#(god dammit zacharie)

[xerith-42]

Redesign the Nine

[This post is very long. Just a heads up.]

I'm a member of the Jury of Redesign, proud member of fleshing out previously left to rot or forgotten content. It's a hobby. A passion. I have and will continue to go into entire novellas to describe the inter personal relationships of characters we know next to nothing about, but what about characters we know literally nothing about?

We know only 6 members of the total 9 that belong to the Jury. Technically seven if you include Garroth, but that last for like twelve seconds, that doesn't count. And one of them is only made known as a member in Rebirth (which I really like and I like Rebirth). That means there's three entire characters just waiting to happen! How have I never thought of this before?!

This idea really struck me when I was looking at the Jo9 wiki page and saw this comment

The rest of the comment goes on to their whole theory about Ein killing Blaze, but I am mostly against the idea of killing Blaze because nobody ever gives it enough story significance, weight, and meaning. Only I get to kill Blaze, you all lost your privileges.

That's not what's important though. What's important is that I actually love Teony and Ein. I think they're some of the most wasted Aphverse characters, and that's saying something considering how I literally never shut up about Blaze. So let's flesh them out in a... different setting.

Teony

I imagine Teony being in a very similar situation to Katelyn and Jeffory. She has someone she deeply cares about that Zane knows about and is threatening to put in danger. For Jeffory and Katelyn, it was family. For Teony, it's similar, but just a slight flavor different. A gay flavor different.

Teony belongs to a high ranking noble family in O'Khasis, like one step below the Ro'meave family. Originally the plan was for her to be married off to one of the Ro'meave heirs (probably Zane), but then she did something weird. She uhh... She started training to be a guard. And got strong enough fast enough that nobody could really stop her because Teony would just challenge them to a round of armed combat about it despite being literally 12.

So she was allowed to go to guard academy and go through full training. She was never going to be a lord, and she could still easily join the Jury and serve the same purpose with less arranged marriage. Also if they tried to arrange Teony into a marriage she might just pull a sword on them about it. She learned very quickly that her parents wouldn't be allowed to abuse or control her if they feared her. Caused a different kind of trauma compared to the other children of nobles.

And then she found out she was gay. While she was at the academy the person who was writing the Jury recruitment list was the newest member of the Jury herself; Ivy the Venom Scythe. Teony fell in unending sapphic love from first sight. Even if she had become wise to her parents controlling nature in search of power, she still respected and revered the Ro'meave family, and the Jury of Nine. She was set up for it, and she wanted that. And now that she was finally experiencing love for a member of the Jury of Nine.

As always, things in Teony's life were set up for perfection. And she was such an overachiever, are you kidding me? Top ranks in all her classes even though she didn't need to. She would half ass it sometimes and still get the highest scores on every test. When she put her all into something, there wasn't any competition. She was just showing off for Ivy, and she did not hide that in the slightest. Ivy was fully aware that Teony was not only showing off, she knew that Teony was in love, or at least lust with her. Teony is not subtle at all, it's just not a concept to her yet.

On the last day of her training at the academy, Zane Ro'meave himself shows up. I imagine Zane and Teony were almost sort of childhood friends. Zane didn't really like having friends, but he and Teony were personable and able to get along when they were forced to spend time together by their parents. He has a sort of fondness for Teony in a "I'll see where you're going with this" sense. He's heard how passionate she is about fighting and being a guard. And he knows it's not for a violent sake, but because of that nobility that is her bloodline and the baseline of her identity as a person.

She may be overzealous, she may be a know-it-all, she may be a show-off, but Teony always fights with honor. She always showers her classmates a great amount of dignity and respect when they fight her. To her combat is an art form, one that she takes very seriously. She won't attack unless provoked, and more often than not will just skip the talking it out phase and just jump to the dueling stage because that's the part she understands best.

She's autistic. That's what I'm saying. Teony is an autistic lesbian. Look at her go! However, Zane is terrible and evil and so is Ivy. When telling him the candidates, he brings up that Teony is a no brainier. Which is when Ivy tells him that Teony is in love with her and was fighting to earn her attention. She willingly threw away some of her nobility in the name of love. Which means she can do it again if provoked to.

What better way to provoke her than to give it to her and then threaten to take it away? Zane and Ivy literally manipulate Teony, putting her on the Jury, assigning her to work with Ivy, and Ivy starts actively feeding into it in a rather coy way just to drag her along. And right when Teony is ready to fess up, her parents show up at the Ro'meave manner. Teony remembers what they expect of her. That they don't know the truth about her.

She knows beyond a shadow of a doubt they'd disown her. Jury members aren't supposed to have family anyway. For a minute she thinks about outing herself to sever her ties. But then she learns that her mother is pregnant again. She... She has a little sister on the way. And if she cuts ties with her family now, she'll never get to meet her. She doesn't know Zane invited them at first, but when he talks to her later, she pieces it all together.

Zane says he'll let her family live, even let them be known as her family if she wants, but she isn't allowed to be with Ivy in any non-professional manner. Otherwise she'll give herself away, and while he doesn't exactly threaten it, Zane makes it very clear he will out Teony to her parents if she doesn't do as he orders from now until the end of time. It's then that Teony realizes she's trapped. She went from one gilded cage to another.

Until it got to be too much for her. Remember how Jeffory was apparently on the Demon Warlock Island in Gal'ruk? And it was literally never explained. What if he was there to find her? What if it became too much for Teony after meeting her sister, and she ran away? Zane doesn't know what happened when Teony met with her younger sister, but it was enough to shake her that she barely responded to Zane's taunting when she returned. And then she left that night.

Jeffory was sent to follow her trail. And he actually found her before she managed to break the Demon Warlocks curse. On a completely different continent, no guard escorts, and no way that Zane can hear them, they talk openly. They confide in one another. And they work together, as friends, to break the curse and get themselves back home. Teony moves to a different island in Gal'ruk, and tells Jeffory to give Ivy a letter the next time he sees her.

And he's not allowed to let it leave his hands unless it's Ivy taking it. No messengers. No leaving it somewhere she'll find it. Jeffory never learned the contents of that letter, but he did manage to deliver it to Ivy. Only she and Teony knows what's contained in those pages.

(Final note, idk what her funny anime villain name or her weapons would be. I would love council/jury/anyone to give input here. Same for the next member)

Ein

Ein being a big heroic softie is the best thing ever to me you don't understand.

Much like the doll anon, this anon changed my life. I love this idea so much. Listen, I like unrelentingly evil characters, just look at Zane. But that's the thing. Zane's already there. And so is Janus. And Ivy. And probably Lilian. And another character I've yet to get to. And even more characters when we get out of the Jury. We need more innocence that becomes corrupted in the Jury, everyone likes being evil too much.

So I want to make Ein a big ol' softie. He grew up in the Brightport Wolf Tribe with his best friend eventually turned lover Blaze. They mostly stayed within the confines of their tribe, which was small, but spacious enough for two wolf children prone to rough housing to get their energy sufficiently out. It was only when they were older that they started waking up to the... less than ideal circumstances of their relationship.

After being friends and being incredibly close and physically affectionate, when the two started thinking about mating and all that dumb romantic nonsense, it just made sense that they would be with each other in that way too. It's how they got through everything else in life. It was at the ruiner and creator of gay romances, that Irene forsaken Guard Academy that things got... worse.

Because Ein is definitely a very well rounded fighter. He's decently studious, wanting to keep up on speaking both the werewolf language and the more common language, and making sure that Blaze does the same. But Blaze finds these things to be dreadfully boring and doesn't put in more effort than Ein makes him. This is fine when they were kids and their plans weren't more ambitious than protecting their tribe. But their Alpha wanted to see if humans and werewolves could truly get along.

If anyone could prove that werewolves are just as human as they are, it would be these two dorks. But uhh, people are racist. And homophobic. So it doesn't go great. Couple that with the fact that the academy prioritizes individual excellence over collective greatness and suddenly things are just doomed to go wrong for these two. Ein naturally excels, and Blaze who's used to having someone to rely on starts falling behind without the consistent support system.

That was his emotional support nerdy jack of all trades boyfriend! How could you take that away from him? And Ein is stripped of his absolutely pure of heart dumb of ass boyfriend. They don't even get to stay in the same bunks as each other, and barely have any classes together. It's just awful. But Ein finds... something else. After doing particualrly well on a certain test, one of the teachers pulls him aside and tells Ein he might be able to qualify for the Jury of Nine position. Or at least be their bench warmer.

