#I stopped tracking our headcount

[thattheater-kid]

Low split tolerance and still kinda going through some shit system culture is:

“Oh no, something moderately shitty happened! I hope this doesn’t cause a- and there it is.”

[megumitski]

hello these are the bnha fics i’ve read so far and i just made this to track them for myself. favorites are marked with a 💥! more bakudeku plus tododeku and other ships under the cut.

bakudeku

💥 Bluebird - EtherealBeing (53k)

Dialing a wrong number was no unusual occurrence. Everyone did it once in a while, and Katsuki was well aware of that fact.

However, possessing this knowledge made it no less aggravating for him to discover — a full two minutes into his rant about his day — that he’d been venting his frustrations to a complete stranger. As if that wasn't enough, said stranger was also inexplicably determined to hear his story to its end.

Let’s Be Alone Together - lalazee (3k)

Prompt: Deku being aggressively forward in his pursuit of Bakugou, and how that big oaf would react to someone else actually making the first move.

“Are you going to spend your entire life wishing you’d kissed me or are you gonna grow some balls and fucking do it?”

Bell Pepper - ticklishivories (7k)

Midoriya knew they wouldn’t talk about it. He was right. But he never thought it’d happen again.

spilling over every side - failbender (6k)

No good deed goes unpunished, not when there's a crazy lady with a complex and Lust Quirk parading around the city. By now, Katsuki should probably be used to things blowing up in his face.

be loved - bonnia (5k)

They sit there, in the darkness of the common room, about a few centimeters between them, but miles apart. Somehow, the quiet is companionable. More than it has been in many years. Katsuki knows he’s responsible for the rift between them, and he knows even more that it can’t only be Deku who attempts to mend it.

“Hey,” he says, after a while, and Deku turns to him in question, but Katsuki refuses to look his way. “Touch me again.”

(or: the kidnapping incident leaves bakugou traumatised about being touched on the back of his neck, and midoriya decides to take matters into his own hands)

Leftovers - brichibi (6k)

“Did you two make up?”

That. That’s why that fight felt like it was worth it, even if, technically, Izuku can’t answer her. Have they made up? Is this making up?

He actually doesn’t know.

[Or: the house arrest fic where it is, somehow, more awkward to talk through feelings than it is to fight]

lust-drunk - theboykingofhell (8k)

The one where Bakugou tries not to lose his mind to lust, and Midoriya is the useless gay who does nothing to help that matter at all.

💥 Quiet Rapture - lalazee (261k) - inc.

That A/B/O fic where cocky Alpha Bakugou falls in mate-love at first scent, while Midoriya is just a poor bookstore-owning Omega who got his nose punched in is a kid and can't smell a damn thing. Also known as: That time an Alpha had to use his actual personality to woo his mate instead of relying on his scent.

💥 A Demolition Boy & his Cryptid BF - kewltie (8k)

Bakugou of the Demolition Squad is famous for running one of the most popular Youtube channels on the web that regularly blow shit up and jumped off a perfectly good building for shit and giggles. He's also famous for his Cryptid BF™, never appearing on camera except for a few bodyshots and all information on him is kept locked up tighter than Fort Knox, therefore drawing all sort of attention and curiosity toward his mysterious boyfriend.

Deku from Deku Explains is a hopeless chatterbox who is known for uploading 20-30 minutes video that talked about his favorite shows and comics and have one of the most devoted following on Youtube. He also can't seem to shut up about his boyfriend Kacchan, who regularly make his presence on the channel as a disembodied voice.

They should theoretically have nothing in common except a shared platform to host their content and an army of fans with an endless curiosity and devotion to their Youtubers. Vidcon is where we lay our scene and the internet is about to get a rude wake up call.

What The Fuck Did You Just Call Me? - reading_raindrop (8k)

“A-ah B-Bakugou! You dropped some pencils!”

Katsuki stiffened. Kirishima and Kaminari froze. Basically, everyone within earshot stopped what they were doing to look at Izuku like he sprouted a second head. What did he just call him? “What the fuck did you just say to me?”

Katsuki whipped his head towards Izuku with his signature death glare as he stood up from where he picked up the fallen supplies.

“U-um I said you dropped some pencils! I think this eraser might be yours to-”

“No. What the fuck did you just call me?”

Izuku starts calling him Bakugou and it pisses the explosive teen off a lot more than he thought it would

💥 take care - Chrome (2k)

There are words to say stay safe, I’ll miss you, I love you, but Kacchan has always preferred to leave things unspoken. Izuku isn’t much with languages, but he thinks he’s figured out this one.

---

“Emotional constipation manifested as over-the-top housewifery?” Mina asks. Before Izuku can say that is not what he meant at all, she nods. “Yeah, I can see it.”

Just Look At Me - Colourcubify (52k) - dnf

Midoriya is completely happy with his life. Nope, not one single regret in his twenty-seven years. He especially doesn't regret running into his old childhood friend/bully after almost ten years, nor does he regret spilling coffee all over his very expensive looking suit. How nice it will be to die with no regrets. ~~~~ AKA the sugar daddy AU I meant to be a one shot, that turned into a full fledged story.

A Nest for the Best - Camellia_Sinensis (1k)

Deku’s been nesting and asking everyone in 1-A for pieces of clothing for his horde. Everyone, that is, except Katsuki. Cue the jealousy.

unforgiving - i_write_emotion (19k)

Deku is hit with a quirk that takes away his ability to forgive, and Bakugou’s world comes crashing down. Quirkless!Deku. Pro-hero!Bakugou.

@ Deku WRONG CHAT - katyastark (16k) - inc.

Deku: THE LENGTHS I WOULD GO TO JUST LICK THE SWEAT OFF HIS ABS hnnnnnghhh

Deku: or! like! It doesn’t even have to be his abs! It could be anywhere else! I’m not picky!

Pinky: excuse me what

ChargeDolt: OMG

Uravity: @Deku WRONG CHAT

I love you. I’m completely and utterly in love with you. Please don’t get married. - InkspillsNotebook (6k)

Ta-Da!!!! I hope you all enjoy the finished product!!! I'm sorry (not sorry) I broke a lot of you when I first posted this to tumblr!!

Procrastination - capncapk (5k)

But it is still surprising to see his more-than-friend-but-also-lover-he-guesses in his office seeking attention though Izuku already turned him down.

Usually he'll get a text of 'wyd?' followed by a time and place if Izuku responds with a confirmation, and silence if he's busy.

Or slammed into the wall in the agency's shower for a quickie if no one was around, which despite his anxiety, he often acquiesces to.

While You Were Sleeping - Belkacaramelka (71k)

The one where quirkless fanboy Midoriya Izuku rescues Pro Hero Todoroki Shouto, gets mistaken as his fiancé while he is in a coma, and gets caught up in the most unlikely fake engagement... until his childhood enemy and Todoroki's classmate Bakugou Katsuki tries to catch him out, and they both end up discovering a lot more about each other than they'd expected.

Quirkless AU based on the film; endgame BakuDeku. -- Katsuki didn’t know when the change had happened: how he had gone from asking why Todoroki chose Deku of all people, to wondering why it was Todoroki that Deku chose. Troublesome Deku, who cooed like an idiot at cats, tripped at a random catcall and sang badly. Who, despite everything, proved that it wasn’t the quirk that defined a person. Deku, who was too much, not his, and undeniably off limits to begin with.

briar roses (and hundred years of sleep) - vannral (16k)

In complete honesty, no one who knows the Class 3-A should be surprised anymore. Izuku is asleep.

In which Izuku is hit by a ‘Sleeping Beauty’ Quirk, Class 3-A tries to find his True Love and get them to kiss him, and Katsuki’s very angry about it all.

