#AND STILL MAKING IT ON THR RADIO

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Reunion / Post-TRF Pt. 4

meetinginsamarra said: I'm very curious about "Reunion Part 4" 🙂

As I mentioned on this post, I needed a list for this weekend, and this was the only response I got, so I hope you guys enjoy this list! <3 As usual, if you have a fic to add, please do!!

=====

Tea by Art and Soul (K, 693 w., 1 Ch. || Angst & Friendship, Reunion) – John’s habit of making tea for two has little use, considering his flat-mate has been dead for three years. But he keeps on making that second cup, hoping he’d wake up and it’d be gone. But it never was… (FFNet)

Black Cars by johnsarmylady (T, 1,186 w., 5 Ch. || Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Post-TRF) – John is getting on with his life...if only he didn't see black cars everywhere! A short Post Reichenbach tale in 221B style in 5 parts. (FFNet)

Hallucinations can't open doors by Bespectacled dreamer (K+, 1,330 w., 1 Ch. || Reunion, Hurt / Comfort, Friendship, Hallucinations, John’s Wedding, Light Humour) – In which John gets married and Sherlock gets a broken nose. (FFNet)

Here to Stay by MockJayPhoenix12 (K, 1,574 w., 1 Ch. || Post Reunion, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Headache, Bed Sharing, Care Taker Sherlock, Hand Holding, Fluff) – On Sherlock's first day home, John wakes with a migraine. (FFNet)

Given In Evidence by verityburns (M, 5,034 w., 19 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || Post-TRF, Angst, Drama, Case Fic, Romance, BAMF!John, Submissive Sherlock, First Kiss, Humour) – Coming back from the dead can be a complicated business. With a new case on the horizon, rebuilding a life is one thing... rebuilding a friendship quite another. For Sherlock and John, things may never be just the same...

This Year by DiscordantWords (T, 6,283 w., 2 Ch. || TEH Divergence / No Mary, New Year’s Eve, John’s A Mess, Jealous John, Awkward Conversations, Trapped in a Closet, Estranged After Return, John POV, Semi-Reunion, Angry John, First Kiss, Reconciliation, Clueless Sherlock, Happy Ending) – Last year, Sherlock Holmes showed up at the Landmark with a fake moustache and a bad French accent and threw John's entire life into disarray with two words: "Not dead." This year, there are more surprises in store.

The Skin Over My Heart by standbygo (E, 8,849 w., 1 Ch. || Post-Hiatus, Fake Relationship, Case Fic, Dog Tags, Military, Homophobia, Gay Bashing, POV First Person Sherlock, Friends to Lovers, First Kiss / Time, Declarations of Love, Undercover, Haircuts, Flashbacks, Touching, Pining Sherlock, Hospitalization, Metaphors, Introspection, Hand Jobs, On the Couch, John’s Past, Angst with Happy Ending) – Sherlock and John are still trying to adjust to Sherlock's return from his hiatus when John's friend Bill Murray brings them a case. Someone is targeting the LGBTQA+ members of Bill's unit. John and Sherlock go undercover at the unit, but when they end up having to flirt to flush out the suspect, Sherlock realizes he's in over his head.

There's So Much Labour Just in Breathing Lately by Susan (E, 12,708 w., 1 Ch. || Post-TRF / Mentions of S3 Events, Romance, Angst, Grief/Mourning, Grieving John, Mutual Pining, Meddling Mycroft, Therapy, Ambiguous Hopeful Ending, Infidelity) – The dreams he hated most – the ones that left him a sweating, shaking mess when he woke – were the ones in which Sherlock was just Sherlock. Laughing or drinking tea. Sitting across the table from him at Angelo’s eating pasta. Trailing his open hand behind him on the way to the bedroom. “C’mon, John. I’m about to have my way with you.”

Sunday Evening 6 p.m. by Silvergirl (E, 30,712 w., 6 Ch. || Post-TRF / TEH Divergence, Grief / Mourning / Stages of Grief, Mutual Pining, Dreams, Reunion, Love Confessions, First Kiss / Time, Alternating First Person POV, Smart John, BAMF Boys, Emotional Love Making, Song Fic, Referenced Suicide, First Kiss / Time, Touching, Sleepy Sherlock, Blow Job, Villain Mary) – Six months after Sherlock jumped, he learns that John is dedicating songs to him on a requests-only radio programme. Is John just working through grief? Or is he—communicating? Fixes the hell out of S3 by pre-empting it altogether. Remember, as TAB told us, John is Pretty Damn Smart.

Inscrutable to the Last by DiscordantWords (M, 48,842 w., 6 Ch. || Post-TRF, Alternate S3, John’s Blog/S3 is a Story By John, Divorce, Marital Difficulties, John is a Mess, Emotional Reunion, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Grief / Mourning, Pining John, First Kiss, Adorably Clueless Sherlock, Nostalgia, Love Confessions, Eventual Happy Ending) – He wasn't Sherlock, he couldn't work miracles. All he'd ever been able to do was write about them.

The Hollow Woman by ScopesMonkey (M, 51,335 w., 22 Ch. || Post-TRF, Major Character Death, Mystery, Romance, Friendship, Family, Angst, Crime, Reunion, First Kiss / Time, Nightmares, Doctor John, Jealous Sherlock, Jealous John, BAMF John, Angry John, Dub-Con, Rough Sex, Bottomlock, Possessive John, Villain Mary, Open Ending) – Forced to return to London sooner than expected, Sherlock falls into a case too close to home. Part 1 of the Hollowverse series

Spare Parts by Raina_at (E, 63,497 w., 10 Ch. || 24th Century / Futurism AU || Post TRF, Pre-TRF Relationship, Case Fic, Mutual Pining, Estrangement, Reconciliation, Science Fiction, Reunion, Nightmares, Angry John, Cybernetic John, Emotional Discussions / Heart to Heart, POV John, Scars, Past Drug Use, Forehead Touching, Emotional Lovemaking, Kissing, Apologies, Kidnapping, Rescue Mission, BAMF John, Bed Sharing, Top Sherlock) – Two years ago, Sherlock Holmes jumped off the roof of New London Hospital. Two months ago, he walked into John's clinic as if no time had passed at all. John hasn't seen him since. But then Sherlock knocks on John's door with a case he can't say no to, and while figuring out why the biggest manufacturer or synthetic limbs in the System is going after veterans, they also need to find out whether there's a way to fix what's broken between them. Part 1 of Realigning Gravity

Against the Rest of the World by SilentAuror (E, 151,714 w., 20 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || Post-TRF, Hiatus Fic, POV First Person Sherlock, Present Tense, First Kiss/Time, Big Brother Mycroft, Escaping from Capture, Soft Sherlock, Toplock, Insecurity, Infidelity, Travelling, Introspection, Pining Sherlock, Depression, Fantasies, Yearning for the Past, PTSD Sherlock, Suicidal Ideation) – Sherlock has been away from London for nine hundred and twelve days and counting, and has no idea what sort of reception to expect when he finally returns. 

MARKED FOR LATER

Out of the Shadow of Missed Chances by MargueriteSomebodyoranother (T, 1,132 w., 1 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || Post TRF, Reunion, Idiots in Love, Mutual Pining) – He’d had eighteen months - it seemed like a goddamned eternity at the time - and he never uttered a word.

Sound of Silence by SailorChibi (G, 1,554 w., 1 Ch. || Post-TRF, Emotional Trauma, Implied Past Torture, Mutism, Reunion, Protective John, BAMF John) – Sherlock returns from the dead but nothing is like it was. He doesn't speak and John doesn't understand, not until an encounter with the Yard explains the depths of Sherlock's trauma. 

English as a Foreign Language by standbygo (G, 1,739 w., 2 Ch. || Post-TRF, PTSD Sherlock, Reunion) – Sherlock is not quite right after Mycroft pulls him out of Serbia.

Dear Sherlock by by Tara Laurel (T, 7,729 w., 3 Ch. || Post-TRF, Reunion, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Christmas) – "John was happy. Too happy. Of course Sherlock preferred to see his friend in good spirits, especially after the cloud of depression that had hung over him the past weeks, but this was simply maddening." John's got a serious case of Christmas spirit, but is there something serious hidden behind it - something that surprises & saddens a self-proclaimed sociopath? (FFNet)

Nothing to Celebrate by DiscordantWords (M, 30,066 w., 23 Ch. || Post TRF / S3 Rewrite, Not Nice Mary, Secrets, Lies, Pining, Angst with Happy Ending) – Sherlock Holmes is back from the dead. Things only get worse from there.

Ride On by Silvergirl (M, 34,342 w., 9 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || TEH Divergence, Reunion, First Kiss / Time, Mutual Pining, Alternating POV, Sherlock’s Violin, Music, Original Characters, Happy Ending) – After the disastrous reveal at the Landmark, John tells Sherlock there can be no excuse for what he’s done, and no forgiveness. Sherlock leaves London and starts a new life, and not even the British Government knows where. It’s up to John to track him down and make things right, with a trip around the world and a clue only John would recognize.

Full Mount by ArwaMachine (E, 54,887 w., 10 Ch. || Post-TRF, Fighting, John Whump, Hurt/Comfort, Bed Sharing, Mixed Martial Arts, Angry John, Sherlock and No Boundaries, Masturbation, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Fighting, Toplock, Reunion) – After Sherlock unceremoniously returns from the dead, John finds himself inexplicably angry all the time. So he does what any emotionally-constipated British man does: he joins a Mixed Martial Arts gym. As John throws himself into the sport and joins in on underground no-holds-barred brawls, situations arise that just might force John to face what is really going on underneath all the rage.

Over/Under Series by khorazir (M, 319,561 w. across 5 works || Cabin Pressure Crossover || Post-S2 / Reichenbach, ReunionFriendship, Angst, Humour, Pining, Cycling, Mountains, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Dev. Rel., Case Fic, First Kiss, Pining, Family Issues, Inexperienced Sherlock) – After his Fall, Sherlock travels the world to destroy what remains of James Moriarty's criminal empire. When things don't go according to plan and he finds himself in desperate need of a discreet means of travel, cue MJN Air ...

[allthingsfangirl101]

AFTR: Chapter 3 - Surprise Guest

Masterlist

Any reassurance that Glen had given me on the plane was immediately trampled on when he was surrounded by paparazzi as soon as we stepped off the jetway and into the airport. I quickly walked away, chastising myself for believing that an actor could stop being an actor long enough to help me save face in front of my family.

I half-sprinted to baggage claim, anxiously waiting for my luggage so I could get this week over with.

"Hey," someone said as they gently placed their hand on my lower back. I jumped and spun around, soon face-to-face with Glen. "Where'd you go? I thought we had a plan."

"That was until I got a reminder that this would never work," I said, stepping away from him so his hand would fall back to his side. Except, it didn't.

Instead, he grabbed my hand and gently turned me toward him. "I'm sorry about that," he whispered, "but once we get to your brother's wedding, your family and the bride's family will be focused on the wedding. They'll freak out for maybe a few hours before the excitement and stress of the wedding draws them back in."

Before I could say anything, the light started flashing and luggage started being sent down.

"I don't know about this, Glen," I whispered as I scanned the luggage.

"It'll be fine, darling," he whispered back. "I promise."

"We need to come up with a story," I rushed out. "We need some sort of story, an explanation, as to how we met and started dating. You live in LA and I live in New York. My family is skeptical of long distance relationships and they're already skeptical of me having any relationship at all. . ."

"We can figure that all out," he said, annoyingly calm. "We'll come up with a Hallmark-ready backstory that makes your family swoon. But first, let's get our luggage and rent a car."

When I went to grab my luggage, Glen swooped in and grabbed it first. He then found his and we went to rent a car. Once we got the keys and found it in the parking lot, Glen put our suitcases in the back and followed my directions to my family's beach house.

As we got on the freeway, I began to warn him about my family. I warned him about my mother's strict views on relationships. I warned him about my father being protective of his three daughters. I warned him about my younger sister's innocence and willingness to do anything to fit in with us older kids. I warned him about my older sister's judgment on, well, everything.

"And you should probably know. . ."

"Eleanor," Glen chuckled. "It's going to be okay. Whatever your family dishes out, I can handle."

"You say that now," I mumbled. Glen just laughed as he reached over and grabbed my hand.

"Just breathe," he gently tried to reassure me. "Nothing your family could do or say is going to scare me away from doing this."

"How are you so perfect?" I said with a small laugh. He looked at me and I instantly felt my face burn.

"It takes a lot of practice," he smirked. I let go of his hand and playfully pushed his shoulder.

We drove the rest of the way to the beach house, quietly listening to the radio. The closer we got, the harder it was to sit still. Glen reached over and gently put his hand on my nervously bouncing knee.

"It's okay," he whispered. "I promise that I can handle whatever your family does."

"It's not that," I finally admitted. "It's just. . . My family can be kind of. . . Ruthless."

"To new people?"

"To me," I whispered.

I looked over at him and he looked at me as we pulled up to a stoplight. The look in his eyes sank when he saw the look in mine.

"Eleanor," he whispered. Before he could say anything, someone behind us honked their horn. The tension between us shattered as Glen turned back toward the road and continued driving.

A few minutes later, Glen broke the silence. "I am not going to let them attack you," he said under his breath.

"There's nothing you can do to stop them."

I looked over at him when he didn't respond right away. Something in his eyes made my heart jump into my throat.