Ein's ambitions in life never went too far beyond the borders of their childhood home. He was the one who always pressured Blaze into going further than they were allowed, but Blaze was easily convinced anyways. But Ein was always an ambitious person. He just didn't know enough about the world to realize them. The highest he'd ever gone was thinking "Wow, it'd be cool to be the Alpha." And like that's it.

Suddenly he's told that if he somehow gets better than he already is he could hold one of the highest positions in the entire fucking continent. It's a no brainier. He has to go for it. He doesn't realize it means he's only being further isolated, pulled away from his few meet ups with Blaze to study, to practice, to do something that only a top student does and a near drop out student doesn't.

In fact the last time they see each other is, like with Teony, the day before the Jury posting for their class. Ein is sure he's on that list. Maybe not the top spot, but defiantly in the top five. Just as he's about to go introduce himself to Zane Ro'meave, try and make a good impression to sweeten his chances, he gets intercepted by Blaze.

Who just hands him a letter. And he whispers a single word under his breath as he's leaving; "Goodbye."

Ein reads the letter immediately, heartbroken to read that Blaze flunked out and is going back home without him. Blaze says he's proud of Ein for being able to go so far, and hopes he gets on the Jury. Ein knows he's lying. He tries to chase after Blaze, to try and make it up to him, but then suddenly Zane's there. He's caught Ein in a dangerously vulnerable moment, and while Ein manages to recover, he never gets the chance to wipe the tears from his eyes.

He never learns what rank he got on the Jury list. Just that he was one of the two who were filling vacant seats from this class. It's painfully bitter sweet. It's everything Ein wanted, but he realized that he never made room for Blaze in these dreams of grandeur. He tried to help Blaze at first, but Blaze eventually rejected his offers. And Ein couldn't even blame him. He'd been ignoring and neglecting the most important relationship in his life. And if Ein keeps going down this path, he realizes he'll destroy it even more.

In spite of that, he accepts the invitation and starts working as a Jury member for Zane. One month into his stay at the Ro'meave Manor as Zane's personal body guard, Zane asks him an odd question. A name he's apparently heard Ein muttering to himself and in his sleep. "Blaze."

Ein tries to say it's nothing, just an old friend he was thinking of reaching out to. That's when Zane makes it clear that Ein has absolutely no control here. Because he saw what happened between them. He asks if this old friend happened to be the one that gave him "that love letter". Ein tries to find it where he keeps it tucked into his armor, but Zane is holding it. He knows everything. And he's known the entire time he's had Ein in the Jury. It was all a test of loyalty.

If he reaches out to Blaze, he will fail. And again, Zane doesn't directly state what the penalty is, but he makes it abundantly clear that it's death for both Ein and Blaze. Ein was always easiest controlled when he was isolated. After this he was only paired up with two members of the Jury Zane trusted enough. Lilian, and the last member of the Jury. We'll get to him in a second.

As a result, Ein desired but never sought freedom. He knew Blaze was capable of a great life, he had a future, and was probably going on incredible adventures without him. He never forgot where he came from, and who he accidentally left behind. When Zane and Lilian disappeared... Ein was set free. His leash was just dropped for the first time. Mr. Mysterious wasn't even there to pick it up.

And he ran straight home.

There's only one threat that's unknowingly standing in the way of Ein's happiness. And his name is

Zachary the Plague

Nobody knows where the title came from. They don't want to. Zachary is one of the oldest members, sometimes referred to as the "shadow member" of the Jury. He's rarely seen, and scarily little is known about him.

And that's because he doesn't directly work for Zane. Unlike the others, who were all put under Zane's command after the other Ro'meave heirs died, Zachary stayed under the command of Garte. He did work for Zane here and there, Garte didn't get out much and was content to leave it all to Zane. And Zachary took a liking to Ein when they met, and when he requested that Ein train under him for some time, Zane wasn't in a position to object.

The only people who would be able to give more insight into Zachary are Garte, Janus, and Ein. Garte won't talk. Ever. Zachary is his most trusted guard, and that is all anyone needs to know. Janus just says they respect Zachary. It says enough given what it's known that Janus values. Ein freezes when he hears the name. Even when he says it.

He's only told Blaze what he knows, and neither one will willingly give up this information. He's a quiet fear in the back of Ein's mind, but Zachary stayed with Garte. Even when Zane disappeared, he stayed with Garte. He was never relieved of his duties officially or unofficially. The reason he abandoned Ein is because Garte told him to. He always followed orders.

It's unknown where he or Garte are now.

[pickedpiper]

Zacharie to Batter: god fucking dammit DON’T YOU UNDERSTAND WE DON’T ACT GAY WE ARE GAY!

[glassesandswords]

Summary: 

It was a normal, peaceful day in school until Eren tried to impress him, and now Levi found himself hiding in a cramped dark closet with a girl he barely knew to escape the wrath of a thousand bees ready to unleash their vengeance on them.

Dammit Eren.

Read the fic below: 

It all started when that bitchbrat Eren slammed open the window that was not supposed to be opened.

Just a few minutes ago, Levi was having a nice, normal day at school. He had skipped PE to finish up his homework in his classroom, relishing the silence that came with being alone after spending most of his morning with his draining classmates. The only sounds that filled the empty, echoing classroom was the creak of the dusty old ceiling fan and scratch of his pen on his notebook. Soft sunlight shone in through the two of the five windows that were open and even if Levi was sitting near one of the closed windows, he did not feel like shifting to a seat with better lighting.

But his moment of silence was broken when Eren entered the classroom.

“Ah, Levi! Why are you all alone here?”

Levi suppressed a frustrated sigh. Eren was his junior, three grades younger than him. Levi never attempted to interact with his peers in other divisions, much less in other grades, but unfortunately for him, he and Eren shared the same bus-stop. And for some reason, Eren’s eyes would always sparkle like stars when he saw Levi.

It was annoying.

“Why are you here?” Levi frowned as Eren walked in, looking around curiously at his senior’s classroom.

“Ah, I had taken a washroom break.”

“Then go.”

“I did. I just wanted to kill some time before going back to my classroom. Geography is a boring subject.”

Levi was not surprised. No person, sane or insane, liked geography anyway.

Eren noticed the shoes littering the classroom. “Oh, did your classmates go for PE?”

“Yes.”

“Then why did you not go? I thought you liked PE. You are the fastest sprinter after all.”

“Just because I’m good at something doesn’t mean I have to like it,” He waved his notebook at him. “I’m finishing up my homework.”

“Oh, do you need any help?”

“Sure, solve this for me,” He pushed a complex quadratic equation at Eren. Eren stared at it, eyes blissfully blank and then chuckled in a sheepish way, scratching at his ear.

“I can’t do sums three grades higher than me.”

“Then shut up and go back to your class.”

Much to his ire, Eren shook his head, “Well that doesn’t mean I can’t do other things to help you, you know? I can speed up the fan if you want!”

“No need.”

“Oh, why are you sitting in the dark? That’s right, let me open the window for you at least.”

It took Levi a second before the gravity of his words hit him through the continuous stream of ‘oh god he is annoying’ that looped in his brain. “Wait, no,” he exclaimed, his eyes widening as he whipped his head towards Eren, “Don’t touch that win-”

Too late.

Eren, with his chest puffed up in triumph, pushed open the window with all his strength and in that moment, Levi could see his entire life flashing before his eyes.

Levi was the first one to notice it a few months ago as he stared out of the window during tedious lectures- the little goop on the slab shading the window from outside, and how there seemed to be an influx of bees buzzing around. After a while, it was obvious: a group of honeybees had started to build a hive right outside the window. When he had informed it to his teacher, she asked the students to close the window and not open it till the hive was removed.

But days passed by and no one removed the hive. One day, as Levi was walking past the watchman Hannes, he heard him talking about it with the other staff members.

“The beehive outside the third floor classroom has grown pretty big, y'know. I did ask Principal Zachary about its removal, but he said that it was a pain in the ass to call in men and remove the hive when it was that small, so he’s planning to wait till it grows so that he can harvest the honey while removing it as well.”

“But what if it hurts the children?” one of the other staff asked, leaning on his broom.

“Tis what I asked. But the principal seemed firm in his decision. He told the students and the teachers to not open the window and the two windows next to it. After all, bees don’t bother you if you don’t bother them.”

“I get that, y’know? If the beehive grows to the maximum size, we could probably harvest more than twenty kilograms of honey from it. Honey fetches a good price after all...”

So the beehive remained carefully untouched till then.

And when Eren, in his oblivious glory, slammed open the window, all hell broke loose.

