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lennydaisy · 4 years

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SWAN SONG || The Walking Dead AU || CHAPTER ONE.

‘You have to trust that every friendship has no end, that a communion of saints exists among all those, living and dead, who have truly loved God and one another.

You know from experience how real this is. Those you have loved deeply and who have died live on in you, not just as memories but as real presences.’

HENRI NOUWEN

The Walking Dead.

Season 1-?

FEM OC! and ?

Enjoy :) and here is the link to the PROLOGUE!

College. Something I never went to. Sure the thought was there. The ideas to get my diploma and possibly becoming a doctor sounded like a great idea. Until I hit senior year of high school. That was when I realised that maybe I'm not meant for school. Sitting in a classroom wasn't my ideal cup of tea, but I stuck it through high school because I was determined to not become a high school drop out.

When I was in high school it was as though everybody had already figured out what they were going to when they took their first steps into the big, bad world. I was never like that. I left high school and I felt lost. I had no clue what I wanted to do. I convinced myself that I was a disappointment to my family because everybody instantly knew what career path they wanted to pursue and I didn't.

I felt that way until I joined the police academy, a year after I left high school. I was in a real slump, applying to anything and everything, I wasn't getting anywhere until Ally suggested the police force. I instantly declined, not believing that I had any chance of making it. I wasn't the most physically active, any chance I got to skip gym class I grabbed with two hands, but the Police Academy was tempting. I wanted to challenge myself and also prove to all the people who thought I couldn't do it wrong.

And I'm glad I did. Joining the P.D was by far the best decision I made in my life. I found myself as a person. I went from being this shy, delicate flower to an independent and determined individual.

Just because I didn't go to college doesn't mean I didn't experience what's it's like to be a typical college student. I attend my fair share of parties, not that I enjoyed them but I still went to please Corey who didn't want to go alone because apparently, that's embarrassing. Aside from the parties, I don't understand why people stick it through college, sure a degree is a good excuse but honestly is any college student happy? Judging by the faces passing by my car the answers no.

My mind is still on autopilot from what had happened not even a half-hour ago. The scene still vivid in my mind, like a record, stuck on repeat, it won't leave me alone. Maybe if I hadn't rushed her out the door then she would still be here, at home with her husband, happy. Her husband. I've ruined a family-

My thoughts being abruptly stopped by the sound of knuckles furiously knocking on the only rolled up window. Moving my drooping eyes to the source only to be met by the slightly annoyed face of my sister Cora. Leaning over to push down the lock, I'm smacked in the face with the humid Atlanta heat.

"About time, I've been knocking for five minutes," she exclaims holding the door open, entering the car. Only humming in response, repositioning myself in the driver seat, staring deadly out the window, "Wow, what's up?" She asked instantly knowing something's off.

"What? Why would anything be up?" Shaking my head, trying to focus on now and not the past, "Oh I don't know maybe you burning a hole into my school with your eyes or the fact that you haven't acknowledged Maggie in the back seat." She states with that smart tone that I love oh so much.

Swirling round in my seat, I met with the contagious smile of Maggie Greene. She a delightful one. A pure soul who could honestly do no wrong, and yet somehow she's best friends with Cora. The pair are polar opposites, like two peas from completely different pods but it somehow makes sense. Cora is like a hyperactive puppy whereas Maggie is a house cat. Maggie keeps Cora grounded. Without Maggie, I don't even want to know where Cora would be.

When Cora first started college she got in with the wrong crowd. She started to miss important family events; like our weekly game of family-friendly monopoly. Cora wasn't Cora anymore, she was someone new, she was trying hard to become something she wasn't. That's until she met Maggie. Apparently, Maggie went through something similar, I don't know all the details, that's a secret between them. All I know is that they met in the student car park at night completely shitfaced with no way to get home. It all came from that singular moment of stupidity, and I'm glad it did because I've already 'lost' one sister, I don't need to lose another.

"Hi Maggie, sorry just had a weird day at work," I half lied, staring up the car again driving out of the almost desert car park, "The farm?" I asked, knowing where to drop her off having done it a couple of times.

"Don't worry about it Macy, we all have our days, and yes please if you don't mind," her southern accent radiating through the car, a genuine smile covering her face meeting at her eyes. Nodding my head, my eyes training back on the road but my mind and eyes can't help but wonder. It was only a few miles back that I saw those things from the news, they could be lurking around here too.

"You will not believe what Ashton said to me today," Cora said, kicking her feet up on the dash of my car, her hand sitting comfortably behind her head. "Oh please do tell," taking one hand off the wheel to push her dirty Dc. Martens on my beloved car.

Scoffing as her feet slap against the floor of my car, y'know where a normal passenger's feet are supposed to go, "He said, 'i think we should see different people', and I was like 'why', and he said, get a load of this, 'I just don't think it's working out'. Yeah no shit it's not working out, he never calls me, never texts me, and that's the first time he has ever spoken to me in school," leaning towards the cool air drifting through the window as she rants about her love life.

"Ashton a grade-A douche, I pretty sure we've had this conversation every time I pick you up," I state as the boredom begin to consume me at the ritual of Cora's love life discussion coming up once again. Looking in the rearview mirror I see Maggie nodding her head in agreement, "I agree, out of all the guys in our school you choose Ashton," she gags making a yuck sound, her face scrunching up at the thought of her best friends boyfriend.

"It's kind of your fault y'know," I laughed as she sided eyed me, "you met a guy called Ashton and expected him to what? sweep you off your feet?"

"She's got a point," Maggie pointed out hiding her laughter better than me, "No she doesn't!" Exclaimed Cora as she turns around to fully face Maggie in the back middle seat, "what about your love life huh, oh yeah it doesn't exist," she sassed hands crossed over her chest, a smirk on her face as though proud of her very mediocre remark.

Shaking my head at my sister's antics, "Maggie will meet a guy when she's ready too. Just because she not actively looking doesn't mean it will never happen. And I bet when she does meet someone, he'll be a million times better than Ashton or any of those other guys you've been with."

"Thank you, Macy," I hear her quietly responded, shyness overtaking her voice at my comment. Not being able to hide my smile at the innocent girl behind me and the slightly ticked off girl beside me, "um hello! You're supposed to be on my side-," Cora's voice shuts off to a silent whisper. Confused at her sudden change of tone, I glance her way. Her eyes trained directly out the front window, never blinking.

Trying to find what she was looking for wasn't hard. It's them. Only a few, 2 male and 1 woman, a couple of meters away from my travelling car. These are different, they're nothing like the ones I encountered earlier. The ones from before were coming towards me at an agonising walking pace, these ones however are running, running extremely fast.

Cora's heavy breath begins to fill the car, as Maggie mutters incoherent words. I however am static, this wasn't just a one time encounter. In the space of not even an hour, I've seen a dozen of these people. The government has issued official reports telling us, the public, that's there is absolutely nothing to worry about and they have this all under control. At first, I believed that, but now with these thing sprinting towards my car, I'm beginning to beg to differ.

"Um, Macy drive. Macy, please drive!" A panicked Cora heaves in my ear. Judging from my previous encounter, fight or flight is not an option right now. Not until I fully understand what these things are.

My tires make the all to familiar shrieking against the warm tar, with nowhere else to go but straight through the few in the middle of the road. The sound of the dead weight hitting the bonnet of my car before flying over the top was like nothing I've heard before. It's sounded sickening. A mixture of bones clashing and screams. A horrific sight and sound.

The car stayed in utter silence until I pulled up to the Greene farm, to where none of us dared to move a muscle. You could hear a pin drop over the sounds of slightly irregular breathing. The beating sun shining through the front window causing the car to feel more insufferable.

"That's those things from the new isn't it?" Asked Cora quietly as though scared to break the silence. Having not enough courage in my voice to reply, I just simply nod, "that's why you had a weird day at work, wasn't it?" She asked again, this time staring at me but I refuse to meet her eyes only nodding again. Hearing the shaky breath from behind me and the sound of the door opening, snapped me back to reality.

Looking out through Cora's window, I see a slouched Maggie struggling to keep her balance. Pulling my lips into a tight smile, "Be safe," I said gently toward the shaken up girl. Muster up a nod she replies, "you too, the both of you," before turning round to met her sister Beth at the porch. Seeing the pleasant girl brought a smile to my face as I waved back to the gleeful youngest Greene.

Once Maggie was safely inside her farmhouse that's when I pulled away, only to have something at the corner of my eye catch my attention. Hershel, Maggie's father, walking away from the slightly beat barn. In his hands some sort of animal handling pole. Nothing unusually really, Hershel is a vet but that's not what's concerning. The glooming blood dripping slightly off the loop is however concerning.

"Hey Mr Greene," greeted Cora, her voice still failing her a little. Laughing at the younger girls formalities, "how many time have I told you to call me Hershel," he said walking closer to the car, a cloth in hand as he tried to discreetly clean the pole in his hands, but the deed was already done, I had already seen it.

"A couple more times should do the trick," she tries to joke, wanting to forget what had just happened. Luckily enough Hershel doesn't notice the pressed bloody handprints of the front and sides of my car, as he leans to see me at the driver's seat, "Thank you for dropping our Maggie off again Macy, it really means a lot."

"Don't sweat it. Didn't want her travelling back home herself especially now with the mess that's all over the news," a sharp inhale from Cora causes me to reach over, comfortingly grabbing her sweaty hands in my own, rubbing the backs for her hands softly.

"Ah yes, I did see that. I'm sure its nothing to worry about," he waves his hand slightly, looking over his shoulder at the barn he had just left. I frowned my eyebrows at the elder's change in body language; his wondering eyes and shuffling feet are causing me to doubt the man's knowledge of the current situation.

"Better safe than sorry I guess," I dismiss getting ready to drive off again, "I suppose you're right," his voice becoming harder to hear with him no longer facing me. The sound of my engine starting up again is what snaps him in our direction, "Well Thank you again, have a good day," he farewelled beginning to make his leave, walking up the same creaking steps to the porch.

Before he could catch the door handle, I yell, "Hey Hershel," catching his attention, "Be safe," only to receive a simple nod before he descended into his home. Home.

"Let go home," I exhale tapping my sister leg, catching her teary eyes, "we'll be fine."

I don't know who I was trying to reassure, Cora or myself, but with what has been going on recently, I think everybody could use a bit of reassuring.

This is quite a short chapter but I need to start somewhere right? If you took the time to read this, Thank you! and I hope that you liked it :)

I might start a taglist for this au, so if you would be interested in being tagged when I post for this au then just message me or comment to let me know!

I’m going to try and post chapter two later today hopefully too :))

DAISY.

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scottymcgeesterwrites · 4 years

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Final Fantasy VII Review

Year: 1997

Original Platform: PlayStation One

Also available on: PC, PlayStation Store

Version I Played: PlayStation One

Synopsis:

The Shinra Electric Power Company rules over the city of Midgar, and the eco-terrorists AVALANCHE stop at nothing to try and prevent the life essence of the planet from being used as energy. Barrett, leader of AVALANCHE, hires a mercenary named Cloud Strife for their bombing mission on a Shinra Mako Reactor. Cloud doesn’t care much for the greater cause and only wants his pay. But then, after a mission goes awry, he meets Aerith, a flower girl who is the descendant of the Ancients. He quickly finds himself wrapped up in the greater conflict against Shinra.

Gameplay:

Final Fanatasy VII utilizes magic spells via Materia – little orbs that come in a variety of colors pertaining to the natural elements. You can mix and match them on your weapons and equipment, which gives you access to different spells and stats. All your equipment varies with the number of slots for how many Materia orbs you can put in. Leveling up not only upgrades the character but the equipped Materia as well.

Final Fantasy VII also uses an ATB system but is known for introducing Limit Breaks – finishing moves that build up after the character gets hit over time. Final Fantasy VI had a prototype called Desperation Attack – but it was very rare as it only appeared when your character had 1/8 of their total HP, and there was a 1 in 6 chance of performing the Desperation Attack after selecting Attack. I actually had no idea that was a thing until long after I finished the game, and never experienced it when I played Final Fantasy VI.

Graphics:

Out of all the Final Fantasy games, I have to say that this one has not aged well. It has the worst graphics of the entire series. The battle and cinematic graphics are passable.

(Most of the graphics power seemed to be put in Tifa’s, uh, bosom.)

But the characters in towns, the overworld, and in-game cutscenes are incredibly blocky. PC versions are supposedly sharper, but the PlayStation One version makes it nigh impossible to see any facial expressions.

The graphics are definitely a product of its time. I always say that the beginning of 3D gaming was essentially like puberty – awkward and full of zits. It wasn’t yet at that stage where it could be aesthetically pleasing. We marveled about it when it was first released, yes, but then we cringed in retrospect.

The environment backdrops however are probably the strongest points, where they capture the industrial nature of Midgar, the reactors and other such buildings.

Story:

Final Fantasy VII became legendary the minute Square released it. Every aspect was memorable. Part of it could be due to the fact that it was the first Final Fantasy game to enter the 3D realm. Another part was Tetsuya Nomura’s character designs, which hit the cool meter to the point of sub-zero.

The cinematics blew our minds. The opening action scene with Cloud, Barrett, and the rest of AVALANCHE attacking Shinra’s mako reactor is the most memorable opening to a Final Fantasy game. Period. Final Fantasy games really do know how to start at the right spot, no matter how good or bad the overall game is. The opening is always the best part.

Then there was the motorcycle chase. Cid’s airship. The gun fights. Battles with Sephiroth. The extra stuff to find, like summons and extra bosses. So much was jam-packed into the game.

But the story was the primary factor in making VII famous. It’s definitely one of the better ones. Man, the story became so famous that even gamers who haven’t touched a Final Fantasy game knew the major spoilers. It is the equivalent to knowing Darth Vader’s line, “I am your father” without having actually watched Star Wars.

Aerith (Aeris in the English releases) Gainsborough – the innocent flower girl who holds the secrets of the Ancients – develops a romance with Cloud and fucking dies at the end of Disc 1 by the main villain – Sephiroth. The scene shocked everyone and practically made headlines. Everybody has seen the horrible image in one way or another.

It seems to me that since Final Fantasy V, the stories have gotten more and more used to main character deaths, ultimately transforming into a heavy-hitting TV series rather than simply a video game series. In other words – it matured. Looking back, Final Fantasy IV appears to be child’s play and a prototype of later dramatic storylines with fully realized worlds.

Final Fantasy VII was also the first Final Fantasy game to create a world much like ours – one with cars and trains and airplanes and machine guns and even cellphones. The main city of Midgar reflects industrialization at its worst, with miles of slums and claustrophobic cities. Shinra Electric Power Company is a reflection of capitalism at its worst - a single entity in charge of so much that it’s pretty much the government. For the first time in a Final Fantasy game, you play as characters who dance between the morally ambiguous line of terrorism and activism. Funny enough, the theme of neglecting the planet resonates with us now more than ever. This game ended up being rather prophetic about the uncontrollable growth of corporations.

While the story is memorable with many intriguing elements, the plot itself is a tangled web. In my opinion, they really hashed in so many things that it’s easy to forget crucial details. It’s not straightforward, but at the same time everything does connect by the end. While Shinra is the driving force as a whole as the villain, Sephiroth takes over, then you learn about his backstory and then with the evil scientist Hojo and the extra-terrestrial Jenova and then “Weapon” and then the planet’s history and this and that and the other thing.

If I were to put Final Fantasy VI and Final Fantasy VII together and contrast them, as many gamers do, I would find that Final Fantasy VII is the summer blockbuster and Final Fantasy VI is the Oscar winner. Final Fantasy VII started introducing the sappy romance subplot to the series. A love triangle forms among Aerith, Cloud, and Cloud’s childhood friend Tifa. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with having a love triangle, the writing is like watching middle schoolers trying to express their feelings. Final Fantasy VI and Final Fantasy IV treated any romance with dignity and realism.

But maybe I’m being a bit harsh. After all, Cloud Strife did go through some suffering as an adolescent. His backstory clearly drives his antisocial behavior, so that becomes a good arc.

The goofiest but memorable part of the story deals with Don Corneo and Wall Market and running around store to store doing tasks in order to free Tifa from Don Corneo. It ends with Cloud needing to cross-dress as a woman to get inside Don’s mansion. Because, you know, it’s not like Cloud can just break in with his sword and Aerith’s magic or anything like that. But whatever. It’s anime.

The recent Final Fantasy VII Remake for the PS4 seems to streamline the story, and actually enhances the emotions they were trying to deliver in the original. I will be talking about the remake in a separate post altogether since I’m almost done with it at the time of this writing. But there’s a lot that I want to say about comparing and contrasting the remake and the original.

The latter half of the plot takes a couple weird turns. At one point, Cloud became catatonic and confined to a wheelchair.

That part of the game became the sluggish part for me. Sephiroth also tries to confuse Cloud, which confused me. Cloud apparently suffers from some alternate subconscious mumbo-jumbo and like. . .ungh. I get an aneurysm thinking about it sometimes.

Complicated plotlines like Final Fantasy VII start showing up from here on out in the Final Fantasy series. The trend of bishonen characters also begin here, bishonen being the Japanese term for “beautiful boy.” Cloud and Sephiroth have that look. The series starts hashing in sappier romances and much more of an anime feel.

Final Fantasy VII ultimately marked the start of a new era for the series – introducing both cool and overused tropes.

Music:

Hands down the best Final Fantasy soundtrack of all.

The entire soundtrack of this game is memorable. The opening tune, with its light twinkle when the stars show up, is enough to make any gamer know exactly what that’s from.

With a story set in a more modern world, we have music that is more modern. After Final Fantasy VI had a more serious and operatic score, Uematsu displayed his love of progressive rock here. The motorcycle chase incorporates a lot of synth, which was fitting for zipping through the streets of Midgar. However, Final Fantasy VII is the first Final Fantasy game without that familiar starting bassline for the battle them. The battle theme is instantly recognizable but also radically different from its predecessors. It’s dramatic and displays danger.

Meanwhile, the boss theme is one of the best boss themes in the series, or any video game really. It’s an electrifying progressive rock piece, and it’s my personal favorite boss theme.

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The more instrumental pieces are somber, given the dreary atmosphere of the planet. The world map music is very different from its predecessors. It’s romantic one moment, soaring the next, and then dips into foreboding terror. I guess that sums up the story of Final Fantasy VII.

And we cannot leave out One-Winged Angel, which I will talk about below.

Notable Theme:

Without a doubt, One-Winged Angel – played during the terrifying final battle against Sephiroth – is the most memorable piece of music in Final Fantasy VII.

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It may very well be the most popular song of the entire series. Nobuo Uematsu was inspired by Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring. It’s a whopping 30 something minute classical piece. If you look it up on YouTube and browse through it, you can definitely note the similarities. However, Uematsu didn’t want some boring classical introduction to the piece. He wanted to add the destructive impact of rock. The theme has a very distinct stamping-your-foot-down quality to it.

I had noticed a certain piece-by-piece feel of the song and that’s exactly how Uematsu composed it. This is the only song that Uematsu has composed where he created several tunes in his head and then rearranged them to make a single comprehensive song.

If you want to get technical, One-Winged Angel is the first Final Fantasy song with lyrics. The chorus sings in Latin about Sephiroth’s burning anger, with some lyrics actually taken from the medieval poem Carmina Burana. It sounds fantastic when fully orchestrated.

In Advent Children, the animated sequel to Final Fantasy VII, the music is accompanied by hardcore metal. This new rendition really illustrates the destructive power of Sephiroth. Uematsu changed the lyrics for Advent Children. They are more original now. I specifically noticed the lyrics “Veni, veni, mi fili”, which translates to “Come, come, my son.” Sephiroth is inviting you so he can kill you.