Yes, They’re All Safe - teaandtumblr (5k)

Villains have entered UA grounds and are disposed of just as quickly, but that doesn't mean a headcount of the students doesn't need to be done. Toshinori would admit, he wasn't quite prepared for what he found in Bakugou Katsuki's room.

💥 all choked up - spicyrabbit (5k)

Bakugou Katsuki had a habit of turning away from the heard. At 16, he does this by coming to terms with wanting, desperately, to see his childhood friend cry.

💥 May I take your order, dipshit? - supercrunch (6k)

So, like, maybe Bakugou wasn’t really the best choice for this whole pizza delivery shindig.

(Midoriya in love, Bakugou in denial, and way, way too much cheese.

A BakuDeku romance in thirty minutes or less. )

blooms every hour - dynamighttiddy (7k)

“It’s you, okay?!” Deku screams. “It’s you. And I know you’ll never love me back, so -” Deku wipes his eyes and straightens. “So just leave it.”

-----

Deku has hanahaki, and Katsuki doesn't know how to save him.

all choked up - dynamighttiddy (7k)

“Deku, what the fuck are you doing?!”

Izuku asks Kacchan to help him train blackwhip. Things don't exactly go according to plan.

A Fight To The Death - iknewaman (10k)

Izuku isn’t competitive by nature, but when the blond, cocky asshole from the other table’s team gets involved he suddenly becomes hellbent on winning.

Rival Pub Quiz AU

💥 Like the Moon - osakakitty (15k)

Katsuki Bakugo is having constant, erotic dreams about Izuku Midoriya. He isn’t sure why, but they won’t go away. In order to make them stop, he needs to figure out what Izuku Midoriya means to him.

Canon-verse story in which Bakugo is confused about his feelings for Midoriya, and doesn’t know what he wants. Besides a good night’s sleep.

💥 We Wear Chains on the Weekend - surveycorpsjean (35k)

Well, in a day of revelations, it turns out that Izuku isn't as vanilla as Katsuki previously thought. Unfortunately, that fascinating discovery is overshadowed by Izuku's dumbassery, because he has zero concept of aftercare.

"Don't go to anyone else," Katsuki says, because screw it. He can do a better job anyways.

Or; Katsuki finds Izuku on a bad drop.

take me out to dinner first - dynamighttiddy (3k)

“Kacchan,” Deku chides. “What’s going on?”

Katsuki takes a deep breath.

He trusts Deku with his life. He can trust him with this, too.

“Have sex with me.”

-----

Katsuki Bakugou is one of the only virgins left in class 3-A - and with graduation just around the corner, he's desperate to change that.

💥 that ultra kind of love - dynamighttiddy (11k)

“So, uh,” Kirishima starts. “Was that your first kiss?” he whispers, almost sheepish. Katsuki’s stomach drops, and he freezes. Memories of green eyes and freckles and soft lips flash behind his eyelids. “Yeah,” he lies easily. “That was my first kiss.”

-----

In which Bakugou pretends Kirishima is his first kiss, amongst other things.

to the moon and back - kewltie (1k)

"He gets stupid when he's drunk," Katsuki seethes in his seat as he watches Izuku croon love notes into Uraraka's throat. He’d never met a worst lightweight then Deku, who become some kind of demented affectionate monster.

💥 Bridges - supercrunch (18k)

Yaomomo sighs. “We’ve got a little bit of a situation, Bakugou. Ashi—uhm, somebody might have accidentally signed you up for that modelling gig.”

Katsuki holds up a hand. "So what you’re telling me here," he says, "is that you told Calvin Klein I would model for them. In my underwear.”

Ashido sinks behind a desk to hide. “Yes.”

(The thing is, they really do need the money. And Katsuki's technically the leader of this bunch of morons, so he finds himself taking the job even though his pride will never recover. And even though nobody thought to tell him that he'd be working with his ex-boyfriend. You know, the cute freckled guy from high school who went and broke his heart.

So, yeah. This whole situation kind of sucks.)

Crescendo - supercrunch - inc. (4k)

(Izuku's band is on their way to the top of the charts. But the real star, he thinks, is the drummer.)

Guilty Kiss - osakakitty (1k)

He could feel Midoriya's eyes on him. Even though he knew it was wrong, Bakugo still wet his lips in anticipation.

(Canon-verse) A short story about making out in a closet. It's messy, but so is their relationship.

💥 Surfaces - surveycorpsjean (25k)

Katsuki has a new girlfriend, but something isn't right.

As impossible as it is, Izuku can't help but wonder what it'd be like to be called Katsuki's girl.

Classical conditioning - supercrunch (8k)

(or: how to trick a boy into going out with you.)

Alright. Maybe his idiot friends had a point, Katsuki thinks as he shoulders open the front door. His mother’s in the living room drinking coffee. Katsuki kicks off his shoes and stomps over. “Am I charming?” he demands, blocking the TV.

Mitsuki pats his cheek. “Oh, hon. Not at all.”

💥 Dance Bunny - EllaBesmirched (17k)

Katsuki Bakugou spends most week nights by himself, sitting in a corner at his local strip club and passing time until he feels tired enough to sleep. Work leaves him stressed and the new city he moved to a year ago is just different enough that he can't sleep at night and can't seem to get comfortable no matter where he is.

When he finally changes up his schedule and decides to head to the club on a Saturday night, he is instantly infatuated with a part-time dancer who can do things with his body that Katsuki didn't even know were possible. The dancer calls himself Bunny. By the second lap dance, Katsuki realizes he is in trouble.

but the entrails are the best part! - supercrunch (15k)

The boy straightens up. He’s about half a head shorter than Katsuki, face soft and youthful and sweet. He turns to look at him properly. His dark hair shines in the dying light, basket of blooms looped over one arm and mouth quirked into a tiny half-smile. The sun hits his face and makes his eyes a bright greeny-gold, just like emeralds.

Katsuki likes emeralds.

“Pretty,” he says, reaching out and picking the stranger up around the middle. He’s surprisingly heavy, although Katsuki doesn’t mind. “I like you. Come see my nest.”

The boy hits him.

He’s stronger than he looks, turns out. Katsuki drops him and falls onto his back, pain blooming across his face. Birds sing. The sky’s a lovely shade of orange, clouds floating lazily by. The boy scarpers. He leaves his basket of flowers behind, footsteps thumping on the ground and fading away as he escapes.

The sun sets. Katsuki, lying flat on his back with a bloody nose, decides he’s just fallen in love.

tododeku

(You Know You’re Really) Cute - ladyhoneydarlinglove (2k)

Kirishima poses the question, who’s the cutest boy in Class 1-A? The answers kind of surprise everyone, especially Midoriya.

Everything Except - Pouler (28k)

"In retrospect, Midoriya probably should’ve realized the moment they were enveloped in a glittering pink cloud that something was about to go Very Wrong."

After an encounter with a unique villain threatens to change the nature of their partnership, Midoriya must find a way to get things back to normal between him and Todoroki. That is, if he's certain that getting 'back to normal' is what he really wants...

count your blessings, not your flaws - PitViperOfDoom (7k)

Midoriya Izuku has never been asked out, confessed to, or flirted with, except as a joke.

Riddles in the Heart - PitViperOfDoom (19k)

The law is clear: whoever correctly answers three riddles will marry the prince, while all who fail are to be executed. The people live in fear as more challengers try and fail, and the throne grows bloodier with every passing year. But a young prince, nameless and in exile from his home, believes there may be more to this brutal challenge than meets the eye.

Of course, there's only one way to find out: ring the gong, and take the trial.