"We'll see about that."

I didn't have time to respond because we pulled up to my family's beach house. I looked over and instantly saw my mom walk out onto the porch.

"Here we go," I whispered. Glen reached over and grabbed my hand. I watched as he brought it up to his lips. My heart skipped a beat as he kissed my knuckles.

"It's going to be okay," he whispered. "Let's do this."

"Wait!" I gasped as I grabbed his arm. His eyes instantly turned worried.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"I think it would be best if you didn't call me Eleanor."

"Okay," he smiled. "What should I call you?"

"I don't know," I said honestly. "I've never had a guy call me by a nickname before."

Glen thought about it for a second before asking, "How about Elle? Or Ellie?"

"Those could work," I shrugged.

"Which one are you the most comfortable with?" He asked, making my heart flip.

"My dad and brother call me Elle," I said, "so, maybe, Ellie? Kind of cute and sweet."

"Perfect," he said, his smile still on his face. "Well, Ellie, don't get out of the car until I open your door for you."

I laughed as he quickly kissed my cheek before jumping out of the car. My eyes followed him as he jogged around to my side. I took a shaky breath and undid my seatbelt as he opened my door.

Glen grabbed my hand and helped me out of the rental car. I stepped right in front of him, looking into his eyes. I looked over toward the house to see my mom studying us.

"Oh no," I whispered.

"What's wrong, darling?"

"My mom's watching us," I said under my breath. "She doesn't believe us."

"Or she thinks you're flirting with your Uber driver."

"This was a horrible idea," I said under my breath, looking at my feet. "I knew it. I knew this would be a horrible idea. You should just go. You shouldn't have to go through this. My family is. . . Horrible. Escape while you still can. I'm so sorry."

Glen closed the gap between us. He used his pointer finger to gently lift my head. The second I looked up at him, he chuckled.

"Please don't kick me when I do this," he whispered, "but I think I know something that can help your mom believe us."

Before I could say anything, Glen gently grabbed my face and pressed his lips to mine. I grabbed his shirt, pulling him closer to me. Our kiss deepened as our lips moved in sync. This was by far one of the most intense, sexiest kisses I've ever shared with a guy.

Glen broke the kiss, both of us breathing heavily. "Wow," I whispered. "That was. . ."

"Well," he chuckled, looking toward the house, "I think she believes us now."

I looked over to see my mom smiling very big. Glen kissed my cheek before grabbing our suitcases out of the trunk. I stepped in front of him, stopping him before he went inside.

"I have to ask this one more time," I said, my hand still pressed to his chest. "Are you sure you're okay with me using you like this for the entire week?"

While still holding our suitcases, Glen leaned in and pressed his lips delicately to mine.

"I have to say this one more time," he chuckled, "I am okay with this. My job is to make you look amazing. You already have an incredible career that your family should be proud of. Now, my job is to make it look like you have an incredible guy who's crazy about you and 100% supportive of you."

"Thank you," I whispered. I kissed his cheek before we started heading inside. I tried to grab my suitcase from him but he jokingly pulled it away.

"I can take my suitcase, Glen," I giggled.

"Nope," he said simply. "My momma raised me not to let my girl carry her own suitcase."

"Sounds like your mother raised a gentleman."

My heart jumped into my throat when I looked up to see my parents waiting for us on the porch.

"She did," Glen nodded, instantly switching to Perfect Boyfriend. One look at him and it seemed like this wasn't an act. It came naturally to him.

"Who is this, Eleanor?" My mom asked, studying Glen a little too closely.

"Mom, Dad, this is Glen," I introduced. I forced myself to add, "My boyfriend."

"I'm sorry," Kelley said as she walked outside. "Did I hear you right? Eleanor has a boyfriend?!"

"Glen," I sighed, sending him a look, "this is my older sister, Kelley."

"Nice to meet you," he nodded. I couldn't help but hold my breath as I waited for someone in my family to recognize Glen. I wasn't surprised my parents didn't, but I did think my older sister would. I studied her to see my sister flirtatiously smiling at Glen - the smile I hadn't seen since before she met her husband, Ian.

"How long have you been dating?" Kelley asked, glancing between the two of us.

"Who could Eleanor be possibly. . ." My younger sister Angela started to ask but stopped as soon as she joined us on the porch. "No way," she said slowly. I cringed when she gasped. "You're Glen Powell!!"

"What?!" Kelley scoffed. "That's impossible. There is no way that the Glen Powell would be dating our sister."

"It's him!" Angela giggled. "You're him. You were just in Twisters and Top Gun: Maverick before that. Not to mention your recent Netflix movies. I absolutely love Hitman. Your different characters were. . ."

"Angela," I cut her off. "Can we please save Glen from the fangirling this week? He deals with this all the time for his job. I invited him here to spend the week with me, not to be bombarded by questions. So, please, leave him alone."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Glen glance at me with a smile on his face. To me, it was clear that he was impressed with my quick intervention. To my family, it looked more like a sweet, loving look.

"Of course," Angela giggled. "I'm sorry, Glen."

"That's alright," he smiled.

"I don't know what's more surprising: the fact that Glen Powell is actually dating our geeky, workaholic sister," Kelley scoffed as she folded her arms over her chest, "or the fact that Eleanor actually got a boyfriend."

"Eleanor has a boyfriend?" Aiden chuckled as he walked out.

"Hey, baby brother," I smiled. I ignored Glen's small smile as I went and hugged my brother. "Are you excited?"

"I am," he chuckled. He pulled out of the hug and glanced at Glen. "You brought a date?"

"Hopefully that doesn't ruin your seating chart," Glen said sweetly.

"No," Aiden said, sending me an approving smirk. "It doesn't. Welcome to the wedding week."

Glen put down our suitcases and shook my brother's hand. He then properly introduced himself to my parents.

"I'm Glen Powell," he said as he shook my dad's hand. "I'm the lucky bastard that gets to date your incredible daughter. I hope you don't mind me coming. We thought getting away for the week would be fun."

"I think that is so sweet," my mom cooed.

"A family wedding is a romantic weekend getaway?" Kelley shrugged.

"Well, not as romantic as our trip to the Poconos we took last month, but we take what we can," Glen said as he pulled me into his side. I leaned my head on his shoulder and playfully hit him. I had no idea where he came up with that but it was genius. My sisters and mom swooned and my dad and brother smirked.

"Well," Kelley said, clearing her throat, "I would just love to get to know you better, Glen. And find out how this came to happen."

"Why don't we let them get settled?" Mom giggled. "You can share Eleanor's old room."

"You're okay with us sharing?" I asked, surprised by both of my parents nodding.

"Are you two not comfortable sharing a room?" Kelley asked, a little too happy about that.

"We don't mind one bit," Glen smirked. He leaned in and whispered, "Get really embarrassed by what I'm saying. Act like I brought up a naughty memory."

"You're horrible," I giggled, pushing his chest. He caught me and kept me close. My stomach flipped when he leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to my lips. We broke apart when Kelley scoffed and walked away.

"Let's go get settled, darling."

I heard my mom whisper and giggle to my dad when she heard the nickname Glen gave me. Glen grabbed our suitcases and followed me upstairs. As soon as we got into the room, Glen put our suitcases on the small bench at the end of the bed. I collapsed onto the bed and closed my eyes.

"This was a horrible idea," I mumbled. I looked over to see him walking over and sitting next to me. I let out a small giggle as he collapsed next to me, all while looking at me.

"It's going to be okay," he whispered. "They really aren't that bad."

"You ain't seen nothing yet," I scoffed. Glen sat up on his elbows and his face slowly fell. "What's wrong?" I started to ask but he cut me off.

Glen leaned down and pressed his lips to mine. I pushed aside the surprise as I kissed him back. I reached up and ran my fingers through his hair as our lips moved in sync. A small moan slipped out when he gently grabbed my waist.

He broke the kiss and pressed his nose to mine. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I looked up and your sister was watching us. Figured I'd give her a show."

"Nicely done," I chuckled. He leaned back enough for me to see his face.

"You're okay with us getting a little intimate, right?" He asked, his voice soft.

"A little late for late," I said teasingly. When I saw the worry still in his eyes, I added, "I'm okay with this, Glen. I promise."

"Just tell me if I go too far."

Taglist @djs8891

[dronebiscuitbat]

Oil is Thicker Then Blood (Part 48)

Twenty minutes later, N came back online, he was dizzy, his entire body felt as though it was filled with radio static and his core was stuttering, seemingly still fluttering from what it had just experienced.

There was a warm body on top of him, collapsed on his chest, his arm moved on its own to wrap around her, his breath seemed to catch up and come out in some astonished half-choke.

Had that really just happened?

“U-uzi?” He found his voice though it was horse and husky, and he got no response, his girlfriend continuing to lie there limp. He began to get worried, had he overloaded her somehow? Fried her processors?

He lifted her up to face him, her visor reading [Reboot, Data Overload!] but she was very clearly still online, they were also still linked together, the wire shifting as what it was connected to moved. His worry dissipated, she was fine, just still rebooting.

In the meantime, he attempted to disconnect, he lightly pulled on the wire only to find that her port had locked him in, leaving him stuck there until she woke up. So he leaned back into the pillow and looked at the ceiling, basking in the afterglow.

Uzi's system gave a beep before a low groan left her lips, clearly feeling the same dizzy feeling that had hit him when he first woke up, N went to hold her steady, one hand on her back and the other on her cheek, tilting her head up to look at him.

“Welcome back.” He smiled at her, a laugh tugging on his lips as she slowly looked up at him, embarrassed at herself, even so, her eyelights seemed to smile at him.

“Hey…” She replied back, her voice soft and small, she tried to pull back, either to get off him or just to get a better look when the short cable connecting them stopped her, painfully yanking on both of them.

“Oh… we're still…” She said, still a little out of it, she lightly brushed over the wire, fingers tangling in it, N watched her curiously, she was acting… off.

“Are you okay?”

At that she seemed to look at him, really look at him, her eyelights scanning every inch of his face before something overtook her and she kissed him. It wasn't hungry or urgent like before, but it was passionate and they both found themselves melting into it before she pulled away.

He chuckled as they remained with their visors pressed together, it was clear that neither of them wanted to get up just yet, he wasn't sure he'd be able to anyway, his legs felt numb.

N couldn't help but run his hands along her silicone softly, in which she replied by humming in contentment and caressing the seam of his visor with her thumb.

Whatever enjoyment they got out of holding each other like this seemed to be enhanced, Uzi's edges were nonexistent, leaving her as vulnerable as she would ever be and N's anxiety had run off to find it, because that was gone for the moment too.

“I love you so much.” He almost whispered in her ear, causing her to giggle lightly and bury her head into the crook of his neck, he could feel her smiling against him, making a similar smile tug the corners of his mouth.

“I love you too.” She replied equally as softly, and she finally sat up as far as thr cable would allow, she grabbed the end of in before sighing and moving her hand directly underneath to where it plugged in. There was a small click. And they were disconnected, the wire immediately snapped back inside the compartment over his core, causing him to wince as it smacked his casing.

“S-sorry, probably should have warned you.” She manually closed her compartment, before reaching up and doing the same to his, the low buzzing of his core ceased, and the radio static of his limbs seemed to let up a little.

“It's alright.” He leaned forward and held her before taking them both back down to lay on the bed, she was still mostly on top of him, although now her head rested on his chest.

“Did that… really just happen?” She asked after a moment, sounding like she didn't belive herself, he gave her a breathy laugh and used his hand to massage her back, he felt… complete? satisfied? They had become one, he had known her every thought and feeling, and she knew his. It was… incredible.

“Mmhm.” He replied, squeezing her closer even if it was physically impossible, he gave her a kiss on the forehead and buried his face into her hair.

Had she always had a smell? Because right now she smelled like freshly forged metal and citrus, a strange but oddly pleasant smelling combo.

“That was amazing…” He breathed out, causing her to laugh again, she looked up at him, nervously glancing to the side.

“Good. I… was afraid I was bad… or something.”

He blinked, almost confused on how or why she'd ever think that.

“It wasn't bad, it wouldn't have ever been bad. It was with you, and you're so, so amazing.” He immediately voiced all these things, making her blush and kiss his visor again, which in turn made him lean down and kiss hers.

“You were too…”

“I didn’t really do anything.”

She looked at him incredulously.

“Are you serious? You wrote, I love you, like fifty times over my display code. That's all I could see!”

Oh, well he was being a little clumsy…

“At least you liked it?”

“Of course I did… you goob.”

Then there was silence for another few minutes, riding the high of their afterglow together, with Uzi ending up tracing small shapes on his chest and around his core, avoiding actually touching it.

N smiled, she was being so soft, her walls had been completely demolished for him, Even before, she would have been embarrassed she was touching him so freely, now she was doing it with a small smile on her face.

“That kinda tickles Zi.” He hummed as he pretty much did the same to her back, avoiding the scars in favor of tracing around them.

She stopped, not responding but curling into him and purring, triggering his own.

Then, as if waiting for the perfect moment. A wail broke through the house like a thunderclap, alerting to two parents to their charge, who had woken up alone on the couch and was very much not happy about it.

“Mm. She has your attitude.” N laughed as Uzi slapped him lightly, slowly rolling off him to crawl out of bed even if she was initially unsteady.

“Hush.”

She got dressed, although only in her skull pajamas and made her way to the living room where Tera was beating her fists into the couch cushions in a genuine tantrum.