Levi barely had the time to grab a screaming Eren by the back of his collar and run for their lives. The heavy wooden door hit the fat hive and the angry bees swarmed in, poised with their stings to defend their home. Once they were out of the classroom, Levi flung the boy ahead of him. “Run,” he commanded.

“But-”

“RUN!”

And Eren ran. Levi held back, slamming the door and windows on the other side of the classroom shut so that the bees would be contained within the classroom instead of finding their way into the corridor to the rest of the school.

But the bees had other ideas, and other routes. And within seconds, there was an uproar throughout the building.

“Tch,” Levi cursed internally as he ran towards the school office. He had to alert the authorities, to ask them to announce through the speakers to shut all the windows. However, the bees had already entered the school through the other passages and they were now flooding the corridors in a buzzing cloud of fury as students and teachers started rushing outside the classrooms alike, screams filling the air.

“Everyone, lock the doors and windows of your classrooms,” boomed all the speakers in the school at once, “A swarm of bees are spreading out. Take shelter immediately.”

Finally Eren did something useful for once, Levi thought as he turned a corner, looking desperately for somewhere to hide. But the doors and windows of the other classrooms were already locked shut, and Levi knew if he were to bang on the door and wait for them to let him in, he’d risk not just being bitten, but also letting the bees enter into the classrooms.

An overly aggressive bee zoomed straight at him, and in reflex, Levi tried to swat it away. Which was a very bad idea, as he immediately felt a sharp sting on the back of his palm. He hissed, gritting his teeth in pain.

One of the buzzing bastards had got him at last.

With watery vision and panic rising steadily within him, he almost felt his heart jump out of his throat when a random hand grabbed his arm, breaking his run, to yank him inside a storage closet and close the door shut.

Levi crashed into something soft, which in turn crashed into something hard. He felt small objects raining on him- both metal and plastic- as if he had knocked over a shelf lined with things. He was in one of the storage closets after all.

A soft groan from below made Levi push himself up, only for him to freeze as he came face to face with a girl sprawled underneath him. With the help of the small glass peep-window on the door that let in a sliver of light inside the dark room, he saw the startled look in her big brown eyes behind an askew pair of glasses.

A girl. He had a girl pinned underneath him.

She rubbed the back of her head, ruffling her messy brown hair in the process as she cocked her head to the side, like a bird.

“You’re welcome, but you are kinda heavy, you know?”

Levi felt heat rush to his ears as he scrambled away, his back digging into yet another shelf as he tried to put some distance between them. It did not work very well, however, the storage closet was too small and cramped that it was only comfortable for one person standing in it at a time.

“What’s happening out there?” the girl asked, straightening her glasses as she stood up, “Are they removing the hive?”

“No,” Levi said as he glanced at the stinger buried in the back of his hand, “A stupid kid disturbed it.”

“You got stung?”

“Yeah.”

“Wait, show it to me in the light.”

Levi was curious himself, so he obeyed, positioning his hand in the sliver of light that streamed in through the tiny glass window at the top of the door.

His skin had reddened and started to swell where the stinger had embedded itself. It was agonizing and Levi clenched his jaw as the girl hovered close to it. “Wow, that must hurt. Any other place you got stung?”

“No.”

“Okay, let me remove this for you.”

“Huh?” Levi automatically pulled his hand back from her vicinity, “No.”

The girl’s eyebrows rose. “You don’t trust me with that?”

“I don’t even know you.”

“Right,” the girl pointed to herself with a thumb, “I’m Hange, and I think I’ve seen you around before.”

“Where?”

“We are in the same grade, you know. Just different divisions.”

Levi squinted. True, he did not pay much attention to his classmates in other divisions, much less bother to remember them or their names, but why did he not recognize her from her appearance at least?

“Oh, I joined this school this year, by the way.”

Ah. That explained it.

“I have been a very outdoorsy person from childhood and I’ve been stung by bees more than once in my life. So, I know what you must feel right now and I kinda know what to do about it,” she continued, “Anyway, I think that’s enough information for you to trust me with the stinger.”

Without waiting for Levi’s reply she swiped her ID card from its holder and grabbed Levi’s hand.

“What about you?” she asked, “What’s your name?”

Distracted by the question, Levi attempted to answer it. “Le-”

He flinched, grunting in pain as Hange swiped the ID over his hand without hesitation, effectively removing the stinger, with way more force than necessary.

“There we go!” she declared proudly, a wide smile on her face. “Good job, Lee!”

Levi was still smarting from the sting to correct her.

[lovers-steel-archived-blog]

Me: I'm gonna do some replies today

Narrator: But she never did.

[cammie-morgan-goode]

Hi based off the OTP prompt list-Sad #19 "Hear me out" "Why the fuck should I listen to you?" For Townsend and Abby? Like in the aftermath of finding out who Zach's father is?

Sad OTP starters #19 Abby/Townsend “hear me out.” “Why the fuck should I listen to you?”

“What do you think, Townsend, darling? Isn’t he like you?” She looked at Zach again. “I think he’s just like you.”

Zach had stormed off. So had cammie. But Townsend could care less about the kid. Or kids. He stared at the woman in question—the one that had just rocked his entire world. Again.

“What is she talking about?” A voice asks.

Townsend can’t concentrate. He hears her voice but she sounds a million miles away. He feels like he’s on another planet, like he’s somewhere other than right here. He wishes he were. He couldn’t have heard her right. After all, she lies. She’s the best liar he knew. Right?

“So help me Edward Townsend if you don’t answer me—“

“I don’t know.”

His voice was barely a whisper. Abby had to strain to hear him. He hadn’t moved. He just stood staring at the woman in the chair in the middle of the room. The woman they had been searching for, for years. The woman who had killed her sister’s husband. Her best friend. The woman who had kidnapped and tortured her niece with methods she didn’t even want to think about. The woman who had torn the Morgan family apart. Her family.

Abby glared at him before turning to take strong steps towards the woman. She struck her hard across the face. “Tell me you’re lying!” She demanded. It didn’t seem fair. Abby wanted her to keep talking. She wanted to know. She wanted Catherine to get up and push her, but the serum was still coursing through her veins—and the woman was too drugged to fight and argue. It was all unfair.

Abby raised her arm back when a hand grabbed her. She should have stepped and thrown the offender across the room. She should have head butted the assailant in the nose. She should have fought until they let go. But she didn’t. Instead, she stormed off.

“Abby please—“ Edward reached for her again but that wasn’t enough. It was never enough. It had never been enough.

That was when the pieces suddenly fell into place. Townsend never offered up much about his past. Neither had Abby. It was a need to know. They both knew that. But, they had shared some personal stories. It wasn’t just missions and reports between them. It wasn’t just Abby constantly saving his ass all the time. It was more and they both knew it.

So it hurt more than Abby thought possible for him to keep this from her.

Abby took a deep breath and grabbed his arm, tugging him across the floor. She had to get out of there. She couldn’t stand the sight of that woman. But there were also ears. She knew the girls were going to want to listen and this fight was something she wanted to have privately.

There was a door to their left that led to a dump of a bedroom. She closes the door. She can’t even look at him. So instead she paces, her arms crossed in front her chest. She tries to ignore the fact that this is probably where Catherine slept with Zachary once upon a time. (The tattered quilt blanket was a giveaway)

“I didn’t know.” Townsend finally says.

“Did it even cross your mind?” Abby presses. “Had it ever occurred to you? Hell, did it even cross your mind that maybe you should have disclosed this information with me?”

Townsend rolls his eyes. “Oh because that’s something we talk about, Abigail! Yes, let me just tell you about every woman I’ve slept with over the past eighteen years!”

“When it’s with the woman that’s been after my niece for the past several months then yes! I had a right to know, dammit!” Abby says harshly. “You put Cammie in danger, Townsend! You put my family in danger the moment you came into my life because you brought that creature with you!”

“She never told me!” Townsend shouts. She shakes her head. She didn’t want to listen anymore. Abby slammed the door, walking out. And she hesitates on the other side. She wants to go back to him and hear him out but she can’t. She can’t. She doesn’t want to hear whatever else he has to say.

She doesn’t want to hear about their relationship. She doesn’t want to hear about how Zach came to be. She doesn’t want to... she doesn’t... she can’t bare the possibility that Townsend could have ever felt any bit of love towards the woman that destroyed her family. She can’t.

She’s scared. Oh god, she’s so scared. She was vulnerable with him. She had let down her guard around him. What if he had used her to get to Cammie? What if he had been a double agent? What if—- Abby hears the door open.

“Hear me out.” Townsend says quickly.