Late bloomer - Nohaljiachi (10k)

That’s why when they’ve found themselves face to face on the ring of the sport festival once more, for the third time ever since they’ve met each other, and Izuku smiled at him, eager and challenging, self-confident but never full of himself, Shouto blinked, dazed and shocked, in realizing just how blindingly beautiful his best friend was. The way Izuku’s white shirt clung on his muscles, the little peek of his collar bone and the hard lines of his pecs visible under it, the way his thighs curved and filled the school gym uniform.

‘Oh, fuck—‘ Shouto thought, his head spinning, feeling like he just got run over by a freight train. ‘Shit. He’s- hot?’

Burn and Breathe - PitViperOfDoom (11k)

Soulmates are connected through pain, and some bonds have more to share than others. Todoroki Shouto wishes he could reject his soulmate. Midoriya wants nothing more than to protect his own.

one string, fit for a bow - furihatachlookie (5k)

There was no magical moment that played a part in Midoriya's realization that he liked Todoroki. The thin red string that greeted him every time he looked down at his hand was an obvious factor, yes, but it wasn't love at first sight either.

It sorta just... happened over time.

fire and feelings - kagshina (8k)

“Uh…” he starts, eyes widening. “Your finger’s on fire.”

Todoroki’s face scrunches together, confused, and then he looks down, noticing the flame. Midoriya watches as shock flashes across Todoroki’s face, and then horror, and then finally settles on embarrassment as he puts out the flame.

“Shit,” Todoroki mumbles, and Midoriya’s lip curves upward.

bakutododeku 

💥 Fire in the Mountains - EllaBesmirched (168k)

“I’ll do it.”

Enji froze, fingers curling into a fist at his side, and didn’t turn around.

Shouto froze too, feeling his own eyes widen in shock at the words that had come out of his mouth, at the fact that he had actually stood up, followed his father out of the room, and dashed after him all just to say… he’d do it? He would do it? Him. Shouto Todoroki. He would--

Enji finally turned around and fixed Shouto with an expression so scathing, Shouto had to fight to keep his chin raised. “You’ll marry the Barbarian King.”

Shouto blinked. “Yes.”

The Ballad of Love and Hate - EllaBesmirched (6k)

After eight painfully long years, Katsuki finally has Izuku back. He's determined to keep him this time, and to do that, he knows there are some things he has to say.

(mis)matched - ethydium (12k)

Midoriya doesn't hate the idea of finding one's soulmate, even though he had long since given up on finding his own. And then Bakugou and Todoroki match, and while he's happy for them, his heart breaks from all the unsaid things he feels for them.

Or:

Midoriya pines and suffers his way to his own happy ending.

pillowed by love - ethydium (21k)

As a prank, Uraraka gets Midoriya a body pillow (dakimakura) with the image of Bakugou printed on it. Then another one with Todoroki's picture. Chaos ensues.

other

For who could learn to love a beast? - supercrunch (4k) - bakutodo

Bakugou takes a deep breath and steps out into the living room, eyes automatically adjusting to the change in light. There’s a boy hanging up his coat in the hall. He’s handsome, albeit in an annoying way, hair dyed two colours to match his heterochromia and skin pale and perfect and smooth. He looks expensive. “Bakugou.”

“That’s me,” Bakugou says. “You’re younger than I expected.”

“I’m older than I look.”

(Deku was right, damn him. Pretty boys are Bakugou's type.)

Want it All - surveycorpsjean (29k) - kiribakutododeku

“Hey, so..." Eijirou grins. "Can we ask you guys a question?"

Frankendick and the Great Acid Fiasco - EllaBesmirched (11k) - shiggyxdabi

Dabi had been intending to spend a very nice Saturday getting stoned and plotting murder, thank you very much, but when a trio of UA brats on enough L to kill a Beatle accidentally dose him and two other unsuspecting homicidal maniacs, Dabi has to change his plans a bit. Apparently no else around here knows how to trip balls and fucking enjoy it.

The Twitter - EllaBesmirched (8k) - tododenki

Shouto never really intended for anyone to find his secret Twitter account. He certainly didn't intend for Kaminari to see Shouto's thirst tweets about him. Luckily, Kaminari doesn't seem to mind.

pray you catch me - supercrunch (4k)

Katsuki pushes her shirt up to kiss her stomach. It’s silly, how it makes her heart flutter, how Izuku’s whispered I love you threatens to make her cry all over again. They’re unwrapping her from her clothes. They won’t let her hide, she thinks numbly. Won’t let her curl in on herself like she’s something dirty, Katsuki’s hands tugging off her underwear so she’s naked and exposed between them. “I,” she says breathlessly. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be crying. I’m just being dumb.”

Izuku shushes her. Another tear trickles down her cheek and into her ear. He kisses it away, humming, brushing her bangs off her forehead so he can press his mouth between her brows. “You have every right to be upset. We’ll deal with him later. For now just let us take care of you.”

“She’ll get the message once you stop talking and fuck her,” Katsuki says, slipping his fingers into her. She clenches around him and shudders. “Gonna eat you out ‘til you forget how to move. Now put that fucking motor mouth to good use, Deku.”

[apocalypseornaw]

Real Feelings

For the square *fake dating* on @girl-next-door-writes bingo

You pulled up to the newest construction site and parked next to Bobby’s truck. Him and Dean would be around here somewhere Ellen had tasked you with delivering the crew’s lunch order from the diner. You stepped out the truck then leaned back in to grab the box that held the food. When you heard someone call your name you nearly dropped the box. It was Micheal, your ex boyfriend who you’d been engaged to for a short time until he’d broken it off because in his words “This will never work out and it’ll cause less heartbreak now” you hadn’t seen him in a few years. 

You plastered a smile on your face as he moved to help you grab the box “Hi Michea! How have you been, what are you doing here?” he motioned around the lot “I’m here to meet with Dean and Bobby.They found a way to work around a design flaw I didn’t think about. What are you doing here?” you motioned to the box in your hand “Ellen, Bobby’s wife asked me to bring lunch” 

He smiled and waved a hand towards the trailers that held the temp offices “Then we’re headed in the same way. How’ve you been?” you nodded “Can’t complain, you?” he ran a hand across the back of his neck and you knew that as a tell he was nervous about something so when he started the next sentence with “Well actually I was going to call you” your stomach knotted. Why was he calling you? “Because?” you questioned so he grinned “I’m getting married. It’s a whole thing that’ll be up in the mountains. Charity, you remember Charity don’t you?” you nodded because yes you did in fact remember Charity. She was the greek goddess Micheal had met a few months after your split. She was gorgeous and sweet enough to meet sugar in her mouth. “Well she wanted to know if you’d like to come. Now it’ll not just be the wedding. My father is having a grand opening of the resort we’re using as well so there’ll be plenty of activities to do. You always did love the snow”

You walked up the steps next to him and knew your emotions were plainly written across your face because the next thing he added rather quickly was “And of course, if you’re seeing someone he can come along as well” you wracked your brain thinking of anyone you could use to keep from looking like you hadn’t gone this long without a lasting relationship considering he was getting married for real this time. “I’ll have to talk with him” you replied and could see his eyebrows go up slightly “Anyone I know?” you stepped into the door and as you did blurted out the only name that popped into your head “I’m actually seeing Dean” Micheal stopped in his tracks “Winchester?”  you breathed a sigh of relief to see Dean wasn’t in the office yet then nodded “Yeah about a year now” “Can’t say I’m surprised” he muttered and you were about to ask why when the door opened to Dean walking in.