“Oh Tera honey, it's okay.” Uzi scooped her up, black blanket and all and the toddler almost immediately settled down, looking up at her mother, albeit with squinted eyes, almost saying “how dare you leave me alone!”

“I'm sorry Jellybean, daddy and I lost track of time.” Uzi nuzzled her daughters visor, causing the girl to let out a peel of giggles as she did it back, clearly not holding much of a grudge.

“Least you don't hold a grudge like me…”

There was a knock at the door. Making Uzi jump and Tera to immediately look at the door in curiosity, it used to just make her cry, but at least now she seemed to understand that it meant someone new was here.

She looked down at herself, her pajamas ruffled her hair a complete wreck. She sighed, hopefully it was someone she knew, this wouldn't be as awkward.

“Coming.”

She made her way to the door, looking over at N who was still in the process of getting dressed, buttoning every single button on his coat took awhile…

She used her solver to pull the door shut for him, then she let the front door swing open. Tera resting mostly in one arm as the other was free to press the button.

Red eyes looked back.

She jumped back, startled. Her other hand immediately flew up to protect Tera's head as her tail immediately wrapped around mother and child, spines flared out and ready to impale the intruder.

The intruder also jumped back, and Uzi suddenly realized that the red eyes didn't belong to who she thought they did. For starters, this drone was clearly a dude.

“Sorry for the scare man! I'm Guy, I uh, work with N?”

Next ->

[soundkiller0017]

The Proctector of The Travelers of The Night.

It was 8 a clock Vale. There was a worn out building that lookrd like it would fell in any second. There was a normal thug smoking some weeb. The guy looked high. Then a white limousine. The thug came close the the window of the limousine

Thug: Dude. We are close for toda-

he was surprise by old Vacuan sword.

Mr Knight: Look. I'm gonna be quick. I stole this from a guy in Vacuo. I hear that he still pops out his own ripcase. So you have til I count 10 to tell me everything of this building. You understand?

Thug who is shaking in fear: Y-ye-sss.

Mr Knight: Good. 1

Thug: T-there are twenty gurds in the firs floor. In the s-second thr-ere are six with aura.

Mr Knight: 2, 3, 4, 5

Thug: I-in the third t-there i-s a ex Huntman.

Mr Knight: 6, 7, 8, 9

Thugs: I-in the forth floor there is a ex Atlas Specialist. And the Cherry girl.

Mr Knight: Good. *he hits the Thug with the handle of the sword in the head, knocking out the thug* Poor guy. Well now. Is show time.

Mr Knight go's to the door and opens it. In a in a radio on the building start playing "Fly To The Moon" By Frank Sinatra.

Thug: Hey! Who the fuck are you!

The thug is the hited by a cresent dart.

Mr Knight: The one you see coming.

Then other thugs appear from diferent rooms. Then fight begin. Mr Knight easily nock out the thugs with his truncheons. Then he start walking the stairs until he was ambushe by some aura user. He quickly use one of then as body shield till his aura broke then he throw the guy of the stairs. Then other one was hited by truncheon quickly breaking his aura and was kock down to the stairs. The other was pirced by a crecent dart in the jaw and then kicked in the balls. The last one decided to knock himself out willingly. In the second floor he was welcome with more thugs that he easily knock out or killed without even knowing. He then reach the third floor. Then he was meet by the Ex huntsman. A 7 feet tall muscle mountain that wield a sleged hammer. His swings where slow but powerfulls. Mr Knight duck the first swing and the he kicked the guy in his foot. Making the mountain of a man lose the balance and the hit him with the truncheons untill his aura was broke. Then he used to creecent darts to stab him in the chest, making the man screaming in pain and then he kicked the man of the third floor to the first floor. Mr Knight then found a thug going to his direction. The thug shoted and destroyed one of his truncheons

Mr Knight: Dammit. This things cost real Lien. And is not like a have a real job.

He then pulled triger in the truncheon so a the first part of the truncheon was shoot like a bullet directly to the guys head. The guy was nock out in the floor. Then he started walking the the forth floor. Then he found a guy in Atlesian coat and he was wielding to daggers. Mr Knight throw some crecent darts that were easily blocked by the daggers of the Specialist.

Mr Knight: Nice.

Then Mr Knight used the his hand to start redirecting the the slashes of the daggers that start to hit the Specialist. Until his aura broke. In that momennt Mr Knight used the coat of his white tuxedo to grab the guy's arm and redirct his dagger to stab his leg. He then grabed the guy and throw him from a window. Then another thug comes runing with a bat that Mr Knight easily steal from his hand and then use it to hit him in the head with it. Finnally Mr Knight is in the forth floor. He then sees a guy run from a the forth floor to the roof top.

Mr Knight: Lunar Drone. Go to the seventh building in the Invictia street in midtown Vale.

Mr Knight then start walking to a room that Cherry was in. He was greeted by a guy with a gun pointing to the little girl.

Gunman: If you step closer I pull the triger! And drop the bat!

Mr Knight: Why? I like the bat. And you owe a Truncheon. And besides. The police is coming. If you sureender now you will be alright.

The gunman give the gun to Mr Knight, who then hited the guy with his bat knocking him out.

Cherry: Who are you sir?

Mr Knight: Call me Mr Knight.

Then Cherry grabs the mask

Mr Knight: This is a mask

Cherry: No. This is your face.

Mr Knight: Good kid.

Then Mr Knight when the rofftop to see that the final thug was crush by the Lunar drone. Then Mr Knight aprroach the guy

Mr Knight: Tell the people of your underground world that the travelers of the night have a proctertor, and that protector is a wrath is a inevitable as the moon lighting the night. Tell them that Mr Knight will come for them.

Then the scene change to a apartment where Mr Knight tool off his mask reveling that Jaune Arc was behind the mask all the time. He then look to the mirror and looked behind to see the skelrton head of a bird in a suited sitting in a chair. That was Khonshu God of the moon and Vengance.

Khonshu: My fist. Our work is not over yet.

(Btw, this is how Mr Knight!Jaune looks like)

[pumpkinsy0]

I was reading your hcs on the Curtis family's extended fam and was wondering if you could do hcs for some of them trying to reach out to Pony (for whatever reason) and darry flipping tf out because he knows alllllll thr family lore and drama and is pissrd they're trying to reach out NOW when it was radio silence when their parents died

ok for context, so we r all on the same page for those who didnt read those post from a while ago, i think mrs curtis was a soc and mr curtis was a greaser, he got her pregnant, they tried hiding it for a while, slipped up, they both were shunned, they ran away, and boom never talked to extended family again👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽

AND FOR CLARIFICATION!!!! neither of the families have talked to each other ever, so while ponys talking to em both, they have 0 clue the other also reached out

•NOW!!!!! who was it who started the communication??? ill say it was mr curtis’ side of the family. those guys r way more family oriented and some of them DO regret what they did those years ago so they would b the ones to reach out

•on the soc side of their fam, i rlly only see their grandpa reaching out without telling any one else (mrs curtis was a huge daddys girl). he still doesnt rlly support what ole girl did but he would like to hear back from her

•ponys the one who usually gets the mail bc he comes earlier than the other 2 and the gang just tends to forget they even HAVE a mailbox somehow. he got both letters but they were both sent like a few weeks apart, pony got one, didnt know how to respond waited a while to figure out wtf to do and if it was even real, then got the another one

•thing he was scared most about was how in the WORLD they got their address, but he has theirs too. if u want maybe he has someone he trust (not darry and soda🙄🙄 ) to go see the greaser part of his familys house, not to meet em, only to see if its real. its just outside tulsa and yknow whhaatttt, the house is there lookin all run down and the older guys out on that front yard r look ooddllyyy fammilliiaaarrr hmmmmmm

•he wont even TRY going to the soc place, but yknow what, truly nothing bad will happen if he did respond to em. they already know his mom and (kind of) dads full name, where they lived, personal info, if they wanted to ruin them they wouldve already, so just reply, to both of em🗣️🗣️

•it went back and forth for a little while, nothing too crazy just had to break the news that who they were trying to contact died a while ago, no big deal, but at least they know their grandsonnn/nephewwww thats a good thingggg. PONYS (somewhat) NOT THAT STUPID THO!! hes not giving out their info willy nilly, he only went by a fake name just in case and they mayyyy or mayyy not think theyre talking to an only child. they both wanna meet pony but hes made it very clear that hes not ready (which isnt a LIE but he just mainly doesnt want to risk them being seen together and get caught)

•annyyy who, between making sure the two families arent aware of the other reaching out, making sure he doesnt slip up and ponys own personal problems, no duh he gets stressed and fumbles by leaving the letters out, which darry finds and like u said is pissed. he didnt want to tell soda and pony about their extended family, even if he did, HE wanted to b the one to do it to lay it easy on em. that anger is also towards pony i cannot lie, what hes doing is very dangerous

•soda on the other hand, curious more than anything, asking questions left and right “what r they like”, “do we have any pictures of em hidden”, “what if theyre secretly using us for something they want”, that whole shebang

•when mrs curtis left her family, she was pregnant w darry so talking to the ppl that abandoned his parents in a way “bc of him”??? cant say he has a huge want to see those guys or keep them in communication. their oarents always said they dont want to talk to em, but if their kids ever want to they can cause at the end of the day hey, they cant control what they do all they ask is for them to not get them in that loop and darry wants to respect that

•this is one of the things where they do not tell the gang, really only bc they dont know how to handle this, at all and dont want this blown out of proportion. eventually theyll tell the gang but not anytime soon for their own sanity

[vvatchword]

Slow Drive

Delta couldn’t get in the car. Instead, he walked beside it as Sinclair slowly drove out to the edge of town. Sinclair kept the window down and didn’t speak at first. The Sisters followed alongside, Eleanor sobbing uncontrollably. Every now and then Delta felt her questing thoughts probing at the edges of his mind before she jerked back. The other Sisters didn’t stop her—perhaps there was some sense that he was hers—and this alone rankled.

They could have stopped her, couldn’t they? And they didn’t. They let her just slide into his skull anytime she liked. Not even Cecilia said anything about it, and Cecilia always seemed to read him better than anyone else.

“So, chief,” Sinclair said, somewhere around the ten-minute mark.

Delta bristled, waiting for the inevitable.

“What kind of TV do you watch these days?”

Delta squinted in at him. Sinclair was keeping his eyes on the road. Had he always looked this old? Delta could see a reflection of his face in the glass and tried to gauge his own age. Taut skin, dark hair, no age spots. Thirties, perhaps? He hadn’t aged while he’d been dead. That seemed right.

“Do you watch TV?” Sinclair asked. “Or do you still listen to the radio?”

Delta shrugged. Sinclair took a moment to wave at another driver, who was gaping at Delta without any shame at all. They were so busy gawking that they went over the curb; in a squeal of rubber, they slammed on their brakes and smashed into a post-office box.

“You liked adventure serials, last I remember,” Sinclair said. He snapped his fingers. “You loved adventure films.”

Why had Delta wanted this, again? There was something horrible about having someone with power over you, but the kind where someone knew more about you than you did about yourself was a torture past reckoning! It was true, wasn’t it—that he was just a big kid stuck in this monster body? Maybe it was right that a girl half his age ordered him around.

“You’re lookin’ pretty down in the mouth,” Sinclair said. “Now, honey, I promise you nothing is going to happen outside the pale. All right? No lock-ups. Nothing you don’t ask for. Just a warm meal and a drink and some entertainment. Maybe a smoke. You still like cigars?”

“I’m never free,” Delta said at last. “I never get to go where I want. Even in my dreams I don’t go where I want.”

Sinclair grimaced. “Juan, honey.”

He said it low, so quietly that it could have been lost.

“I’m so tired,” Delta said. “Nobody loves me.”

Sinclair hissed through his teeth. “That’s not true. Why, look at that girl crying over there. She loves you more than life itself.”

“She wants to order me around. She doesn’t listen to me.”

“Well, that’s teenagers for you.” Sinclair laughed. “She’s starting to realize she can make decisions of her own, that’s all. She just doesn’t know where she needs to stop. No, you’re right to put your foot down. You have a right to your own life. You know what your problem is, chief?”

Delta shook his head.

“The problem is that you’re just a big softy. You get thrown into this world outside Rapture and you have to learn all its rules again. You feel off-balance. You deal with it by trying to make everyone your friend. You know how that makes me laugh?”

Delta glanced up, brows knit together. Sinclair was grinning at him like they were sharing a big joke.

“All the best scientists of the world stirred your brain up like a soup, but they couldn’t get rid of you. Back when I knew you, the minute you figured out you couldn’t make friends, you’d run for it. And here you are, over a decade later, running from your problems—like clockwork.”

Delta drooped, rubbed at his face. There was a pressure starting in the back of his mind. The memories were going to come back. He could feel it. He’d end up rocking back and forth in Sinclair’s back yard next.

“Now, what’s sad about that?” Sinclair asked. “I thought it might make you happy to realize you’re not some machine. No, you’re John Barton. You’re a hell of a worker and a good man. Many went through Rapture and came out unspeakable. You went through and became something better. Who else has done it?”

“I killed people,” Delta said. “I’m not better.”

“You had no choice. Better than those of us who did.”

Sinclair’s face had become stern. He was looking in his rearview mirror.