“Why the fuck should I listen to you?” She snaps out of habit. She instantly regrets her words. But she realizes too late that they’re out there for good.

Strong arms pull her back inside, past the threshold. She hadn’t realized she was crying. Abby rarely cries. If ever. She has to be really hurt and really scared to cry. Yet, there were tears pooling in her eyes and threatening to spill down her cheeks. And Townsend was there, his thumbs pressed to her cheeks. He was always there.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I didn’t want you to look at me differently. Abbs, I’m sorry. Please forgive me.” His voice is a gentle whisper. And Abby hates his English accent because it’s making it hard to be mad at him. “I didn’t know.” And then Abby realizes that Edward is crying too.

And Abby hates Catherine even more because the man she loves—the man she realizes she truly loves after all this time—is so betrayed and hurt because of her lies.

So Abby does what she does best. She holds him as he cries.

Besides, it’s not the first time she’s had to comfort the heartbroken.

(Written by: @cammie-morgan-goode)

[morbidsolemn]

Please Cade/Zach ANYTHING! I just got into the fandom and there's like one fic in existence and I'm so thirsty.

A/N: I’m so sorry about the wait! I haven’t thought about Cade and Zach in a really long time so I was going through some of the books and my old fics to get into it. And I hope this doesn’t count as cheating, but (and I’m hoping no one remembers this) a year ago, I said I was working on a fic and then I never posted it. Well, I finished it up and here it is!

***

Zach placed his keys on his desk. He blinked, staring at the endless files, the half empty coffee mugs. He could date each of them, listing the oldest one as a black mug from two weeks ago. He stared at the gray mug that was dangerously close to marking a file that described the anatomy of some ancient reptile-amphibian hybrid. He had placed that mug there this morning, when he was too preoccupied to concern himself with the possibility of damaging a file.

“No, Cade,” Zach sighed, “I have no clue what Wyman wants to talk to me about.” Cade walked to the fridge and pulled out a carton. Zach stood by his desk, placing his coffee mug down. Zach placed a hand on his hip, pushing his jacket to the side slightly and leaning against the desk. He waited for Cade’s response, watching him closely.

“Maybe it’s the way you put yourself in danger during every mission.” Cade responded shortly. He stood by the microwave and placed the carton inside. He pressed the buttons, feeling the plastic bend and crack.

“God dammit, I’ve had it.” Zach left his post at the desk and stood across from Cade. “It was cute before, but now it’s just ridiculous.” Cade kept his back turned, watching the timer on the microwave. “Every mission, every day, we risk our lives to keep people safe. You have no right to say that I put myself in more danger than anyone else! You have no right to value my life more than yours or anyone else’s!” The timer continued and Cade kept his back turned. “God dammit, look at me!” Zach grabbed his shoulder and Cade let him.

“Of course I do,” Cade replied. “You are under my protection.”

“Oh, not this bullshit again.” Zach placed a hand against his forehead and turned around. “We’re well past your oath,” he turned back to look at Cade.

“My oath does not simply disappear because you’re in love with me.” It was the way Cade had said it. The spite that singed each word and left the last five with a toxic taste that was too much for Zach to handle. He had expected to fight this one out; it had been on his mind for as long they had been together. But now, faced with the lack of reciprocity in Cade’s words, Zach said the only thing he could.

“Fuck you.”

With his eyes closed and his head leaned back, Zach sighed. Cade would return soon. Zach would have to explain to Cade that Wyman was transferring him across the country. He would have to wait, long moments passing in silence as Cade stared back at him, unfeelingly. Zach scoffed. He’d probably just utter his goodbye and leave Zach standing there, dumbfounded, as if everything that had happened, everything they had, was just some cruel dream.

“Fuck it.” Zach grabbed a box and began tossing items in. He looked at his watch. 20 minutes before Cade would be back.

***

             “I’m sorry.” Cade thought as he looked away from the road in disgust. Just the thought of apologizing repelled him. He looked ahead, his grip on the steering wheel tightening. “I am sorry, Zach,” he said aloud, the words tasting less bitter and dissatisfying on his tongue. He only had ten minutes left to perfect this before he would reach the office, and as Cade recalled Zach’s dumbfounded look, he knew there would be no room for mistakes. “I’m sorry, Zach.” It was louder this time and slower, as Cade felt each word. His grip on the wheel loosened.

             ***

             Cade stood at the doors of the Reliquary and mouthed the words before walking inside. Lifting his head higher for some semblance of indifference, he opened the door. He blinked as his eyes fixated on Zach’s desk. Cade crossed the room in a millisecond. It was empty, decorated with a single pale yellow sticky note: I’m sorry.

             ***

             In his new office, Zach sat back in his chair, careful not to push its limits. The cheap metal thing had a tendency send him reaching for the edge of his desk. He couldn’t even prop his feet up, just another thing he had grown accustomed to during his days at the Reliquary.

             “Don’t do that,” Cade warned walking past Zach’s desk, where his feet were propped.

             “What this?” he asked as he looked over the top of the file to watch Cade walk past. He began to lean further back.

             “Stop,” he warned again, stopping in his tracks to watch Zach’s next move.

             “Make me.” He smirked that ridiculous smirk again and leaned back further. The chair let out a forewarning squeak and the wheels rose off the ground. By the time Zach’s eyes widened completely, Cade was behind him, steading the chair.

             “You’re an idiot.” He held the chair there, staring down over Zach.

             “Sorry,” Zach whispered as Cade leaned down to bridge the gap. His lips were cool, but he worked quickly against Zach’s lips, the heat keeping him warm.

             Zach placed his feet firmly on the ground. He looked at his desk, ready to listen to another nutcase ramble on about a fishing trip that was interrupted by the Lochness Monster, when his phone rang.

             ***

             A nuclear silo was unresponsive, and, of course, that was certainly concerning, but Zach’s main concern was the unresponsive vampire standing in front of him now. It had been months since Zach had left. The two had left Wyman’s office in silence and walked to the Reliquary in a similar fashion. Standing now, at the desk where Zach had written his goodbye, the unspoken message hung heavy in the air. Sure, the current mission was such an imminent threat that Wyman hadn’t officially reinstated Zach as a White House liaison, but now, standing once again in the Reliquary, something else seemed more important. Cade’s eyes were as icy and unfeeling as the day they had met. But they were also as hurt as the night Cade had bandaged the Zach’s wounds.

             “It’s been a while.” Zach chose his words slowly.

             “It has.” I’m sorry.

             “How’ve you been?” You look like hell and I miss you.

             “We have greater concerns than my wellbeing.” Cade turned and Zach stood for a moment, dumbfounded.

***

             “Can we talk about this?” Zach said. The car ride out of town held an amicable silence, a slight improvement to the previous one, and so Zach thought he would test the waters.

             “No.” His eyes were trained ahead as drove.

             “Cade, c’mon. If you really want me to stay on, we have to talk about what happened.”

             “Nothing happened.” Zach blinked and stared at Cade in disbelief.

             “What, like our fight? Or-”

             “None of it.” Cade’s tone was typically even, but Zach could feel the indifference.

             “Our whole relationship? Are you fucking kidding me?” He paused to allow Cade to explain himself, but it was the cutting silence that spoke up. “Stop the car. Stop the goddamn car!” Zach reached over, pulling on Cade’s wrist. Cade parked the car on the side of the road. “Look me in the eye and tell me you wanna pretend this never happened. Tell me you want to forget it all.”

             “I would rather it never happened. I want to forget it all.” Cade spoke evenly, while staring Zach in the eye. Zach nodded, already prepared with a follow-up.

             “Now tell me you don’t love me.” And now it was Cade’s turn to blink in disbelief.

             “I don’t love you.” Cade prepared himself for everything: Zach could open the door and get out, he could start to scream every profanity under the sun and Cade would deserve it. Instead, Zach just smirked that ridiculous smirk.

             “Sure you don’t.” He turned to the face the road. “You can drive now.” But Cade didn’t touch the gear shift.

             “I don’t,” he reaffirmed. He turned completely towards Zach.

             “Yes, and I don’t love you either.” He winked, exaggeratedly.

             “Zachary Taylor Barrows,” Cade began, “I do not love you.” And suddenly Cade felt ridiculous.

             “I remember when I couldn’t read you at all. But that little pause back there? Right before you said you didn’t love me? Hell, even back then I would’ve known you were lying.” Cade took a moment before speaking.

             “I love you, Zach.” He waited another moment before continuing, practicing the words in his head as he had years before. “I’m sorry, Zach. For what I said all those years ago.”

             “You do know that when someone says ‘fuck you’ they’re supposed to apologize, right?”