“Hey baby!” you called moving to hug him then whispered in his ear “For the love of god go along with it. I’ll owe you” he gave you a look but pressed a quick kiss to your cheek “Hey to you too sweetheart” then nodded to Micheal “Hey man” you knew Dean was probably wondering what was really going on considering he was watching you as you laid his and Bobby’s food down then walked out to take the other food to the crew. Bobby had joined him and Micheal by then so Dean excused him by saying “Bobby I’m gonna walk Y/N. Make sure she’s wearing her hardhat this time” Bobby nodded then turned his attention back to the plans he was showing Micheal.

------

Once you and Dean were outside he cut his eyes at you and took one of the boxes out of your hand “So darling, when did we start seeing each other?” you grimaced then explained “I’m so sorry but he caught me by surprise. I didn’t know this was one of his dad’s builds then he’s talking about the fact that him and Charity are getting married and he’s inviting me and my boyfriend and honestly? With the exception of Bobby and Sam I don’t really hang out with that many guys besides you” you quickly explained the weekend Micheal and Charity had planned heading up to their big day.

He was silent for a few moments then shrugged “Is it paid?” “What?” you asked in confusion so he clarified “Is it paid? Like we show up and enjoy this brand spanking new resort in the mountains, get our food cooked for us. Our rooms cleaned for us and all we have to do in return is sit through your douchey ex getting married?” You nodded slowly and he smirked “I say let’s do it. I think it’d be fun and besides when’s the last time either of us had a vacation, let alone one we didn’t have to foot out an armload for?”

You opened your mouth then shut it just as quickly “Well I gotta go after I get this food to the crew but if you’re sure, tell him yes” he winked at you then took the other box from your hands “Go on and get back to Ellen because I fully expect my girl to have some new outfits before we show up to this destination wedding” you rolled your eyes at him then playfully swatted his ass “I’ll see what I can managed sugar”

------

The closer the weekend of the wedding got the more you wanted to back out. You and Micheal still had a lot of mutual friends and those mutual friends also knew Dean, Sam, Bobby and the entire bunch. There was bound to either be awkwardness or the horror of Micheal finding out you lied. Any time you bought the worry up to Dean he’d wave it off with the logic of “We know damn near everything about each other sweetheart. Hell you crashed at my place after you two split until we got you into your loft. We’re comfortable with casual touch. He’ll never know”

------

Before you knew it the wedding weekend had sprung up on you. You were curled up in the passenger seat of Dean’s truck as he drove following the directions Micheal and Charity had included in with every invitation. Normally he’d drive his impala but considering this was a trip into the mountains you both decided it would be better to take the truck.

“So do you know about our room situation?” he asked, breaking the silence in the cab of the truck. You shrugged “Charity got a headcount and they blocked off that many rooms. Considering they think we’re a couple you’re fine sharing with me aren’t you?” “Of course, sweetheart. Even if you do snore” he teased with a wink. You shook your head and reached up to turn the radio up slightly and smiled when he started to sing along with the song “Bad moon rising” 

------

“Wake up Y/N. We’re here” Dean called shaking your leg closest to him. You sat up and nearly told him to turn the truck around. Yes the resort was gorgeous but the reality of going to your ex-fiance’s wedding was starting to set in. Dean reached across the console and grabbed your hand “Hey fake boyfriend or not I’m really here to back you up. I won’t leave your side all weekend unless you tell me to ok?” you managed a smile then questioned “What if you see a hot bridesmaid?” he shrugged “I’ll get their number for later” “DEAN!” you scolded causing him to crack up laughing “See? Changed your mood that quick” You rolled your eyes but grabbed your bag and followed him once he was parked.

The interior of the resort had a nice almost rustic feel to it. A large fireplace was roaring in the center of the lobby and you grabbed Dean’s arm to pull him along with you to check it out. “You’re already smiling. It won’t be that bad” you turned to tell him that five minutes in versus an entire weekend was too different things but stopped when you heard an accented voice call both of your names. You looked up to see Benny and his sister Elizabeth walking towards you. “Benny” you greeted with a smile as the two of you hugged. Once you pulled away from him you greeted Elizabeth in much the same fashion. 

“So Dean, brother I hear you finally managed to wrangle this one” Benny asked with a smirk. Your eyes widened at his wording..what did he mean by finally? You chose not to ask considering you’d told Micheal the two of you had been together for nearly a year. Dean, ever the fast talker, simply slid an arm around your waist and winked at Benny “Things worth having take time don’t they?” you could feel a blush threatening to warm your cheeks and shot Elizabeth a grateful smile when she said “Leave her be boys. Y/N we need to catch up but for now I’ll drag my brother away so the two of you can get checked in and squared away”

After the two of them had walked off you looked at Dean who still had his arm around you holding you close to his side “What did Benny mean?” he shrugged “Who knows with Benny?” then moved to grab your bags then nodded towards the front desk “Let’s get checked in”

------

Your room was on the third floor so you took the nearest elevator up and thankfully it was empty. You leaned your head back against the wall then rolled it over to look at Dean silently cursing yourself for ever putting the two of you in this situation. You weren’t exactly ugly but damn the man looked like a walking wet dream when he was doing the most mundane tasks and you knew for a fact the suit he had brought for the ceremony was a Tom Ford black herringbone three piece. You’d seen him in it twice before and every woman and a good amount of the men in the nearest vicinity looked like they’d throw themselves under a bus to have a chance to see him without it and now here you were having to play it off like you had. “You’re thinking loud enough to give me a migraine” he spoke pushing off the wall when the elevator came to a stop. You shrugged “Just thinking how many more people are we gonna know that’s here, meaning how many are gonna ask about us being together after this weekend” “Let’s enjoy this weekend then we’ll worry about the rest” he replied with a wink motioning for you to step off first when the doors opened.

You checked the room numbers until you got to yours. You slid the key card in then stepped inside opening the door further for Dean since he’d insisted to carry your bags too because in his words “Yes you are more than capable but dammit I am a loving fake boyfriend”  You were in the living room area of the suit and it was nice, had a small couch against one wall with two overstuffed chairs sitting across the room next to a fireplace and a large tv on one wall. Dean let out a low whistle and sat your bags down in front of the couch “So far, so good. Want to check out the bedroom?” you ignored the warmth in your face to follow him to the bedroom door and cursed under your breath when you saw the kingsize bed. “I’ll um take the couch” you offered but he raised an eyebrow “We’re adults Y/N. I think we can share a bed. Besides this thing is big enough we won’t even be near each other unless we want to” he added a smirk at the end and you rolled your eyes feeling some of your nerves start to melt away at the simple fact of Dean being Dean.

 “Fine but you snore and I’ll put a pillow over your face” he nodded “Fair enough” then grabbed your hand “Get a thicker jacket on. We’re gonna go check out the grounds” you didn’t have time to argue before he was pulling your jacket out of one of your bags and slipping it onto your arms. 

------

The two of you spent a few hours simply walking the different paths around the resort. Dean was always big on the outdoors and you loved the snow so it was something that you both found joy in. You ended up taking several photos of wildlife including a squirrel that took a liking to Dean.

When the sun started to shift in the sky you tried and failed to hide a shiver from Dean. He was immediately pulling his gloves off and holding them out to you. “I think that’s our clue to head back” you slid the gloves on then nodded “Yeah”

You walked along next to him and was a bit surprised when he reached out to lace his fingers in with yours. You glanced down at your intertwined hands and he shrugged “That way we keep both of our hands halfway defrosted” you bit your lip to try to hide the smile you had at the action. What the hell were you doing to yourself? You had simply tried to duck out of an awkward conversation with an ex and were now risking one of the closest friendships you had.

Your attention was drawn by Elizabeth’s voice. You looked up about the time the brunette nearly barreled into you “Liz! Calm down honey. What is it?” you questioned. She cut her eyes at Dean then smiled sweetly “Stand right there Dean. I won’t keep her long” Dean had a curious look but nodded nonetheless.