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Uematsu has stated that the original orchestration didn’t sit well with him. As I suspected, Advent Children’s hardcore metal version is the one he preferred, the one he would have composed had he the technology at the time of Final Fantasy VII.

Verdict:

Another must-play for any RPG fan, even if you think it’s overrated. It’s a must-play because of its popularity, in the same way that people are wide-eyed when you say you haven’t seen Star Wars or such-and-such other popular movie. It’s a whole lot of fun, especially in the scenes that involve other forms of gameplay, such as the motorcycle chase and even a battlefield strategy game in protecting Fort Condor.

Direct Sequel?

Yes – first there was the CGI movie Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children.

I actually watched Advent Children before playing Final Fantasy VII. I had already known most of what happened in the game and Advent Children became a monumental craze when it first came out. Everybody was talking about it. Watching the sequel before playing the game skewers your interpretation of things. My first impression of Cloud was that he was always whiny and angsty, and meanwhile Tifa kept nagging him to move on. I felt really bad for Cloud losing Aerith.

Then when I actually played Final Fantasy VII, I saw that Cloud starts as this badass mercenary. Tifa is spunky and clearly is the better choice (IMO) but Cloud is enamored by Aerith after only meeting her briefly. WHAT? Cloud. Bro. Make a move on Tifa, you nitwit. Tifa is AMAZING.

Square Enix then continued the story with Dirge of Cerberus – Final Fantasy VII. This video game sequel focuses on Vincent Valentine, a fan favorite of the original game.

Let me remind you about something – the original game revealed Shinra’s inner deep secret experiments, namely with Sephiroth and Jenova. Dirge of Cerberus introduces an even deeper research team within Shinra called Deepground. I don’t know about you, but it already sounds like the start of a terribly redundant string of sequels, like how the Jason Bourne movies keep revealing an even deeper level of conspiracy theories. Vincent’s mysterious background is now fully revealed. He is defined by – guess what? – another angsty lost lover story, this time with a woman named Lucrecia. Now, okay, look, maybe I’m just being a dick about these types of love stories. But when it keeps popping up within the same series in the same manner, I start asking if you have anything else to offer on your menu.

Lastly, there is the prequel for the PSP – Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII. Of all the games in the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core has received the most positive reception. If anything, play that after playing Final Fantasy VII before bothering with anything else.

Oh, and of course there is the Final Fantasy VII Remake, which we thought wasn’t going to happen for the longest time but they finally released it in April 2020. More on that later after I finish it, and after I post my entire series of Final Fantasy reviews!

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wandaluvstacos · 3 years

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The "10 people create 70% of climate emissions" meme is so fucking stupid, I am over it. If those 10 people died and every rig collapsed, we'd be nowhere closer to climate resilience.

It's also very stupid to be like "people watching Netflix contribute to climate change!" Shaming people for very normal activities is also dumb.

Here's the thing: we are ALL culpable, ESPECIALLY middle class Americans, whose emissions are highest, on average, in comparison to pretty much every other individual living anywhere else in the world. We, collectively, created this, and there is no finger-pointing at individuals that will fix it. Individualism is not the fix to rampant individualism, shocker, I know.

Here's the thing: you can change collective behavior without throwing billionaires in jail (I mean, we should do that, but I live in this thing called REALITY and in REALITY our planet is going to kill us all in 100 years). You would not believe all the small ways we as a collective group are FORCED to create carbon emissions.

-Many apartments/HOAs don't allow you to hang out your laundry to draw. They force you to use a dryer.

-You cannot get anywhere without driving. We segregate housing from businesses, forcing you to drive a two ton vehicle around with you just to go grocery shopping.

-Low density housing is normal, and building high density housing is literally ILLEGAL. New Yorkers living in Manhattan live FAR greener and less carbon intensive lifestyles than people in suburban Phoenix. Yes, urban living is far better for the environment than living in the middle of nowhere. This is all dictated by ZONING policies, which in this country have a very racist history and continue to do what they were made to do: segregate us.

-PARKING MINIMUMS. Look them up.

-Walking/biking is literally a death sentence for a large number of people, as the number of people who get hit by cars has been growing steadily for years as we keep building bigger trucks

-Another small thing: As someone who brings reusable bags to the grocery store, I am highly de-incentivized to do so. I have to bag my own groceries (which I am fine with) because the cashier will only do it if you use plastic. At an automated check out, you have to do the whole "UNEXPECTED ITEM IN THE BAGGING AREA" dance just to get some fucking broccoli. Plastic bags=petroleum.

And so on and so forth.

All these things? They can be fixed at the local level. Most people live in cities. Cities run by people who presumably believe in climate change. 40% of carbon emissions in this country are cars alone. You can be discouraged from driving in a multitude of ways, but this country doesn't do any of them.

I hate being FORCED to pollute and contribute to climate change. I'd love not to! Because of my actions, people on island countries, who barely contributed at all, will suffer the most. My lifestyle is subsidized by the American government, state governments, city governments, all the way down. But we could actually change that, and it probably wouldn't take much. People in Germany have HALF the carbon footprint we do, and they have access to all the amenities we do.

I think the whole "I don't have to do anything as long as billionaires are polluting the gov't" thing is a coping mechanism used by people feeling completely hopeless and powerless. But you are NOT powerless! You can affect COMMUNITY-WIDE change, especially when it comes to policies like zoning and transit! I'm not saying any individual purchase you make will do anything. I'm saying you as an individual have the power to enact local change, just through some tweaks to our current laws.

#climate change #I'm so tired of the helplessness #when community meetings are filled with whiny rich boomers #and they LOVE enacting change that benefits THEM!#and they do it easily by being involved

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4aloysius-porteu · 4 years

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Tear In My Heart

pairing: kirishima eijirou x vigilante reader

wc: 1908

genre: songfic, angst, fluff

warnings: mentions of blood/injuries

tear in my heart - twenty one pilots

Kirishima

It was nighttime when I was ordered to guard in Hosu City, in patrol of villains making crimes around. Yes, I'm a certified hero now and I just finished taking down a criminal with a laser quirk, and I'm on the way to my agency to turn over him.

"That's Red Riot for you!" Tetsutetsu greeted me while the police restrained the criminal. We did their usual brofist, "You alright, bro?"

"Why woudn't I be? I'll stay here for the whole night to catch and drive the villains away."

"Anyway, Fourth Kind said you can go home now. The others and I will take over here. Get a rest, man! See you tomorrow!"

"Oh, yeah, see you!" He patted my shoulder as I left to change clothes.

Sometimes you gotta bleed to know That you're alive and have a soul

I finished changing, then I got outside and saw my friends.

"Hey, Kirishimaaaa!" Ashido and Kaminari loudly greeted.

"Hey guys! You finished in your shift? Where's Sero and Bakugou?" I asked.

"Yep! They're on the morning shift now so we won't we seeing them in this month," Ashido replied.

"Dude, your Hero name is so famous around these areas! You sure are close with people after you rescue them, I'm envious!" Kaminari said.

"Don't be, Kaminari. Maybe someday you'll get known too."

"I hope so."

But it takes someone to come around, To show you how

After a litte chitchat they bid a goodbye and I got inside my car and drove it in a moderate speed. When I stopped in the red light, I remembered something important. I haven't texted hy girlfriend for the whole time!

She's the tear in my heart, I'm alive She's the tear in my heart, I'm on fire

Crap, I hope she's not mad at me!

I grabbed my phone and my fingers typed quickly, apologizing for not talking with her. She didn't reply, which made me more worried. I sighed and continued driving.

She's the tear in my heart, Take me higher, than I've ever been

Few minutes later, I still didn't get a reply. Maybe she's really angry, so I made my way to her apartment. While driving, I smiled when I suddenly remembered the first time we met. It was a year ago, in my first hero job.

A car accidentally crashed on her while she was crossing a road, severely injuring her leg. I was on the patrol so I rushed to rescue her. I took her to the hospital and visited her everyday till she gained conciousness. And when she did, God knows how I was caught in her beauty.

The songs on the radio are okay But my taste in music is your face

Since her parents were already gone and her older brother was working overseas, I was the one who took care of her, other than the hospital nurse. We soon got closer and talked with deeper topics, like our chilhood, families, and random experiences. It was really fun to be with her.

When she got better and was able to get out of the hospital, we exchanged numbers, and texted almost every hour.

But it takes a song to come around, To show you how

I also took her on a lot of dates, before we admitted our feelings to each other and her and I became 'we'.

I was taken back to the reality by my phone beeping. At last, she replied! Although, her text is just composed of a location that was 2 blocks away from me. I decided to go since I trust her and I think she's already there.

She's the tear in my heart, I'm alive

I drove on the way but all I found was a dark alley. It was very quiet and shady, why would my girlfriend lead me here? I walked inside, but I came up with my fighting stance in case something bad happens.

"Hello? (Y/N)? Are you here?" I called.

She's the tear in my heart, I'm on fire

No response. I continued to walked, until a figure showed up above me. I fought to restrain it, but I feel like its fighting back so desperately, so I decided to back off a bit and let it pin me on the ground.

She's the tear in my heart, Take me higher, than I've ever been

It was panting hard, but still managed to restrain my wrists. I looked at its face, and when the light of the moon showed up, I instantly recognized her face.

Than I've ever been...

"K-Kirishima?" She weakly said.

"(Y/N)!" She let go of my wrists as I got up and held her in my arms, "Are you okay? Hey!"

Than I've ever been...

"I think I'm alright... but I'm glad you came."

"What happened?"

Than I've ever been...

"K-Kirishima... I'm tired. I-I can tell you when we get to your place..."

I quickly carried her to my car and laid her down for her to rest. Now, I noticed that she has wounds and bruises on her arms, and her stomach has a blood stain. I have a hunch on what happened, but I'll ask it to her later.

You fell asleep in my car, I drove the whole time But that's okay I'll just avoid the holes So you'll sleep fine

I started to drive, but the road holes makes it hard to drive properly. (Y/N) might wake up because of my recklessness, so I decided to drive slowly.

I'm driving here I sit, Cursing my government For not using my taxes To fill the holes with more cement

I observed her sleeping figure at peace before taking my focus on the road. There's a lot of road holes, I wondered where it came from, since its still fine when I passed here. Maybe its the villians' or hero's battle fault.

You fell asleep in my car, I drove the whole time But that's okay I'll just avoid the holes So you'll sleep fine

I'm driving here I sit, Cursing my government For not using my taxes To fill the holes with more cement

When I reached my house, I parked my car in my garage and carried her out of the car then inside. I laid her on the bed and get a medical kit to treat her wounds. It wasn't too deep or serious, but its many. I raised her shirt, but first I promised not to do inappropriate things, and proceeded on treating on a medium sized cut on her stomach.

Sometimes you gotta need to know That you're alive and have a soul

I covered her wounds and cuts with a clean gauze and band aids, and that's when she woke up.

"Oh, sorry to wake you up, (Y/N). You can go to sleep now. I treated your wounds now, don't worry."

I was about to stand up and get her a blanket, but she pulled me back and hugged me from behind.

But it takes someone to come around, To show you how

"(Y/N)? Is there something wrong?"

She muttered, "Stay..."

I did what she said and sat beside the bed. I sighed and asked her again.

"You're still continuing your vigilante activities, aren't you?"

She's the tear in my heart, I'm alive She's the tear in my heart, I'm on fire

"Yes."

"Are you mad at me?"

"Yes."

She's the tear in my heart, Take me higher, than I've ever been

"I'm sorry for not texting you for the whole day, but (Y/N), I told you to stay out of danger! We've been through a lot of arguments here! First off, there are strong villains scattered everywhere, and second, you don't have a Hero License, so the authorities can arrest you when they caught you! You're between the two parties, and when you mess up, none of those sides will help and rescue you!"

A sound of a slap echoed through the room.

My heart, is my armor She's the tear in my heart

She replied, sobbing, "So are you underestimating me? Do you not believe and trust my abilities? And what do you mean that none of those two sides will help? You are on the heroes' side aren't you? Won't you come and rescue me if I'm about to get killed? Will you forget me for your commitment in the Heroes' society? God damn it, Eijirou! I'm being a hero in my own way because the society rejected my ideology and ability!"

She let go of me and cried. I felt bad for making her cry, but I just had to tell those things.

"I thought you understand me, Eijirou, but now I felt that you're just the same as the others! I hate you, Eijirou! I really hate you!"

She's a carver, She's a butcher with a smile

I moved to reach her but she slapped my hand away. That didn't stop me though, I still hugged her, even if she's struggling against my grip.

"Let go of me, Eijirou! I'm leaving now!"

Cut me farther, Than I've ever been

She beat my chest multiple times, but I refused to loosen my embrace. I held her tight and forced her against my chest, trying to stop her from moving.

"I'll never let go of you, (Y/N). You know that well."

Than I've ever been...

She ceased, but she gripped the sleeves of my shirt, tugging it and continued crying in it. I patted her hair and back.

"I just said those things because... I was worried. I don't want you getting hurt. I'm sorry for being hard on your feelings, (Y/N). I'm really sorry."

Than I've ever been...

"I-I was worried too. You didn't message me for the whole day. That wasn't your habit, so I went out to find you but I messed with some villains who was breaking in the bank in my way." She managed to say between sobs.

Oh, than I've ever been...

I kissed her forehead, "I'm glad you're safe."

"But Eijirou... about earlier. Aren't you going to come to me when you're stuck in your hero work and I'm in terrible danger? Please, answer me honestly."

My heart, is my armor She's the tear in my heart

"Of course not. I promise with all my heart that you'll be my first priority. I know I'm the only one, and once I'm not around you anymore, promise me to take care of yourself, okay?"

You turned away, "Don't say that. It scares me."

"Just do it."

"I promise not to make a fuss and take care of myself when Kirishima Eijirou is not around anymore."

She's the tear in my heart, She's a carver

"I hope that time won't come." She mumbled.

I held a stray strand of her hair and tucked it beside her ear, then placed my hand on her cheek, "You're so beautiful, (Y/N). I can never think of losing you."

She's a butcher with a smile, Cut me farther,

"I love you, (Y/N)."

"I love you too, Eijirou."

Than I've ever been.

I leaned in and gave her the most passionate kiss I can give, and at that time, I feel very happy and secured with her. I could tell she feels the same because tears stopped flowing from her eyes.

Loving makes you feel alive, after all.

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loquaciousquark · 4 years

Text

Cut for talk of COVID and irresponsible failure to social distance (my own). Also, some updates on what’s been going on here for the last month or so.

part one:

Very very long story that I am truncating as much as possible. As you all know, I am an optometrist and professor. When we shut down in March, our university made a huge, painful shift to remote learning and our student clinic ceased operations altogether. Neither students nor faculty saw patients from March 15 - the the middle of May. At the end of May, faculty began seeing patients directly in an extremely reduced schedule, and at the beginning of June, we began adding in very limited numbers of students in a rolling schedule that minimized exposure to all involved.

Three weeks ago, my dear friend Jasper contacted me and said that an old friend of hers, whom I will call Carol, was in dire straits after losing her job overseas. Carol has an extremely rocky history: a terrible car accident that left her legs and feet permanently damaged which directly led to a very bad divorce, significant student loan debt (just shy of six digits I think, compounded from the accident, since she used her student loans to pay her medical bills--for anyone reading this, do not EVER EVER EVER DO THIS--student loans are never touched by bankruptcy declarations and you will owe them until you die), and something of an inability to put down roots. She is an English teacher who has taught and traveled all over the world: Prague, Bahrain, Czech Republic, Los Angeles, Rio, etc.

When I first met her about ten years ago, she had come back to Alabama from Prague because a job had fallen through. She was completely broke and living out of two suitcases and a carry-on. She lived with us for three months for free, sleeping in Jasper’s bed because we had no other room for her, and eventually got a job in Boston and moved on. She lasted--I think--about two months in Boston before quitting and taking a job in the Middle East.

On top of her student loan debt, Carol also has significant IRS debt and is in debt to several of her friends. Over the last few years, she took several ill-advised positions overseas back to back without ever consulting a lawyer on her contracts, and did not realize until recently that one of her positions classified her as an independent contractor instead of an employee, so she owed US taxes on all her income for that period of time. Her most recent job in Prague she lost in February because she filed her visa (again, without a lawyer) incorrectly, and what should have been a brief three-week stay outside of the country became a six week stay on the couch of strangers in the Czech Republic while she waited for her visa reapplication to process. However, it was denied, and then COVID hit, and she returned to Alabama with only a portion of her possessions and tons of important paperwork left behind in her Prague apartment. She then unfortunately had two emergency surgeries on her stomach for an acute, unpredictable medical issue, and while she is well healing now, it also added on another forty thousand dollars of medical debt to what she already owed.

She stayed with her mother and sister while she was recovering from the emergency surgeries, but her family is emotionally abusive and very unkind to her, and after a few weeks she left their home and went to stay with Jasper. However, Jasper is also 8 months pregnant with her fourth child, and they both knew it was a temporary thing. Jasper knows that I have a large home with several spare bedrooms, and asked if I would be willing to host Carol for a period of time while she got back on her feet. I knew what I was agreeing to when I said yes, and Carol and I settled on a period of two months. She has now been here almost three weeks.

Frankly, I do not like Carol very much. We are unbelievably different people in every way--personality, temperament, proclivity to crying in front of other people, hobbies, interests, religion, all of it. She is a very nice person, and I think she truly does mean well. But she is the most emotionally needy and energy-sapping person I have ever met, and I cannot tolerate her company in more than small chunks. It is not possible to hold a conversation with her about any subject tangentially related to her difficulties; if I try to sympathize with her loans by mentioning my own, she shuts me down by saying at least I will have the chance to ever pay them back. If I just try to listen without commentary, she’ll wrap herself up in her own stories and talk for hours without ever needing more than “mm”s and “hm”s and my undivided attention the entire time.

She will often work herself up into sobbing tears over her situation(s), and she always informs me immediately of any new development in any of her numerous trials: which are usually negative, considering the situation, and usually resulting in more tears. She has cried on me probably more than a dozen times since she moved in, and she wields “I love you” like a weapon, more to hear the validation of the response than to truly express the sentiment. She constantly asks for advice on her situation but does not listen to any of it--seems more to just want to relive each tragic detail of her life over and over again with an audience, wondering why she’s continually “screwed over in her life.” (Really, really poor financial decisions and constantly trusting her own “intuition” over getting competent legal advice before signing contracts, are I think the biggest contributors.) She has told me so many private details about her personal views, relationships with her ex-husband and mother and sister, her financial choices, and her extensive travel and job history over the last few years that I probably know her history better than my own at this point.

I think she thinks by sharing so much that she is justifying to me her need to stay with me. What is actually happening is that I am forced to help shoulder this enormous emotional load that compounds my own mental health problems I’ve been having since all this started. I have told her more than once that she does not need to justify herself to me and that my home is open to her for two months, no strings attached. I believe she is making all the steps she needs to and do not need reports on her daily activities to “pay” for her lodging or electricity or internet or whatever. This has changed the behavior a little for the better but not stopped it.

There are moments that are not bad. As I have mentioned, she does mean well and want well for most people. She likes Hamlet and loves Jasper, who is extremely important to me. But she is extremely difficult to be around in so many other ways, and the way she constantly exclaims over how we basically think alike on all things (absolutely untrue) makes me think she either will not or cannot read my reluctance to engage on any of these topics.