             “But you did say sorry.” Cade furrowed his eyebrows.

             “That doesn’t count.” Zach groaned. “Dude, I didn’t even say it! I wrote it on a post-it and disappeared. That’s a much bigger dick move. Because don’t get me wrong, what you said was still a dick move, but what I did was much worse.” Zach paused. “Wait, so this whole time you’ve thought this was on you?”

             “You had a chance to apologize, but I didn’t.” Cade stated. Zach chuckled in disbelief. “And I had just perfected it.”

             “You practiced it?” A slow smile started across Zach’s face and Cade it wouldn’t be long before the smile became that ridiculous smirk. “Oh, now this I’ve got to hear.” Cade turned to face the road. He started the car and pulled onto the road. “Aw, c’mon,” Zach groaned.

             “We have a national security emergency to tend to,” Cade said, flashing a microsecond smile.

[frenchtoastpanda]

The Leverage finale

Gonna rant in public because @rainaramsay expressed interest. I have no theme this is just my thoughts as I rewatch this episode. Idk why I’m doing this. (Also I don’t know how to format, so sorry about that)

Oh right I forgot that this is a fucking sad episode why am I doing this to myself

Ooh the return of the Steranko! I am very glad they brought that back

I just love when they bring things back in general, like in the white rabbit job all of the companies looking to buy dogson are previous marks and how they have like three brand names for safes that they reuse a lot. It just makes it feel like a real world that people live in.

The theater! Perfect for Sophie! And the mentioned the tunnels, which I believe we encountered in the gold job

Sophie says “I have just the thing” and my immediate response is always “the play’s the thing” even though I know it’s from a different play than the one they are doing

And can we talk about how they are doing the same play as the pilot? Actually I will probably yell about that closer to the end

Parker being all emotionally cognizant and Nate just reciting physics formulas in response

God I love this bit (and I love that they are still including references to Nate’s alcoholism)

Just, Parker, the new mastermind, who doesn’t “let feelings get in the way” (like Hardison - this is the reason he can’t be the mastermind, much to his chagrin. He’s too much of a cinnamon roll)

Nate says she spins problems like puzzle pieces until they click, but I think it’s more like juggling all the fiddly bits inside a lock until it clicks open

HE TRUSTS HER HE TRUSTS HER HE TRUSTS HER!!!!!!!

Zachary is the lead! Love him!

Sophie saying she doesn’t miss acting at all 😏

She is a good director, though

"I'm exactly where I belong" I'm gonna die I am so happy for all of them

Oh no here we go

Cut right to Nate covered in cuts being interrogated about the mistakes he made

"Mr. Ford, how did your friends die?" CUT TO COMMERCIAL

This must have killed me the first time around

I do love this investigator though. I think I remember from the commentary that it wasn't originally supposed to be her, but it worked out really well

Nate looking around like he's confused (and trapped) while not being able to put together a full sentence (I'm not sure if I ever developed a solid headcannon for how much of this scene was him faking and how much was actual injuries from the actual crash) (I'm open to ideas!)

Ellen giving a vicious predatory little smile when she says that she's here to help him

I wish I could do gifs or screencaps or something. This is one of my absolute favorite callbacks! Parker in that little black bonnet thing jumping off a building having the time of her life and the boys do their "twenty pounds of crazy in a five pound bag" thing (whuch my autocorrect recognized as a phrase for some reason? Do I really yell about that but enough for it to suggest those words in that order? Fantastic)

But this time their faces and voices are full of affection. She may be an insane thief/mastermind, but she's OUR insane thief/mastermind

And coming after the white rabbit job where we had that line about how she's not and never has been crazy, the fact that you can tell they are saying this as a callback without meaning the crazy part is just perfect

It makes me wonder how many other times they have repeated this, because you can't convince me they haven't

Aah Sophie's horrible rendition of Lady Macbeth! Same speech, different ways of doing it just as badly (props to Gina Bellman)

Is this the same outfit? Hold on I need to check.

Y'know, I didn't think they changed that much physically over the years, given that they are adults, but going back to the pilot, I keep going awww look how tiny they were! (Especially Aldis. Like I know they had problems because he was getting too hot and ripped, but Damn)

Anyway, the dress is very very similar, same color and pattern, but it very slightly different. I will maybe post my very very horrible pictures after I finish this

Parker is so good at computers now that she has this adorably bored face when hacking! I love that they taught each other their stuff!

Using chaos as a distraction and co-opting the expected response as a cover! One of my favorite tricks!

Parker changing in the elevator! And the boys turning to give her privacy! And this isn't even the first time they did a callback to this! I love my respectful boys! Remember when Hardison turned the David around? So pure!

Ah, we are setting up for competency porn and then it all goes bad! Aah!

I love Eliot's little "wassup?" Before fighting the guy. Points for intimidation, Spencer

My stronk babies opening an elevator with their fingertips

And Hardison's recurrent fear of heights combined with Parker's love of them

She says "I got you" (twice)

Oh god Beth's acting in the elevator shafts

Oh I'm gonna cry

Oh and a "dammit Hardison"

Oh Gina's face

Even in a situation as tense as this, Eliot still takes the time to empty the gus and toss it away

I don't think I've ever seen him check for an ankle piece, actually. How has that not come up before now?

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"Age of the geek, brother" I'm sobbing

I mean, so is everybody

Look at this acting!

I love that they didn't go for the clichéd established couple dying in each other's arms, but instead put Eliot in the middle, giving us our yummy hurt ot3 goodness

And Parker sitting up so she sees the other two go

Ugh. Where's that poetic cinéma image when you need it?

Anyone remember the perfectly timed bridge from the pilot?

What number Lucille are they on?

I love that they actually stop in from of the barrier at the bridge, then take a moment to decide before just going for the crazy impossible stunt because why the hell not at this point

Ah Nate and Sophie are holding hands on the way to death too!!

And cut the scene before they reach the top of the bridge. Time to see Tim show us why he's an academy award winner

Ooh and here's where we find out she was lying! (Should this be the part where I started wondering if Nate knew? Probably. Did I? Not even a little)

There was a big twist where the person Nate was facing off against was playing him in the pilot too

But John fucking Rogers didn't play ME in the pilot. I take that personally.

Ooh hints at the true story are being dropped

Ellen is almost adequately suspicious

JUST WALK TWO FEET FORWARD ELLEN! LOOK AT THE STAGE! COME ON!

"You loved them very much" Yeah he did. They all did! Aaaaaaahhhhhhhh!

She knows he's lying, I love that (just like Dubenich knew Sophie was manipulating him)

"The only thing I ever had"? That's intense, Nate

God Tim is a good actor

(Like I low-key don't like Nate at all, but Damn he is well acted)

And he just turns it off, just like that

Wow

I am really into her little impressed face when he goes all Sherlock and explains how he knows they are at interpol

The glass! Of course Sterling brings him the glass! Not a pilot callback, but a good callback nontheless. The commentary says it's literally the same exact glass every time. I will have to go back and verify that at some point. I swear it didn't have those ridges around the bottom in at least one episode, but I also trust John Rogers, so idk

I love how sterling knows everything from the moment he appears, and Ellen doesn't even know what the black book is

"That's why you joined Interpol? Screw justice. You're the order guy?" What a good line for Nate and Sterling's relationship

Nate's not even interested in hearing Sterling's evil speech of evil about the bailouts

I actually really love the little exposition flashbacks

Her look of horror and dawning comphrension when he explains why he is there is fantastic. If we bring this show back, can we have more of this lady?

Yeah, Ellen, why IS he still lying to you??

Sterling remembered to be cautious about the coroner's van, but not cautious enough!

That's some timing. How did Nate arrange that ? Oh right, this was triggered by the arrival of the van, which he probably set the timing of

Nate's face after "Parker's still in the server room." Yes, sell that fear to Sterling! Make him believe he's right! I wouldn't have thought to fake a reaction to that. But that's why I'm not a griffer

And he trusted sterling to have a snark remark so that he could have an attention-stealing reaction to distract him

I try every time to see the kids going in, and I never manage to catch all of them

Why does Nate turn away here?

God, that really is a terrifyingly lifelike Hardison face

I gotta say, the first time I saw sterling shoot the Hardison corpse, I was really convinced that he was right and he was really killing Hardison for the first time

"Second question... No, Nate, why don't you tell her what my second question is?"

Honestly, the first time around, I had forgotten about that secret meeting between Nate and Hardison

"The plan's the thing" A callback to earlier in this episode. I'm dying. I love this show so much

And they can do that without being annoying because every leverage episode is like three or four episodes rolled into one. Sometimes more!