You let her pull you a couple feet from Dean before asking “What is going on?” “Lisa is here” you felt your heart hit your feet at that. Lisa was Dean’s ex and the closest he’d ever gotten to marriage. She’d played him dirty though by using her son Ben as a bargaining chip. Once Ben got old enough to go off to school she’d lost that chip but you knew Dean’s feelings for her had in fact been very real. “Oh” you said softly which caused Elizabeth to shake your arms roughly “Oh? Oh as in you aren’t worried or oh as in I should start a fight with her sister just to give you an excuse to knock her out?” You let out a surprised laugh at her offer then said “Oh as in I’m not worried” you looked over your shoulder at Dean who waved when he saw he had your attention then added softly “Not very worried anyways”

-----

Elizabeth went in search of Benny so you and Dean headed back inside. He was asking if you wanted to hit the dining area or just get room service. You wanted to go ahead and tell him Lisa was here but if everything was going to implode you might as well enjoy a little before it did right? “I’m thinking room service and maybe some horror movies?” you suggested as the two of you walked towards the elevators. He pulled you into his side and left a kiss on your temple “That’s my girl!”

------

You left ordering the food up to Dean while you took a shower and you started to wonder if you should regret that decision when you walked into the living room. He had a fire going and there were plates on nearly every surface. “Are we barricading ourselves in here? Did the apocalypse start while I was in the shower and if so can I claim Daryl?” He looked up from scrolling through the movie options to laugh humorlessly “First off I’m like so much better looking than him and I just decided that we’d try a little bit of everything in case the rest of the weekend gets to be too much and your stomach does that nervous thing where you can’t eat without getting queasy” 

Damn he remembered that? Guess it shouldn’t surprise you but even Micheal had never paid too much mind to that. “Well in that case pick the first movie and let’s get this marathon started”

------

Dean knew you’d never make it through the entire list of movies the two of you had picked. Halfway through the Texas chainsaw massacre you were curled up next to him with your head laid over on his shoulder. He missed times like this. After you and Micheal had first split and you stayed with him this was a weekly occurrence. The two of you would stay up most saturday nights, watching the cheesiest horror movies and eating the weirdest take out you could.  You’d always fall asleep on him and he would always just get comfortable and sleep on the couch as well to have you close to him. His feelings for you had already been apparent by the time him and Lisa finally called it quits but you’d been with Micheal. After the breakup he hadn’t wanted to be seen as trying to take advantage so he was content with the best friend role. He’d date and see you date but would always hold his breath when you’d hit the couple weeks mark with whatever idiot you’d be currently seeing in hopes you’d kick the guy to the curb and you always did. 

When this weekend had come up you’d expected him to laugh at the idea but he’d jumped at. Maybe if he had some alone time with you in a place as gorgeous as this he could finally put words to his feelings and maybe just maybe you felt the same.

------

Waking up on the couch with Dean’s arms around you felt like a dream until you remembered just why the two of you were here and what Elizabeth had told you the night before. You turned to look up at him and smiled seeing his face so relaxed. His mouth was open just slightly and his hair was tousled from moving around in his sleep. You weren’t sure how long you’d been staring at him when a smirk slipped onto his face “Staring is a little creepy honey” you rolled your eyes and slowly started to sit up “I wasn’t staring I was simply making sure you weren’t drooling on me”

He opened one eye and smiled at you “Are you asking me to get bodily fluid on you?” “I swear to christ Dean!” you scolded but he started laughing and pulled you back down next to him “Shh go back to sleep. Breakfast runs for another two hours and there’s no wedding stuff until the snowmobile ride around one then the dinner at seven” You cut your eyes up at him and took a deep breath before saying “I need to tell you why Elizabeth found me last night”

He sat up slowly opening both eyes and yawned “I’m guessing not just to get help burying Benny in snow?” you shook your head “Um well you know a lot of our friend groups and Micheal’s are intertwined” he nodded so you finally bit the bullet “Lisa is here” “Oh” he stood up off the couch rubbing a hand across the back of his neck. There were too many emotions playing through his eyes to pick out just one so you took the opportunity to say “I’m gonna grab a shower. Charity asked for some of the female guests to come pick out corsages so none of us are left without flowers so I’m going to meet up with Liz to do that”

You quickly walked out the room before Dean could see the look in your eyes at his reaction upon hearing Lisa was at the resort. Well at least thursday had been fun. You simply had today and tomorrow to get through then sunday you could head home.

------

By the time you got out the shower Dean was sitting on the foot of the bed with his toiletry bag next to him so he could shower next. He glanced up when you walked out and smiled “So are you and Liz gonna meet up with me and Benny for breakfast or are we left up to our own devices?” you shrugged and grabbed your thinner jacket since you planned to be indoors until the snowmobiling later. “Why don’t you two go without us and we’ll meet up later?” “You don’t think I’m gonna leave you high and dry just because Lisa is here..do you?” you opened your mouth to reply but someone was on your side because Elizabeth chose that moment to text your phone “I’m outside your room babe” you showed him the phone and he nodded “Find me after you pick flowers..please?” you smiled “Of course” then nearly ran out the room.

------

You forced a smile onto your face as you followed Elizabeth into the room where Charity had the florists set up. You really did think it was a cute idea that she didn’t want any woman in attendance to be without flowers even though it was her big day.

You stopped the moment you stepped into the room and spotted Lisa talking to Charity’s sister Alice. “Well look what the cat dragged in” Elizabeth muttered under her breath and you bit your lip to hide the smile “Let’s just check in with Charity, pick our flowers and get the hell out of here” she nodded looping her arm in with yours. The two of you headed for the table lined with daisies,sunflowers and lilies. “What were you thinking?” she asked, picking up one of the flowers off the table. You shrugged “Something simple Liz, my dress is dark blue and Dean’s suit is black” “Is it the three piece Tom Ford number? He always did look amazing in that?” Lisa’s voice came from behind you and you felt your spine stiffen at her voice.

Elizabeth cut her eyes at you as you turned to face Lisa with a smile on your face “Matter of fact it is. Nice to see you again Lisa. How’s Ben?” her smile faltered slightly at your mention of him. “He’s doing fine, can I ask you one thing?” you nodded slowly “Even if I say no you’re gonna talk anyways so I might as well agree to it to keep things civil for Charity and Micheal’s sake”

You saw Elizabeth move out the corner of your eye coming to stand directly next to you and you then realized Lisa’s sister Tabitha had come to stand behind her. You weren’t doing this. You and Micheal had ended on a good note, Charity was a good person and you were going to have to be pushed really far to act stupid during their weekend. “Were you screwing him when I was with him or did you just wait until Micheal woke up about you?” “You know what Lisa..” Elizabeth started but was stopped by Alice stepping between you and Lisa “Braeden, Y/N is a guest here same as you are. If the two of you have issues with each other we have a big resort here take it outside or get over it”

You stared Lisa down as you told Alice “I have no problem. I’m here for Micheal and Charity. They invited me” Lisa plastered one of those smiles that could only be described as how Lucifer smiled at Eve in the garden “No issue from me either” Alice nodded and smiled at you “How have you been Y/N? Did you and Elizabeth find the flowers you wanted?” you shook your head still looking at Lisa over her shoulder. She gently touched your elbow and led you back to one of the tables. “Tell me what colors you and Dean are wearing and I’m sure we’ll find something that looks amazing. You too Elizabeth”

------

After you and Elizabeth were through picking flowers she asked if you wanted to grab breakfast. “Just the two of us?” you offered and she shrugged “Up to you. We can find your honey and my brother if you want or we can just catch up?” you smiled “I like the idea of catching up. Dean and Benny are big boys. They can be left alone for a little while” she smiled in return and grabbed your arm “Well then come on ma’am”