(An example: I was watching footage of the SpaceX launch and despite my feelings on Elon Musk, really excited about the implications for space travel. She came in, and after misunderstanding for some time that I was not watching Space Force with Steve Carell, decided that the SpaceX program was morally bankrupt, obviously borne of shady backroom government deals, and everyone involved should have used the money to solve world hunger instead. For the record, she had not heard of the shuttle launch, SpaceX, or Elon Musk at all before the seeing the footage.)

(She also until last week had not heard of Playstation, Xbox, streaming as a concept, or any game more modern than the original Mario. Trying to order a grocery delivery online was an excruciating torment for her [took her over four days to get through selecting the items, selecting allowable replacements, and actually paying] and I will not ask her to do it again. She frequently makes comments about video games being a waste of time, and when she sees children playing outside, comments on how glad she is they are not inside playing video games. She doesn’t seem to realize her comments are a direct commentary on me; I think she genuinely does not understand that those games are what I am playing most of my free time.)

Right now, everything seems to hinge on her passing some teacher recertification tests next week and the week after. She spent $150 to give herself less than a week to study from scratch for a test she described as the hardest she’d ever taken. There were several other dates later in the summer she could have chosen, and her deadline is December, but she picked the soonest option for reasons I can’t fathom. She is also in the process of trying to get a car--right now I’m driving her everywhere--and she was ready to hand over $3800 yesterday for a ten-year-old Hyundai with a check-engine light on without even thinking of getting any kind of inspection. She is far more concerned with the color and “energy” of the car than its function, and would not have even checked the headlights and blinkers if I hadn’t prompted it.

She will be here another five weeks or so. We move around each other now better than we did before, and I hope it will continue to improve. But it’s a lot like a rock grinding a groove in the streambed from the repetitive friction, and it’s not the struggle I wanted to be having right now.

part two:

As I mentioned above, Jasper is having her fourth child in a month or so. One of her friends, someone I don’t know, contacted me and said she wanted to do a drive-by “baby sprinkle,” where no one gets out of their cars. You drop off the gifts, talk to the recipient a few minutes from the car window, and move on. I told her that I work in health care and am exposed to patients, so that sounded good to me.

The shower was this morning. Carol and I got up and drove the thirty minutes to Jasper’s house. There were four other families in cars right around the corner, and the “hostess” gave us all balloons to tie on our side mirrors. She told us we would drive around the corner, drop off the gifts, and loop around. Jasper’s husband would arrange for her to be in the front yard at the right time.

Cute enough. We go around the corner with little honks and Jasper sees us and starts crying, and it’s all wonderful and emotional and a fabulous surprise and I’m genuinely excited about it. And then people start parking and getting out of their cars, and Carol and I start looking at each other. They’re full families, too--three of the other moms brought all their kids, and soon enough they’re playing with Jasper’s three boys in the front yard and coming up asking to pet Hamlet through the car window. No one was wearing masks.

And what’s worse, when they all started looking at us expectantly through the car window, we didn’t know what to do. They were handing Jasper her gifts and obviously settling in for a good long chat; the women were hugging, talking about how they are “so over this COVID stuff, please come visit soon,” and Hamlet of course recognizes his original owners in Jasper and her husband so he’s freaking out, and after a few moments, we decided to just get out of the car.

It was the first time I really felt the social pressure to participate in an event I wasn’t comfortable with. I have no issue maintaining my social distance and my mask and my handwashing at work because that is where I have the position of authority, and I have the responsibility to model it for the students and patients--but here, I was a guest at someone else’s house at someone else’s event, and I really, really felt how they might perceive me as rude. While I didn’t know the other women, my relationship with Jasper is extremely important to me, and I didn’t want to make this special event for her difficult in any way.

So we got out of the car and joined the group. I tried to keep my distance as much as possible, especially since I had Hamlet on the leash and there were a half-dozen small children around, but at least twice I looked up and there was someone right at my elbow, and we made small talk for five minutes or so before either she drifted back to the group or I moved Hamlet into the shade away from the rest.

Cars drove by and slowed down more than once to look at us. Jasper’s husband made a comment about rolling his eyes if he saw their family on Facebook that evening. The women planned play dates, all standing very close together, and Jasper opened her gifts (that part was excellent). All in all we were probably there about twenty minutes.

I should mention that on the drive there, we passed a public park that has a very pretty waterfall right next to the road, and there were probably a dozen families out playing. There was a festival/outdoor market right outside the the park that had a sign up about social distancing, but the fifty or so people we saw shopping there were not adhering in any meaningful way. No one wore a mask.

And what annoys the bejeezus out of me is that I didn’t either. I didn’t even think about it until after we finally got back in the car to drive away. This is the first social event I’ve gone to since the first week of March, and while I wear masks for eight+ hours every day I go in to work, it didn’t occur to me even a single time to put on even my little cloth one that I keep in the car until we were driving away afterwards. I was so flummoxed by every little thing happening differently than I expected--people getting out of cars, how surprised I was by my own susceptibility to not rocking the boat, how normal everyone else made it to stand so close they could bump elbows so that Carol and I became almost excluded from the circle--that it never once crossed my mind. I know masks are more for the protection of those around you, not to keep you from catching what other people are carrying, but I could have set an example. I could have been the health professional I should have been in the moment.

I’m just so disappointed in myself. Disappointed in my own carelessness, irritated that I didn’t say anything, continually frustrated in a deep, gut-wrenching way by the whole situation that requires this in the first place. Bewildered that so many people are “back to normal” while this thing is still spreading, and in brutal honesty wishing I could be like them and just give up the fight myself. I’m not even mad at them. I WANT TO BE THEM. Why am I continually bothering to care and sanitize and mask and stay at home when no one else is? Literally no one would judge me in this state for it more than I’m already being judged (in most cases impersonally, though I felt the potential for it today in specific) for still watching the recommended guidelines.

I am really, really sick of this. I am so sick of feeling alone in this (of being alone in this, and Carol doesn’t count). Hearing other people saying “there there, you’re doing the right thing” honestly makes it even worse. I want people to stop patronizingly telling me to do things I already know are the right thing to do. I want other people as mad as I am that I can’t do the things I want to and need to do instead of being endlessly patient and noble about all the lives they’re saving by staying home. I’m top-of-my-head-blowing-off furious that so many people are shrugging and saying “well this is just the way it will be forever and alas, so it goes” and acting like those of us who did the right thing and cancelled our plans and our trips and our visits to dear friends but who are mad about having to do it are overreacting. I’m so fucking mad about it. I’ve stayed home for two months and I’ve isolated and I’ve quarantined and my hands are cracking from the constant sanitizer/washing at work and except for today I’ve done everything I’m supposed to do for this, and I don’t want to do it. And seeing people be so heroically virtuous and longsuffering on Facebook feels as alien and upsetting to me as the people who go to the beaches with a hundred of their closest friends.

That’s probably unfair in myriad ways. I’m really too angry, including at myelf, to soften it right now.

I want a vaccine and I want to be back in my classroom teaching to fifty faces instead of a screen in my living room, and I’m honestly freaking sick of waiting at home for them to figure this out. And watching everyone else move on with their lives back to the normal I would kill to have is just one more crack in the dike.

#quark rambles #this got really personal and mad #so sorry about that #coronavirus for ts #covid-19 for ts #quarantine for ts #carol #jasper #long post for ts

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vintagevalentinex · 4 years

Text

Decode, XV

Here it is! The final installment of Decode! I hope you all have enjoyed this journey as much as I have!! It will be bittersweet not writing this series anymore, but I’m excited to move onto to other things. Please let me know what you think. As always, feedback is greatly appreciated!

Decode, XV by vintagevalentinexx Mycroft Holmes x Reader ~1475 words

This is the last time you’d ever go to a damn weekend conference.

You had found yourself in a whirlwind of mystery and murder all so quickly. What you didn’t expect was that you’d find someone that you didn’t have to dumb your speech down for, someone who innately knew just how you were feeling. And just like that, you gave it all up. He was asking something of you that you weren’t sure you were ready to do. Leave your entire life behind? The career you’d scraped and clawed for? How could he possibly think that you’d give that all up?

You tried your very best to forget the way Mycroft looked at you, the tiny sliver of a moment where he looked utterly devastated before his walls went flying back up, the icy exterior quickly reformed, the ever, almost too-polite persona of what the outside world perceived to be Mycroft Holmes. You knew better though.

Sitting in the not-so comfortable airplane seat, you picked at the skin around your fingernails, a nervous habit you’d had since you were a child. You looked around at all the people, mostly seemingly American. You tried to take in every detail, your thoughts going back to the night when you sat in the café with Mycroft and people watched. It seemed like it was already a lifetime ago, and yet you remembered that night so vividly. You were almost consumed by this fond memory when a swath of dark curly hair caught your eye. The person in question was tall and male, dressed in a flight attendant’s uniform, and currently heading towards the lavatories.

No. No no no. It couldn’t be…well it could be, and it would damn figure at this point.

You quietly slid out of your seat, following the very suspicious flight attendant through the curtain. He was waiting there for you, smirking as you groaned, rolling your eyes.

“What the hell are you doing here?! How did you even get on this plane?!”

“Really now, (Y/N) I would assume Mycroft’s partner to be a little cleverer than that…”

“Partner? Sherlock, we’re not…I didn’t…”

“Come now, don’t be ridiculous.”

“Did he send you here?”

“You really think that Mycroft would send me in his stead? Are you really as clever as he makes you out to be?

You throw your hands up in the air, exasperated. “Then why are you here, Sherlock? The plane is about to take off!”

“You’re making a mistake.”

“How the hell would you even know? You know nothing about the time we spent together. It was has nothing to do with you! Let me get back to my life. The case is over!”

Sherlock grasped at your upper arm, pulling you closer so no one could hear.

“Tell me. When is the last time you felt like there was someone out there that understood you, something that treated you like an equal, someone that even though they haven’t known you long, wanted to activate the entire armed forces to ensure your safe release from the clutches of that deranged man? My brother is a cold, calculating taskmaster, intent on running the entire British government on his own, but he also almost seems as though he could be human when you are around him.”

You went to speak but Sherlock only continued.

“I can say without a doubt you have been living your life by going through the motions, content, no, complacent, rather with the fact that there wouldn’t be anyone that you could consider any kind of life with, let alone someone that could actually spark your interest. I am positive you cannot recall a moment in your life where you have taken a risk. As much as this pains me to say, and I will deny it if it is ever brought up again, the both of you are incredibly compatible and it would be an absolute shame for both parties if this…entanglement were not fully explored.”

You stood there speechless, not knowing what to say. This man had been nothing but awful to you the entire time you were in London, but here he was, trying his best to plead Mycroft’s case, without him even knowing that he was there. You didn’t have time to respond, however. The plane had jolted to a stop on the runway, mere meters away from being set in position to take flight. You could hear the tell-tale sign of steps being wheeled over to the plane, cars driving furiously towards the aircraft. Sherlock looked at you mischievously.

“Apparently I wasn’t the only one attempting a Hail Mary play.”

As soon as the doors opened Sherlock fled down the steps, leaving you in the airplane utterly confused. Just what the hell was he going on about? You chewed your lip. Did you really want to leave? Were you just trying to run away from these feelings? Could you really start a career here? You didn’t want to be put up on a shelf like a porcelain doll; you had ambition and drive that needed to be satisfied.

Your train of thought was broken by two men entering the airplane, gesturing for you to go down the steps. It didn’t seem as if you had much of a choice, the intimidating forms of both of the suited men towering over you. As you walked down the steps you saw a man at the other side of the runway, and you knew exactly who it was.

Your feet brought you nearer to him faster and faster, the world dissolving around you as you could only look at his face. He stood there apprehensively, and a wave of nerves rushed over you. As you finally stood face to face with him, you could tell he was moderately nervous, uncomfortable, and unsure.

“I don’t typically make grand romantic gestures, but I supposed that it was worth a try. I…this is all new for me, and I’m assuming it is just as new for you as well, (Y/N). I meant every single word I said last night to you, and I will be damned if you throw it all away, throw…us away.”

“I…I don’t know what to do, Mycroft. I have a life back in the States, a career, students who depend on me…”

“Which are all things that you can have here, but with one important, vital addition. Do you know of what I am speaking of, (Y/N)? Surely by now you can surmise it.”

You took a step forward, closing the space between his body and yours.

“I want to hear you say it. I want to hear the reason as to why you’re ready to move mountains, call in every single military organization. I need to hear you say it. Tell me what is worth remaining here.”

He took your hands in his once more, this time pulling your body flush to his own. You saw his pupils dilate; just as you knew your own were doing. His voice was only slightly hoarse as he let one of his hands press against the small of your back.

“I love you, (Y/N). I never thought I’d love anybody, but here I am, interrupting all of the flight patterns of the Heathrow Airport to tell you that I love you.”

You grabbed the collar of his pristine white shirt, pulling him into a burning kiss, just imaging how his eyebrows shot straight up to his hairline. You felt his body release its tension, arms cradling your own form. As much as you wanted to sear your lips to his for all of eternity, you unfortunately needed to breathe.

“Shall I take that as your physical demonstration of reciprocation of my feelings?”

You roll your eyes. “Do you always have to sound to proper?”

He chuckled, linking his arm in yours as he started pulling you towards a conveniently timed black car. Oh…but wait.

“What about my luggage on the plane? And all of my belongings back in the States? I have to go back and get them at least…”

Mycroft looked away, but his sheepish expression didn’t escape you.

“What. Did. You. Do.”

He opened the car door, ushering you into the backseat, speaking as you moved. “I…may have already arranged for all of your things to be moved…”

You gave him a withering glace, which quickly melted into amusement.

“You are aware that I should be mad at you right now, yes?”

Mycroft looked at you amusedly, his fingers loosely laced in yours as the car pulled away from the airport.

“But you’re not. You’re in love.”

You rolled your eyes, leaning your head against his shoulder.

It wasn’t exactly riding off on a horse into the sunset, but it was pretty damn close.

Read the Epilogue!

#sherlock #mycroft #mycroft holmes #mycroft holmes x reader #mycroft holmes/reader #slow burn #reader insert #mycroft is bae

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javierpenaspinkshirt · 4 years

Text

Dear Diary

Javi x Diarist - One Shot

Warnings: brief mention of some NSFW activities, mentions of tight jeans, some Carrillo thirst because I’m only human.

Words: 2.7k.

Summary: writing in her diary, the Diarist documents her first few weeks at her new job and her first encounters of Javi.

Day one - Monday

Dear Diary,

Today was the first day of my new job! Mom said I should keep a diary so I can look back when I’ve been in the job awhile and see how much I’ve progressed. To be honest with you, Diary, I feel a bit daft writing in you… but hey ho! Maybe you’ll be fun to look back on?

Anyway! Today was the first day of my new life in Bogotá! I’m a secretary for the DEA at the American Embassy in the city – the building is a bit posh! The university isn’t too far away so I can easily get to my evening classes (studying History with Spanish) and even though I’m classed as a ‘mature’ student (mature! HAH!) I’m hoping I’ll make friends both at class and at work… maybe someone with a car so they can drive me, teehee!

It’s a group of five girls working as secretaries for the DEA. We have a good age range and I sit sort of in the middle of the group age-wise I think. They’re all really lovely, there’s two other Americans and two Colombians so a cool culture mix. Hopefully they all like me!

I didn’t do much work today, just shadowing the others and walking round to meet everyone. The agents all seem to keep to themselves. There’s two Americans down the hall from my desk – I didn’t catch their names (whoops) but apparently they’re the two I’ll spend the most time working with. I should introduce myself properly tomorrow.

I’m looking forward to my first Tuesday on the job!

Day two - Tuesday

Dear Diary,

Today was day two. It was good, there’s a lot of information to learn and it’s especially difficult to flick between English and Spanish in my brain… But I guess I’m new to all this and I’ll get the hang of it! One of the other secretaries – Erica – has promised to speak to me mostly in Spanish so I can get into the habit of speaking like a local, I thought that was sweet of her!

But that wasn’t the most interesting thing to happen today, Diary, oh no no! Today I met Javier and Steve. They’re the two Americans I’ll be working for mostly. Steve is nice, barely speaks any Spanish which I can tell frustrates him and Javier, but just like me he’ll get there! I think I might end up his interpreter… but he seems kind and he is really into the job! He’s got a wife and they haven’t lived in Bogotá all that long either so we have that in common! Well… the being new here… not the wife bit(!)

And then there’s Javier, who all the other secretaries call Javi… so I guess I will too. I can tell he’s going to be trouble. He came up to my desk after lunch just to tell me that he liked my blouse and that the color suited me! I have to admit he is very handsome… But he strikes me as the ‘would ruin your life for a shag’ type? That might be harsh and he does seem nice. The others all say he’s lovely and is a man you can depend on but he is a dreadful flirt!

I wish I’d had something smart to say back to him as he stood in front of my desk telling me he liked my blouse but honestly, Diary, I think I just whimpered?? I was so taken aback by it! If there’s a next time I’ll have to be smarter!

Day 3 - Wednesday

Dear Diary,

This morning Javi bought me a coffee and brought it to my desk. He actually apologised for trying to flirt with me yesterday! He was very sweet actually. He said he wanted to make sure we got off on the right foot so wanted to apologise if he made me uncomfortable! I told him he didn’t I was just surprised he would even notice me! He was very sweet and said something like ‘I’d have to be blind not to notice you’… wait was he flirting with me again??

Diary, I am going to have to get better at this!

Day 4 - Thursday

Dear Diary,

I think we have a situation. I think I might have a teeny little crush on Javi. I mean, I am certainly not the only one! All the girls seem to melt slightly when he talks to them… Except Coleen actually… somehow she’s immune to his charms… Maybe she’ll teach me?

I caught myself actually waiting for him to come over to me today because I was looking forward to chatting to him. He always seems to make time to chat to us all and sees us as actual people… a lot more than most of the other staff.

He does wear some insanely tight jeans though. It's like it's 1985 and he thinks he's Axl Rose! But Javi does look good in them... like really good… Oh dear… I think I fancy a government agent. Who have I become??

Day 5 - Friday

Dear Diary,

That was my first week! Done and dusted! I think it was good! Everyone has been so kind and supportive and Erica has even invited me out for drinks tomorrow night with some of her friends! I cant wait!

School is going well too, I had my first classes this week and I think I’m going to be okay! The subject material isn’t going to be easy, but we like a challenge don’t we, Diary?

Now back to the important stuff – Javi’s outfit of the day. I was sat at my desk making some phone calls when Javi walks passed in a pair of those damn jeans and a red shirt. He caught my eye as he walked passed and gave me a smile and – I shit you not – my brain kicked in to gear and I said:

‘Nice shirt, the colour suits you’ and I was so cool and casual with a little smirk on my face, Diary I have never played anything so cool in my life. I got a chuckle from him and a wink and I swear down I would have taken my panties off right then and there.

Diary, my mom can never read you.

Day 6 - Saturday

Dear Diary,

It’s pretty late as a write this but that’s because I’ve been out with Erica and her friends! A couple of the other girls from work joined us as well so it was a lot of fun! We just went to a bar and had a few drinks and a giggle.

Erica did tell me she noticed me “making eyes” at Javi in the week though and I must’ve turned as red as the strawberry daiquiri I was drinking because she laughed at me. She told me he is, to quote her, ‘a bit of a slut’ and that most of the girls in the city know him in the biblical sense... I don’t think that put me off? I mean it’s the 80’s, do we still shame people for having sex? And to be fair, here I am making heart eyes at a man I’ve known for a matter of days. So no, Diary, I don’t judge him for that.

But I also don’t think I’m going to pursue him? I’m certainly not looking for a boyfriend. Although as I write this down I kind of figure he’s not after a commitment either? I mean I don’t know him that well but what kind of man shamelessly flirts with the new secretary on her first day if he isn’t looking for some fun? Maybe that’s what I’m looking for?