That's one of my favorite parts, but also one of the very few downsides

I get so excited watching the flashbacks that show how it all happened

Omg I love the thing where they stack! Parker crouching, Eliot just above her head, Hardison looming tall! It reminds me of the princess bride for some reason

Sterling is the Trojan horse, the way out is the way in...wait, didn't they do that with at least one other episode, where the floor was a horrible way in, but last minute they used it as a way out?

Are these callbacks or parallels at this point?

Sophie taught Nate how to act! "She found her calling." Yeah she did! So proud of her!

"Your ride to a life sentence in a secret prison has arrived" So dramatic for someone who knows Sophie is behind the wheel

Ooooooohhh he called him James!

"You and I are not the same" okay sterling

"Justice is always easy" YES GO STERLING wait that's a callback to the justice vs order thing earlier in this episode. I just got that

I have seen this so many times and I still notice something new every time I watch it

Does John Rogers have a tumblr? I want to tag him but I don't think he does

What is Parker wearing? Why is one sleeve randomly yellow?

I can't believe Nate is proposing in a hoodie

I love how the kids pop in with insults and Nate just agrees. He knows it's true

That's a huge fucking rock

"Did you steal it?" "No." "Oh, cause that would have been more romantic"

"I'll steal the first anniversary ring" lol I love these guys

Parker insists he follow the proper procedure

Oh wait, the ot3 are gonna branch out with other crews?

Y'know, in an alternate universe I could have shipped Eliot and Sophie

GOD

I'M CRYING AGAIN

"You're the smartest man I know" where have we heard that before?

Parker recognizing her feelings! (And they've been preparing her for this the longest)

Aah, the circle shot from above and the breakaway, but this time not everyone breaks away!!!!!!!!!!

"You do know that Laura is not my real name, don't you?" Sophie I'm gonna kill you

And then the big obvious callback to the pilot, where Beth meticulously studied Tim's acting to recreate it

Loving the look of this scene. The costumes, the blocking, all of it

And they made sure to switch which parent was crying

Very excited for leverage international. Gimme!

[cdc1345711]

Cartoon-Force Scene-Extreme Cartoon-Force Invades The GSD

(To make their escape plan work the team needed to find the others at the secret prison they’ve been keeping them locked up at-so Lucas and a team consisting of Eric,Tokoyami,Dark Shadow,Eric’s little brother Barry,Grim,Skips,004,Cain,Thunderman,Elecman,Greg the Ice Cream head guy,Hot Dog Person,Orly,Black Dynamite,Patrick,Ozzy,Hell-Ozzy,Scott the Devil Llama and Devil Rhino plan to break in to GSD headquarters to hack their systems and know the location of the secret prison-they have just arrived)

Lucas:Okay-I don’t to tell you how important this mission is-we succeed we safe our brothers,fail,we’ll be joining them-so I want a teams of two-Eric,and Barry,Tokoyami and Dark Shadow,Grim and Black Dynamite,Thunderman and Elecman,Ozzy and Hell-Ozzy,Greg and Hot Dog Person,004 and Cain with Patrick,Scott and Devil Rhino and Skips and Orly will accompany me to the control room-while the rest of you go to your designated locations or search the perimeter-let’s go”

(Lucas,Skips and Orly head to the control room while Eric,Barry,Tokoyami,Dark Shadow,Greg,Hot Dog Person,Ozzy,Hell-Ozzy and the Devil boys scout the building while Thunderman and Elecman guard the power and Patrick,Cain and 004 raid the armory while Grim and BD secure their way out-not knowing there are agents still here)

Jack:Did you hear something outside Walker”

Cynthia:Yes I did”

Jack:(To Zac and Stella)We’ll check it out while you two stay here”

Zac:But Chief we can-----”

Jack:That’s an order”

Zac:(Disappointed)Fine(wraps his arms around himself)”

(Lucas and the others reach the control room)

Lucas:Okay-let’s find our leader and compatriots(as soon as his suit is inside the system the alarm rings)dammit”

AWOOGA AWOOGA AWOOGA

Jack/Cynthia:THE CONTROL ROOM”

(They run till they see Eric,Barry,Tokoyami and Dark Shadow)

Tokoyami:Dammit the’re agents here”

Eric:Orders are to stun not kill”

Barry:Not my forte”

Eric:Don’t argue with me Barry just shoot-gotta buy Lucas sometime(they shoot at Jack and Cynthia-while he tells the others to help or retreat if they’re near the roof)”

Cynthia:(To Stella)We got invader-Cartoon-Forcers by the looks of it-how many are here Stella?”

Stella:(Using her laptop to see schematics of the building)There are 20 assailants-4 of them are with you-2 in the 3rd floor-5 in the armory,2 on the roof,2 about to conjoin with your assailants on the opposite side of you and Agent Savage,2 in the 1st floor and 3 are in the control room”

Cynthia:Okay-remember Savage,we need them alive for questioning,no killing”

Jack:I know the drill Walker(Jack hits Dark Shadow but with no affect)okay apparently one is a shadow creature-kinda reminds me of an old scary story my mom told me when I was a child-”

Cynthia:(Continues shooting)NOT THE TIME”

(Greg,Hot Dog Person,Ozzy and Hell-Ozzy help Eric and the others)

Ozzy:Me and Hell-Ozzy are gonna help Luke and the others”

Hell-Ozzy:You guys got this?”

Greg:Hell Yeah”

Hot Dog Person:We got this-go help them”

(Ozzy and Hell-Ozzy head to the control room-while Zac and Stella help on the sidelines)

Stella:2 of them are heading to the control room Miss Cynthia”

Zac:This is BULL CRAP-we should be out there helping Chief and Miss Cynthia not cooped up in a meeting room”

Stella:Our orders were to stay here and keep tabs on our enemy Zachary(sees the screen)the ones on the 3rd floor and raided the Armory are on the roof”

Zac:(Mad)UUUUh”

(On the roof)

Grim:(Hearing the shooting)What de Hell is going on there mon?”

Scott:We’ve been spotted-Eric told us telepathically to get to the roof if we’re near it”

004:Here’s the weapons we’re going back to help the others”

(Inside)

Eric:Barry-go to the roof”

Barry:What? like Hell-i’m not leaving you to be captured”

Eric:DAMMIT BARRY I’M YOUR BROTHER-YOU WILL LISTEN TO ME AND GET THE FUCK UP TO THE ROOF BECAUSE I LOVE YOU AND I WANT YOU SAFE”

Barry:(Seeing the worried tone in his voice having no choice but to obey it)Okay”

Eric:You guys too(gets out a stun grenade)I got this(throws it)”

Jack:(Seeing the grenade)GRENADE(it explodes)Walker-are you okay”

Cynthia:I’m blind as a bat but otherwise I’m fine”

(Greg and Hot Dog Person move in while a mysterious assailant knocks them out)

????:Been vacationing in Rio for a week and already shit goes to Hell”

Jack/Cynthia:(Knowing that voice and foulness)O’Connor?”

Maria:One and only-what’s up-why are these freaks attacking us?”

Jack:We’ll explain later-gotta get to the control room”

(Ozzy and Hell-Ozzy walk past the meeting room and Zac decides to be a hero)

Zac:[Okay Zac-you got this-Jack has taught you all that he knows-you can take these guys]”

Stella:(Noticing Zac leaving)Goldenwheat what are you doing?”

Zac:[Here it goes]Hey blokes(Ozzy and Hell-Ozzy turn around and Zac managed to tranquilize Hell-Ozzy)”

Ozzy:RED!!!!(Ozzy blasts Zac back causing him to return to the room)You okay Red?”

Hell-Ozzy:Yeah-just a tranq-but not a strong one”

(Eric manages to meet up with 004,Cain and Patrick)

Patrick:We dropped off the weapons-now what?”

Eric:We help Lucas”

(In the Control room-Lucas is uploading the schematic and location of the prison and fully downloads it into a usb)

Lucas:I got it-let’s-”

Jack:Surrender(Jack,Cynthia,Maria,Zac and Stella arrive in the control room)”

Lucas:Not likely(he opens his suits weapons and begins firing at them)”

Maria:What is it with these guys and guns?”