-------

You were sipping on your coffee when Lisa walked by your table. She was still staring you down but you refused to do anything to mess up a friend’s wedding weekend. “You know I’m starting to think she’s more jealous of Dean having you then you having Dean” Elizabeth scoffed and you coughed around your coffee from the laugh that pulled from your lips. “I really need to get down to Louisiana more often. I forgot just how much fun you Lafittes’ are” She winked at you over her own coffee cup “Especially around Mardi Gras”

You were about to leave to go change for the snowmobile ride when a plate was set down on the side of yours and Elizabeth’s table. You cut your eyes up at the person who’d sat it down and it was Tabitha. “Lisa said since you enjoy her leftovers so much she figured you may want more” you took a deep breath then stood to face her eye to eye “Tell Lisa if she has an issue with me she needs to be woman enough to deal with it when it’s not conflicting with other plans. Now she want to hit me up next weekend? I’ll gladly whip her ass” you heard Elizabeth snicker under her breath and Tabitha looked scandalized “Are you even with him? I mean you’re not really his type” 

Elizabeth was to her feet in a flash “You little..” but you stopped her with a hand then smiled at Tabitha “What? Not manipulative enough?” with that she seemed dumbfounded so you turned back to Elizabeth “Let’s go get changed”

------

Elizabeth’s room was on the same floor as yours and Deans so the plan was to change then meet up at the elevator unless one of you ran into one of the guys first. You unlocked the door and stepped into your room breathing a sigh of relief to see Dean was in fact not there but your phone went off with a text from him “Dammit we have looked everywhere for you two. Where did you get off to?” you rolled your eyes and sent back “I’m lost come find me” before laying the phone down to dig out different clothes.

You were pulling your boots on when you heard the door of the room open then shut followed by Dean calling your name. “In here!” you hollered and he poked his head around the door holding his phone up  “That has never been funny. Elizabeth told Benny where you were” “Snitch” you mumbled standing to grab your jacket. You could feel him watching you and cursed under your breath when he asked “What’s wrong?” you shrugged and tried to walk past him but he grabbed your arm “Come on darlin. I know that look something is up” you nodded “Yeah your ex is a fucking bitch and needs to be glad that we’re at a mutual friend’s wedding” “What did she do?” he asked dropping your arm like the mere touch had burnt “Everything from saying how good you’ve always looked in that one suit to asking me if I was screwing you when the two of you were together to sending her sister over to mine and Elizabeth’s table to give me her leftovers from breakfast followed up by reminding me I’m not your type” when you were met with silence you laughed humorlessly “I think I’ll get Benny to come grab my bags and just stay with Elizabeth the rest of the weekend. We can tell everyone we split and if need be I’ll pay their gas to swing through to take me home on their way” “You don’t have to do that” he offered but you’d already turned away so he wouldn’t see the tears in your eyes “Yeah. I do because this was the stupidest idea I’ve ever had” you grabbed your jacket and pushed past him out the room.

You nearly mowed over poor Benny who reached out to steady you “Woah there. Where you headed like that?” you figured might as well bite half the bullet at least “We just broke up will you bring my bags to Liz’s room?” he seemed more than a little confused but nodded “Want me to smack some sense into him?” you shook your head with a watery smile “It was bound to happen. I’m not really his type” then walked away from him to find Elizabeth.

------

You ended up dipping out of the snowmobile ride. You told Charity you were having a bit of motion sickness and bless her she’d gotten one of the staff to bring you some medicine.

You and Elizabeth had decided on one of the nature walks instead. “So what happened?” she asked and you shook your head “I told him what happened with Lisa. He didn’t respond” “I’m sorry honey” she replied pulling you into her side with one arm. You shrugged “Was bound to happen anyways”

When you finally pulled your phone out after the two of you had been wandering the trails for nearly two hours you had fifteen texts from Dean and even a few from Sam and Eileen wanting to know why their brother/brother in law was texting them to get them to text you to text him. Confusing huh?

“Maybe he’s sorry?” Elizabeth offered but you shook your head “I’m not holding him up. Who knows maybe Lisa is right. Maybe he does still want her” the words themselves felt like a hot knife twisting in your gut but you weren’t going to let it show. You could get through this and avoid Dean as much as possible until the sting went away. 

------

At dinner you told Elizabeth you weren’t feeling well but talked her into going to dinner well after you made her promise to not blow up at Dean, Lisa or Tabitha. You left her with Benny in hopes he would see that she kept that promise then headed up to her room.

When you opened the door Benny had laid your suitcase and smaller bag on the couch. You called room service to get some food and to see if you could get an extra pillow and blanket so you didn’t have to steal one off her bed.

By the time Elizabeth got up to the room you had already eaten and showered and was curled up on the couch watching a movie. She smiled at you the moment she walked in the door “He’s clearly upset” you sighed and patted the cushion next to you “You’re welcome to come watch Liz but I don’t wanna talk about Dean” she nodded “Fair enough” and kicked off her shoes to come join you.

------

“I fucked up man” Dean told Benny with a shake of his head. “You think? Man you’ve been telling me for how long how you feel about that girl then you what? Can’t even manage to say fuck her about your ex?” Dean shrugged because he honestly had no idea why he hadn’t said anything about it when you told him of the confrontations with Lisa. “How do I fix it?” he asked and Benny laughed “Beg? Then beg some more?” “You know what Benny? You’re such a help”

Lisa and Tabitha walked into the bar about that time and Benny bumped Dean’s arm forcing him to look up right before Lisa walked over to them. “Dean, I hear you got tired of Y/N already. Want a real woman again?” Benny rolled his eyes at her words then cut his eyes at Dean. As much as he liked him he liked you too and if Dean wouldn’t speak up on your behalf he damn sure was going to. “Real woman Lisa? You mean a liar, manipulator and cheater? Y/N has been one of my closest friends for as long as I can remember. When I needed her she was there, when Sammy, Bobby, Ellen hell anybody needed her she was there. She’s the most amazing woman I’ve ever met. She fights for those she cares about, she takes care of everyone she can. She’s strong but still soft and I love her” 

Benny’s eyes widened at Dean’s confession and Lisa looked like she swallowed a frog “You love that?” Dean stood off the stool at her words and smiled “Sweetheart there was never anyone but her”

------

You and Elizabeth were wandering around before the ceremony. You were dressed complete with flowers. The people loitering around the lobby looked like they belonged in one magazine or another at a newsstands. You spotted Alice and walked towards her with a smile “How’s Charity?” she laughed nervously “Scared?” “She’ll be fine. Your dad walking her?” she nodded so you added “Just tell him to have a good grip on her arm just in case and tell her to keep her head high. She’s beautiful and we’re all here for her” She smiled “Thanks Y/N” “Anytime”

Elizabeth had watched you talk to Alice and when you got back to her side she asked “How are you that good talking about your ex-fiance’s soon to be wife?” you shrugged “hindsight twenty twenty? Me and Micheal didn’t belong together. He just figured it out before I did” She nodded slightly “So who do you belong with?” 