Diary, no more daiquiris for me!

Day 7 – Sunday

Dear Diary,

I went shopping today. Not the boring food type of shopping, clothes shopping! It was a lot of fun actually! I got to explore the city a bit and although it has a reputation (and my mom would kill me if she knew) I actually felt fine walking around on my own! I was in the busy shopping streets mind and it was daylight, but I really think this city could feel like home!

I bought a couple of pairs of jeans because mine are old and raggedy and I got some new shirts and tops for work, but the buy of the day – a pencil skirt that makes my butt look like I’ve done a 100 squats a day since the day I was born. I mean, not to blow my own horn, but I look GOOD in it!

I’m going to wear it to work one day… And yes Diary, I know I might be playing with fire, but a little fun never hurt anyone?

Day 8 - Monday

Dear Diary,

I wore the skirt.

Oh my! The girls all gave me compliments on my ass and legs (which lets be honest is better than any compliment from any man!) so that was great!

I’ll be honest though, by the end of the day I wanted to rip it off myself… I had severely underestimated how difficult sitting in a pencil skirt for 8 hours would be. Lesson learned!

I did see Javi though. He didn’t say anything but I was stood up as he walked passed and his eyes were stuck on me for so long Steve had to practically drag him up the stairs. Diary, I was very pleased with myself!

Day 9 - Tuesday

Dear Diary,

I don’t know what it is about the American Embassy but somehow the building attracts the most beautiful men.

Today, Diary, I met Colonel Horacio Carrillo and believe me I have never seen such a MAN! He must be 90% shoulder and 10% snark because Diary he is built like a wall and has a mouth sharp enough to even shut up Javier Peña! Not that I was listening in, I was collecting some papers in their office as the Colonel was talking to Javi and Steve.

Steve introduced me to the Colonel and he shook my hand (Diary, his hand was the SIZE OF MY HEAD)… he was wearing a wedding ring though. I’m no home wrecker… but my god is he beautiful!

I did catch Javi’s eye before I left their office though and I’m sure I’m not making it up when I say there was a flash of jealousy. I thought I was being crazy and arrogant to think that but no, I’m sure! The Colonel was very polite to me, very courteous, and were he not a married man I would have wished I was wearing my new skirt again. Diary, I can not stress enough the thickness of this man’s arms.

Anyway, despite definitely having the hots for the Colonel, I think I’d still rather go out with Javi. If we put the whole Carrillo-is-married thing aside, I just think Javi is more my kind of guy? Up for a laugh, not too serious, likes a drink and likes a smoke... very pretty!

I think we’d have a lot of fun if we went out. I’m beginning to wonder if he thinks the same?

Day 10 - Wednesday

Dear Diary,

Today the five of us girls went out for lunch. It was great! They showed me their favourite café, great for people watching but far enough from the embassy that we weren’t just looking at officials in suits! Great food too, I really do love this city!

I was sat with Coleen at lunch and she told me Javi had caught her after I’d left work for class and asked her about me. Apparently he asked if I was single!! Coleen told him she didn’t know because she didn’t want to drop me in it if I wasn’t interested in him (bless you, Coleen!) but I definitely am interested! Diary, when she told me he’d asked about me my heart raced! Like I’m some kind of school girl!

I really do like him and I’d like to get to know him better. But I think I’ll give it some more time maybe?

Day 11 - Thursday

Dear Diary,

I spent the whole day look at Javier Peña and his black fucking shirt. Oh my god, Diary! I am in too deep. He walked passed my desk while I was on the phone today and I stopped listening completely so I could concentrate on his butt.

It is becoming a problem.

So I have resolved to do something about it. I have decided that I’m going to ask him out for a drink tomorrow night after work. Fingers crossed for me!

Day 12 - Friday

Dear Diary,

Well… it’s sort of actually Saturday… I didn’t have time to write in you yesterday, Diary because… well because I didn’t come home last night (!)

Let me explain the events of last night:

When I got to work yesterday morning Javi was sat at my desk. He was wearing that damn leather jacket that, for no reason at all other than its his, I find incredibly sexy and was waiting for me. He said good morning to me then got up to let me sit down.

He watched me as I took stuff out of my bag and settled in before, seemingly out of nowhere, he asked me if I wanted to go for a drink with him after work!

Diary, I was so uncool. I was like one of those nodding dogs people have in their car or on their desk.

He laughed and said he’d come by my desk to get me when we were done. I spent the entire day obsessing about whether it was a date or just a friendly drink? Erica was sure it was a date, so sure in fact she made me borrow her red lipstick and made me promise to wear it.

I did wear it. And was I glad I did!

He complimented me on it when he came by my desk to get me. As we left the building he put his arm out for me and we linked arms and walked down the street and Diary it was the easiest, loveliest conversation I’ve ever had! He made me feel so at ease straight away, it was sort of like I’d known him for ages?

We actually ended up at the same bar I’d been to the weekend before… so I was back on the daiquiris!

We talked for ages, right up until closing but it was still like there was so much more to say! When we eventually got turfed out of the bar we ended up walking the streets, arm in arm again, laughing and chatting. Diary, it was lovely!

Turns out he only lives a few blocks away from my place but his is closer to the bar. We stopped at his door and he invited me up. I’ll be honest, I hesitated… but I was wearing his leather jacket (he’d let me wear it for the walk home) and he’d been such a gentleman, well I couldn’t resist the smile on his face!

So I ended up sat on his sofa as he told me about work and fixed me a whiskey… I don’t know what possessed me but when he came over to give me my glass I stood up and kissed him!

Diary, you know me, I’ve never been particularly forward! I blame those daiquiris… but oh no, it didn’t end at a kiss.

Before I knew it we were pulling each other's clothes off (I didn't even mind that he ripped one of my new tops)! I don't know if it's because he's well practised or he's just one of those guys that knows what he's doing... but lord did he know what he was doing!

Before I knew it he had me on my back on his sofa, screaming his name and Diary… well what can I say… I’ve had to write this all down quickly because I’ve just come home to shower and get a change of clothes before he comes to pick me up. That’s right, we’re going out again tonight!!

Diary, don’t wait up!

#javier peña x reader #javier peña fic #javier peña fanfic #javier peña x you #narcos fanfic #narcos fanfiction #javier peña #javi x reader #javi x you #javi #narcos

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callsignbaphomet · 4 years

Note

🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊

Y'think thats enough pens? Either way I don't expect you to do somethin for aaaaaaaaaall of em lol

Gsudkblbzysuv hun, this is so beautifully chaotic!

🖋 Ginger's a vampire but both of her dads (Lee Grimm and Glenn Grimm) are werewolves (Mist Walkers). Both are trans men.

🖋 Jelani uses male, neutral or female pronouns. Has no preference to which ones someone should use.

🖋 Trevor knows ASL. His little brother was deaf and in his memory he learned ASL.

🖋 Angelus sorta, kinda had a daughter. Ok tl;dr back in the late 1800s he ran into this little girl that was living in the street and tried to steal some money off him but she got caught. He gave her everything he had on him and then she ran off and he lost track of her. Much later he found her again but this time she was a bit older, like 11 years old. They recognized each other and they both went to get a bite to eat and she told him she ran away from home because her parents were abusive. Obviously coming from a similar background he heavily sympathized but he didn't know the first thing about kids but he still took her in. She grew up, married and had kids of her own and those kids grew up and eventually his adopted daughter (her name was Alice) grew old and died of old age. He kept in contact with his sort of grandkids obviously but as his great grandkids grew older and had families and kids of their own Angelus distanced himself. How the fuck are ya gonna explain your sort of adoptivr great grandfather looks like a 20 year old twink? He's kept an eye out on them as a "friend of the family".

🖋 AJ introduced Angelus, Mahmud, Tre and Madison to his favorite hobby: parkour. The five of them regularly get together to free run in places they think would be both challenging and fun.

🖋 Madison introduced Mahmud, AJ, Tre and Xiomara to spelunking and scuba diving as a hobby.

🖋 Sanaa loves and collects windchimes. So Ingvarr modified an alarm clock to make any chime she puts on it chime whenever she sets the alarm. So instead of some jarring alarm she wakes up to a windchime.

🖋 Angelus has an abnormally high tolerance for pain to the point where he won't react to most injuries. This was due to years of having to learn to control his cries of pain because the more he cried out the harder he'd get beaten.

🖋 Trevor holds the world record for longest confirmed sniper kill. Can't be found in any public record but it's in Oracle records and that's good enough for him.

🖋 Jelani (Loke and Jela's grandad, not J lol) and Subira made a spell called "Bright Light". Basically a faint little orb of light that when cast makes anyone near it calm down. It works for regular nervousness, anxiety, panic attacks, anger and so on. It's one of those beginner type spells that barely requires any energy and it can either hover over the caster's palm or it can be "attached" to an object.

🖋 Sunniva (she was Ingvarr's first wife and the woman who gave birth to Loke) is still alive. After she became pregnant she heavily regretted it so that's why as soon as Loke was born she ran away without telling anyone anything. Loke was always told that she disappeared but honestly speaking he never knew her so he has no attachment to her. To him Sanaa is HIS mother and only her.

🖋 Latoya was what you would consider a sickly kid. Someone in another country sneezed and she got sick. Her colds and flus lasted longer than usual and she was a super skinny little girl. When puberty hit she took up sports and when she was 18 she started lifting weights, blew up in terms of muscle tone and got laser eye surgery. Now she's like Rambo in his prime but pretty.

🖋 Abigail is constantly coloring her hair different colors but her favorite is any hue of green since that's her favorite color. She'll also help and color anyone else's if they ask her for help.

🖋 Ginger and Abigail got married on October 13th. Yes, the wedding had a Victorian goth theme to it. Even though they couldn't eat it the cake was red velvet with black frosting and everything. It almost looked like a funeral 'cause everyone was wearing black. I hope to doodle Ginger and Abby in their wedding dresses someday.

🖋 Haakon had a habit of collecting leaves from different countries he visited and kept them safe. Ingvarr and Jørgen both keep journals with leaves of different countries they've visited. They write down the tree the leaf came from, country where they got it from and date.

🖋 Anette can't drive until she's 21. When she was 14 she took Jelani's car, drove her and a bunch of her friends super late at night in winter (from what I've read driving in Norway during winter is horrible), crashed into another car after she lost control, totalled both Jelani's car and the other car and severely injured some of her friends and the other driver. The funny/not funny part is Jela was planning on giving her that car when she got her license but she totalled it. It was BMW by the way. Fuckin' teenager driving around in a 2 year old Beemer lol.

🖋 Speaking of cars. Grete (Anette's mother and Loke and Jelani's aunt) is horribly afraid of driving. She can't get behind the wheel of a car without freaking out. Anette crashing made the fear 10x worse. She can be in a car as long as she isn't driving and the car isn't going too fast.

🖋 During a visit Anette convinced both her parents and Jelani to let her stay with him during the summer. She also convinced both Leah and Xolani to stay over as well. So for a whole ass summer Jelani had three teenagers staying over as a kind of sleep over vacation. It actually turned out fun in the end, the kids had fun and Anette and her rebellious attitude kinda softened.

🖋 Anette, Xolani and Leah have one defining thing in common. None of them know what to do with the rest of their lives. Thing is Leah is very nervous about it, Xolani is kind of aloof about it and Anette is kinda of frustrated about it. Anette is frustrated which leads her to act out and cause trouble. Xolani just looks like they don't care but they do. Leah is super nervous about it. Another thing they got in common is the three of them tend to look up to Loke and Jelani 'cause they feel both understand them better than their parents do.

🖋 Ginger is kinda very obsessed with portals. She's fascinated by them but also respects them as they are incredibly dangerous and unpredictable. She is basically the only person in the world that managed to control portals even if it's for a short amount of time.

🖋 Shaine got really into explosives when she was just a kid. After an accident with a dozen cherry bombs she was left partially deaf, now has to wear a hearing aid and is the explosives expert.

🖋 Before joining Oracle Katya financed her transition by making fake IDs and passports. She also doxxed corrupt government officials and ransomed vital information she got off them.

🖋 Loke is allergic to bird dandruff but would love to have a pet pigeon. At least he can have dogs which is his other favorite animal. His favorite dog is the pitbull.

🖋 Until he got together with Jelani all of Angelus's previous relationships were short and ended in kind of disaster because he constantly compared them all to Jelani and to him they didn't measure up. He ultimately said no to relationships around the 1930s and just fucked around. Obviously until he got shit faced once and confessed to Jelani he was in love with him and the rest is history.

🖋 Tre is one of the super rare seers that can see and feel visions. He's so sensitive that merely standing in an area with a lot of energy could affect him.

🖋 In Oracle there is a head of the organization and two leaders. Current head is Aleksey with Jelani and Angelus as leaders. There's always three as kind of a callback let's call it to when Oracle was started. Aleksey and two close friends started it so from then on there's always 3 leads. When Aleksey steps down Jelani will be head, Ginger will be the second lead and Angelus is the third lead, however he plans on making Trevor the third lead. The reason is because Angelus is fully aware of what he can and can't do and he knows damn well that he isn't lead of an organization material. When he steps down he'd be the Trickster team leader, that he can handle, and since Trevor left a vacant spot Loke would take that spot.

🖋 There is a place called Kironia. It's theorized to be a sort of epicenter for portal activities. Angelus and Ginger have been tasked with keeping an eye on it but it's shrouded in so much mystery most people don't think it's real.

🖋 Despite the fact that Trevor personally knows a Maker and a goddess (Jade, Latoya's girlfriend) he's still an athiest.

🖋 Trevor didn't have a name growing up, he chose the name Trevor because it sounded pleasant. He took his surname, Ravencroft, from a woman he'd heard of from other Oracle agents. He eventually got to meet Morgana Ravencroft, she thought it was flattering he took her name.

🖋 Speaking of Morgana Ravencroft, Angelus was first introduced to the concept of magic because of her. He went with Trevor to help him with some supplies and after being completely hypnotized by some illusions she gave him a book on the basics and helped him get started.

🖋 Loke stopped aging and it's something of a weird occurrence that is brought up every so often. When he was 28 years old he and Jelani (who was 15 at the time) were delivering some supplies to another village. They ran into bandits and as usual Loke was trying to protect Jelani and in doing so he was fatally wounded. Of course Jelani freaked the fuck out and his "fail safe" kicked in. Jela doesn't remember but Loke does, he saw Jelani change form and after dealing with the bandits he turned his attention to Loke and stopped him from dying. He was rusty as fuck so he put a little more oomph behind it and a tiny portion of his energy slipped into Loke. Neither of them know but Loke is basically kinda frozen in time when it comes to aging. So because of this Loke can't die unless Jelani dies.

🖋 Loke has a black feather that's warm to the touch and small embers can be seen floating out of it. He's never mentioned it to anyone and keeps it close to him. The feather came from Jelani when he changed form to fight off the bandits. After he blacked out and changed back Loke found the feather on the ground. He knew where it came from that's why he kept it. He's never told Jelani about that day because he doesn't know what it means and he thinks telling him would only serve to confuse him further.

🖋 Continuing with Loke, he's your average run of the mill berserker. That means he cannot use magic while in berserker mode or even with his weapons. The only ones that can do that are arcanist berserkers (the Nyota tribe). Sanaa is an arcanist berserker, she can use magic while in berserker mode. However, through years of practice Sanaa managed to teach Loke one spell that her people are really fond of. Falling Stars is a spell that has the user charge a single arrow. The arrow is shot upwards and as soon as it reaches high enough it splits into hundreds of arrows that rain down on the target. Loke started practicing when he was 8 years old and by the age of 30 he managed to pull it off making him the first berserker to use magic.

🖋 Jelani and Leah are two of the extremely rare and fortunate people that have gone through a portal and have returned. Whether their return was sheer luck or the fact that he's a Maker is something I'll elaborate on later.

🖋 Haakon knew Jelani wasn't a berserker. Haakon himself had a feeling that his grandson was something far more, if that makes sense. The day Jela was born Haakon had a dream but instead of fear he just felt an insurmountable amount of wonder. He's only ever told his wife, Eli, who in turn believed him. Both always made sure Jela didn't feel out of place and Haakon frequently encouraged him.

#theonedayking #reply #oc things #long post

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humanemotionssuck · 4 years

Text

Hello 2021

January 2, 2021

I should’ve put these thoughts into words on the first day of the year but then again, I felt so lazy given this bed weather we are currently having. By far, I think I experienced the coldest temperature here in my hometown (21 degrees baby) and I’m sure not liking it as I prefer warm days.

I actually do not know how to start. I feel it’s necessary to check on how I am doing lately. Write the things I experienced last year and reflect on the lessons it taught me.

I could probably kick things off by remembering how 2020 started for me. I have a bad memory but I’ll try my best to recall them.

January

Broke up with J (yes this is probably one of the major and heartbreaking events happened to me). To sum it up, I realized that the relationship does not have growth anymore, and I am slowly drifting to follow my own path, which is to focus on the plans I want. I haven’t thought deeply the lessons I learned in my past relationship yet but one thing is for sure, I changed and I want to explore more of what I can do or what I’m missing out in life. Which brings me to attend seminars on how to work/study abroad. I attended a couple (e.g Fortrust Makati) and I also realized how costly it will be and I’m probably not yet ready esp. on the financial aspect.

February – March

Highlight on these months was I got back to dating apps again. I know it was a complete dick move. I haven’t moved on yet and here I am in the pool again. I met 2 guys from this app, Coffee Meets Bagel (which btw I uninstalled few months after). The first guy was the introvert but funny type and also VERY sexual. I got along with it, tried to do the deed but failed cause the guy hasn’t moved on from the ex yet. (Sucks right). And so I met this second guy and he is decent but we really had completely different personality. I believe this guy is also rich (he came from a Chinese family and I went to his house and saw the maid and his stuff). Can you also believe he already introduced me to his mom (no dad cause broken family), uncle and grandma. Pressured si ate gurl syempre cause it was really too early to do that step since we’re just dating but March was the most difficult month because…

START OF LOCKDOWN. PH was in state of panic after the government announced a nationwide lockdown due to increased COVID-19 transmission. I immediately went on a bus to the province fearing to get stuck in Manila.

April

Nah this was just a typical month. Summer vibes all over but since we cannot go to the beach we just setup an inflatable pool in the house to get soaked. I finally posted a pic wearing a swimsuit again. My stagnant IG feed came to life lmao

May

Oh boy. This month sucks so much. I got typhoid fever. Which I thought was COVID already cause my fever just won’t stop. My mom didn’t want me to get admitted in the hospital in the fear of being infected so I was hooked in the IV here in the house. I felt I was dying. I was in huge pain both physically and mentally. Which forced me to end any communication means with the second guy. He was not there when I was sick. I didn’t feel his concern even if we’re miles apart and I felt I was begging for his attention. It just won’t work. He blocked me in his socials (which is a first for me, usually I am the one who blocks lol) but given the current state I have now, I learned to accept it and chose to move forward.

June

Explored options on work/study program abroad. We got a new car (Xpander) which my father was able to purchase after borrowing money from us. That money could’ve been used for my Japan trip on December (plot twist it was cancelled due to fucking corona) but it’s okay I guess I’ll save another again.

I also got my student permit (yes I learned how to drive months after hehe)

July

THIS WAS MY BIGGEST DOWNFALL FOR THIS YEAR. There were some modifications in the quarantine and so my employer required and FORCED us to report on site in Makati despite of high number of positive cases. All I can say is SCREW THEM and I hope karma will do its thing on their business. The management.. the bosses.. they are all inconsiderate fucks for not allowing me to work at home instead. The situation forced me to resign but they chose to terminate me instead. The unemployment took its toll on my mental health, it caused me great depression and anxiety which forced me to look for distractions.. anything that will ease my mind.