(Thunderman and Elecman come out of the corner and send electric shocks to the GSD agents)

Zac:I think we got lightning guys-and their pals(Eric,the cyborgs and Patrick arrive)got a plan(to Elecman)hey pretty right here(Elecman attacks and Zac dodges it hitting 004 instead)

Cain:ALBERT”

Elecman:Oh God”

Thunderman:(Seeing Maria aim her tranquilizer at Elecman)NOOOOO(pushes him out of the way and get hit with it instead)”

Elecman:THUNDERMAN!!!!!(angry)I’LL FRY YOU FURRY FREAKS”

(Elecman’s outburst of energy drains him and causes Lucas’ suit to malfunction and lose power)

Lucas:Dammit”

Eric:Grim we need you to teleport us out of here”

Grim:I can’t teleport you all-”

Eric:JUST DO IT!!!!”

Skips:Go get the guys out of here-I’ll handle the agents”

Eric:No dice-in the words of the greatest G I Joe ever-’we all go home or nobody goes home-”

Skips:And in the words of the late great science fiction icon-’The needs of the many out way the needs of the few’-”

Eric:(Realizing Skips spoke the truth-as Orly is tranquilized)Dammit-okay just be careful”

(Skips distracts the agents-While Eric tries to save his teammates-but as Skips was about to knock out Jack-Stella tried to save him)

Stella:SAVAGE LOOK OUT”

(Stella shoots Skips with a tranq but the impact landed Skips near a broken electrical console)

Skips:AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH”

(After the screaming stops Skips falls face first on the ground)

Eric:SKIPS NOOOOOOOOO(Eric and a few of his teammates are back at the base)OOOOOO”

Grim:What happened”

Eric:Just looks at Grim)”

Zac:(Looking at Skips)is is he...............?”

Maria:(Checking a pulse and nods her head)”

Stella:(Putting her paws on her mouth)Oh God(she lays down on her knees in horror as she has done something she’d never thought she’d do-kill someone)

Zac:(Comforting the crying Stella)I got you Stella-it’s gonna be okay,it’s gonna be okay”

(Eric breaks the news to the team about Skips death while Jack announces it to the prisoners-allowing them to pay their respects to Skips)

THE END

[darspeaksout]

“Promised Land”

It was completely dark backstage. Jordan sat on a bench behind the curtain. Although he was trying, he could not hear the preacher with absolute clarity. That’s fine, he thought. Even if he couldn’t really hear, he could still watch; hung on the wall was a screen that captured everything that was happening out front, including the congregation: a sea of zealous youth who believed in God’s word, sitting upright, serious and stern as they listened to the sermon. Every few seconds the camera would switch from the preacher, to the congregation, to the preacher again, to the cross with Christ, then repeat its cycle.  

Jordan took off his headset to stretch his neck and massage it a little. He put his equipment back on again and spoke into his microphone: “Yes, yes it’s working. I can hear you, no problem. Can you hear me? Good. Where’s Joshua? He was supposed to be backstage –”

“Psst, Jordan”, whispered a voice, accompanied by its shadow.

“Never mind, he’s here”, Jordan said, diverting his attention to the figure quietly sitting down next to him.

“Working hard, I see?” murmured the voice.

Inching closer on the bench, Jordan figured out who it was. “It’s not easy being stage manager, Joshua.”

He patted Jordan on the shoulder. “I know. Today’s been so hectic, but praise God for your efforts.” Joshua pointed to the screen, showing the rosary wrapped around his fingers. “Look at all those people. I think this is the most we’ve ever had. Even more than last year’s.”

“Yeah, definitely”, Jordan agreed. “Are you ready for your part?”

“I’m a little nervous”, Joshua said. “But I got screened already and I’ve rehearsed it many times, so I think I should be good. Plus I’ve prayed about it, so God should be with me when I go up, right?”

“Right”, Jordan affirmed. “I’ll let you know when to go, but it won’t be for a while.”

“Do you see the guys anywhere?” Joshua asked, changing the subject.  

Jordan looked at the screen, searching for their faces among the crowd. After the camera repeated its cycle two or three times, he finally spotted them.

“They’re right there”, he said, pointing to the front row to two guys: Bryant and Emmet, reclined in their chairs, their heads sort of tilting loosely to one side; they were totally disengaged from what the preacher was saying. It was noticeable that they were unlike everybody else from church. Physically, they were more muscular; the largeness of their bodies demanded more space and asserted a defining contrast with the smallness of their chairs. But even the feeling that they gave off – it was different. It was unsettling. It made you feel like behind those angelic smiles were sins never confessed, like the way Bryant’s and Emmet’s church robes draped from their shoulders and adorned their bodies made it seem like something was hiding beneath them. Ask anybody in the congregation what they thought of Bryant and Emmet, and they’ll tell you they’re good guys. But the unsteadiness in their voice and their eyes looking away will make you wonder whether they’re telling you out of honesty, or out of fear.

Jordan remained transfixed on the screen, watching it shift perspectives just as his own thoughts were shifting. Bryant, Emmet, their smiles, their robes, their sins. Then –

“Drowned”, Jordan couldn’t help but say out loud.

“What? Did you say something, Jordan?” Joshua asked.

“N- no…”, he stammered. “No, nothing.”

Joshua nodded and resumed listening to the preacher. But Jordan felt it, and he knew Joshua felt it too: an eerie silence swarming over them, separating them like land at opposite ends of a river. Uneasy, Joshua slid a little further away on the bench, and Jordan, deep in thought, crossed his arms. The preacher’s indistinct speech was the only noise between them; to Jordan, it was like he was submerged underwater, trying to listen to what people above the surface were saying, though their voices were merely a distant call.

Not that much longer, Jordan broke the silence. “Do you remember Zachary?”

Joshua flinched at Jordan’s unexpected question, but more so at the blunt utterance of a dead boy’s name.

“Of course I remember him.” He began to fidget with his rosary. “Why, Jordan? Why bring him up?”

“It’s just…” he struggled. “I don’t know. I just thought of him now.”

What Jordan really wanted to say was that he thought of Zachary after he had seen the faces of Bryant and Emmet in the audience, and their unflinching smiles. He thought of him because among the hundreds of youth sitting in those rows, there would have been Zachary at every single annual conference, but not this year’s. Joshua remained quiet, waiting for Jordan to continue.

“I thought of him just now because I really miss him”, he finally said, keeping his voice low. “It’s been a rough time since he… since he passed.”

“It’s been a long time”, Joshua said flatly. “That’s what it’s been.”

As the preacher onstage was becoming impassioned by his own speech, Jordan had to slightly raise his voice. “And? It doesn’t affect you at all anymore?”

“He died a year ago. It’s not important anymore, Jordan.”

“So? You think that’s enough time to get over someone’s death? Someone close to you?”

Joshua spoke quietly, but his whispers came out like violent gusts of wind he was practically yelling. “I’m not saying that. I’m just saying I don’t understand why you’re bringing this up now and out of nowhere.”

“Am I not allowed to talk about Zachary?”                                  

“God, Jordan, just cut with that name. Okay? Just don’t mention that name.”

The preacher was now hysterical, drowning out Jordan’s words; still, he persisted. “Why? Why are you ashamed to talk about him? Huh, Joshua? –”

A voice from Jordan’s headset: “Attention, backstage. Please lower your voices, the congregation may hear you. Tech booth.”

Jordan whispered an apology into his microphone. When the preacher began to calm down, Joshua continued: “I’m not ashamed of him. I just don’t want to remember –”

“That trip?” asked Jordan. “From last summer?”

“…Yeah.” Joshua slid his rosary away in his pocket. “Nobody wants to remember.”

“I do.”

“Why? It’s long gone.”

“But Zachary isn’t”, Jordan protested. “Doesn’t it stay with you, Joshua? How we found him on the beach the next morning, just… lying there?”

He sighed. “Of course it does. But at some point, I had to move on. I had to be strong for the church. Our numbers were going down after the funeral; everyone was too busy mourning instead of serving.”

“What good was serving, when we left a brother behind? When we let him die?”

“Oh my God, Jordan. Don’t overreact. What happened was an accident. We didn’t know he couldn’t swim.”

“You say we should’ve moved on to save our church, but we couldn’t even save one person.”

“Jordan, you can’t blame yourself for what happened. It was Zach’s choice to go out at night when we were all asleep. How were we supposed to save him if he drowned?”

Jordan slammed the bench.

Another warning: “Attention, backstage. Second time. Please keep quiet, the congregation may hear you. Tech booth.”

But Jordan removed his headset and let it dangle around his neck. He turned to Joshua, shaking.

“Jordan, what’s your problem?”

“Don’t you understand what I’m trying to tell you?”

“Lower your voice.”

“You think I care?!”

“Attention, backstage! You’ve distracted the congregation. What is going on there?”