You could feel your cheeks threaten to warm as you thought about Dean. The way he made you feel when you’d wake up next to him or how he always went out of his way to make you laugh. How he always took care of everyone around him but resisted when it came to allowing someone to take care of him because he still wasn’t used to it. You were in love with him and had now possibly lost even his friendship. “Who I want I can’t have” you finally said and she asked “Why not?” “He doesn’t want me” you replied but froze when you heard Dean’s voice behind you “Are you sure about that? Because really if a guy has a shot at you and doesn’t take it he needs his ass kicked”

You looked back at Elizabeth but she was grinning at Benny “Oh dear brother of mine! Let’s go check out those nifty little stands they have set up near the doors!” you watched the two of them disappear then looked back at Dean “I never should’ve asked you to pretend this weekend” he nodded then smiled “And I should’ve admitted the reason I agreed was to get to spend some time with you so maybe I could figure out if you feel the same way about me that I do about you. Me and Lisa we never would’ve worked for the same reason you and Micheal never would’ve worked. I found who I want to be with and it’s you” “Dean please tell me you aren’t screwing with me right now” you whispered grateful the two of you had moved to the edge of the room where no one could overhear. “I’ve never been more serious about anything” you patted at the tears threatening to spill from your eyes “Christ I’m glad Liz had waterproof mascara” he bit back a laugh and motioned to your face “Those good tears?” you nodded “If you’re serious come kiss me Winchester” a smirk slipped onto his face “Don’t have to tell me twice” 

@brilovesdeanwinchester @akshi8278 @bolontiku

@girl-next-door-writes

[eunjidrabbles]

can i please request forever, bitter version with gahyeon?

Forever Bitter Ver.

How long is forever, when forever means a different thing to everyone? What more is forever to someone who has an eternity to live? Blessing or a curse, may the fates bring us together each time.

Word count: 2.8k words

-

The way the sun sets everyday changes. Gahyeon has watched it everyday ever since she realized the beauty of it at a very young age. She loved the way the colors moved across the skies as a sheet of darkness swallowed the skies and how the stars and moon come out to play. She remembers that one night when she looked out the window and saw the shooting star, did she put her hands together and wished. That she would get to see the sunset everyday forever. It only hit her what her wish meant when she watched her friends aged along with time. How her girlfriend at the time commented on how young she never had wrinkles, how she never looked a day older than when they first met. It was in her mid forties when her fiancée started complaining about the white strands of hair that were growing rapidly that caused Gahyeon to look into the mirror properly. Her skin was clear and glowing, eyes round and soft, lips full, just as she looked in her early twenties, perhaps even better.

“It’s not normal,” Her wife has once said when they went out only to be called a mother and child. “but you’re still you. That’s okay with me.” It was at her wife’s funeral, age fifty where she took a look at the world around her, and how everyone grew older except her. She showed no signs of aging, and that started attracting attention from her spouse’s family. Gahyeon understood that it was the grief talking, but it stung her when they accused her of stealing their lifespan. She had done nothing but gave her heart and entire being to loving her. The guilt however overwhelmed her and so she left, far away from all the confusing memories the place held, bringing only a single photo frame of their wedding day photo. 

Life goes on, and Gahyeon soon realized that she can’t continue to live as Lee Gahyeon, who is legally over eighty years old but remained the look of her in her early twenties. Struggling alone, Gahyeon somehow managed to live her years, moving across the world each time as her collection of photographs got more and more. They were a reminder to her, of each of her “life” she lived, only to remember each time that she would lose everyone in the end, and go back to being alone before having to move across the world again. It was at number 5 when she broke down completely. It wasn’t fair for her, that she lives on forever, but everyone she loved and cared for fall to time’s clutches. With no tears now left to shed, she bitterly took a look at the photograph and packed that into her suitcase.

It was an easy decision for her to make, when she unpacked her stuff into the new apartment. There was a way to stop all the additional pain. She just have to get over the loneliness and live alone. Detach when she feels attached. Easy as that. Anything else goes.

In the three years of living in the city, Gahyeon had got herself a job as a tour guide. The manager of the company was nice enough to not question when Gahyeon requested for her pay to be paid in cash, From Gahyeon’s experience, the lesser the roots in a place the easier it was for her to leave the place when time comes. There was also no way to track her in case there really was someone watching her. As long as she did her job better than the teens in the city that would much rather be spending their time at home playing games or hanging out with their friends, she kept her food bowl. Her promise to herself had been decently easy to keep too, with casual flings with the visitors of the town before they went their separate ways. No one was hurt, and no attachment were formed.

Coughing as her eyes flutter open, Gahyeon forced her eyes open only to shut it immediately as the sunlight shone directly into her eyes. Her throat was dry, probably from all the alcohol last night, Gahyeon thought. It was one of those nights where she craved someone next to her again, but her trip to the bar only ended with her going home very drunk and alone, completely forgetting her shift the next morning until she checked her phone. Rolling out of her bed, Gahyeon quickly gave her face a quick wash and throwing on some clothes grumbling under her breath about how years of drinking still didn’t help her with her alcohol tolerance before she slammed the door shut behind her. 

A glare shot her way was all she needed to know that she was late for her shift. Yanking the band and lanyard off the hook, she rushed her way outside where a small group of people were seated, some talking to one another and others on their phones. Taking a deep breath, Gahyeon pushed the pain of the hangover to the back of her mind as she pulled out her most convincing bright smile she could and greeted the group in hopes her cheerful energy would get them to dismiss the fact she was late. Her tactic worked perfectly seeing as to how the moment she spoke, all eyes were on her and smiles were shared among the group. “My name is Gahyeon and I am your tour guide for these few days! I hope you enjoy your time here!” Giving a quick scan of the room, everyone seemed to be revitalized by her faux energy except a pair of eyes that met hers curiously. Tilting her head and giving another big smile, Gahyeon continued. “Let’s all get on the bus now so I can break down our schedule more, shall we?”

Ushering everyone in, Gahyeon gave a quick headcount before hopping into the bus herself. Nodding to the driver, she took another deep breath before organizing her thoughts of the details needed to be given to the group as the minibus started moving with a jerk. Being thrown off balance, the woman could only have enough time to widen her eyes in shock and put her hands out in front of her to cushion her fall. It’s her fault, she shouldn’t have drank so much to get a hangover and cause the delay in reaction now she is going to make more of a fool of herself in front of everyone and that’ll be the memory she gives the new group of tourists. Instead of the dusty bus carpet, she landed on something soft, and looking up, she was met with your amused face. “If you like me, you could have just said something, you know. You don’t have to literally fall for me.” The entire bus broke into chuckles and Gahyeon sighed in relief that there was no mean comments thrown her way from her own mistake. With support from the bus seats, she stood up and nodded to you in thanks and settled down on her own seat in front of you.

The rest of the tour went on surprisingly smoothly despite the rough start and nearing the end of the day, Gahyeon let out a sigh of relief knowing that the time to rest her throbbing head was nearing. All that was left was dinner with the group and she could send everyone back to the hotel before heading home herself. Making her rounds once the food was served, she checked in on each table, making sure that the food was to everyone’s liking and that the mediocre tasting food didn’t make anyone sick . Finally setting away from the rest at her own table, Gahyeon sighed and started shoveling spoon after spoon of the fried rice in her mouth not realizing that she had forgone her meals for the day and the dinner being her first. Feeling a presence near her was what got her to pause mid bite and pull away, turning around to meet you. With a wave of a hand from you, signaling that she was free to continue eating, you eyed the empty seat next to her and she nodded.

“You weren’t very subtle, you know. I can spot someone with a hangover a mile away.” Gahyeon watched as you pulled out a small box and placed it on the table and pushed it slightly to her. “These should help with it.” Giving her thanks, Gahyeon fidgeted in her seat, not knowing where or how to continue the conversation. The thought that you paid attention to her and noticed what was going on warmed the woman a little and she relaxed and smiled at you once more, you gave a soft chuckle and stood up from the table and returned with a smile of your own. Just taking few steps away from the table, you turned back suddenly and called out to her. “I think you should smile more, and not that fake grin you do. You look really cute when you smile.” Laughing once again as you turned away clearly amused by how a blush was quickly rising to her cheeks, Gahyeon let out a huff in defeat, shook her head at your comment and went back to her meal.