“Looks like ol’ Jack there is going to keep an eye on us,” he said. “Wouldn’t doubt he’s had us all figured out for weeks now. I wonder how long he’s been looking for us.”

“Do you think he’s telling the truth?” Delta asked.

“No reason to doubt him. You two do have the same problem, all things considered.”

“What does he want with me?”

“What’d he ask you for?”

“He wanted to see Tenenbaum. That’s all.”

“Then why go to you, honey?” Sinclair asked gently. “If he needs Brigid, he should go to Brigid.”

“I’m not stupid.” Delta’s hand movements were choppy.

“I’m not saying you are. I’m saying you are a little too eager for friendship, though.”

“I have no friends.”

“Good god, John, that’s an outright lie, and frankly, I’m a bit hurt. Do you not consider me a friend?”

Delta thought about apologizing. He decided not to. Instead, he asked, “Do you think he likes me?”

Sinclair laughed. “Now, what kind of a question is that?”

“He saved me from the police. He knows what it’s like to be me.”

“So does Dr. Porter,” Sinclair said. “And so do I.”

Delta shook his head.

“Dr. Lamb was in my head.” Sinclair’s voice was low again. “She was pulling my strings like a puppeteer. Son, I went through your hell for all of a day, thinking: I may have to live like this for years if he doesn’t knock me down. Before that point, I had never wished for death in my life, but in a matter of hours I was ready to go. All that, and I hadn’t gone through even a tenth of what you did. But hell, son. Hell. When I consider what that does to a man—over weeks, over months, over years.” He took a shuddering breath. “That was your greatest fear, you know. And I’ll never be able to forgive myself for making you live it.”

Delta didn’t dare look at him. He kept his eyes on his feet. What would his old self have felt? He was too frightened to reach back where his memories were. If they started flooding through him again, here on the street… Eleanor would have to touch him again. Eleanor would probably say, “Oh, he has to go home now and sleep in his own bed.”

It did sound nice. To go home, take a shower, go to bed. All of this seemed so pointless. To run away, just to go to Sinclair’s house, where he’d probably sleep on the floor, and Sinclair would talk to him like he was pitiful the whole damn time. Tomorrow he’d probably just go home, and everything would go back to the way it was, and he’d just take it, because of course he would. Who else could love him? Where else would people make a home for him?

It startled him to realize that this was why Sinclair couldn’t love him anymore. His previous self had been a whole person—a person who could speak, who was nice to look at, who knew who he was. But his current self… what was he to Sinclair but a child, an invalid, more dog than a man? Who could love that?

“I’m tired of thinking about it,” Delta said. “I’m tired of people feeling sorry for me. I just want to feel like a person. I don’t. I scare people.”

“That’s my fault, too.” Sinclair’s voice was thick.

“I don’t care.” Delta shook his head. He still didn’t look at Sinclair. “You feeling sorry doesn’t change it. I can’t change it. It happened. I don’t care. I just want to be a person.”

“But you are a person and we can help you. It’s just a matter of time at this point.” Sinclair slapped the side of his car. “And won’t you look at that! Home sweet home.”

Delta jerked his head up. They had pulled into a residential area. A series of brick houses spread out under comfortable old shade trees. Kids were throwing frisbees for their dogs a couple of houses over. The house that Sinclair was talking about was a red-brick affair with a nicely manicured lawn and a door with a stained-glass window.

“Eleanor!” Sinclair said, waving her toward him. “Come here!”

Delta froze as Eleanor, red-eyed, shuffled up to the window.

“Sweetheart, I swear on everything true and good in this world to treat your pops like a gentleman,” he said. “You understand me? I keep him off the street a night, and he gets that guest bedroom all to himself. But, see, I need some help from you to make sure this works out.”

Eleanor’s eyes were swollen and red. She stared at him without expression.

“I need you to get some clean clothes for him,” he said. “Let’s say—two days’ worth. Something for bed, something for daytime. Maybe a toothbrush and a razor and his shampoo, things like that. If you bring that on over, I can make sure he’s comfortable, and you can see how he’s settling in. And don’t you worry. I’ll bring him back as soon as possible, hopefully in better shape than he left.”

Without a word, Eleanor turned away and disappeared in a flash of light. The kids with the frisbees started shouting about it. Equally silent, completely expressionless, the Sisters all turned together and walked back toward town.

“You know, that’s the kind of thing I’d expect to see in a horror film,” Sinclair said, watching the girls troop away.

Sinclair turned into the driveway. Delta wavered for a moment, stuck between following him and turning to follow the girls back to Tenenbaum’s. The kids and their dogs had stopped to watch now. The dogs were alert in an unpleasant way—ears up, rigid-legged, tails swaying side to side slowly.

Delta held his face. Even dogs didn’t like him. Maybe it was Eleanor’s sadness pushing in on him, but he thought he was going to cry next.

“Hey, chief, look at this,” Sinclair said, leaning out of his window. “Come’ere!”

Delta slogged up beside him, leaned down. Sinclair held a little plastic doohickey with a button on it.

“Watch,” he said, and pressed it.

The garage door grumbled and lifted. Delta jumped. He must have made some noise because the dogs started barking.

“I’m living the good life,” Sinclair said, winking at him, and pulled into a spotless garage. “Get in here before you die of heat stroke.”

Delta wished he could tell him it was fine; poison couldn’t kill him, bullets couldn’t kill him, the cold couldn’t kill him, so what was the sun? But without a word, he ducked into the garage. The door closed behind him, cutting out the light and the Sisters, until it closed with a heavy thunk.

~*~*~*~

Sinclair’s home was dark: dark paneled wood walls, dark wine-colored carpet, heavy embroidered curtains draped over the windows. Delta caught sight of a living room set up with an easy chair and a sofa and a nice TV set. Everything smelled like cigarettes. As Sinclair flicked on lights and air conditioner, he headed down the right-hand corridor into an equally dark office, all mahogany and stuffy-looking, with uncomfortable-looking high-backed chairs. Delta eyed them warily from the hallway.

The first thing Sinclair did was sink into his office chair, grab his phone, and call Dr. Tenenbaum. Delta, feeling obnoxiously large, waited at the door.

“Brigid!” Sinclair said. “Found him. Oh, he got all the way to town. I had been out of the car maybe ten minutes when you called… all I did was pull out onto 9th Street and there he was. The man’s athleticism is unreal. Nope. Well, he did have a little run-in with the police, but… well, you won’t believe who he met.” He waited a second. There was complete silence on the other end.

“Jack Wynand,” said Sinclair at last. “Don’t know what he was doing with our boy here, but apparently he wanted to speak with you abou…”

“NO,” Dr. Tenenbaum said.

“All right, good enough,” Sinclair said. “I don’t know what he’s up to, but I don’t feel good about it, either. I thought you said he was a young man?” His brows drew together as Tenenbaum spoke. “That’s not right. He can’t have been a day under sixty.”

A muttering sound.

“He’s still a big guy. I wouldn’t get in a fight with him.” Sinclair drew out his pistol, released the magazine, popped out the bullets one by one, counted them under his breath, loaded the gun again. “Say, John?”

Delta jerked upright.

“Can you do me a favor and grab my holster? It’s right in that drawer across from me. Right there. Thank you, buddy. Sit down, sit down, take the weight off.”

The couch’s legs looked delicate, and the armchairs were too narrow, so Delta sank down on the floor, folding his arms over his knees. He loomed over Sinclair despite simply sitting. He felt so strangely childish.

“My question is this,” Sinclair said, throwing off his jacket. “Do I need to be worried about Mr. Wynand?”

When Tenenbaum spoke, it was quietly, and the rhythm was too even for Delta to make out anything. Sinclair buckled his holster. His smile sank into a frown.

“All right,” he said. “Understood. I just can’t figure what use John would be to him. Might it be to get to Eleanor?”

Delta whipped his eyes up to Sinclair’s. Sinclair was staring straight into his face, eyes solemn. He tucked his pistol under his arm.

“I thought not,” Sinclair said. “Well, thank you. Let me know if anything changes in the night. I sent the girls to get John some overnight clothes.”

Dr. Tenenbaum said something short.

“Doctor, if Eleanor and the girls had gotten there first, I’m afraid John would’ve left with Wynand. Hell, there might’ve been a fight, and frankly, I shudder to think of it. I think I was a fair option.”

Dr. Tenenbaum snapped something.

Sinclair took a deep breath and pressed his fingers against his temple. “Let me make this plain. I won’t take advantage of him. I swear on my dear sweet mother. He’s barely two months out of the suit and he’s like a whole new person; god knows who he’ll be by the third. I aim to spoil him rotten and nothing more. He will stay in the guest bedroom.”

Dr. Tenenbaum started talking. Sinclair listened, lips pressed together. He reached into a drawer and pulled out a carton of cigarettes. He opened it and shook it at John. John took it with a grateful nod and plucked one out. It was so tiny and delicate and soft in his hand.

“I understand. You don’t have to worry about me. If you feel like you have to check up, do. I promise it’s all above-board here at Casa de Sinclair. You don’t have to believe it, but that’ll just give you more worry than it’s worth. Go to bed with a clear conscience. I will.”

Sinclair tucked a cigarette in the corner of his mouth and held out his lighter, the flame snapping into life above it. John lit it and sank back against the wall, one knee drawn up, one leg thrown out. He breathed in; breathed out.

“All right. Give my love to the girls. Reassure Eleanor I’ll be nothing but a gentleman. And don’t forget the man’s toiletries! Bye.”

He shook his head as he slapped the receiver on its cradle. “Good god, Juan. Your lot is going crazy without you. How do you do it?”

Delta paused, staring, before shaking his head.

“They do fine without me,” he signed.

“So you say,” Sinclair said, pushing pencils around on his desk with an idle finger. “Now, look. Brigid says you shouldn’t go out without someone from now on. I tend to agree.”

“I’m not stupid,” Delta said, hands stabbing through the motions.

“Of course you’re not stupid,” Sinclair said. “But you know Mr. Wynand killed several of your coworkers, don’t you? And those were fully kitted out. I doubt he’d hesitate for you.”

Delta growled. “I’d run away.”

“Good thinking. Do not fight him.” Sinclair rapped the table with every word. “Leave. In fact, take it one step further: you see him coming, you just run the other way.”

“What if he’s a friend?” Delta asked. “What if he wants to help?”

“Help with what?” Sinclair asked. “He’s the one who came to you. Now, although I doubt Mr. Wynand there went out today intending to catch you, he clearly wanted to use you in some way, and I’m guessing whatever it was wouldn’t have been very kind.”

“I don’t care,” Delta said. His eyes were burning.

A pencil bounced off of his forehead. He recoiled, only for Sinclair to flip a second one at him. It bounced off of the wall and against the back of his neck. Delta growled, yanked at his sleeve—only to feel the pencil tilt down his collar and slip into his shirt.

“For god’s sakes, don’t be dramatic. You’ve cared every step of the way. I should know.” Sinclair slapped another pencil down on his desk eraser first. “Now I suppose there’s no better time to address the, ah… Big Daddy in the room, as it were.”

Delta snarled and twisted his shirt out of his jeans. Crumbled leaves and dirt sprinkled onto the carpet.

“You clearly have some feelings for me.”

Delta’s breath caught in his throat. He kept his eyes down on his shirt.

“Now as touched as I am—and I will not lie, I am deeply, deeply moved—we were very different people 13 years ago. And even if we hadn’t changed as much as we have, right now is clearly a very sensitive time for you.”

Delta shook his shirt out until bits of hay filled the air.

“Do you know what you look like right now?” Sinclair asked, rising from his desk.

Delta reddened, fabric knotted up in his hands. The pencil plinked onto the floor.

“You look like a new human being every damn day,” said Sinclair. “I had no idea you were going to get this far. None of us did. It’s almost like you’re back.”

Delta smoothed his shirt out, dropping his eyes. The ash was building up on the end of his cigarette until it looked like a closed lotus.

“Tomorrow, you may realize you hate me,” Sinclair said. “I may have to call Eleanor from a payphone on the other side of town because you decided to throw my car at me. And frankly, I wouldn’t put it past you. You know what your last words to me were?” Sinclair slapped his pencil down. “You told me to go fuck myself.”

Delta squeezed his hands into a fist on his knee.

“Son, you’re about to have more ash than cigarette there. Come here, for god’s sakes.” Sinclair pushed an ashtray over the desk.

John tapped off the ash, eyes lowered. In the back of his brain, he could feel an electrical static building.

“Sorry,” he signed.

“I don’t know whether you’re apologizing for the past or for now, and either way, I don’t give a damn,” Sinclair said. “You don’t have to apologize. You’re being honest. You have nothing in you but honesty. It’s like I get to see you in your childhood.”

Delta snarled and shoved himself upright. “I’m not a child.”

“That’s not what I meant. It’s a good thing. It’s you before someone beat all that fear into you.”

“What do you mean? Who beat me?”

“Don’t listen to me. It doesn’t matter.” Sinclair cleared his throat. “I just want you to know that as long as you stay here, my bedroom is off limits, as yours is from me. And you will not try to do anything beyond a handshake, you understand?”

“I’m sorry. I understand.” Delta took a deep drag of his cigarette. He couldn’t take his eyes off of the carpet.

“Again, you don’t have to apologize. You owe me nothing. But you aren’t well yet. You’re nowhere near well yet. I say you rest for a year at least before you start thinking about romance. And given what you’ve gone through, I’ll be frank: maybe it should be two or three or… lord. Five. The longer you wait, the better you’ll feel. Take some advice from an old rake.”