Oh and btw, I bought my first laptop from hard earned money. Oh boy, it was satisfying to give myself the things my parents couldn’t afford that time I was still in school. It’s a gaming laptop and the one I’m using to type now. I absolutely love it and I used it to find online jobs later on..

I read Looking for Alaska by John Green again after watching the TV series on Hulu. Geez, this has to be my favorite book so far. The seeking of great perhaps.. which was very timely on my mood while having nothing else to do.

Lastly, TAYLOR SWIFT RELEASED A NEW ALBUM CALLED FOLKLORE. In the middle pandemic? Awesome right and this album kept me sane during this crazy and miserable month. Oh and on December, she released folklore’s sister album.. Evermore. Miss Swift saved me again with her music. This will definitely be one of the albums I will play when I’m old and gray knitting sweaters and wearing cardigan.

August

I started and finished my driving lesson in manual. JFC, I realized driving gives me a huge anxiety. One thing is for sure, I will prefer to drive automatic. Not driving that shit again.

I was still hooked with Looking for Alaska. Also purchased Subtle Art of not Giving a F*ck on the time I bought LFA.

On the other hand, I was also actively looking for new jobs this time.

September

ON SEPT. 30 I GOT HIRED! I was super happy to start on a new job. It gave me hope once again to continue on this journey called life. After almost 3 months, we are def back to business!

I also got the chance to get this Thyroid issue checked. Unfortunately, there was no major stuff going on with my thyroid. Basically, I’m perfectly healthy. What sucks is that the doctor invalidated my previous condition and said I only have ~anxiety which is the cause of my symptoms (excessive sweating and palpitations). I will seek professional help on this anxiety stuff anytime in the future.

Lastly, I played Grand Chase again and met someone in the game. Well technically we haven’t met yet but since then, I got used to talking with this guy and he is part of my daily routine now. I won’t spoil much details but as soon as this is all over, I can’t wait to meet this person :)

*cue Grand Chase soundtrack*

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoK0bAjsHoo

October

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MEEE! It was a typical birthday. I don’t have much realizations. If I had one, I need to think thoroughly again lol.

Busy with training on the new job and this has been the most challenging training I ever had since I started working.

NOVEMBER

WORK WORK WORK. Super stressed and my anxiety was on the roof. I thought of giving up already but then again it was too early to quit. I haven’t seen my full potential on this job yet and so I chose to keep on fighting.

I also finally got braces. Let’s get these smiles fixed.

December

WORK WORK WORK AGAIN. My work caused me a huge anxiety cause I was given high priority cases -.-But overall, I can say the holidays went great. I finally got to spend time with the family outside. Don’t worry cause we still practiced precautions and I guess it wouldn’t hurt to go out once in a while to have some fresh air. We went to the beach and pretty much that’s the highlight of this month.

Things are getting serious with this guy I’m talking about.. Seriously, he makes me happy every single day.

I also won in Christmas raffle. Oppo phone. (I have the odds in my favor when it comes to raffles lol)

Feels weird to celebrate this holiday too thinking a lot of hardships were experienced in the last few months of quarantine. I was thinking about all the lives lost by covid and hoping they are in the peaceful place now..

JANUARY (NOW)

After everything that happened, oddly the start of the year gives me a sense of hope. Sure I am still carrying the trauma 2020 gave me but I am slowly leaving all of them behind. I want a fresh start and I want to let go of the things that gave me pain. I don’t have solid resolutions just like in my teenage years. Guess I’m too old for that. Not saying it’s okay to not have plans for the future and just go with the flow but I promise to not be too hard on myself and to not pressure myself on the goals I haven’t achieved yet. It’s really a struggle to plan things ahead given the situation but as always, I will do my best. I will stop comparing my progress to somebody else’s cause everyone has their own timeline.

I will listen to my heart and my mind to determine the things I really want. I promise to reevaluate the decisions I am making each day. I will not be afraid of making mistakes because that’s how I learn.

I am embracing my anxiety of uncertainty. It’s okay to feel afraid because I am always trying on how to overcome my fear. I strive each day because I am more than just a ball of anxiety. The palpitations.. the sweating.. they don’t define me. I have the power to control them and they won’t stop me from being the better version of myself.

#quaranthings #just quarantine thoughts #2020 #bye2020 #new year

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snugglyporos · 4 years

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Poro head canons though. What is their height/size? From infancy to a mature poro. And what happens to older Poros? Do they age at all, and do they become less active like humans and other species?

Well, from what we see in pictures about poros in terms of size, a full size poro is about halfway up a person’s shin? seems like it so like, a foot tall maybe? Seems to be about as wide. baby poros are tiny too based on the art of them. So I imagine they’re like kittens. Not literally cotton ball sized, but close?

In general, my theory is that poros don’t really ‘age.’ In fact, a poro fluft seems to always be about the same number of poros, which would mean that poros seem to just appear until there are enough poros. In truth I imagine this is because poros create new poros by being so filled with love that two poros snuggle together, their excess wool forms a ball, and the excess love fills the ball and it becomes a poro.

Its better than feeding them until they explode into more poros, which to me would mean the world would be overrun by poros in little over a month.

Thus, a fluft of poros, if I’m correct that it’s like, fifty to a hundred poros or so, given poros are kinda like sheep or goats like that, then the poros just naturally end up with certain ratios. Thus in a fluft there might be about ten to twenty baby poros.

As I said, I don’t think poros age. I think that at some point the baby poro thinks that it should probably be a regular poro at this point, and then it becomes one, and that’s that really. We know poros are also very curious and have spread out across the world. So I imagine that when two poros meet somewhere, a fluft is created. Likely with local flavor based on the environment.

Obviously, this begs the question! What about Woolbur? Isn’t he an old poro?

Well, yes and no.

See, my headcanon is that what poros believe to be true becomes true, because poros were created to keep the void in check, and keep the great old one under the Freljord ice there. If poros were created out of all the good left in the Freljord as a counterbalance, then logically poros have to somehow be able to survive in a climate that is apparently made of solid ice all year long. Also, poros wander around the Howling Abyss asking gods and monsters for snax and are seemingly immune to any and all forms of damage and magic.

My theory about this is that poros do not believe that anything wants to hurt a poro, because poros are 1/3rd innocence and 1/3rd kindness. Thus, if nothing wants to hurt a poro, then nothing is trying to, and thus because nothing is trying to, nothing can. This is also in line with Riot’s one answered question about eating poros, where apparently even if you could cut one into a steak or something, as soon as you ate it, it would regenerate into a fully grown poro inside of you, and it would be unharmed.

What does this have to do with old poros? Well poros are a very basic creature sentience wise. Poros do not seem to have concepts like government or religion or farming or cooking or even fire. They are slightly smarter animals, essentially. But poros can reason. And poros can learn. And we know that the poro king was a poro that traveled far and wide, learned from the world, and came back, becoming the poro king.

Except poros have no idea what a king is. So their idea is from what they saw humans have. Thus, the poro king is the most poro-y poro, the way a human king is the most human-y human. Has a crown and boots and a cape and a mustache, because clearly all kings have these things. Is logical to poros!

Woolbur after all, is a wizard. What do poros know about wizards? Well, wizards are magical! Can make plants grow and stuff! Are also all old and shaggy! And mumble a lot! All of these things are clearly things that all wizards have. Thus, Woolbur is an old shaggy wizard poro.

I’ve never said if Woolbur is actually old or not. Mostly because poros do not seem to have a concept of age. After all, if poros cannot die, then aging and reproducing turns them into a cancerous concept that would overrun the world. And that’s not how poros are.

But my headcanon for Woolbur was always that he, like the poro king, adventured to see the world, and learned magic somewhere, my joke was he learned it from giant poros aka sheep, because in mythology giants always have magic, and a giant poro is a sheep basically.

So he’s already someone who’s older by human standards. That he now looks and acts old is probably by his own volition and understanding of being a wizard; he found a bunch of wizards, they were all old when they knew things, so logically he must be old too. But had he come back and said ‘i’m a wizard and wizards are just normal’ the poros probably would have believed it.

So he might not really be old. He might just be shaggy and mumbly and seem old because that’s what poros think wizards are.

Again, it’s hard to have a concept of age without death, and poros cannot die. So if poros cannot die, then logically they cannot age beyond when they decide they’re not baby poros anymore. Note that means a baby poro might be a baby poro forever if it thought it should be.

Of course, on some level, this would mean poros are some of the oldest creatures on earth in general, having been around since the void showed up originally.

There’s also the matter of what ‘poros believing things to be true makes them true’ means for other people.

For example, my headcanon is that Braum is immortal. Why? Because Braum is the only human with an official title given to him by the poros. He is ‘Friend of the Poros.’ Note that again, that’s in present tense. When the poros collectively think of Braum, they go ‘is friend of poros!’ Meaning that at all times Braum exists in the now. It also explains how Santa Braum exists.

But this means that Braum is more than just a mighty defender, it means that he’s an immortal guy with a door and a big heart that became literally immortal by befriending poros.

There’s also some speculation that poros are related to the watchers, given that they sorta look like them? and thus would be related to Bard somehow, one of the strongest beings in the world.

But I believe that what makes the difference is that poros are innocent, and thus can believe fantastical things without questioning the logic of them, thus making them magically powerful enough to effect reality on the level of literally stopping the void.

You could also say that a similar existence is true for the Poro Herder, a mysterious individual who seems to have befriended the poros as a part of a fluft, and for all we know is an immortal sage who lives with the sheep puffs.

Also interesting of note, if poros cannot die, then how can there be ghost poros? Logically, my theory is that poros somehow ended up on the shadow isles. Once there, they realized ghosts looked kind of like humans, but were greenish. So logically, poros should look different too! and now there are purple poros.

It’s also canon that poros have the power to change people around them; Thresh for example, one of the cruelest, most evil beings in the Shadow Isles, is made docile and caring in the presence of poros. Velkoz speculates that exposure to them makes people stupid; in truth poro’s innocence and kindness spreads to others around them. Thus can a being like Thresh be made kind despite being one of the cruelest beings in existence.

Of course, this fits with the fact that poros, as a species, were seemingly made by the gods to offset the void, which is literally chaos and violence and hatred and the like based on the champions that come out of it. Thus, the creatures made to offset it would have to be equally powerfully attuned in the other direction. This would make them akin to like, neutral good avatars or snuggle elementals.

It also means that any god or evil creature on earth cannot really hope to match poros. One of the jokes with Veigar is his attempts to do evil with poros just makes more poros. They are, simply put, incorruptible. You cannot make an evil poro, because a poro by definition is good. It would be like making a car that didn’t drive or a phone that didn’t call anyone. It defies the very idea of what the thing is.

Of course, my theory on this is that evil gods actually approved of the creation of poros and use them to taunt their followers; evil gods after all would logically be opposed to the void, which wants to destroy everything, including the evil gods of the world, so logically poros become an easy way to torment the void. you don’t tell the poros that’s what you are doing with them of course, but that’s how it shakes out.

Another headcanon I have is that poros do sorta have a ‘god’ of their own. But it’s not a ‘god’ in the traditional sense, because poros have no concept of religion or faith the way humans understand it. The closest thing I can relate it to is like how elves in a lot of mythology venerate nature? Like nature isn’t a god it’s just a thing they believe in spiritually?

Poros don’t know what a god is any more than they know what a king is. Thus, if their understanding of a king is the most x of x, then their understanding of a god is roughly the same, just even more x and also in the sky or something.

Which has made me joke before that the Great Poro is literally just a massive poro residing in his own elemental plane of snuggles, which defies all logic but none of the other gods want to tell it or the poros that, because it’s not really hurting anyone and now the gods have a poro of their own too! The poros don’t worship it, and have no idea of what religion even is, but if there are somehow giant humans in the sky or somewhere else, then maybe there must be poros there too!

This is also how moon poros came to be, because poros figured that A. snow is white, B. the moon is white, so thus the moon must have snow, and thus there must be poros there too! And now there are.

As a result of this, there are also lots of other kinds of poros, such as the Pumpkin poros that I have on the blog in fall, because pumpkins are sorta poro shaped. Also sea poros, because the sea is big, and thus poros must be in there too. It’s unclear if they are the result of poros going there and then adapting, or if they spontaneously appeared. I figure it’s best left vague.

Anyway, that’s a lot of headcanons and thoughts by me on poros, because I’ve been writing poros for almost four years I think and at this time the poros have their own backstory I’ve crafted out of random ideas and jokes along the way. hope this is useful as an answer!

#poro #ooc #imithea

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espanadiarywriter · 4 years

Text

So. Much. Rage.

I have so much to say and so little time to say it.. For weeks I was honestly too despondent to write a blog post. I thought about it, but just couldn’t muster the energy. (Part of it is that I am still getting non-effective treatment for my back and hip pain that seems to make things worse. But that’s really another story.) Good news though: I’m angry enough to write again.

So what’s happening? In the last week, I’ve flown from a city where people are wearing masks and doing a wide swoop whenever they accidentally come close to a stranger, to a place where apparently COVID doesn’t exist. (Yes, Florida—the land of meth gators and Covid.) Because the governor said it was fine, people congregate inside restaurants as if nothing is wrong. People actively carry masks (but don’t wear them) waiting to be the next “Karen” that someone picks a fight with asking them to be a responsible adult.

Again, I ask, why was this politically beneficial? Why did one political party choose to shun public safety measures that are cheap and easy to implement—they just require people buying into the science of contagion. This willful ignorance just prolongs the economic pain as things get shut down repeatedly. It swamps the already over-burdened, poorly organized health care system in the country. And those of us who are being responsible are like the kids in the class who miss recess because the rest of the kids keep talking. (I get that it was a calculated risk to fly, but we did so following all the precautions we could take. In fact, the doctors we spoke to said we were going above the recommendations to be safe.)

It makes me so mad. Really, this is all because GOP Governors and Congress have to support a narcissistic President who doesn’t want to be told he did a horrific job? I want to move to 7 states simultaneously and vote against their Senators. Could the Democrats do a better job explaining what people should do? When Kamala Harris was asked what is their coronavirus plan, she barely mentioned expanding testing, contact tracing, and getting PPE to health care workers. How about a massive, overwhelming public health education campaign, including messaging from Community Health Workers and other TRUSTED voices in the community that masks are necessary? If no one understands why masks would help, or why and how to social distance, you cannot expect people to change. It took us years to reduce smoking rates, or wear seatbelts, or stop drunk driving. It took a combination of laws and consistent messaging. We need to save people’s lives! (I’m so angry I used an exclamation point. Look what you made me do.)

Which brings me to my next point of rage: the futility of political polarization. Even things that make sense for both parties have been turned partisan (like vote by mail). In Oregon, we have had vote-by-mail for about 20 years and BOTH parties support it. How is this even a thing, the 10-hour long lines to vote? And the gerrymandering, and the “poll watchers” to intimidate voters. We are like a banana republic led by an orange. I made the mistake of watching a little of the banana republic justice confirmation hearings. Senators are just talking, because they know the outcome before the hearing started. (The people thinking there is a chance the outcome will change are cute. Power does everything in its ability to retain power.) Our only hope was that five of the Covid-loving Senators got sick and the hearings were called off. But that didn’t happen.

I need to step back from reading about election coverage, but it’s just so tempting. At the risk of getting ahead of myself, the Democrats are going to have a long road ahead to repair the damage of the past 4 years. And if they don’t win the Senate, Mitch is going to allow exactly nothing to happen. There is so much beyond the two issues of taxes and abortion on the ballot this year. I’m not even talking about specific legislation, but the excessive tribalism. Let’s say you do accomplish all the fantasy items on the progressive wish-list (Puerto Rico statehood, add court seats, abolish the electoral college). Then what? How do you get people fundamentally opposed to changing their way of life, willing to change?

You can’t. You need to stop the ecosystem of fear—the Fox news media cycle feeding frenzy. Our government needs to stop being a night time soap-opera. It occurred to me the other day that I have been overthinking this. Conservatives simply do not want change, of any kind. That’s it. They picture themselves back on the homestead, killing anyone in their way and pulling themselves up by their bootstraps. It’s a myth of course. (I don’t want to digress, but how perfect is it that rally goers were left out in the Omaha cold and had to walk back to their cars. Freedom and independence! You don’t need those socialist busses.) But the myth of American individual freedom is so strong that people won’t wear a tiny piece of cloth on their face. So I think the new Democratic platform should just be, “Hey, you do you, and we will be over here moving the country forward without affecting your way of life. Enjoy the backwater.”

We are now home from the land of humidity and Covid (and family, of course—that’s why we went). Hopefully we did not expose ourselves or others to the virus on our trip. And there’s less than a week left until the big day. I’ve written postcards, donated money, and voted already. Now we wait. Good luck everyone!

#wearamask vote voteforyourlife

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snappedsky · 4 years

Text

Fanatics 73.5

We finally learn what's happening to the rest of the Battalion. Previous! Next!

Government of Doom Part 5

Zim’s house is quiet, completely covered in impenetrable metal plating. On the roofs of the surrounding buildings in the cul-de-sac, four pairings of SDA agents are watching it closely, waiting for the slightest change. They are professionals, working in shifts to keep from getting tired eyes. And while they think they’re ready for anything, they could never be ready for what happens next.

A young man walks down the street straight for Zim’s house. All four groups immediately perk up, recognizing him to be Johnny C. But before they can act, they’re all swiftly killed- necks snapped, skulls crushed, throats slit, and heads smashed by four individuals they were not expecting.

The Night Terrors leap off the buildings and join Johnny as he enters Zim’s yard.

“You sure you’re up for this, Nny?” Reverend Meat asks, noting Johnny’s pale, sweaty complexion and matted hair.

“Yeah, you look dreadful,” Eff adds, “like even worse than usual.”

“I’m fine,” Nny insists gravelly, “this is nothing.”

When they approach Zim’s house, Johnny knocks heavily against the metal plating. “Hey! Open up! It’s Johnny!”

There’s no response for a second. Then the plating around the door disappears and Skoodge opens it.

“Come in, quickly,” he orders. Everyone hurries inside and Skoodge closes it after them, the metal plating returning.

“What’s going on out there?” he asks frantically.

“Squee and the others have all been captured by those agent assholes,” Johnny replies as they march through the house. “We gotta find them.”

“Oh no!” Skoodge exclaims.

They take the elevator down to the lab and Johnny starts to make a beeline for where the captured agents are in their glass cage, but stops at the sight before him.

The agents are all curled up, rocking back and forth, and covering their ears, as Gir bangs tunelessly on a toy keyboard and squeals, “doom doom doomdoomdoom dooooooooom!”

“It’s his Doom song,” Skoodge clarifies, “he’s been singing it since you guys left.”

“Wow,” Johnny comments, “he’s almost better at torturing than me.” He ignores Gir and stomps up to the cage, slamming his hand against the wall. “Where’s your headquarters?”

“Doom doom doom,” one of the agents mutters feverishly while the others whimper and moan.

Johnny glares at them incredulously while Skoodge passes by. “You’re not gonna get anything out of them,” he says as he approaches the main computer. “Fortunately, I got a better alternative.”

“‘Puter,” Skoodge demands, “track Zim’s PAK.”

“Tracking,” the Computer replies apathetically. A view of Earth appears on screen briefly before zooming in on the United States, into Nevada, and stopping over a flashing pink dot.

“There he is,” Skoodge says.

“Nevada,” Nny groans, “how are we supposed to get there?”

“We can use the Epic,” he suggests.

“It’s back at Devi’s I think.”