Jordan gathered the remainder of his self-control to take the rest of this talk outside. Squeezing Joshua by the wrist, he dragged him into an empty corridor that hid behind the venue. When the doors were flung open, Joshua was blinded by the harsh fluorescent lights on the ceiling, and the squeaking of his shoes echoed all throughout the never-ending stretch of white walls and white floor. After reaching the middle of the hallway, Jordan released him.

“Jordan, seriously. What the hell?” He yelled, rubbing his wrists.

“Goodness, Joshua. You still don’t get it, do you?”

“What are you talking about?”

Jordan was crying now. “Zachary’s death wasn’t an accident, Joshua. It was a suicide.”

Joshua’s face drained of colour. He stood there, with his mouth agape, frozen.

“It was a suicide”, Jordan repeated. “Zachary killed himself. He waited until we were all sleeping that night so he could walk out onto the beach and do it without anybody stopping him.”

“No, no… shut up Jordan! This isn’t real!”

“It is real! Dammit Joshua, we could’ve all done something to prevent him! Don’t you remember how horrible we treated him on that trip? Always ignoring him, always leaving him out, going through his suitcase and dumping everything inside, accusing him of things he never did? Like peeping on Emmet showering? All of that and his parents refusing to accept him for the way he was drove him to do it!”

Joshua backed away frantically, bumping into the walls. “Just stop talking! You’re making all this up!”

“We killed him, Joshua!” Jordan was advancing now. “We killed him. You, me, Bryant, Emmet, all of us who went on that God-awful trip, we all killed Zachary!”

“Liar! I’ll never believe you. Besides, even if he did kill himself you have no evidence to prove it was because of us.” Joshua ran for the doors.

But Jordan sprinted and blocked his way, preventing him from crossing over to backstage. His bloodshot eyes pierced straight through Joshua’s. Jordan was panting, but his voice did not quake. “No evidence? I have his suicide letter.”

Joshua couldn’t say anything, but his eyes told Jordan that he was finally aware of the sin they both committed. Reaching slowly into his pocket, Jordan took out a folded piece of paper that looked weather-beaten by water and sand. He held it up to Joshua’s face.

“Read it”, he demanded.

        Fingers trembling, Joshua was about to take the letter, until –

        A voice from Jordan’s headset: “Please escort Joshua to the stage now. The preacher has cued for him to go on. Tech booth.”

        Jordan spoke into his microphone: “No.”

        “Escort Joshua to the stage now. The congregation is beginning to notice something’s off.”

        Jordan was now clenching his microphone, speaking through gritted teeth. “I said. Joshua. Will not. Go. On stage.”

        Murmurs in the background of what should be done next. Then the voice returned:“In that case, Jordan, you leave us no choice.”

        The signal cut off.

        “What? Hello, tech booth? Can you hear me? Answer me!”

Jordan kept pressing the button on his microphone, but stopped when he heard someone running down the hallway. From the way their feet were hitting the floor, he could tell it wasn’t just one person. It was two. He and Joshua looked, and from the corner emerged two muscular figures: Bryant and Emmet.

They sprinted to Jordan and knocked him down, causing him to drop the letter. An electric pain surged through his spine and traveled to his shoulder blades, as he could hear them cracking against the stone floor, feel them moving around his back. His body convulsed as he screamed in agony. There was no one there to help him and he could not get up.

        Then he remembered the letter. The only proof. And it must stay alive.

        Jordan was struggling to get up but the most he could do was go on his knees, when he stopped – as he noticed Bryant walking over to where the letter had fallen, and bending down to pick it up. Twirling it in his fingers like a toy, he smiled at Jordan, and reached into his robe to reveal a church candle, while Emmet reached into his and took out a match.

“Say goodbye to Zachary”, said both of them in unison. Bryant and Emmet set the letter on fire.

Jordan knelt, screaming his dead friend’s name as loud as his lungs would let him. Watching the paper burn and the ash pile up on the ground, all he could do was blame himself, blame himself for having failed Zachary twice. For being too afraid to speak; for speaking too late. As the flames engulfed the letter, all Jordan could think about was Zachary and how he had been suffering even more than this; how his spirit had been breaking and each time on the trip Jordan chose to stay quiet, he was dragging Zachary closer to the waters. Staring at the embers that remained, he knew that he was defeated. But when he noticed the person who had stood there the entire time, Jordan looked to him as his last hope.

“Joshua, please don’t go out there”, he begged.

“Sorry, Jordan.” He walked past him, opened the doors, and made his way to the stage just as the preacher had cued.

Everyone in the auditorium was cheering and clapping when they saw him. Joshua did his best to speak calmly. “Brothers and sisters, praise God all of you are here today”, he began.

Watching Joshua from the hallway, Bryant and Emmet smiled.

“Praise God”, said Bryant.

“Praise Him, indeed”, said Emmet.

        A buzz from Bryant’s headset, then a voice: “Praise God for your efforts, boys. Tech booth.”

[spaceorphan18]

7, 11, 15, 31

7. what was your life like last year?

Way more anxiety ridden.  I’m glad it’s not last year.  :) 

11. are you listening to music right now?

Ha, the closest thing to new music is Darren Criss, the music we have in our instore plays, and various film music.  Plus all the old things I always listen to.  Is there anything new I should check out?

15. personality description

Take Kurt Hummel, Pam Beesly, Phoebe Buffay, and Bilbo Baggins and roll them up to one -- that is me.  ;) 

Also I’m weird and awkward and sometimes shy but no one believes me.  I’m funny, and only adventurous when you kick me out my door, and I think I’m clever and witty, but maybe only to me, and I’m sometimes insecure, but god dammit I’m a good person. 

31. 3 random facts

Hmmm - this is kinda hard. 

1. I’m distantly related to president Zachary Tyler. The most thrilling of our presidents i’m sure. 

 2. The only time I’ve ever had stitches is when I was six and I caught my arm on a stand alone chalkboard and ripped a good inch of skin off. 

3. I do not like cereal or PB&J. 

[slumberseason]

Listen I know it’s 2 am but I need to rant about THR: Open Season right now or I will never be able to sleep.

[[Spoilers Ahead]]

As sad as it is that OS is the last installment of the series, I was actually really excited for an ending that would give me closure and all that

I was not prepared to have BOTH my MCs involved in the story and every single time either one was mentioned, the perspectives switched, or they interacted, I was smiling so hard it hurt. I love both my boys, and watching them come together and become a family was so fucking cute my depression was temporarily cured

Speaking of family..... I know it’s for the drama and all that, but why couldn’t the OS MC (who I named Evolution) and JK come from a normal family? Why did it have to be such a huge announcement in the middle of another important plot? I just didn’t like the whole ‘secret parents’ plot line, and I especially didn’t like the way that reveal came and how it seemed to halt the other storyline as I was getting into it. (Which especially pissed me off since it had been a while since I played so the lore and plot took a while to adjust to)

Listen that’s like my only complaint about the game beside the ending alright but I’ll get to that later. Also I only got 42 out of the 100 achievements so... I have a limited experience

The fact that I got to FINALLY romance Weaver was worth it. I love him/them and his/their devotion to Evolution/MC made me love him/them even more. That scene in the dark room? I died because it was so cute.

SPEAKING of romances I was mad that I didn’t get a wedding between my other MC boy Conduit and Lucky. They have been engaged since the first book in THP and I was really looking forward to the endgame with them. Also how dare Zachary Sergi make me tear up when they said goodbye? Like Conduit is trying not to cry but here I am, wiping away tears because words on a screen fuck me up.

ALSO.... the achievement ‘Ultimate Romance’? Good shit. I might replay all the way back to the original trilogy just to have a pair of MCs fall in love, because I’m a sucker for that stuff. (Not Evolution and Conduit, though. I’ll need to make new characters to love and cry over. Yay.)

I was so proud of myself when I figured out who the mole was considering that the ‘evidence’ Evolution used was stuff from the first book that I fucking forgot so good for me. It pays off to be naturally distrusting of everyone. (My dumbass even suspected Weaver for being involved with that Loa lady or whatever for a full ten minutes then I felt guilty)

This is getting long but I am still dying so last thoughts: I love this series, I loved this final book or whatever it’s called, but that final ending with JK? Fuck you Zachary Sergi. You’re incredibly talented, but I am livid that you ruined my good ending vibes with a hint of a future game that isn’t coming. I JUST WANT JAMIE AND SHAWN TO BE HAPPY GOD-FUCKING-DAMMIT

This is why I have a doc called ‘Random CoG Stuff’ because those damn writers insist on making me sad and I have to make my own cute fics to heal

[cute-cutie]

zacharie keeps making copies