“I’ll go back,” Delta said. His fingers moved listlessly. “I’m sorry.”

“I don’t mean that at all. Look at me. Look at me, Juan.”

Delta shook his head. Then he saw Sinclair’s shiny shoes up next to his beat-up sneakers. Sinclair leaned in, stared up into his face.

“I love you, Juan,” Sinclair said softly. “More than you know. But think about it this way. You need some time to understand what you really want. If you move too fast, you’re more likely to make regrets than good memories. All right?” He took Delta’s hand and clapped it between his. “Worry about recovering. Wait for Tenenbaum to collect the ADAM we need for your procedure. Learn a little about yourself.”

“Is Eleanor going to be safe?” Delta asked. He felt like his arms and hands were moving through syrup. “Should I go back?”

“Is Eleanor going… good god, honey, she nearly took the whole damn house off its foundation this afternoon,” Sinclair said. “There are 12 other Big Sisters at that house, all just as powerful as she is. I don’t like it that Wynand’s here, but I’d like to see him try and cause trouble with a house full of Supergirls. No, if there’s anyone in trouble here, it’s you.”

Delta closed his eyes. He had to go home. It was the right thing to do. The whole house full of Sisters and an enemy skulking around the perimeter! And at the same time, he couldn’t seem to move his legs.

“You okay there, chief?” Sinclair asked.

Delta shook his head, blew out a cloud of smoke, watched the patterns shift and dissipate.

“I’m glad you’re here. Do you understand? I’m pleased as punch. It doesn’t even seem real that we’re underneath the same roof again. Hell, forget about me—I think you might benefit by getting out of the house a while. Think of it as a vacation—a little time to recoup. Now come on. There’s a case of beer with your name on it and a night full of the world’s most rotten television.” Sinclair rose, throwing his jacket over his arm. “As for me, I’m going to make a roast beef sandwich. How about it? I’ve got fresh bread. As the kids today say—it’ll blow your mind.”

~*~*~*~

Delta’s bedroom was clearly not meant for someone his size. The bed was too small, the ceiling too low. If he turned on the fan and stood up, he’d get whacked in the forehead. His stomach sank. Was this the plan? To make him capitulate through discomfort?

“I don’t think I thought this through,” Sinclair said, clucking with displeasure. “Perhaps if we get the mattress on the floor of the den and lay the couch cushions at one end? That might be nice. Much roomier in there, in any case. And you can turn the television on in the morning and watch it in bed.” He winked. “Very cozy.”

“But I can’t keep you out of the living room,” Delta signed nervously.

“Oh, I won’t need to go in there past ten,” Sinclair said. “You’ll be snug as a bug in a rug, as my grandmother would say. Ah, son, cheer up!” He slapped him on the shoulder. “I can’t stand you lookin’ so sad. How many times were you making these faces under that helmet? I can’t stand the thought.”

Delta felt at his cheeks. He felt strangely naked all of a sudden. He wanted his suit again. He wanted his helmet.

“What are you feeling for up there?” Sinclair asked.

Delta shook his head. “I should go home.”

“You are home, honey.” Sinclair set a hand on his wrist. “Can you do me a favor, though?”

“Sure.”

“Can you drag the mattress yourself? I hate to ask you, but this leg makes everything a trial.”

“It’s no problem.” Delta leaned down into the bedroom, flipped on the light.

For a second, he saw the flash of a human shadow against the window. He started. Just as suddenly, he felt silly; he was seeing his own shadow thrown up against the blinds. No one could see in. Why would they want to, anyway?

“What is it, honey?” Sinclair asked.

“Nothing,” Delta said. “Bad thought.”

“You’ve been doin’ better, I thought.”

Delta was startled to realize the memories had settled back down. Was that all he had to do? Get upset and run to town? Maybe they would come back in the night.

Try not to think about it. Thinking about it will make it worse.

“Do you remember how to play gin rummy?” Sinclair asked as Delta lifted the mattress.

“I don’t know.” Delta pushed it on its side, leaned over almost double.

Sinclair sidled out of the way. “Well, we’ll bring out cards and see if you do. If you can’t remember it, well. We’ll just teach you again. Meanwhile, we’ll get you another cigarette, eh?”

Delta looked at his hands pressed against the mattress. God, they were huge.

“When will they get enough ADAM for me?” he asked.

“I’m afraid I don’t know. We’d have to ask Dr. Tenenbaum that.”

“When I go crazy,” Delta said, “what will you do to me?”

Sinclair paused. “Let’s not think about that right now, honey. Besides. You’re doin’ great. Much better than we ever thought you would!”

“Something’s wrong with me,” Delta said. “I can’t think. It’s better, but it’s… worse. It should be faster.”

“You’re worried, that’s all. You haven’t been away from Eleanor this long and you did just have a fight with her. Come on, let’s get you settled down. I’ll get you a beer.”

Delta was about to ask if he thought Eleanor would forgive him when it struck him suddenly: if he wanted Sinclair not to think of him as a child, he should stop acting like one. He sounded like a child, didn’t he? Complaining all the time?

At first, he resolved to stop flapping his fingers so goddamn much. But the thought of shutting up filled him with a loneliness so complete it was a physical ache. Suddenly he completely understood Eleanor’s hatred of Sinclair. It was all his fault! It was all his fault he was like this! In the memories, he had been holding full conversations, jumping from subject to subject with ease! Even his terror in front of the whipping-man had been something—pure, almost. Since waking up, he couldn’t remember feeling anything that strongly except for his love for Eleanor and the power of his anger, and even then, both feelings made him feel tired, like there was such a frantic need to feel anything at all that he clung to them overlong.

The sheer level of work and uncertainty ahead of him squashed him so suddenly that he burst into tears. Horrified, he mashed his face into his opposite shoulder, rubbing his eyes so hard that fireworks went off behind his eyelids. But the tears wouldn’t stop, nor would the awful choking sounds. He couldn’t help it. Oh, of course he’d start crying here! Right in front of Sinclair!

Sinclair had started patting him on the shoulder.

“Shhh. Come on, John. Just get that bed all laid out so you can lie still a while.”

Delta shook his head over and over. “I didn’t mean to!” he said. “I’m sorry!” He mashed his cheeks against his shoulders, one after the other.

“You’ve had a rough day. Hell, a rough few months. You’ve cried before this; don’t worry about it.”

“I don’t remember!”

“Don’t worry about it,” Sinclair said, slapping him on the back. “Look, you have plenty of very good reasons to cry, don’t you?”

Delta flung the mattress on the living room floor.

“I hate being like this!” he said. “I shouldn’t be like this! Like a baby! Giant and stupid!”

“I won’t have you insulting yourself,” Sinclair said softly. “You’re not stupid and you’re not a child. It’s just that right now it seems like too much. That’s fine. Look. Even if you could have been reverted in one go—why, look at Dr. Porter. It took him months to get to the point he’s at now. Hell, it’s taken me months just to be able to hobble around. And Dr. Porter had to deal with brain trauma on top of all of it, which, I’m told, makes the situation particularly heinous. Dr. Porter was the Alpha series right before me, wasn’t he? Second to last ever made?” Sinclair turned Delta’s chin down. “The process was standard by then, honey. He didn’t have half as much done to him as you did. You were in the pipeline for years. Not days, not weeks, not months. Years. It will take you more time to get better than either of us. And anyone who’s worth half a damn will give you that time. Do you understand me?”

“But what if I never get better?” Delta asked. “What if I’m like this forever?”

Sinclair’s hand clamped down on Delta’s wrist. His voice rose.

“Then they will give you that time,” Sinclair said, enunciating each word. “Anyone who matters will give you that godforsaken time. Do you hear me? Show me you understand.”

Delta nodded. His hand was pressed over his eyes.

“Good.” Sinclair slapped him on the shoulder. “You’ll feel better if you’re clean. Come on. You’ll fit best in the master bath.”

Delta followed along, rubbing his sleeve under his nose. The fear and shame was drifting away. In its place was an aching emptiness.

I want to be worthy, he thought.

Worthy of being a man. Worthy of being respected. Worthy of being wanted. Worthy of being loved.

UPRISING: BLACK SCRAPBOOK HUB

[the-horsemen-ride]

9/24/24 - State of the Horsem Address

Hello! I hope you're all well. I figure it's best to say something about the radio silence.

I won't be shutting down THR for good any time soon. Things will certainly change, though. I'm considering (really, more like 95% sure of) making this a more general "daily" blog of sketches and musings. Fully-fledged artworks, comics and some small animations too. Asks will still be open ofc and I'll follow up with interaction n whatnot but for now any story is being put on the back burner as I redistribute that energy to other projects, both fandom related and personal. I'll try to keep a more stable presence rather than bursts of activity, though I can't promise this blog will be without some lulls either. I may just make a post spoiling / explaining all that was planned story wise but my lil prequel to this blog is still something I'd like to make - maybe a pic maybe an animation or comic. So that's up to whether I can keep being patient or not.

My general plan is to refurbish the blog (maybe a new theme but otherwise just editing + adding pages and changing up the background and icons) and then queue up some art and other little posts with a more official "welcome back". That and new refs for Pest, Death and Connie as well as some lil concept sheets for HH and other honorary/extracanon/mod horsems as they all kinda-sorta exist in this universe. Well, Pollution and Meltdown probably do! But I want to see Deluge and Propaganda if/when we get em to feel out the group dynamic. But ig i've retconned shit before, not too much harm in doing it again.

This is my little pet project on-and-off for uh, the next few ish months? Routine posting shall resume in October, ideally.

I'd also like to introduce the "horsem archives" tag - from here on out I'll be using this to archive some of my oldest horseman art pieces, many from when I was a bit too young to even know about this game. Anything pre-blog will go here.

Thank you all for sticking around, it really does mean a lot. This has honestly been my first big venture into a long-ish term story and project. Now it's more of a playground/training room for my current passion projects but this has really helped me think about a lot of narrative aspects, not to mention everyone I've met through this, even though I don't talk much I really appreciate y'all. I want to see THR through to its full potential, and - though i hope this will be like, way down the line - its conclusion.

Thank you again, have a great day !!

[becauseiamnotanelephant]

Grandma

Today, my grandmother passed away. There can't be many almost 43 year olds who still had their grandmother in their lives, so I feel lucky that she was with us for so long. I wasn't there when it happened, but my mom was able to get everyone on the phone so we could have a chance to say goodbye.

It's a very difficult thing to process. She, just like my grandfather, was someone that I would have loved to have with me forever. But realistically, everyone dies, so understandably, this moment was inevitable. It's also hard because while we are all sad and will miss her, her quality of life was not good, despite all my parent's efforts. She had pretty severe dementia, lived alone with her aids, and as the youngest in her generation, was one of the only one of her peers still alive. It's hard not to feel a sense of relief for her, and also for my parents, who have spent nearly every day since their retirement taking care of her and dealing with the stress of her life. It's also hard because since it's been so long since she was herself and I was a kid, I feel that many of the details of our interactions are hazy and I wished I remembered them more vividly.

As I remember her and my grandfather, I like to see all the ways that I am similar or have taken on their traits/habits/interests, and would like to find ways to pass these things on to Hannah so she can feel a connection to her past. In some ways, this will be easy. In some ways, this will be hard. While no one's fault, by my mom marrying my dad, I think some element of the Jewish tradition was lost just because my dad isn't really one who will carry the torch, and I find myself in a similar position with Graham, who doesn't really value religion and didn't grow up with the traditions in his house. I think this will be the greatest loss - so I am working to find ways to create our own traditions that work within the framework of my life that can also be used to connect Hannah to our family's history. It is a real challenge.

That said, there are many things I remember about my grandmother and somethings are just part of who she was and somethings are important to how I want to be.

She always listened to the radio and somehow this has become something I do, too. I am sure growing up with my dad listening to NPR in the car all the time also contributed to this.

The general area of food is a strong memory for me - she made great matzoh balls soup and brisket (I didn't care for the tzimmes, however). She made the best scrambled eggs and I believe my siblings and I converted my mom into adding milk to the eggs to make them fluffier as a result. She was staying with us after my brother was born and packed an olive and cream cheese sandwich in my lunchbox. I was horrified, but admit it probably would be pretty good if I tried it today. She had an amazing capacity to slice - she would slice cherry tomatoes, grapes, snickers bars, orange (she would slice the slices!). I don't know how she had the time or patience to do this. While this is not a primary memory of mine since I think it started after I graduated college, she was known as the Candy Lady, who would always carry a container of candies with her and distribute them as she saw fit. She also never drank alcohol, and rarely even drank water. This seems to have been passed on to my mom and to me, too. It's never been easy to stay hydrated except when I'm riding my bike.

She liked to laugh and my grandparents introduced me to Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks; those were perfect companions for a road trip. Even enduring the hardest thing a parent can face, the death of a child, she was able to still enjoy life and be happy.

She crocheted many blankets and did show me how to crochet when I was first starting out. On our many trips to Cape Cod for Rosh Hashanah, she always had hot cocoa for us to have in her hotel room, played rummikub with all the adults, and showed me the fun beach game of building a course for a ball to run through in the sand.

She had the most spotless house you probably ever saw and has definitely passed on the love (or need) for a clean house and doing the cleaning. She was anti-technology in ways that I can't reciprocate but definitely appreciate. She and I would send many letters and it's just more fun to get a letter in the mail than an email.