“No problem,” Skoodge grins, “‘Puter, recall the Epic.”

Everything’s quiet for a moment and then a sound similar to a jet engine echoes through the walls.

“There we go,” he says and walks for the elevator. “I can drive.”

“Ooh, we get to fly in the flying car,” Reverend Meat cheers excitedly.

“I am coming too,” Mimi declares, “my master is in danger.” “Fine,” Skoodge nods, “Gir, Minimoose, you stay and watch over the prisoners.” Minimoose squeaks while Gir continues singing.

“Alright, let’s go already,” Johnny orders impatiently. Everyone rides the elevator and quickly exit the house, the metal plating closing back up behind them. They all get into the Epic and Skoodge punches in coordinates to Zim’s location.

“Here we go!” he booms as the ship takes off into the air at such velocity, it pushes everyone up against the seats. “We’ll be there in no time!”

Meanwhile, deep within the SDA facility, Zim is suspended inside a metal laboratory. His arms are hanging from the ceiling by metal cords and his legs are bound to the floor. His PAK is connected by only a few cords, giving his body just enough power to stay alive. Robotic arms coming out of the ceiling are removing all the items, which seem very miscellaneous: a couple large knives, a bat, a few books on the supernatural, two laser guns, and many alien devices.

Zim pants heavily, too exhausted to try fighting back. But his antennae twitch slightly when a beeping emits from his PAK and he grins.

“Hear that!” he shouts weakly, “that means my PAK is being tracked! My loyal minions are on their way to rescue me!”

Through a one-way mirror, a head scientist named Mackey is controlling the robotic arms. He stops for a minute at Zim’s words and turns to his assistant.

“Warn the Director,” he orders. The young man nods before hurrying off and Mackey faces the controls again. But his work is a little more hesitant as he is slightly unsettled by the grin plastered on Zim’s face.

In a similar lab, Tak is in much the same situation. The only difference is a wire attached to the metal plating on her face. Whenever it looks like she might try to retaliate, the head scientist in charge of her capture- a woman called Nel- sends a large shock through the wire. This keeps Tak compliant.

Nel would never admit it, being a professional, but she does love the way the alien’s body convulses with each shock. So she’ll take any excuse to punish her, even the slightest twitch of a finger.

Tak pants heavily through gritted fangs. Even with her PAK detached, she would be able to escape if it wasn’t for those blasted shocks. When she gets out of this- and she will- she’s gonna make that scientist pay. She’ll make them all pay.

Pepito is thinking the same thing as, a few labs over, his throat gets hoarse from screaming. He is shirtless, bound to a metal table by silver chains that sear his flesh. Twin scientists named Lark and Stark stand over him, both wearing large crosses as they test the sensitivity of his horns, by squeezing them with clamps.

“Intriguing,” Lark comments as Pepito writhes. “They must be full of nerve endings, like teeth.”

“Yes. Imagine what the Christian church will say when they find out the Antichrist has such a large weakness,” Stark remarks.

“Indeed,” his brother agrees, “but his energy levels remain stagnant. I thought for sure stress would activate his powers.”

“Could be the silver. But if we remove it, we risk allowing him the freedom to destroy the facility.”

“Too true. For now, let’s continue testing the limits of his body. The Director wants us to document every single thing.”

“He is so thorough.”

The two brothers nod agreeably. Beneath them, Pepito pants rapidly, trying to think about something other than the pain. Where are his friends? What’s happening to them? He wants to question these scientists, but the words get gargled in his throat.

He needs to get out of here. But they were right. The silver chains are preventing him from using his powers. If he could just muster up a little, he would blow them both to bits. If only.

Finally, in a lab that looks more like a hospital room, a heart monitor beeps rapidly in accordance to Squee’s anxious vitals. He is strapped to a metal table, an IV in his arm and probes attached to his temples. The room is dark but he can make out the silhouette of someone standing on the far end, writing on something.

Lights suddenly turn on, nearly blinding Squee as a door opens and someone else enter the room.

“Director!” the first person exclaims, lowering her clipboard.

“Hello, Doctor Theresa,” the Director smiles warmly as he approaches. He looks over at Squee, who glares at him through squinted eyes as he adjusts to the brightness. “How is he?”

“His vitals have yet to settle down,” Theresa replies, “it’s a wonder he hasn’t had a heart attack yet.”

“Well, you can’t blame him,” the Director laughs, “waking up in this situation.”

He approaches the foot of the table and Squee does his best to squirm away.

“Hello, Squee C,” he says, “I am the Director, the head of the Supernatural Destruction Agency.”

“Destruction?” Squee grumbles, “seems dramatic.”

“You, my boy, are a…marvelous specimen,” the Director says, “your supernatural energy levels are the highest I’ve ever seen in a full human. They’re even higher than some paranormal creatures. You must be able to perceive things that most humans could never even dream of. I modified my mind and body to achieve sight like yours, and I’m sure you’re still stronger.”

“That’s…flattering…” Squee comments uncomfortably.

The Director smiles. “I was hoping to use this machine on the Antichrist, but I’m afraid it’s too risky. On you, though, it should work swimmingly.”

He grabs one of the probes attached to Squee’s head, running his hand along the cord until it reaches a large rectangular device beside the table. It almost looks like a giant car battery with a screen on the side showing what appears to be energy readings.

“This is a charger that siphons supernatural energy and converts it into electrical energy, to power devices,” the Director explains, “when we come across creatures with especially high natural energy levels- like yours- we attach them to the device and use them to charge our technology. It makes for a cheaper power bill, let me tell you.”

He chuckles delightfully while Squee glares in disgust.

“Now then,” he sighs contently, “you may feel some intense pain.”

He pushes a button on the charger and a burning, white hot pain runs through Squee’s skull and radiates throughout his entire body. Screams rip through his throat as he writhes in his restraints. It feels like his brain is being sucked out through those tiny tubes.

The Director and the doctor seem unbothered by the screams. She keeps an eye on his skyrocketing vitals while he watches the power levels on the charger rise with wide, sparkling eyes.

“Look at this, Doctor,” he says excitedly, “we’ve never achieved power levels this high before! With this, we’ll be able to upgrade all our devices. Perhaps even power the entire facility!”

“He is just one boy, Director,” Theresa points out.

“One boy with tremendous power,” he argues, “think of it. We’ll be able to perfect our tracking process. Instead of scanning the energy levels of one area, we’ll be able to do individual beings. No more trial and error with capturing. We’ll know for sure what creature is giving off supernatural energy and neutralize them right then and there.”

“Won’t…let you…”

“What’s that?” the Director turns to Squee. He squirms slightly as he grits his teeth and glares at them.

“I won’t…let you,” he snarls, “I won’t…be your…battery. I won’t…let you hurt…innocent creatures. You won’t…get away with this.”

“I’m afraid there’s nothing you can, my boy,” the Director says, smiling pityingly as he pats Squee’s leg.

The door suddenly opens and a lab assistant rushes in. “Director, sir. You need to hear this. It’s important.

“Alright, alright, I’m coming,” the Director nods, “keep an eye on the boy, Doctor. Make sure he doesn’t die.”

“Yes, sir,” Theresa nods as he leaves with the assistant. She continues to watch Squee’s vitals as the charger rips through his brain.

I have to do something, Squee thinks. I can’t move, so I can’t write. But maybe if I focus really hard, I can still create something. Maybe if I focus…

I need to make something, anything to destroy these machines and help me escape.

Focus! I need to focus! And create! The charger suddenly starts beeping, startling Theresa. She looks at the energy levels on screen in bewilderment as they light up red.

“Wh-what?” she exclaims, “the power’s going up! It-it’s completely off the charts!”

She looks at Squee and jumps back. “Wh-what is that…?”

A black cloud is manifesting over Squee’s head, his eyes closed and face twisted with exertion. The cloud continues to grow and grow until the middle starts glowing red and orange, like fire.

Theresa dives to the floor as the cloud explodes. It’s small, but the noise echoes through the whole facility.

Theresa looks up at the destruction of the machines and Squee rising from the destroyed table. “What-what did you do?”

He looks at her, swaying a little on his feet. “Well, I-I’m a little unsure, but I think I um created an explosion. So…that’s kinda cool.”

Dusting himself off, he stumbles out of the rubble and heads for the door. “Anyway, bye.”

He’s just about to leave but stops short. “Oh, wait a sec.”

He looks back at her and she flinches from his dark glare. “Where’s my stuff?”

#invader zim #johnny the homicidal maniac #invader zim fanfiction #johnny the homicidal maniac fanfiction #iz jthm crossover #myart #myocs

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agentmarymargaretskitz · 5 years

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might fool around and make me mad (don’t make me mad) Chapter 4

(The last chapter of this fic! And I made it in time for premiere night! Yay me! I hope you all enjoy this fic until I get the next one planned, written, and posted.)

(Warning- there is a little more violence in here than the past ones during a fight)

AO3

“How could you have forgotten!” Chloe hissed as she slammed the car door behind her.

“I don’t know!” Dan shot back at Chloe. “I’ve never done it before. When it’s my turn to pick Trixie up, I never forget to do it. Chloe, I can barely remember most of today!”

“Why?” Chloe barely held back a scream. “Why aren’t you able to remember?”

“The last thing I remember was that guy from yesterday coming in. Neron or whatever. I told him we were gonna find the people stalking him and then nothing! Chloe, I can’t remember him leaving and it’s starting to freak me out.”

“Neron’s got a stalker?” Chloe frowned at the information as they entered the school. That did not fit the impression she’d gotten of him when they’d met. Although Lucifer had said he was from Hell...and she’d let him and Maze watch over Trixie the other day. He’d been the one who told her John Constantine was the one who killed the store clerk and she had believed him, a demon, to be telling the truth. He’d manipulated her into believing it was him by throwing her relationship with Lucifer in her face.

She’d been played.

“Detectives?” Trixie’s teacher had seen them and was looking incredibly confused. “What are you doing here?”

“I was supposed to pick up Trixie today,” Dan told him. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to keep her waiting.”

“It’s been two hours since she left. I was told you were caught up in a crime scene. The officer who picked her up told me he’d be escorting her to the station. Provided his credentials and everything.”

“Was he tall? Dark hair, beard, kinda handsome? Has a lot of burns and cuts on his hands?” Dan asked.

Chloe side-eyed him as the teacher nodded. “Yes, that’s exactly right.”

“Did he mention where we were?”

“He said something about an incident at the pier, but didn’t go into details. What’s happening? Is Trixie okay?”

“I will call you later with more information,” Chloe said. “Do not talk to anyone else until I give you a call.”

Once her daughter’s teacher nodded, Chloe was running out the school with Dan on her heels. Her heart was starting to pound right out of her chest. Neron had Trixie. He had played her, he had played Dan, and now he’d gone after Trixie. She needed to call Lucifer and Maze. Even if her roommate was a demon, Trixie’s safety was something Maze had time and time again given a damn about.

She was waiting for Maze to pick up when a car drove past before speeding up. In the brief seconds as it passed, Chloe could make out a blonde in a trench coat sitting in the front seat. Another car sped past, following the first one around the corner. There was no way that was a coincidence.

Maze’s voicemail played, so she wasn’t picking up. Chloe fished her car keys out of her pocket and tossed her phone to Dan. “Get in the car. Call Lucifer, then try Maze again. We have to follow them.”

“But Trixie-”

“I know where she is now.”

~~~

“You’re thinking pretty hard over there,” Ray remarked to Des as they followed John and the others in the car ahead of them. “Want to talk about it?”

“I’m not looking forward to crossing paths with Neron again,” Des told him. “Last two times I’ve done it, things haven’t ended well. It’s reminding me too much of when I was possessed.”

“Oh,” Ray nodded. “Yeah, I can see that.”

“Well, at least Gary has people who want to get him out,” Des remarked. “John just sent me right to hell.”

Ray found himself at a loss for words.

“Look, I want to help him in some way because that is the worst thing that can happen to you,” explained Des. “But chasing after Neron reminds me of what he made me do and feel. Not to mention John is pulling away to the point where he doesn’t even want to be in the same room as me. It’s making it hard to be here.”

“People can have trouble finding their place here.”

Mick sighed from where he was driving as Charlie bobbed their head along to whatever they were listening to now. “Lemme sum up Haircut’s speech for you, New Guy. End of the day, you need to make sure you’re taking care of yourself.”

“I can make it sound better than that!”

But Des ignored them as they started to bicker. Mick had a good point there. He knew what he was going to have to do.

~~~

Maze plugged in her phone with a scowl. Stupid batteries were getting worse and worse. Her phone had died on the way to her latest bounty. Now that he was dealt with, she was taking advantage of the charger he’d had on him. At least he was good for something.

A series of texts and a few voicemails popped up it finally turned back on. Mostly from Lucifer, Chloe, and Dan. She pressed the latest from Chloe and listened.

“Maze, it’s Dan. Call me back as soon as you get this because Neron has kidnapped our daughter and screwed with both me and Chloe!”

Maze snapped the phone in two.

Neron had finally gone too far.

~~~

Gideon’s tracking on the car Neron was in brought them to a stop at an amusement park out on the waterfront. Once they had parked, all the Legends made haste to get over to the park. There was a lot of pressure not to screw up here. They had to make sure Neron was contained and not getting anymore souls. Unfortunately, the park was massive and crowded.

“Fan out,” Sara ordered once they were inside. “Neron and that kid could be anywhere. The police could show up at any second. If you see him, call it in on the comms and wait for someone. Do not engage him on your own.”

All of them set off in their own directions. John headed down towards the carnival games, eyes peeled for the slightest thing that could be amiss. There had to be a fight or argument going on somewhere around here. No way Neron could resist it with all the people milling about. But where was he?

Then he saw him in the distance with the kid. Neron was leading her into a funhouse currently closed for maintenance. Before he disappeared in the entrance, the demon turned around and gave a wink. Black veins were visible across his face.

Screw Sara’s orders of calling someone in. The kid was in danger now.

John charged towards the funhouse, not hearing Ava shouting his name behind him.

~~~

“Trixie!” Chloe called out as she started down one of the aisles of games at the amusement park. “Trixie!”

She could feel her heartbeat thudding in her chest. It was just her and Dan searching for their daughter, but back-up was on the way. Neither Maze nor Lucifer had picked up when Dan had called on the way over. Whether they came or not, Chloe was going to search this whole place if it killed her.

“Trixie!”

“Mom!”

Chloe whirled in the direction of the voice. Sitting on a bench with her backpack was Trixie, holding a plush turtle that had to be a prize from one of the game booths.

“Trix!” Chloe cried, sprinting over and looking over her daughter. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“No,” Trixie shook her head, but she looked scared. Chloe wasn’t sure if it was because of Neron or how she must have looked right now. “I’m not hurt.”

Chloe pulled her off the bench and wrapped her in a hug. “I was so scared. Your dad forgot to pick you up and we panicked.”

“Neron picked me up. He told Mr. Davis that you were waiting for me at the park. When we got here, he told me to go play a game and that you’d come get me.”

“And I did,” she nearly cried as she caught sight of Dan, waving him over to join them.

As Dan got his reunion time with Trixie and apologized over and over for forgetting her, Chloe found her eyes were drawn to a tall blonde woman. She was staring at them with alarm. Quickly, she batted Dan with her arm. “Look.”

Dan followed her gaze as the woman suddenly ran off towards the closed funhouse. “That’s one of the woman Neron said was stalking him. Should we go after her?”

Before Chloe could answer, their phones both pinged. A message from the department had been sent out to them. The government had just issued a warning for an active fugitive in the Los Angeles area. If any officers came into contact with him, they were to kill on sight. Two pictures of the fugitive had been attached. Chloe opened it, knowing exactly who it was from the second staticy image taken outside of Lux.

Neron.

~~~

Walking through a near-empty funhouse was not something John was enjoying. Knowing there was a demon possessing someone he cared about in there with a little girl made it even less pleasant. At least the lights were still on so he could see where he was going. But aside from his footsteps, it was nearly dead silent inside. That didn’t feel right at all.

“Just let the girl go!” he shouted in the middle of a room that was probably supposed to rock you from side to side. “It’s me that you want, Neron! I’m here now, so let her go!”

No response came, which he’d expected. He stepped out of the room and up a staircase that twisted in strange ways. At the end of that was a mirror maze.

“I know you’re hiding in there!” John shouted. “Show yourself!”

A loud screech pierced his ears, echoing around the maze. Then the lights flashed as a series of beats started to play.

Sometimes I feel I've got to

Run away I've got to

Get away from the pain that you drive into the heart of me

John winced at the music playing just a hair too loud, but it wasn’t going to turn him away. He set his sights on the maze ahead of him. A flash of white moved past one of the mirrors ahead of him. At the sign of life, John smirked and made his way into the maze as Tainted Love blared around him. He was getting close.

“I see you, Neron!” he called as a half a dozen John Constantines looked around for which direction to take at the split.

And I've lost my light

For I toss and turn I can't sleep at night

A laugh somehow cut through the music. “I see you too, Johnny!”

It sounded like it had come from the left, so he started running that way. It didn’t last for very long before he smacked into one of the mirrors. Of course Neron would pick a place like this to hide in, one that tricked people. He shook his head and continued down the path as the lights continued to flicker and the music screamed above him.

Take my tears and that's not nearly all

Oh tainted love

Tainted love

“John?”

He glanced up to see Gary’s reflection in a mirror toward towards his right. Not Neron, but Gary. It was all in the eyes, the way the body held itself. John hurried towards him, head still aching from hitting the mirror. When he got to that mirror, he looked down the passage to the left to see he was still alone.

“You came for me?” the reflection asked, moving to one of the mirrors to John’s left. “John?”

“It’s me, squire,” John tried to smile at him, but the music and the lights and his headache made it difficult. Then he remembered Neron. “No, no, you’re not here.”

Gary’s face fell as he placed his palms on the glass. “Yes, I am! John, it’s me!”

“No, you’re a trick,” John snapped, talking the left pathway. “You’re not real! You’re a lie.”

“I thought you cared about me!”

The pain in his voice...it sounded too much like Gary. When John looked back, the reflection was gone.

You don't really want it any more from me

To make things right

You need someone to hold you tight

The path led him into a room with mirrors surrounding him from all sides. He couldn’t tell where the way out of it was. As he stood in the center, John felt the hairs creep up on the back of his neck. When he spun around, there was no one to be found. Just him and his reflection multiplied a dozen times.

“Look at me, John!” Gary’s voice screamed, drawing John to another mirror. He nearly forgot to breathe when he saw Gary, covered in blood. “Look at me!”

“And here I thought I was the only Gary you’d screwed over,” a familiar voice came from behind.

Once I ran to you (I ran)

Now, I'll run from you

This tainted love you've given

Gary Lester, face still freshly carved with containment marks, was glaring at him.

“Gaz,” John whispered, rushing straight ahead to get out of the room only to collide with another mirror. “Fuck!”

“Should have been you, Johnny,” Richie Simpson snarled at him from the mirror he’d just run into. “I wish I could have told you it more often.”

John climbed to his feet, trying to run out and slamming into another mirror.

“How many more are you damning to hell, John?” Manny taunted from this one as he hit the floor.

John started to walk around the mirrors, putting his hand along them as he tried to find a way out. But he made a complete circle around with no exit. He was trapped in here. Neron had tricked him into this and now he couldn’t figure out which way was out. Music blared and lights flashed and he saw blood on the ground that could have been his or Neron messing with him. More and more people appeared in the mirrors and it felt like they were multiplying. Zed, Chas, Anne Marie, his mother, his father, his sister, Astra. Even the Legends were appearing, all of them screaming at him.

Don't touch me please

I cannot stand the way you tease

I love you, though you hurt me so

The song’s lyrics were blending together. He wasn’t sure if the light were blinking faster or if Neron was making him think that. John backed away from the mirrors so he was in the center of the room. Gary’s reflection suddenly stumbled out of the mirror towards him.

Tainted love, oh, tainted love, oh

He couldn’t hear the song anymore, just nonsense garblings as he struggled to breathe.

