sophie turned confused. “Who is then my dad?!”, Sophie remarked with a mix of confusion and excitement. "I am.”, Mr Jack Collins added.

               Then Mr. Slage confessed that Sophie is adopted and he can still marry her. “Dad.” Mr Slage finally got to embrace his lost son and Sophie, his real dad.

                Despite everything, love prevailed among them all.