She always know the right way to do things - how to organize a wedding invitation, who to invite to events, how/what to do. I guess today we have the internet to help us with those things, but I definitely appreciate a strong sense of morals.

She was a kind soul - always calling people sweetie, honey, etc. While I only recently learned that she didn't like everyone, she hid it very well. And of course I bet there were many examples (like dumping a plate of food on her head) where my mom would disagree that she was entirely a kind soul, I like to hear about those feisty moments, too.

She always looked good, had her hair done (slept with her head wrapped in toilet paper), had everything ironed (even sheet and pajamas), loved getting dressed up, and had lots of costume jewerly - these are ways that we were definitely not alike, but they are still all parts of who she was and who we will all miss. It is truly the end of an era.

[darklingichor]

Noir; Razzmatazz by Christopher Moore

I wrote about these a little bit the last couple of years, but I needed something familar after I left the Prairie.

Noir is actually one if my favorite Moore books to listen to, it has something of an old radio show or movie feel. Which makes sense when you read the afterward where the author says he feels that Noir as a genre really got its start on screen.

The book follows Sammy, a bartender in a San Fransico Saloon in 1947, his odd ball friends Eddie Moo Shoes, a chineese American MC at a local club who talks like the rat pack and wears black and white shoes, Lone Jones, a very tall African American doorman at a jazz club, Milo a cabbie who drove a tank during WWII and is now afraid to drive, and a horrible little kid who lives in Sammy's apartment building, and is a general nuance.

And then, of course there's The Dame:

Stilton AKA The Cheese

Now, I mention the ethnicity of Eddie and Lone because it plays into the story.

This is 1947, there are tensions, adittudes and laws in place. Sammy and his crew don't give two shits about any of it, but people around them do, and they have to deal with it.

It would be very easy to say this book looks at cultural friction of the time, the gulf between classe, the privilege of some and the power it gives, as well as a city healing after a war. And all of that would be true. But, it's Christopher Moore so this commentary is told through hijinks such as trying to catch a snake so it can be used as an afrodiaiac, dealing with a murderous courrupt cop.who eventually ends up dressed in a pink kimono, and being followed by a government agency that seems to be made of of Spy vs. Spy characters, if they had head injuries.

The story is a lot of fun, and the characters are great. Sammy is a great protagonist, he is all at once sweet, and a smart ass. The story sort of wraps around his romance with Stilton, but my very favorite section was when we get something of his origin story, how he wasn't able to serve in the war, but found himself welding liberty ships.

Stilton is a good Dame character, she's a little mysterious, but not a complete liar like Brigid in The Maltese Falcon. She and Sammy end up working together rather than against each other, on some very weird shit.

In Razzmatazz, the weirdness continues. This one has a less defined story arch, there are about eight things going on all at once.

There are murders happening at the drag king clubs, while said clubs are being targeted by the law, Sammy gets roped into trying to solve the mystery and avoid the jerk cop who is focusing on the clubs, Stilton is being secretive and Sammy is worried that their relationship is in trouble because of his limited finances and prospects. Eddie spends lost of thr book trying to hustle everyone into investing in his driving school, Milo has a girlfriend with a complicated home life, Lone is heartsick for various reasons, and we spend a big part of the book following Eddie's Uncle Ho who up until recently, ran an opium den. Meanwhile, while we learn Uncle Ho's backstory, we also learn some of the local Madam's history, Stilton 's best friend, Myrtle, is having romantic troubles, both she and Milo's girlfriend ends up helping Stilton with a "project ". The horrible little kid is hilariously horrible.

As all over the place the plot is, it's still really cool because we get the author's gently cock-eyed perspective on various elements of San Fran in 1948, and we get all of our nutty characters.

Both books have huge amounts of heart, as is usual for Moore.

[freestyle-crocodile-trashpile]

Alejandro...

[A/n:was this another random thought? Yes. So in this story you are quite tall just for fun ]

Summary:After seeing Graves betray you and take Alejandro your left in a fit of rage.

Type:Scenario:Alejandro X M!Reader

Version:mw2

~

Standing next to Ghost you were kinda zoned out. Just zoned in on the lovely sight of Alejandro, that is until you see his anger which is when you snap out of it and zone back into your surroundings.

"Are you threatening us?"

You hear Ghost say besides you, causing you to look down at him.

"I don't make threats,

You looked up and at Graves still confused.

"I make guarantees"

Now you were even more confused. Threats? Angry Alejandro? What's happening right now. You were about to ask but Alejandro seemed to get fed up with Graves and jumped at him. But Graves was quick to fight back, pushing Alejandro into the truck and one of the shadows knocked him out with the butt of a gun. Everything froze in that moment, Ghosts yelling was basically background music as you stared at the unconscious body of Alejandro. It wasn't until Ghost pulled you away when you finally moved. The entire time you followed Ghost you were pissed, and he could tell. Now since you were one of thr bigger 141 it was kinda harder for you to sneak around and all that but you two got lucky somehow. As soon as you were in the church you went into a rage. Screaming, punching, kicking, and even throwing everything you could. Ghost just sat back and watched as you destroyed the church out of anger. Panting heavily you looked around seeing the slightly scared shadows debating whether or not they should even step foot near the church, just outside one of the windows. When you looked at Ghost you made eye contact with him, before turning your radio on a certain channel. Ghost heard Graves and a few shadows voices come out of your shoulder radio.

"Graves...."

You said into the radio causing everyone go silent.

"When I find you, I'm gonna twist that pretty head of yours off your neck,"

A couple shadows yelled into the radio after you said that.

"And I'll put that head in my living room"

You said before turning the radio off. Holding eye contact with Ghost the entire time he nodded at you before turning around and looking around. You knew you'd have to wait so you sat down on one of the beaches and your mind raced. All you could think about was if Alejandro was okay, you didn't hear Ghost talking to Soap or the few gun shots around you. But you did hear your heart racing, with not only rage but also sadness and worry. Every part of you was yelling for you to get up and find him but you knew you wouldn't have a clue of were to being. When you zoned back into your surroundings you heard Ghost in your radio.

"If you don't hurry Soap, then big gun over here just might kill me"

You listened in knowing he was talking about you.

"What? Why?"

Looking around you realized Ghost was no were to be seen.

"He's pissed Soap, told Graves he was gonna twist his head off his neck"

"Oh yeah I heard that, any idea why he's so angry?"

Ghost went quite for a second.

"Alejandro..."

You could hear Soaps small "oh" since he knew why now, he knew how close you and Alejandro were, well not really. He didn't know you two were getting married in two months, or how you've knew eachother for about 20 years so you knew Rudy just as well as Alejandro. He didn't know you've been together for almost 13 years nows. He didn't know that but he knew you were close with one another. You continued to wait for Soap now that you knew he was coming. After Soap got there you guys headed to the safe house with Soap almost getting shot.

"Y/n..."

You looked over at Rudy while Ghost was cleaning Soaps wound.

"I'm sorry, I heard what happened and,"

Rudy went quite for a second.

"We're gonna get him back. I just know it"

That made you smile, Rudy fully prepared to get Alejandro back, that's what you loved about Rudy. He's always prepared.

Time skip

Watching Soap help Ghost navigate through he Court yard, you couldn't help but but panic alittle. You knew Ghost was skilled at this but one wrong move and he's dead, it made you grip Soaps seat. Soap could feel how hard you gripped the back of his chair which only made him more determined.

"Go left-"

Soap was about to say but you cut him off.

"No."

The stern no made Soap jump alittle. Looking up at you Soap watched as you analyzed the cameras.

"Guy coming up on your left, kill him with your blade. Wait till he gets close"

Ghost nodded and waited for his kill to approach. When the guy turned to Ghost he was dragged and stabbed in the neck by Ghost. Smiling Soap looked back at the cameras.

"Good call Big Gun, and Lt, nice knife skills."

You can hear Ghost scoff as he continues through the yard unnoticed. Your panic slowly wears off as Rudy puts a hand on your shoulder. You look over your shoulder seeing his smile.

"Found him."

It's all he had to say for you to understand. Smiling back at him you put your hand on his and nodded. Looking back at the screen, you put your hand next to soap to lean in and get a better look at the screen. You seen Ghost give a thumbs up before running off.

"We're clear"

Soap says as he stands up and gets ready. Rudy throws him a bag and nodded.

"Ready you two?"

You looked at soap who nodded at Rudy before you looked at Rudy, who happened to he staring at you waiting for am answer.

"Let's go get Alejandro"

You say sternly before following Rudy. When you three reached Ghost he was quick to inform you guys, you looked forward seeing the guards ahead then back at Ghost.

"Ghost."

He looked up at you quickly.

"Two guards in the left, one right ahead. And two at the door"

Ghost thought for a second before nodding.

"Me and soap get the guards on the left, Rudy gets the one ahead and you get the two at the door, got it?"

The small team nodded and you headed to the right towards the door. Leaning against the car you look over seeing the guards talking to eachother.

Perfect

You think as you sneaked your way to the guard with his back turned to you. As soon as you got close you stabbed the the guard and as fast as you stabbed him you shot the other quick and easy. Pulling the knife out of his throat you pushed the body towards the other one causing them to stack on one another. You looked over and seen a shocked Soap, who clearly has never seen you fight before.

"Let's go"

After entering the building and clearing it out you three quickly and quitely rushed to Alejandro's cell. Soap was the first to enter the cell, it was quiet and dark. Like Alejandro had been token or somehow escaped. But before you could panic anymore Alejandro shot out of the dark and tried to kill S oap thinking he was a guard. Once Ghost calmed Alejandro down he told something to him before handing him a gun. Alejandro took it and helped Soap back to his feet. Soap pointed at you seeing how you were frozen.

"Eh?"

Alejandro looked over and stopped, he didn't expect you to he there for some odd reason.

"Amor!"(Love!)

Alejandro quickly jumped into your arms. Your hand on his thigh and back. He held onto you like a koala, which even surprised you.

"Oh mi amor, te extrañé. Me alegro de que estés aqui."(oh my love, I missed you. I'm happy your here)

Alejandro said into your shoulder. If you listened closed you could hear a small sniffle.

"Ya estoy aquí Alejandro, terminemos esta misión, juntos"(I'm here now Alejandro, let's finish this mission, together)

Alejandro pulled his face out of my shoulders and gave you a quick kiss to the lips before hoping down. And before infront of you was a smiling Alejandro and now it's a shocked, mouth agap Soap.

"You two..."

Soap pointed between you two shocked. The Scottish man was stunned, flabbergasted. You looked down at Alejandro who was looking at Soap then back at Soap and pulled your hand away from Alejandro's back and showed Soap the ring on your finger.

"WHAT!?!"

Soap shouted now pointing at your ring. Alejandro looked confused as he looked at his own ring

"You didn't know?"

Alejandro asked the clueless man infront of him.

"Going 13 years"

Alejandro smiled as he said that. It brought back so many memories, like how you guys proposed. Soap looked at Alejandro.

"What are you three talking about in there?"

Ghost asks as he peeks his head in.

"Soap didn't know we were together"

You said as you exit the cell. Ghost eyes showed he was surprised.

"How did you not know Johnny?"

Ghost asks as he exits the cell. Soap now looked at Ghost shocked.

"YOU KNEW?!?!"

"Johnny...The entire 141 knew"

Soap just stood their shocked as everyone laughs. You chuckle and look over at the smiling Alejandro next to you.

"Ready love?"

Alejandro looked up at you and nodded.