~~~

“John!” Ava yelled as she ran through the funhouse.

She had seen him go running in after Neron and the girl, then saw Trixie Decker reunite with her parents mere seconds later. Then the alert had come in for all Bureau agents to kill Neron on sight. Once she made sure that the Legends knew where she was, Ava went in after John with Sara on her heels. The rest were going to be waiting at the exits. Neron would be surrounded whenever he came out.

“John!” called Sara as they started to hear faint music playing. “Oh I hate these places.”

“It’s like I’m in a horror movie,” Ava told her girlfriend. “I think I know how the final girl feels now.”

A scream shot through the air as they reached the staircase. The two women ran up the twisted staircase and into the mirror maze. The music was a little louder and the lights flickered from time to time. Screaming that sounded like John was coming from inside the maze.

Sara flicked out her staves. “We better get him out.”

“Yep,” Ava agreed, flicking out her own baton before they started into the maze.

They did their best to follow the sounds of John’s screams and not hit any dead ends, which was easier said than done. Finally, Ava found John in the middle of a room, on his knees and screaming at the mirrors. She couldn’t see Neron anywhere, but there was no way she was taking chances. Running up to the nearest mirror, Ava slammed her baton into it. Glass shattered down and John looked her way. So she broke the one next to it and he seemed to notice it.

“What are you doing?” Sara asked as she entered the room.

“Break the mirrors!” Ava shouted. “Neron’s made him see something.”

The two shattered all the mirrors surrounding John, slowly bringing him out of whatever Neron had made him see. Once the last mirror was shattered, John finally seemed to be back in reality and climbing to his feet.

“Thanks for the save,” John panted, wiping blood from a cut on his forehead. “I...let him get to me. He’s still in here. The girl...”

“She’s with her parents,” explained Ava. “They found her just after you went in. She’s okay.”

“I need to find him,” John lurched forward. “He’s still in here.”

“You’re facing him alone,” Sara lectured as they worked their way through the maze. “Hey, how much bad luck do you think we’ve brought upon ourselves back there?”

Ava groaned, hoping that the ridiculous superstition wouldn’t turn out to be true. “I haven’t heard anything from the others, so he-”

“Must still be inside with you?” the demon smirked as they rounded the corner.

“Jesus, Gary!” Ava screamed, forgetting for the briefest moment that this wasn’t her friend looking back at her.

Sara lunged forward with her batons, but Neron flicked his hand to the side. An invisible hand knocked Sara into a mirror hard enough to crack it while Neron turned tail and ran. Ava looked over at her girlfriend for a moment to make sure she was okay before chasing after the demon. It wasn’t easy with all their reflections, but she made it to the exit and gained ground.

Neron was in front of a slide that was likely meant to go back down to the ground floor. Before he could get on it, Ava threw herself forward and tackled him down it. However, she soon figured out why the funhouse was closed: half the slide was missing. The two of them fell through the air before hitting the ground. Pain shot through Ava’s arm before she rolled to a stop, but her legs worked enough to kick Neron back down when he tried to get up.

“You have been the biggest pain in my ass!” she snarled as she climbed to her feet.

“Are you talking to me or Gary?”

Anger boiled up in Ava. She knew he was trying to push her buttons. Neron wanted her mad so he could take in the energy, but she refused to give him the satisfaction. He deserved to suffer for everything he had done to Gary, to Des, and for kidnapping that girl. So she took a deep breath and exhaled, letting her anger dissipate as much as she could. Now she could think more clearly and remember what had to be done.

“Gary, if you can hear me, I’m sorry about this,” she said, pulling out a salt shaker she’d taken from the Waverider.

She unscrewed the lid the best she could with one hand and poured a third onto Neron’s hand, right along one of the unhealed cuts. The demon’s screech sounded like two people, not one. Ava clutched her arm as the demon writhed and used the remaining salt to make a circle on the floor. Just as she finished, Sara and John arrived through the slide. The latter went straight for Neron while Sara hurried towards her.

“Try to exorcism him,” Ava told John. “Just..try.”

“Ava-”

“Do it,” she ordered, ignoring Sara. “You won’t be alone.”

John looked hesitant, but began anyways. Ava spoke in unison with him, thankful she’d spent most of the day studying the book from the library. She had no idea if this was going to work or not, but she was willing to make the gamble. John had certainly not been expecting her to join him and neither had Sara based on their expressions.

Neron had started screaming again when the exorcism started. The black veins in his face slowly receded as he continued to scream. Ava held her breath until she heard the scream become Gary’s.

“Gary?” John stopped chanting and dropped down to his side. Ava limped over with Sara as Gary shook on the floor.

“It’s me,” Gary whimpered. “Everything hurts right now.”

“How you even managing this?” Sara asked. “You could barely talk last night.”

“You said last night John couldn’t get him out alone,” Ava addressed Gary. “You meant with the exorcism. More people, the more power the words have.”

Gary cracked a smile, a real one, before cringing. “He’s still in me, but you pushed him down enough for me to get back up. Thanks, Director.”

“You would have done the same for any of us,” Sara told him. “So if we get enough people to say an exorcism, then we can get Neron out of you?

Gary nodded. “You have to commit to it though. Really believe in it. Right, John?”

“You remembered?” John asked, earning another nod from Gary. “Good on you.”

“I’m sorry I hurt you.”

“It was Neron, not you,” John wrapped his hand around Gary’s. “But we will get him out, squire. Third time’s the charm. I promise you.”

“You have to do it soon. Neron’s going to the past to set someone free. Then he wants to invade the Bureau again. Do whatever you have to stop him, even if I go down with him.”

“Gary-”

“You swore it to me, John. Remember?”

“I did. But I don’t want you to get hurt, Gary.”

“I chose this to spare you, so I accept the consequences,” Gary shuddered, blinking several times. “He’s trying to come back up.”

“Before he does, you have to tell us something,” Sara bent down by Gary’s side. “What is Neron’s endgame? What is his plan?”

“He wants....no, not yet,” Gary squeezed his eyes shut. The veins in his face began to turn black again. “He wants the Earth. Now get out of here. I’m portaling as far away as here I can, but he’s going to want to fight again! Just get a head start so he can’t find you!”

“Gary-” Ava started.

“Go!” he cried, snatching his hand away from John’s. “Go before he hurts you anymore.”

Sara stood and hauled John to his feet. “We have to go.”

“No, no-”

“John, come on!”

John looked from her to Gary with a conflicted expression before dropping his hand into his pocket. Ava rose up to join them, but stopped.

“Gary, you give him as much hell as you can when he’s in control. Fight back. That’s an order.”

“I’ll try my best. Now please, go!” Gary pleaded as he slowly rose his courier. “Hurry!”

The three reluctantly left him behind to crawl through his portal while they made for the exit. Ava refused to let herself look back. She had hoped joining John in the exorcism would have rid Gary of Neron for good. They needed more people, but there was finally a solution to ending this that wouldn’t end in Gary getting killed while Neron possessed him.

Oh god, she’d completely forgotten to mention that. Now it was too late.

Ava had expected sunlight hit them as soon as they made it out of the exit, but the sun was actually going down. The rest of the Legends were waiting for them there. Ray and Charlie’s hopeful expressions faded fast when they realized it was just the three of them. Once again, they had failed to come away with Gary or even a contained Neron.

“Where is he?” Des finally asked.

John’s hand was in his pocket again. “We almost had Neron out. But he’s still got a grip. Gary’s given us a head start though by portaling somewhere else.”

Ava tuned out whatever was said next to look out at the beach beyond the park. She had so badly wanted a win for them today. Everyone, especially John, had needed it. While they had information of Neron’s plans, he hadn’t been beaten out yet.

“Hey,” Sara came up and wrapped an arm around her, mindful of her injured one. “You were awesome back there.”

“Awesome didn’t help us very long,” she muttered.

Sara nodded. “Hey, I know you’re angry. I could tell when you ran after him. But you didn’t let him manipulate you. You powered through even though I’m thinking you might have broken your arm.”

“Yeah,” Ava sighed. “I’m gonna need to see Gideon when we get back to the ship.”

“I think we all need to head back there,” Sara addressed everyone now, not just her. “We got some information from Gary in there that Nate and Mona are going to need to know.”

~~~

As they made their way out of the park, Ray’s phone began to ring. He looked at the phone screen with a frown before showing it to John. The shorter man’s eyes widened and he quickly hit Ignore. Sara exchanged a look with Ava, curious about what had just happened.

Nora beat them to the punch when they walked under the archway to exit. “Who was that?”

Ray exhaled. “Well, uh…”

“That would be me,” a smooth British voice replied.

Nine heads turned forward to see Lucifer Morningstar leaning against his car, phone in hand.

“You!” Nora narrowed her eyes at him. “You stay the hell away from me.”

“That charm you’re wearing should keep you from being affected by his energy,” John assured her before stepping forward. “Hello again, Lucy. Wish we had time to chat, but we don’t.”

“Oh, but you do for me,” Lucifer ran his eyes over the assembled team. “Quite the team you’re leading.”

“Actually, that’s the captain,” John pointed towards Sara, who stepped up to join him. “I’m just one of the strays who stuck around. Now if you don’t mind, we have places to go to.”

“I do mind though. I’m cashing in that favor you owe me, and it’s going to involve everyone you’ve come with.”

~~~

By eight, Maze had arrived at the hotel where Neron had told her to meet. Hotel Cortez was larger than she had thought it was, but it didn’t phase her.The whole facade looked like it had been plucked from the art deco era. It was probably had been built during then, given the scaffolding on one side of the building. Whatever they were doing, it wouldn’t erase that it was a hellmouth.

Maze walked up the steps and into the stunning lobby. A woman at the front desk with enormous spectacles regarded her for a moment before going to another room. The demon shrugged and headed towards the elevators. A sign next to the elevators informed her that the sixth floor was closed for renovation. Neron hadn’t mentioned any floor, but she was willing to bet that was where he wanted to meet. With any luck, she could be early and lie in wait for him.

The slow ride up gave her a chance to check her weapons one last time. Once the elevator stopped, Maze exited and walked down the hallway. She heard the sound of plastic rippling and followed after it. It took her towards a part of the floor where everything was ripped up down to the original structure. Tools, both manual and power, were all around the space.

Neron sat on a pile of wooden planks. “Hello, Maze.”

“Neron,” she sneered at him. “You’re early.”

“I had some time to kill,” he shrugged. “Might have another run in with the Legends again. You missed out on seeing Constantine run into mirrors.”

As amusing as it sounded, Constantine and everyone he’d come to town with (cute shapeshifter included) were far from her thoughts. “You have some explaining to do.”

“I explained everything last night.”

“Oh, not that,” she stepped towards him, keeping herself close to one of the stray tools. “You kidnapped Chloe Decker’s daughter when you were told specifically not to mess with her.”

Neron scoffed. “Lucifer said not to mess with the detective, but he never mentioned the spawn, or the ex either.”

Maze narrowed her eyes. “I know you’re inclined to chaos, hate, spreading negativity and all that. But you went too far this time.”

“Awww, did I touch a nerve, Mazikins?”

She threw out her first knife, pinning the leg of his pants the stack of planks. “Never call me that. If you had come to me a few years ago, I would have said yes to your plan and you.”

Neron stared at her, confused.

“I’m not coming with you, Neron. I was never going to, but then you went and hurt my family. I can’t let that go unpunished, even if you don’t feel guilty.”

“So,” Neron yanked the knife out. “You’re here to try and kill me then?”

“There’s no try here.”

Neron’s face shifted briefly to his demonic one. Maze mirrored the action before she ran at him.

~~~

“So...you’re the Devil then,” Sara broke the awkward silence in the car. She’d agreed to ride back with Lucifer so the Legends weren’t so squished in the cars behind them. It was the best show of good faith she could make as the captain and leader. So far, it seemed to be going well.

“Indeed I am,” Lucifer smiled. “And you’re the woman who’s died two, three times?”

“Define death,” Sara shot back. “Never thought I’d met the real Lucifer. What are you doing up here anyways?”

“I’ve been surface settled for quite some time. Used to just manage Lux but now I’ve added crime-solving to the daily schedule.”

“Yeah, I heard about that. What’s the devil doing solving crimes?”

“I like doing it,” he shrugged. “Believe it or not, I’m quite the partner. You’d be surprised what I can get people to admit. Like you...what do you truly desire, Sara Lance?”

~~~

On the sixth floor of the Hotel Cortez, Maze was holding off Neron as much as she could. She could take him without breaking a sweat usually, except Neron had been powering up on souls. His reality-altering had little effect on her, but the telekinesis was a bitch. Still, if she got close enough to him with her knives or fists, they were closely matching.

“You know what I’m offering you, Mazikeen,” Neron growled as he blocked her knife. “Think about it! The two of us, Hell’s greatest demons, running things side by side.”

“I’m happy right where I am,” Maze laughed, kicking his shin to get the upper hand. “I never wanted to be a ruler. You...you just aren’t cut out for it.”

“Because Lucifer always told us that!” Neron knocked her legs out from under her. “We’re beneath him and you know it! We are literally beneath him and this is the chance to crawl out of the shadows!”

Maze turned over and slashed her knife at his face. He howled in pain. She’d missed his eye, but there was a long cut along his cheekbone. That would leave a mark. As he reacted, she took the chance to climb back to her feet.

“I’m not beneath him,” she announced as he crawled to his feet. “I’ve never been. Self-worth comes from within, you dick.”

She ran forward again and slammed him back into one of the supporting beams. As she felt for a knife, Neron headbutted her in the nose. She blinked, feeling her blood trickle out of her nose before punching him in the ribs. He groaned before kicking her back onto the ground. Maze hopped back up and their violent dance repeated itself until Neron went sailing through a wall.

Once he did, Maze pulled out the knives that would end him for good and ran for the nw hole she’d created. However, Neron was on his feet and send her flying back with a wave of his hand. As she rose again, her old partner was looking right at her, more hate in his eyes than ever before. His wrist, the one with his time travel watch or whatever, was raised.

“We could have been something together, Mazey,” he taunted, wiping his cheek and smearing the blood there. “Once I win, after I’ve killed the Legends, you’ll be next.”

“One of us will kill the other,” she told him. They’d always known this from the day they met. Now, it seemed closer than ever. “I know exactly which one I’ll be.”

She threw the knife towards his head. Neron pressed something on the watch thing and dropped down out of sight. Her knife embedded into the wall and Maze ran over confused. When she peered through the hole, Neron was gone. He’d escaped at the last second.

She screamed as loud as she could.

Five minutes later, Maze was back in the lobby of the Hotel Cortez. No other guests were milling about in the quiet lobby. The woman at the front desk didn’t seem bothered by her bloody and beaten appearance as she walked past her. The night air was cool on her open wounds, soothing them. Maze then turned to her left and saw the convertible Neron had been driving around in. He was nowhere in sight.

Maze walked back inside the hotel, made her way to the bar, and paid for the whole bottle of whiskey. She also nabbed a napkin on the way out. This time, the woman was paying attention, like she knew a show was coming. Maze smirked as she took a pull from the bottle and stuffed the napkin inside it. Pulling out a lighter, she set fire to the napkin and tossed it into the backseat of Neron’s car. She backed up enough to watch it go off and walked away with a smile.

She felt better now. Although she was definitely about to get a bad Uber rating.

~~~

“So we’re all here now,” John sighed as they entered Lucifer’s penthouse. “What the hell is this favor you want out of us?”

“It better not be clowns,” Mick grumbled.

Lucifer looked disgusted. “Please. I wouldn’t cash in a favor from John Constatine that involves clowns.”

“Then why do you want him?” Ava asked. “And all of us too? You made the deal with John.”

“Yes, but clearly you’ve all got history with Neron. In the last few days, you’ve made a scene at my club, got a third of yourselves arrested, and fought him twice with a result of nothing. All while he still gets more powerful.”

“Really?” Nora snarked. “We had no idea!”

Lucifer paused and looked at her. “Mallus took you for a spin, didn’t he?”

“These days, I fight the demons,” she responded. “Besides, I’m not the only one here who’s been a vessel. Des was Neron’s last host.”

“And then he body-hopped into his new meatsuit,” Lucifer finished. “Yes, I’m aware of the history. Which brings me to the favor I’ve come to ask of you.”

John plopped down on the sofa, pulling out a cigarette from behind his ear and lighting it. “Just tell us already.”

“I’m getting to that,” Lucifer stole the cigarette from him. “I’m asking you to put an end to Neron once and for all.”

“Like kill him?” Mick asked.

“Exactly,” the Devil handed John back the cigarette. “That’s it. I want him gone from existence.”

“Then that makes two of us,” John told him. “Easy enough. I’ll do it.”

“But what about Gary?” Ray asked. “You were hellbent on us not killing Neron today because Gary was in there. How are we supposed to get him out?”

“There is a way,” Sara told him. “But we’re all going to need to memorize how to do an exorcism.”

“Well, it seems you’re in capable…” Lucifer trailed off as the elevator doors opened. “Maze?”

John turned around with the rest of the Legends to see the demon exiting the elevator. He hadn’t seen Mazikeen for a few years, but she looked like her home tonight. Dried blood was splattered across her face and arms, enough that John wasn’t sure how much was her own. A faint smell of burned leather filled his nostrils once she stopped and regarded the group.

“What are they doing here?” she asked, peeling off her jacket and dropping it on a chair.

“You were with him the other night,” Ava’s voice was like ice. “You’re working with him. Where is Neron?”

“About this tall, dark hair, missing a nipple?,” Maze shrugged. “Don’t know right now. And I was never working with him. Not really, anyways. I was keeping an eye on what he was doing here.”

“How did you know he’s missing- no, forget it,” Ava shook her head. “Why the hell should I believe anything that comes out of the mouth of a demon?”

“Because she’s on Lucifer’s side,” John explained. “Maze, the Legends. Legends, this is Mazikeen, one of Hell’s finest torturers. And judging by the look of you, I’d say you’ve been out doing your job?”

Maze glared. “Actually trying to kill Neron, only he slipped through my fingers. So I blew up his car.”

“Nice,” Mick complimented.

“And why were you trying to kill Neron?” John asked. “Because I’d prefer you didn’t until I have him out of his current host.”

“He went too far today,” Maze glanced towards Lucifer. “You hear that he kidnapped Decker’s daughter and left her at the amusement park? I was willing to overlook a lot, but he went after our family. He’s taken in so many souls that he’s completely power mad.”

“He WHAT?!”

“What do you mean by that?” Zari asked, going back to what Maze had been saying. “And do you maybe know what he’s planning to do?”

“Gary told us he wants the Earth...whatever the hell that means,” Sara told her. “He got through to us in the funhouse and managed to get that much out before Neron started to take over again.”

Maze nodded. “He told you about half of that. Impressive considering Neron’s been torturing the shit out of him. But yes, he does want the earth. He also wants to rule it and turn it into an upper layer of hell instead of a middle zone.”

“He wants to make Earth Hell 2.0?” Sara questioned. “Why not just rule Hell?”

“He can’t,” Lucifer, John, Maze, and Charlie all said in unison before Lucifer continued. “No demon can ascend the throne of Hell. Heaven’s out of the question. Earth has always been neutral ground. It has no ruler.”

“So Neron wants to rule the world,” Ava swallowed. “Well, at least we know what he wants.”

Everyone’s faces dropped at the thought of the possibility, but John noticed Des and Nora sharing a glance. Like they’d known this the whole time they were here in Los Angeles. It made sense, since Des had been possessed by Neron before. This whole time...he had known and never told him. John couldn’t believe him.

“We are going to bring him down,” Sara promised, setting her eyes on Lucifer. “You want us to kill Neron? Done. And we’ll save the world while we’re at it.”

“You better,” Maze told them. “I may be from Hell, but I like things just the way they are up here.”

“Then we better get going,” John stood up. “Glad we’re even now, Lucy.”

“Not until he’s dead, Johnny,” Lucifer sneered back, but Maze wasn’t quite done.

“You,” she pointed to Ava. “Stay back. The rest of you go.”

“The hell we are,” Sara stepped closer to her girlfriend with Charlie.

Maze rolled her eyes. “I’m not doing anything to her. She’ll be down in a minute.”

“It’s fine,” Ava told them. “Just go.”

John didn’t like leaving Ava anymore than the rest of them, but things were good between him and Lucifer right now. It would do no good to hurt Ava right now when they were allies in stopping Neron. As they got into the elevator, John put as much distance between himself and Des as he could. He was still trying to figure out what to say to the other man.

Once they were at the ground level, they waited while people moved past them to get up to the club. A few minutes passed before Ava came out of the elevator. She looked to be intact, save for her previously-hurt arm. When Sara asked her what had happened, Ava told her that Maze had given her some advice about not letting personal connections prevent them from taking out Neron.

“Anything on where he might be?” Ray asked.

Ava shook her head. “No. Also, Charlie, if you ever come back to LA, Maze would love to see you again.”

The shapeshifter smiled while Zari glared. “Let’s just get back and figure out where Neron ran to.”