~

[A/n:I hope you guys eat this up. I hope you enjoyed]

[smolla-than-a-bug]

shinichiro as your boyfriend

sano shinichiro x reader

navi | tokrev m.list

content — gn!reader, sfw, mentions alcohol and smoking/vaping, hands + pics, includes a short filo au bonus at the end

notes — *brainrots* IM GOING CRAZY OVER THR LAST EPISODE OH MY GOD JENDKKEMDMF anyway so ill try updating m:i by this wednesday!! i should really balance my school work better LMAO

such a clingy bf under no circumstances will he let go of u ever

hes like omg finally a s/o and he loves u sososo much that he physically needs to be close to u all the time

will constantly have a hand or a limb attached to u in some way or another

he likes to have u sit in his lap regardless of what ur doing and let u do ur thing as long as he gets to squeeze u tight in his arms and nuzzle into ur neck

he just hides in ur neck and… inhales… ur scent

he cannot get enough of u istg

has 100% fallen asleep like that before and will do it again

then when he wakes up hes the cutest omg

he would be all fuzzy and fluffy inside and just overall happy to be there and wake up w u in his arms

drives manual cars idk i jus strongly feel like he does

he barely drives cars tho,, he only does on occasion cos he still prefers his bike over anything else

music taste 100% consists of classic rock

is a sucker for 80s-90s love songs that u always hear on the radio like when i met you by apo hiking society and more than words by extreme

randomly sings them, especially if its playing on the radio he has in his garage

will definitely pull u away from work to dance even if he is the worst dancer on the planet

dancing is fun and he gets to see u having fun so its entirely worth it

cried watching the notebook but denies it with his whole chest if the topic comes up

would build a house for u if u asked him

despite his reputation in the gang world, between his friends and siblings he’s the one who everyone bullies

will whine and fake cry about it to u and use it as an excuse to cuddle bc he “needs the comfort”

if ur there when hes getting roasted he will hide behind u, use u as a shield, and try getting u on his side

ur his s/o so u have to, right?

but if u start making fun of him too, he will get extra whiny and cling onto u bc “my s/o is so mean to me”

then he will demand extra snuggles for u to make it up to him

but like he gets super defensive when getting teased. he has an answer to everything thrown at him bc he is #witty

but when its u, no doubt his answers will be very flirty and sometimes even suggestive

he doesn’t hesitate teasing u tho he’s playful like that

he doesn’t mind other people making fun of u as long as it’s clearly a joke but if he senses some weight in that ‘joke’, then it isn’t a joke anymore and he will not hesitate to square up

is so protective of u

not protective like u cant do this u cant wear that, but he’s protective in the sense that he will accompany u if u feel unsafe and will fight anyone who tries to violate u

has gotten beat up before bc someone made a comment about u behind ur back and he didn’t like what he heard

makes faces at children in public to try to make them laugh but it rarely ever turns out the way he wants it to

a lightweight when it comes to alcohol

caring for drunk shinichiro is such an experience omg

he would be tripping over his feet, mumbling about how he has the best s/o in the world and how he loves u so much

he tries not to but when he smokes in the presence of other ppl (especially u, whether or not u smoke), he always exhales the smoke in the opposite direction

if u smoke, he likes winding down with u thru a little smoke sesh at the end of the day and he will always make sure to ask u how ur day went n give u a due response. it makes it more comforting, not smoking by himself

if u vape, he honestly loves the smell of ur juice and when u try new flavors, he likes to guess what flavor it is

i’d like to say he smells like freshly washed sheets but ik he be greasy w sweat n motor oil LMFAO

and hes so used to it that he never really wipes the grease off unless needed, like if he has a customer walk in or if a distant relative visits

but he prefers when u come over with a towel to clean him up yourself, even if u scold him for it <3

his nails are always dirty i said what i said

he tends to pick at the dirt under his nails a lot but it just never gets clean clean and hes used to it

but of course when u entered his life, it became a usual thing to just have him sit down while u clean his nails for him. properly.

and while he sits there, he watches the entire process and the focus on ur face just so mesmerized no matter how often u do it

he has that dumb smile while watching u work on his nails and in his head he’s all like “my s/o is the most perfect and caring and loving and amazing…” the list goes on

in short, he loves getting babied by you

but!!!!!! he loves taking care of u just as much <3

u are definitely a role model/parental figure to his siblings too (and all the other kids by extension) i feel like that goes without saying

everyone looks up to u and u are definitely the one to contact for advice or when they have personal concerns bc they know u wont judge and u will give substantial help <3

they all defo have family problems too like dude no way are they allowed to be running around in gangs if they didnt

so like u always make it known that if anyone needs a place to stay, a meal to eat, help with school, etcetc then they can approach u <3

bc they are all so young and deserve to have a childhood they can look back on and smile at <3

shinichiro falls more and more in love with u whenever shit like that happens too like,,,

he gets all soft n fantasizes about having a family with u if u are ever up for it

he personally would rather adopt but if u want ur own biological children then hes all up for that too !!!!

he would be the best dad ohmyfodfdmme

but if u dont want kids, he genuinely doesnt mind as long as he has u

listen i know he has the perfect hands tho like hear me out

not too veiny, not too slender but oooo i know his fingers r long n his knuckles r big

disclaimer idk who owns the hands in the photos above i got them from pinterest n in my mind, they r shinichiros hands <3

imagine him in rings n chain bracelets omg

he loves giving u massages especially when ur stressed imagine getting massaged by these hands oh my god

ok enough abt his hands

he likes to bring up ur hands to his lips n put little kisses on it

he thinks hes being romantic and he is absolutely correct

i would like to see this man in a long sleeved dress shirt but with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows

we know he doesn’t have much muscle he’s lowkey a twig but like that jus means the button down would be kinda loose on him rather than form fitting and he would look so cozy n cuddly omf soft boy

he is not embarrassed at all about his middle school self’s hairstyle

he would never go back to doing it every day again bc hes too lazy but to this day he still thinks he looked so cool

hes so annoying HAHAHAHA (affectionate)

he likes to bug u for attention out of the blue when he feels like it or just… when hes bored

and he tends to distract u from work/school work habitually

he is either (1) so chill he reacts to everything like its a normal occurrence or (2) super easy to fluster

i know some people get weirded out by feet but if u send him a video of u wriggling ur toes to show off the pedicure u just got, he wouldn’t even blink before replying how the design u got done is so cute

or if u remember the whole “would u love me if i was a worm” trend, he wouldnt even think twice before saying something like “yes. we can be worms together <3”

but if u compliment him out of the blue super casually, he turns red so fast and forgets every word ever invented

it’s not the same if u indulge him tho. like if he asks/prompts u to compliment him and u give in to it, he gets all smug

but if u compliment him unprompted, it catches him sooo off guard

even tho he literally compliments u every chance he gets, its a very different story when the tables are turned

overall, 11/10 boyfriend id propose to him on the spot

filo au bonus

has the most jeje typings to ever typings

pero i feel like ginagawa lmg nya yon to give u a headache HAHAHAHA

but he has jeje humor n di nyo alam kung ironic ba o nde

taga “sanaol” pag may dumaang magjowa na may bitbit na milktea

dates sa bgc except hes never been there kaya kung saan saan na kau nakakarating

“tara tags?” aka spontaneous dates to tagaytay para lang maka starbucks tas paminsan minsan kasabay din nya mga kapatid nya

si mikey ang pinakamadalas na kasama nyo kc nililibre nyo sha

speaking of his siblings,, i know si kuya shinichiro ung taga hatid sundo sa kanila for school or pag may gala

pero pag busy sha at di nya talaga kaya, ikaw ung tinatawagan

pero mas prefer ka as driver nila mikey emma at izana <3 HAHAHAH mapanlait cla kay kuya ihh

laging ikaw ung niyayaya ni emma mag mall tho (panira daw kuya nya)

mahilig toh maghugot pagkatapos owshii sabay kagat labi but ironically

pag may rambulan o bardagulan kumbaga sya ung tagasigaw ng “TAMA!” sa gilid

kamikazee, silent sanctuary, the itchyworms, orange & lemons, etcetc basta lam mo na

idk why pero feeling ko favorite chips nya is piattos na cheese or rollercoaster

and then he likes to show off ung paghagis salo ng chips sa bibig

mahilig sa isaw na baboy ung mukhang ganto 🪱

plus points kela papa at kela tito kase marunong mag ayos ng motor usapang vroomvroom cla tuwing reunion o party

pasipsip sa mama/titas/lolas mo langya

owemji ok pag nagkakaroon ng family roadtrip sa inyo laging invited si shinichiro

if u have siblings or younger cousins,, grabe magalang sha sa mga bata like si shinichiro talaga ung favorite nila

but like mahilig din kayo mag roadtrip na kayo lang like sa beach ganon

u gotta keep it a secret tho kung gusto nyo kaung dalawa lng kc pag nalaman nila mikey izana at emma,, nagpapasama sila lahat

pati na rin ung mga tropa ni mikey tas si kaku bc of izana tas si hina bc of emma

anoyan fieldtrip chz

pero masaya naman enjoy naman <3

i feel magaling sha mag patintero cos look at em long ass limbs

lam nyo ung dlsu freedom wall post this one:

if ur a hardcore kpop stan, ganto ^ ung pakiramdam ni shinichiro

has hatdog humor

all rights reserved © smolla-than-a-bug, 2021. please do not copy or repost my works. reblogs/feedback/comments are appreciated!

tokyo revengers taglist — @victoirey

[satans-left-asscheeky]

Hehehe, I have another request for you!💖💖💖 Fallout 4 companions react to Kid Sole speeding past them down a hill riding in a shopping cart. If they crash or not is up to you! 🤗🤗🤗

Omg I love this. Thanks for the ask I always love getting asks from you, or seeing your posts on my dash. 💖💖💖

I did both hope that's okay! Totally SFW beneath the cut, just was giving mad "Colors of the sky" Vibes so I put it under a read more

Maccready

Didn't crash

"Be careful!"

At first when he saw them rushing down the hill in a cart his first reaction was oh my God I'm gonna need to bandage them up! but once he saw they hadn't crashed he let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding in. This kid was gonna be the death of him, but dang did that look fun.

Crashed hard

"Hold still I'm gonna go get bandages!"

He would sprint so fast, but somehow his heart was still beating faster. By the time he got back the kid was already crying and he did his best to bandage them and then held them in his arms and comfort them. His dad instincts really would take over in this situation. He'd make sure to keep an extra close eye on them whenever showing carts were near by from now on

Hancock

Didn't crash

"Wow! I've seen a lot of crazy things in my time, but very few times has someone pulled a stunt like that off so effortlessly"

He was impressed by the kid. It always amazed him how kids still found ways to be kids even in the big bad wasteland.

Crashed hard

*Gigging a little* "You okay pip-squeak? That looked like it hurt."

He'd help the little daredevil bandage any scrapes they may have gotten. They kinda reminded him at that age... reckless and stupid with just the right amount of preteen humor sprinkled on top!

Cait

Didn't crash

"Yer lucky you didn't fall on yer ass and eat dirt"

She is so suprised they didn't fall. That really was one of the dumber things she's seen someone do in the wastes... but they pulled it off.

Crashed hard

"Ah crap... Hang on ya little brat!"

She'd bring them bandages but she's not helping them put them on. The kid got themselves into this mess they can get themselves out of it.... She's still gonna make sure they outbthem on right... ya know just cuz she doesn't wanna hear em bitch about an infection, not cuz she cares... at least that's what she'd tell herself

Danse

Didn't crash

"Kight I would seriously advise you not to do that!"

He was suprised they didn't get themselves hurt! Antics like that are what get you killed in the wasteland. Dumb might as well be synonymous for dead out here...

Crashed hard

"Hold on knight! I'm gonna radio for back up!"

No matter if it was a spranged ankle, or a scrape on their knees he would insist on them seeking medical attention.

Curie

Didn't crash

"OHHH! I was so scared you were going to hurt yourself! Please do not do that again"

They almost gave Curie a heart attack. She was new to this whole fear thing, but dang was she good at acting fast when afraid.

Crashed hard

"Hold on Madame/Monsieur! I'm coming"

She'd rush over to them first aid in hand and quickly check them over from head to toe. Safe to saybsole is never doing that again, not that Curie will give them much of a chance. There's helicopter mom and then there's whatever the hell curie is.

Deacon

Didn't crash

"Okay kiddo! Scoot over and let's take this thing back to the top"

Him and the kid would haul the cart back to the tip of the hill giggling the whole time. He'd be telling them about the time he took a skateboard and went down one of those big overpasses. Once they got to the top however... well that's what brings us to thr next part....

Crashed hard

"Ow! Okay well that could've gone better.... you alright kiddo?"

After their great big fall dee would get up dust himself off and give the kid a piggy back ride back to hq where Carington would patch them both up and lecture them about the dangers of crazy stunts such as these.

Piper

Didn't crash

"Wow blue... I'm actually impressed you didn't totally fall on your face."

Shes seen kids do some dumb stuff but seldom did they actually pull it off.

Crashed hard

"Yeah that looked like a bad idea... hang on I'm coming."

If they were injured she make sure to bandage them up and take them back home. Once they were home she'd probably give them some warm noodles and a blanket regardless of how physically hurt they were.

Nick

Didn't crash

"Gotta say that stunt reeked of an accident waiting to happen.... Let's not try that again, alright?"

Just cause they didn't ceash this time doesn't mean they'll be so lucky a second time. Best not to tempt fate especially in a radioactive hell hole such as the commonwealth

Crashed hard

"Gotta say that stunt reeked of an accident waiting to happen.... hang on I'm coming"

Yeah he could see that waiting to happen from the moment he saw them speeding down the hill... good thing he was around this time to help em up and out of the wreckage.

Preston

Didn't crash

"Please just don't do that again...."

Safe to say sole scared him he thought for sure they were gonna crash and get hurt.... he's glad their alright, but this kid might just be the death of him.

Crashed hard

"OH MY GOD! Are you okay!? Hang on let's get you home."

He'd rush over and put their arm over his shoulder and support their weight as if they couldn't walk... even if they had just scraped their knees. Much like Curie he's a helicopter mom

X6-88

Didn't crash

"Ma'am/Sir there was about a 50/50 percent chance of you crashing. Just because you hot lucky this time does not mean you will the next"

He would make sure to keep his voice his usual monotone gruff, but with a bit extra bite just so that they payed extra close attention to what he was saying. Last thing he wanted was for them to get hurt on his watch.

Crashed hard

*teleports back to institute*

This is exactly why he hated babysitting duty. Inevitably something always went horribly wrong and he ended up back at the institute anyway

[laznivec]

A chitter would come out of Vex's mouth as she looked down at the dead overlord and then back at alastor. It made her so HAPPY to know he thought her work on this mundane bastard was wonderful. Honestly it could make a woman blush! Of course she was paying attention to every word he said as she slowly got up from the ground

"I went missing because those.. THOSE FEATHERED FUCKS! took away someone I cared for...and no one batted a eye Vee Replaced her with a simple slut! ALEXIS WASNT-- she wasn't just some random of the mill person she was my sister and she would of been alive if-- THIS COCK SUCKER--"

She would quickly grab the weapon once more and stab it into the dead overlords body fifteen more times as her eye twitch she was angered and sad at the same time she lost her sister the one person who DIDNT deserve to be in hell in the first place

"I'm sorry...I'm sorry I lost my cool I swore...I just...if he didn't hold her back at the bar she would of been able to get to the tower before thr alarms went off for the extermination--she wouldn't of died!!"