~~~

Lucifer watched the tiny figures of the Legends walk to their vehicles and drive off. With any luck, they could pull this out and all walk away alive. He’d seen enough about most of them to know they had the skills to succeed. It all depended on whether they could use them together to eliminate Neron for good.

“Nice view out here.”

Lucifer turned to see Chloe leaning against the balcony beside him. “You’re here?”

“Yeah, I figured this would be where I could find you,” she chuckled. “I came to say sorry.”

“Chloe, you have nothing to be sorry for.”

“Except for not trusting you and refusing to answer your calls,” she sighed. “Maze told me Neron was from Hell. I thought he’d be like you and Maze when he told me that Constantine was the one who killed the clerk.”

“You thought you could trust him,” Lucifer summarized. “And because of that, he manipulated you.”

“Yeah, that. He made me think that Constantine was here for you and then he pulled up a picture of Trixie. Now that I think about it, he threatened her right then and there.”

Remembering what Maze had told him earlier, he turned to Chloe. “I didn’t know he took Trixie. I haven’t been on my phone all day and never heard it go off.”

Chloe frowned. “I called you over and over. Did you have it on silent?”

“No, no, I-” he stopped as he pulled the phone out of his pocket. “This isn’t my phone.”

“What? You’re sure.”

He pressed the home button, showing her the lock screen of some Dungeons and Dragons die. “Positive.”

“Neron?”

“Has to be, but he’s gone. I told him to get out of town by the end of today. He must have changed the phones then. But he’s not here anymore. Maze has chased him out, and Constantine’s after him. He will never hurt you or anyone you love again.”

Chloe looked a little relieved. “Good. Sorry about your phone though.”

“I’ve been needing a new one anyways. The battery’s garbage.”

That got a snort out of her. “I need to get home. Dan’s over tonight making sure Trixie’s okay after today. But see you tomorrow?”

“See you tomorrow.”

~~~

“You knew the whole damn time.”

Des jumped in surprise, which was exactly how John had wanted to catch him. “What the hell, Johnny?”

“You knew Neron wanted to take over the earth this whole time, didn’t you?” John snapped. “And you never said a word.”

“I told Nora,” Des spat. “Because she asked and gave a damn about my wellbeing. Unlike you.”

“And what’s that supposed to mean?”

“Are you kidding me?” Des laughed. “Do you seriously not see it?”

John felt his stomach drop as Des continued.

“When Neron took over me, you sent me to Hell. I was there for months and you didn’t do anything to free me. All you did was run. Then when Neron jumps into this Gary, you want to stop him? You are willing to run across the country and time to free him and kill Neron. How come I never got that?”

“I thought you were gone for good!” John protested. “I was afraid, especially when Neron said he was coming for me again. Then he let you go and took Gary. I swore to him I’d do what it took to win. And I’m-”

“You knew I was possessed by Neron this whole time and never asked me about it.”

“It was a traumatic experience for you!”

“But when you got through to Gary, you asked him and he told you only a part, but it was good enough!”

“Des-”

“Do you love him?”

The words died in John’s throat. “Des-”

“Do you still love me?” the hurt was too evident in his voice.

“I…”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” Des sighed. “You moved on from me, Johnny. Whether you accept that or not, you did.”

As much as John hated to admit it, he was right. He had moved forward. And he had screwed up not asking Des sooner about the plan.

“We can’t change that now, time machine or not,” Des continued. “This isn’t how I wanted to say goodbye.”

“Goodbye?”

“I want to help free Gary from that bastard,” Des told him. “But Neron is still too fresh in my head. I have to step back from this and get my head together. These last few days plunged me back into a nightmare. I need some space, so I’m getting off here. I’ll fly back to New Orleans tomorrow. But when you all know how to get him out of Gary for good, come find me. I’m keeping my word to stop Neron.”

John nodded. He pulled the medallion Des had given him off his neck and handed it back to him.

“I get it,” he told him. “And for what it’s worth, I am sorry for how I’ve treated you.”

“Then learn from it,” Des took the medallion and put it back on. “I’m gonna talk to Sara and leave. Goodbye, Johnny.”

“Goodbye, Des.”

And then it was just him in hallway. In the direction where Des had walked, he could hear Sara greeting him and the bits of the conversation that followed. John walked in the opposite direction and pulled Gary’s glasses out of his pocket. There was a new crack in the lenses, probably from where he ran into a mirror.

“Hope you’re annoying the shit out of him,” he murmured, remembering Ava’s last order to Gary.

~~~

Ava was lying alone on her and Sara’s bed, processing through the events of the past few days now that Gideon had healed here arm. They had come to LA because Neron had been here and now they were leaving with a plan to save Gary. Although that was going to take a lot of work considering Hank had issued the order to kill him and knowing Neron wanted to take over the world. Not to mention they didn’t even know where he was at this moment. And then there was the other thing.

Ava pulled out a curved knife, staring at it against the light and remembering her conversation with Mazikeen.

“Why do you need to talk to me?” she grumbled once the Legends had left.

“You seem pretty capable of handling yourself?” the demon replied with a smile. “And you’re not John Constantine.”

“Fair enough. So what’s this about? Do you know where Neron is right now?”

“I already told you no, and that’s not why I’m talking to you. Constantine’s good and all, but you need to have a backup plan when magic falls through,” Mazikeen said, pulling out a curved blade and holding it out to her. “This is your backup plan.”

Ava took hold of it, studying the feather-like design on it. “I have access to plenty of knives, but thanks.”

“Not this kind of knife. It’ll kill anything, human or otherwise.”

“Something like Neron then?”

Mazikeen grinned. “Exactly. Just stab him in his host and it’s lights out for good. You’ll end his existence then and there.”

“Handy, and it sounds easy enough,” Ava remarked, then remembered it wasn’t just Neron in there. “What about the soul trapped inside?”

“It would kill him too.”

Ava shook her head. “I can’t do that to him.”

“Well, you have to kill Neron somehow and I don’t think he’s too keen on leaving his body.”

That wasn’t the answer she was looking for. Ava scowled and put the knife away. “Thanks.”

“Sure, but I’ll be wanting that back once you’re done. And if that pretty shapeshifter wants to come along, I’ll be happy.”

“Yeah, whatever,” Ava headed towards the elevator before stopping. “Why did you pick me to give the knife to?”

Mazikeen paused. “I’ve got a good feeling about you. You look like you’ve made some hard calls.”

Remembering Maze’s words, Ava closed her eyes and exhaled. Then she placed the blade back into her jacket. She took out her phone, scrolled to her calls, and clicked a number she’d been dialing for too long. Ava sat up on the bed, waiting for someone to pick up.

“Hello,” a man’s voice answered.

Ava exhaled. “Hi, is this Jeffery Green?”

“Yes. Who’s calling?”

“Sir, I work with your son, Gary. Something’s happened…”

~~~

55 B.C.

He wasn’t pleased about being summoned back to the village in the middle of the hunting expedition. However, a stranger had come in search of him. He had no others travelling with him, which seemed odd. The sooner he was dealt, the better. Besides, there were enough men already hunting anyways.

“Unusual for strangers to be traveling around on their own,” he addressed the man in the brown robe.

“I assure you, I can handle myself,” the man said smoothly with a smile. “You must be Konstentyn.”

“I am. Does that strike you as amusing?”

The stranger shook his head, the smile falling away. “You just remind me of someone.”

“Hmpf. And who might you be?”

“You can call me Neron,” the man told him, the smile returning to his face. “And I’ve come quite a long way to find you.”

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justmeandmyinnermostthoughts · 5 years

Text

Vacation Time Part 4: Telling Truths

Enjoy part 4 of my MIB series! Let me know if you want to be tagged or not.

Part 1 ~ Part 2 ~ Part 3 ~ Part 4 (You are here) ~ Part 5

“There’s no way!” J laughs, shaking his head. “That can’t be true!”

Celestial laughs, picking up her water glass. “It is! It was a mess and a total disaster but the kids loved it.” She takes a drink of water and sets the glass back down. “The parents on the other hand weren’t super thrilled about it.”

J leans back in the booth. “I’d expect not.”

“Oh and it was absolutely horrible to clean up to.” She takes a bite of her pie.

J picks up his water. “Did you manage to keep it from damaging the books?” He takes a sip.

Celestial waves her hand, swallowing. “Oh no, we held the event in a separate room. No books in there. Thank the stars. It would have been so much worse if we had to try and salvage damaged books too. That would have been a nightmare.”

“I can imagine.”

She props her chin up on one hand. “So what about you? Got any good stories you can share about your work?”

J chuckles and shakes his head. “I do but you wouldn’t believe any of them, trust me.”

Celestial sets her fork down and links her fingers together, resting her chin on them and leaning towards him a bit more. “Try me.”

J looks at her for a moment, his grin frozen on his face. There’s no way she’d believe him and it’s against policy to discuss MIB with civilians. But… there’s something about this girl, about this Celestial Stargate. He feels the need to tell her the truth. The need to need to tell her everything is so strong it’s almost a physical sensation. He thinks back to the Cupid in the park. He’ll have to pay him a visit. And he does have the Neurolizer with him. If she doesn’t believe him or thinks he lying he could always use it. Even if she did believe him he could use it anyways. That thought doesn’t sit well with him but it helps him make up his mind. He sighs and rubs his forehead. “Alright.” He sits straighter, and puts his forearms on the table, leaning towards her a bit. “I doubt you’ll believe me but I’ll tell you.”

She smiles at him, setting her clasped hands on the table. “I’m all ears.”

“Okay. So, this was my first mission at my job right? I had just been hired and was still in training under uh, we’ll call him my mentor.” His hands move is small gestures as he talks, his arms not leaving the table. He keeps his voice low.

Celestial holds out a hand. “Wait, wait, wait. Are you some kind of spy or something?” She asks, half a grin pulling at the corners of her mouth. She keeps her voice low as well.

He gives her a mock stern look for interrupting. “Hush. Just listen.”

She holds her hands up in defense. “Okay, okay. I’ll be quiet.” She rests her chin on a hand again.

J gives her a small grin and continues. “So my mentor is training me right? So he’s like ‘let’s go on patrol and check in on some people’ so I’m like yea sure seems normal enough. By mid morning I had helped deliver a freaking baby on the side of the road, and that was just the beginning. So my mentor thought something was weird about that hold situation, besides the obvious weirdness. He was like ‘what would make a father risk a warp jump with a newborn, we should check the hot sheets.’ And I’m basically covered in slime and baby vomit, ‘cause yea the baby threw up on me. And I look at him like what the hell are you talking about?” Celestial’s expression changed from shock at the baby delivery, eyes wide and mouth ajar, to confusion at the warp jump, eyebrows furrowed. Her nose scrunches up a bit when he mentioned slime and baby vomit. She stares at him, perplexed, trying to figure out if he’s messing with her or not. He holds up a finger. “I know you’re confused and will have questions, you probably have some already, and I promise I’ll answer them when I’m done. Okay? Just let me get through the story first.”

Celestial takes a deep breath and nods. “Okay. Continue.”

J nods and starts back in on the story. “So he drives us into town right, and stops at one of those stands on sidewalk corners that you can get newspapers and magazines and stuff from. And he buys several of those supermarket tabloids that always have those outrageous stories in them that no one really believes. And I don’t know what to think at this point ‘cause I’m like ‘these are the hot sheets? Really? You’re going to look for tips in these?’ and he’s like ‘they are the best place to look, read the New York Times if you want but these are better.’ And I remember thinking to myself, what kind of job do I have now? He then drops one down on the hood of his car and is like ‘I’m not looking for, I’ve found something.’ And I think the article on the front cover said something like ‘My husband’s skin was stolen by an alien’ or something. I can’t quite remember.” He takes a sip of water and sets the glass down. “So we drive out to see this lady and there’s this big crater in her driveway and a truck that looked like it was torn in half sunk into it. Well we talk to this lady and she says that there was some loud crash the night before and her husband went out to look. And when he came back he was a completely different person. He demanded that she give him water with sugar in it and then he grabbed the back of his head and pulled his skin back so that it stretched unnaturally. She said she fainted after that. So after we get her story my mentor does this weird memory wipe thing with a tool that’s got a light that flashes and the light wipes the memory of a set amount of time from the person who sees it. We then go out to that crater and he takes another tool out of some pocket in his jacket. He scoops up some dirt from the crater into the tool and he watches as some lights flash on it and he’s like ‘don’t be green’ but apparently that’s what it was ‘cause he stood up and asked me some ridiculous question that I had no idea what half the words he said was. I mean it was like he was speaking another language. He called the boss and said we were dealing with a bug. And he explained to me that it was like a giant cockroach with anger issues and an inferiority complex that live off of the death and destruction of other species. And I will say that he massively undersold just how big those bugs are. I was expecting something like human sized right? Maybe six-five at most. No, these things are well over eight feet. Just freaking huge and super ugly too.” He pauses and studies her for a moment.

She’s looking at him intently, waiting for him to continue. She raises an eyebrow. “What?”

He tilts his head, raising his own eyebrows. “You sure you want to hear the rest of this story? It gets weirder from here.”

She nods enthusiastically and reaches across the table to take one of his hands in hers. “Yes! I’m invested now. But I’m going to have a lot of questions for you at the end.” She warns him.

He gives her a smile and squeezes her hand. “I expect you will.” He launches back into the story.

“So my mentor and I are sitting on the ground absolutely covered in this nasty goo. And I mean nasty. You don’t ever want to taste the stuff. But we’re sitting there, and I still can’t believe that he got swallowed just to get his gun back, but it worked I guess. So we’re chatting, taking stock of everything, right. Trying to process everything that just happened when this stupid bug jumps us from behind and tries to swallow me, and then bam, it’s exploded and we’re covered in another layer of bug goo. Apparently you’ve got to destroy a bugs head and body, cause cutting it in half doesn’t kill it. So after that heart attack, my mentor and I look behind us and the morgue lady is standing behind us holding the big gun that I had dropped earlier.” He chuckles and shakes his head. “And I distinctly remember what she said. She goes ‘Interesting job you guys have.’” He shakes his head at the memory. He chuckles and leans back in the booth, rubbing his chin before crossing his arms and looking across the table at Celestial. “So that’s what happened to me during my first two days. In short I helped save the Earth, a galaxy, and got absolutely covered in bug goo. Took forever to get that stuff off.” He falls quiet. He feels relieved to finally share this part of his life with someone, even if it’s just a small piece. He begins to feel nervous the longer the silence stretches and begins to bounce his leg under the table. He hasn’t been this nervous in a while. J realizes with a shock that he wants her to believe him, almost needs her too. J bites his lip and reaches for his water glass. “Well?” He takes a big drink of water.

Celestial is looking at him from across the table. She had linked her hands together again and rested her chin on her thumb a while ago. She’s studying him. “Give me a moment. That’s a lot to process.” She stays that way for a few minutes, J’s nervousness growing. After what seems like forever she shifts in her seat and crosses her arms on the table. “So. What happened to the morgue lady?”

J sits back up. “She joined us for awhile. Was my partner for a month or two before she decided she wanted to go back to the morgue.”

“So you wiped her memory?” Her head tilts a bit to the side.

J nods. “Yea, had to. Company policy.”

“And the company is?” She raises her eyebrows expectantly.

He knew she’d ask this sooner or later. “We’re called the Men In Black.”

She nods. “Okay. A bit dramatic but alright.”

He chuckles. “Yea, I guess it is.”

Celestial uncrosses her arms and puts her hands palms up on the table. “So, let’s see if I’ve got this right.” She lowers her voice a bit more and J leans in. “You work for a super secret government agency.”

J grimaces. “It’s not really a government agency.”

She frowns but nods. “Okay. You work for a super secret agency. The point of this agency is to protect Earth from aliens. So are you some kind of alien hunter?”

J shakes his head. “No. We don’t actively hunt down aliens. We work with them, make sure they have the proper paperwork, get them settled on Earth. We keep track of them and make sure they are following the laws and doing what they are supposed to. If we have to enforce those laws we do and unfortunately sometimes we have to use force to do so.”

She nods. “I see. So you’re like Border Patrol.”

J holds his hand out flat and rocks it back and forth. “Sorta. We’re Earth’s first line of defense.”

Celestial nods again, the corner of her mouth quirking up. “Okay.” She studies him for a minute, eyes narrowing. “You’re not fucking with me are you?”

J shakes his head, eyes open and honest. “No, I’m not. It’s all true, I swear.”

Celestial continues to look at him with narrowed eyes. “Pinky promise?” She lifts a hand from the table, pink extended.

J looks from her to her hand and back again before raising his own hand and hooking his pinky with hers. “Pinky promise.”

Celestial straightens up, putting her hand back on the table. “Then I believe you.”

J’s eyebrows raise in surprise. “You do?” He asks her, not quite believing it.

She nods. “Yep. I believe you.”

He leans back in the booth, relieved. “I’m glad. I didn’t think you would.”

“Are you going to wipe my memory now?” She asks quietly, head tilted to the side.

J’s eyebrows shoot up in shock. “Why would you ask that?”

She gives him a halfhearted smile and shrugs. “Company policy? Civilians aren’t supposed to know are they?”

J shifts in his seat, uncomfortable. “No, they aren’t supposed to know.” He keeps his eyes on the table.

“So? Are you going to do it or not?”

He makes an important decision in that moment, one that will end up saving his life.

“No.” He meets her gaze. “I’m not. I don’t actually have the device on me right now. Guess you’ll just have to keep my secret.”

She smiles at him. “That I can do, Bluejay.”

A man sitting at the bar smiles. He’s got on multiple jackets and a red and white knitted hat with earflaps. He’s been watching the interaction. “Oh. So this is that reality. Good. He needs some happiness.” He turns back to his pie.

#MIB #Men In Black #Agent J #Agent Jay #jay x reader #agent jay x reader #j x reader #agent j x reader #Vacation Time #Vacation Time Part 4

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