She sobbed out softly as she kicked the corpses she was so mad at this man who was already far gone...he was dead to the point of no return

"Alastor...I liked it...when I saw the life leave his eyes it gave me a sick thrill it made me feel powerful...and something challenged I felt something in my chest......and I want to feel it more "

She would speak softly before looking at the Radio demon once more..shit she never even told him where she went as she slowly came towards him her fingers were still twitching as she spoke up again

"I left the Vees , they tried to hurt me using my ex husband...but he's taken care of but...not at the cost of my eye looking more horrific than before...and.......I...was stalking this man I had to find him i had to SHOW HIM he made a mistake...and now I know my sister will live in death happily knowing her killer is gone"

BLOOD was splattered across Vex's face as she looked down at another overlord she took down , the once naive moth woman was now finally unhinged and hateful

She couldn't be kind anymore not after HE found her and caused her bodily harm not after the ONE PERSON she loved most , her sister was ripped away in front of her by those winged fucks and no one dared to help her

"No more...will the weak be culled no more will the weak have to put up with such disgusting overlords "

The moth would chitter slightly in anger as she pulled the angelic knife from the overlords corpse she could HEAR the screaming of their souls as her head snapped over

"Al...astor..."

The moth woman would tilt her head to the side as she dropped the weapon to inform him she would NEVER hurt him. He was someone she liked

"I did it...I took a place of a overlord..no more people like me will suffer...their souls are free from the diseased!! "

She was cracked , no one had heard from the little secretary moth for months but now she was back..and she was put for blood and she made it damn clear what type of people she was going for

"...I....are you proud of me?"

@r-adio

[elennemigo]

2nd ✧ Amazon Studios released a new scene from “The Electrical Life of Louis Wain” ✧ Interview with Indiewire.

4th ✧ New photoshoot and interview with The New York Times. (Interview and Gallery)  (Transcript)

✧ The Power of the Dog Official Trailer. + New posters. 

6th ✧ Benedict and Sophie attended the 10th Annual LACMA FILM+ARTS GALA in LA. (Gallery)

7th ✧ Interview with Filmink.

✧ Benedict on CSB Sunday Morning.

✧ TPOTD press conference in LA. (Clips x x x . Pics: x x x x x )

8th ✧ Interview with ABC Radio National. (Audio)

9th ✧ New photoshoot and interview for Esquire UK. (Transcript)

10th ✧ Benedict participation at the Tmall Single’s Day event. (He starts at 4:50:07)

11th ✧ Short interview for Reuters during the Venice Film Festival, recently posted.

✧ Benedict guest at Jimmy Kimmel Live!

✧ TPOTD premiere at the AFI Fest in Los Angeles. (Gallery + Red carpet and Interviews x x x x x x)

✧ TPOTD AFI Fest Q&A. (Gallery) (Clip x x x x) (THR article)

13th ✧ Benedict interview with The Irish Times.

14th ✧ Benedict Cumberbatch talks TPOTD and TELOLW at Deadline Contenders panels. (Gallery 1 and 2)

15th

✧ List for all the TPOTD press junket. (⚠ Beware of possible spoilers!)

Stack magazine.

Digital Spy.

Bonnie Laufer Krebs

Tara Hitchcock

Jake’s Takes

Steve Hargrave *

ET Canada

MBC2 Channel

The Curvy Critic

VPRO Cinema *

The  playlist. (audio)

NewstalkFM

BBC Talking Movies *

Entertainment Weekly

News Sky

PopCultureConfidential (audio)

CineXpress

AVClub

Collider

* Done during the Venice FF but posted now.

All these interviews were posted in different days, but I put them all here so you have them all together in one place.

16th ✧ Spider-man: No Way Home second trailer.

✧ Outtakes from the Esquire UK phothosoot.

17th ✧ Benedict guest at Late Night with Seth Meyers.

18th ✧ New photoshoot and interview with NME magazine.

25th ✧ Some TELOLW behind the scenes pics from Benedict make up and prosthetics.( x x x )

✧ Interview with Empire UK, January issue. (scans)

30th ✧ TPOTD new promo still announcing the release of the film on Netflix.

                             »»———FIN———-««

[kedreeva]

OK OK SO LISTEN OK HEAR ME OUT I AM VERY VERY MUCH WELL ON MY EAY TO ACTUALLY WATCHING THIS BIT H OF A SHOW JUST BECAUSE EVERY TIME YOU TELL ME MORE ABOUT IT the broken ass fucking thing in ny brain that controls my serotonin levels goes _Ping_ and i get to experience The Happy but LISTEN here the fucking issue ive got an absolute bitch of an executive dysfunction and main issue: everything i know about thr show and everything that makes my brain go HYPERFIXATION TIME is shit from like,, the last 2 seasons ig mostly and like on a Theoretical fucking level i am well aware that once i start watching ill start enjoying it from the first coupke episodes (whatever deity may or may not be out there ought to just strike me down already at this point my previous self from like 5 years ago would strangle me if that fucker knew ehat our stupid bitch of a brain latched to amd decided to sing praises to in the end) but like The Things that currently have me in the headlock when it comes to the damned show Wont be There yet and even though i logically know it doesnt matter cause ill enjoy the rest too stupid piece of shit brain goes "must watch 2 seasons just to get there? Must watch 2 seasins to get to the Serotonin? Not in this energy crisis" so im Stuck unable to Watch it and Wanting to and reading and looking at SO much fucking fancontent cause goddamn the fucking fandom is talented fuck yall

Also i really appreciate your offer regarding the poll its v sweet of you but unfortunately its got a local target audience since its for a project that will begin at a local stage (and if i get my way slowly grow bigger until it reaches nationwide level but yeah v low hopes for it to get that far) and also since the whole project thing is basically a part of a far larger project thing with lots of smaller teams like us and shit and the reason im part of the whole shebang is that a professor of mine decided to place me on her team without even asking ive gotta make the poll using my Proper™ account which not only means sharing my deadname but also my last name (in short my whole legal name) so yeah big fucking mess thats going to shit anyway but i really appreciate the intention its v sweet (also as you hopefully have figured out i am VERY shit at explaining anything on a manner that makes sense but also im my defence it Is currently 3am where i am so yeah id like to throw a teeny bit of the blame for my inability to communicate on that)

Go to SLEEP.

But before you do I need you to look me in the fucking eyes, and understand this: season 1 is absolutely fantastic. Season 1 is still my favorite season. Not only do you get to meet all the amazing characters as babies, but the plots.... oh, the plots. oh. the storylines in season 1 are all fucking gorgeous, Delightful.

okayokay, listen. listen.

I gotta calm down a second because season 1 is so good, but listen

Season 1 does something that's so incredibly difficult to pull off, and not only did they pull it off, they pulled it off with flying colors. They told three narratives that were all part of one narrative, expertly braiding them together until suddenly they have all come together and everything crescendos and hhhhhh it's bliss. It's fucking bliss.

You have the first plot, and that's a kid's adventure plot. It is the genre of plot where you have a bunch of kids who get into a supernatural shenanigan with a New Friend, completely under the noses of the oblivious adults. This is some ET shit, some Earth to Echo shit. They've got to hide their New Weird Friend from the adults, and they are the ONLY ONES capable of saving her. High Child Adventure Time. They're riding their bikes and yelling over their radios and doing things only children would think to do in an attempt to keep El safe.

Then you have the second plot, with Nancy, Jonathan, and Steve (and arguably tommy and carol). This is a teenage monster horror flick w/ bonus romance. This is "one of the teenagers got killed/taken by a monster and the rest of the teens have to survive/cope with it/hunt the monster down together" genre. Nancy and Steve are busy getting into romance and then crashing and burning it because Nancy knows there's monsters and Steve has no idea, but Jonathan knows there's monsters, and now they're teaming up to fight back right up until Steve crash lands in the middle of the event and picks up the nailbat the first time. Delightful, you have to understand. You have to know. The first time Steve weilds the nailbat, he twirls it. And that twirl is.... fucking everything. That twirl lives rent free in my head for eternity.

You have to understand. This entire scene leading up to this is pure fucking gold. Steve is beat the fuck up after picking a fight with Jonathan (and losing), and he's come over to Jonathan's house to apologize to him, because he realized he's been an asshole. Who DOES that first of all. Second of all, this is AFTER he went and made amends with the theater he and tommy and carol defaced to be mean to nancy, and before he's apologized to nancy herself; he's coming to jonathan's house, alone, at night, to apologize to Jonathan, not because he knows Nancy is there, but because it's the right thing to do.

And then Nancy opens the door and okay, he had guessed they were... a thing, maybe, so that's not totally unexpected, but then he sees her hand. He sees the bandage on her hand, the blood they were using to draw the monster, and he has NO IDEA monsters exist still. He pushes into the house because he thinks Jonathan hurt Nancy, only to find Jonathan is also sporting a bandage, and also there's like. weapons all over the fucking place and christmas lights and Nancy's yelling at him to leave and she pulls a fucking gun on him and tells him he has 5 seconds to gtfo, and as if that wasn't enough, a literal monster claws through the ceiling, drops down and starts trying to eat them all. Nancy's firing a gun at it right up until Jonathan grabs her around the middle and bodily hauls her away from danger, grabs Steve's hand with his other hand, and hauls his partners down the hall to safety.

Down the hall where, you know, he and Nancy put a fucking bear trap on the ground. A bear trap steve does not know about but when Jonathan yells JUMP, do you know. Steve doesn't even stop to ask how high. he just fucking jumps. He's freaking out and the monster seems to disappear and they tell him to leave because it's going to come back and he makes it all the way to his car before realizing... he can't fucking leave them there. so he goes charging right back into danger, and good fucking thing too, because Jonathan's been disarmed and nancy's out of bullets and the demogorgon is still coming after her, and Steve gets there just in time to scoop up Jonathans nailbat (which FYI, was made from Nancy's bat, with Jonathan's nails, and now Steve wields it, as if I NEEDED OT3 feels) and start wailing on the monster until it's beaten back into the trap and they can set it on fire.

LIKE. SEASON 1 JUST HAS THAT???

and then!!! there's also the ADULT plotline, which is of the government conspiracy theory genre, as Joyce refuses to believe her son Will is dead and Hopper doesn't agree until actually he finds out she's RIGHT and the corpse was a FAKE and then HE is in on it and they are desperately trying to figure out what the fuck the LAB was doing with all its secrets.

And Delightful.... I have to say. Watching these three plotlines converge.... I've watched the first season dozens of times by this point. Chef's kiss. They all come together and realize they've all been dealing with facets of the same problem, and they move forward together to save Will and take down the monster and the lab that caused the problem. Oh my GOD.

And that's not even speaking of the characters. You will be adopting every child. Season 1 mike is the best mike. I would kill for season 1 nancy but she's got it covered. Season 1 Steve shows you his capacity for being a bitch, which is WHY the later seasons are so amazing with him being a good guy. You have to be able to remember the moment he took Jonathan's camera from him, jonathan's most prized possession, probably the most expensive and difficult to replace thing Jonathan owns, and smashes it on the pavement. You have to experience him writing (or allowing Tommy to write) "Nancy Wheeler is a SLUT" on the movie theater announcement board on main street. You have to see him shove Jonathan and say "always figured you for a queer" in order to understand how far he's come when he sits on the bathroom floor with Robin and softly says "oh." and still looks at her like she hung the moon. You have to see how much the kids care about each other when they are all in one place or you will never survive the catty nonsense they go through in season 3. SEASON 1 MATTERS SO MUCH.

a;sjga;hjsr;hrh;jkfjhgsdfhjd;l

There's SO MUCH about season 1!!! I'm supposed to be writing stories right now, so I'm gonna leave it here but please know you will not be slogging through 2 seasons to get to 3 and 4. You'll be watching the best season, a good season, and then arrive at when the plot kind of sucks but the characters have a chokehold on your heart so it doesn't matter.

[monterraverde]

There's laughter, it crackles for a moment, the sound of a radio tuning as Proton slowly lifts a hand up and SMACKS the back of his head. Something about the gesture causes him to briefly lock up, before the corruption backs off.

❝ -- Is that better, friend? ❞

Hands are folded beneath his chin, Cheshire smile smug as one leg lazily kicks back and forth on the bar stool.

❝ Ooohhh that, yeah. 🎶 ❤️ ❞ Thoughtlessly eating his snack, he continues.

❝ It wasn't about your party, it was about your, oooohhh what should we call him, guest of honor? ❞ Red. ❝ Sorry our little feud startled thr children, poor kiddos, eheheheh. ❞

"Well that explains why he went bolting for the elevator like a bat out of hell, but did you really have to have a sniper trained on him?" She groans, just... watching him for a moment. The static and radio noises are gone and he's... Stable? Physically, at least.

The sight of it still makes her skin crawl, though...

"Not so much the children as every guest in attendance, And what about him anyway? I need his help, you could at least wait until we're done playing together, couldn't ya?"

Using terms he'd use, hoping he'd back off...