The next few days flew by quickly, and nearing the end of the guided tours, Gahyeon had softened up to the group and gave everyone a hug at the end of the day. It was always interesting to hear all the stories share throughout time. As everyone else pulled away, you stepped forward with a smirk on your face, leading Gahyeon to groan and roll her eyes before coming forward with open arms. Hugging tightly, there was a warmth that made Gahyeon cling onto you. Reluctantly pulling away, you ruffled the woman’s hair affectionately and turned slightly to watch the rest of the group walk away.

“I still have a few days left in the city.” Turning back to Gahyeon, you licked your lips nervously and pulled out your phone. “Even though you’re the local here, can I perhaps take you out?”

Gahyeon knew she probably shouldn’t have agreed. She knew of her promise, and attachments only makes everything harder and more complicated. Yet there was something that complied her to nod. It was scary to Gahyeon. With each date she went on, with each moment she spent with you, she felt herself slowly losing control. She wanted to get closer, and closer to you. She wanted you to be the first and last thing she sees when she sleeps and wakes up. Every thought eventually linked back to you. She wanted you to be the one she spends time with as she sits by the pier as the sun sets everyday. That’s when Gahyeon knew, with a tear rolling down her cheek as she watched the moon slowly rise, that she has fallen for you.

Her phone blew up with messages and calls from you after a missed date. It stung her heart knowing what she was missing but she knew it would hurt more if she allowed for the relationship between both of your to progress. She knew that the further away she kept you from her, the lesser pain the both of you would have to endure. With that thought in her head she left her apartment to head to her workplace to collect her pay for the month. What she didn’t expect was going into the office and to be met with the managers glare yet again as he passed her pay over. “One of our clients has been trying to contact you, they even came all the way here.” Nudging towards the direction of the lounge area, Gahyeon followed the direction to see you seated on the sofa. Knowing that you probably won’t leave until you saw her, she sighed and nodded to her manager, signaling that you will handle it.

Walking out the staff only area, she made sure you saw her and continued her way out the door, successfully pulling you off the seat and following her out the company doors. Once she deemed that you were far enough, she turned around to face you. “Did you seriously ghost me, Gahyeon?” She knew she had to be harsh to you to make you understand. Sighing, she shrugged. “Look, I don’t know how to put this nicely but I had my fun.”

“This isn’t you, Gahyeon. I see how you’ve looked at me. I-”

“How would you know this isn’t how I am? You literally know me for like, a week.”

“I know because I love you! I want us to work so badly that I was already making preparations to move here to be with you!”

Her throat dried up as you ranted your thoughts at her. It can’t happen again. She would fight the damn world if it meant that no one has to go through the pain again. Tears sprung to her eyes as she fought her heart’s wants. She pushed away the images of the possible future that you two could have. The smiles, the laughter and skipped right to the very end to discourage herself. She’ll just be left alone again, to face the world. The pain wasn’t worth it. Every fiber of her being was screaming at her to move, preferably towards you but watching you approach slowly, Gahyeon shook her head and turned to run home. Home, that is a temporary shelter, that is.

Darkness was the first thing you saw when you entered the small, plain apartment while trying to catch your breath from chasing Gahyeon. Stepping in cautiously, you could hear sobs coming from the only other door in the place and you inch towards it. The only source of light there was, was coming from the room so you slowly opened the door to see a wall filled with pictures as Gahyeon sat under it, knees to her chest and sobbing as silently as she could. Approaching the wall, your eyes were drawn to the pictures and how there was a familiar face in all of them. There was a distinct difference in clothing, signaling a different era, but the woman never changed. Gears started turning in your head, trying to find for an excuse of the abnormally but there was no mistaking it. Gahyeon was in each and every one of the pictures, and you could feel the love radiating off each picture. Looking at the woman at your feet, you opened and closed your mouth to try to make sense of what is happening; what Gahyeon was.

“Don’t you see? It’s impossible. Me, you. there is no happily ever after. Only pain as I watch you grow old and die.” Finally looking up at you and meeting your eyes, Gahyeon let out a wry smile before it was pulled into a tight line as the memories struck her again. “I’m cursed to live forever.”

Realization struck at her words, finally understanding what she meant. “I...” You started, trying to find your words while she bitterly stared at you. “I still want this.” Her face scrunched up in confusion, not understanding your thought process. “You deserve to be happy, Gahyeon. Even if its for short moments in your infinite lifespan.” Looking away, Gahyeon bit her lips in thought. “Let me make you happy.”

“I need time to think.”

A part of you wanted to stay with the woman, to show that you weren’t going to disappear but you reasoned with yourself. You knew where she lived now. Judging by the photos, Gahyeon should know to make decisions best for herself. Nodding, you slowly turned to the door.

“I’ll be back tomorrow.” Not waiting for an answer, you left.

The sun had yet to rise the next morning, but you were already dressed and well on your way, heart pounding in your chest to Gahyeon’s apartment. You prayed deep in your heart that she’d at least give it a chance for you. For a possible bright future. Although you have no clue what it was like living forever, you had dealt with grief, and you’d do everything you can to help her with it too.

You stop in your steps when you reach the apartment and found the door barely ajar. Gulping, you took a deep breath and pushed the door open. Biting the insides of your lips, you moved further into the apartment, desperate to find signs of life. Entering the room you were in last night, your heart dropped. Everything had been cleared out. Gahyeon had chosen to run from the pain than see what might have become of a future that held the both of you.

“I guess that is a clear enough of an answer.”

[remmushound]

Curse of the Clan, part 50!

@selfindulgenz @scentedcandlecryptid

Donatello got as close as the sidewalk and then stopped. Everyone else had already started to file into TCRI before anyone noticed the silent softshell was no longer among them. It was Raphael who noticed first, doing a mental headcount of his family before his eyes snapped to the streets to search for the straggler.

“Donnie?” He called to his brother.

“I… I can’t…” Donatello whimpered. He tries to force himself to take another step forward, but every moment closer to TCRI was like a blinding flame searing across his skin. Debris collapsed on his shell, crushing the breath from within him. Pressure— painful pressure. There was fire and he couldn’t breath and he couldn’t find his family and—

April reached out a hand to touch the softshell and the horrors were cleared away like fog when the sun came out. She gave Donatello a patient smile and then glanced over at the remaining friends.

“I’ll stay out here with him. Not too eager to explore the bowels of TCRI so soon, y’know?”

Raphael gave a knowing nod. He motioned his clan to follow him, but it didn't take long for Draxum to once more take command of the group. He led through the empty lobby— and then they were all pulled back, like a movie put in reverse. One by one, they were back on the sidewalk, none of them with any recollection of walking back on their own.

“Uh… what was that?” Leonardo asked, looking down at his hands and then up at his brothers.

“Didn't we just…?” Raphael motioned to the building.

“Yep. Yep we did.” Leonardo whistled.

“Uh— o-okay…” Raphael looked around at the rest of his family with unsure eyes, but then quickly cleared his throat. “Okay! Let’s… let’s try this again!”

They didn't even get past the threshold of the door before they were forced back again by the rewind.

“Okay, what’s going on?” Leonardo put a hand on his hip and scowled as he looked around, “Who’s doing that?!”

His words triggered the rest gathered to all look around, searching for any signs of life other than the ones they knew were there. The streets were just as dead and empty as ever, no life to be seen in either direction, human nor yokai.

“So… did we all just have a shared hallucination, or…?” Leonardo motioned vaguely.

Michelangelo hummed. He felt all tingly and weird, but not in a bad way. It was like tiny, magic tap shoes were dancing their way over his arms, leaving him with goosebumps and a shutter that made him laugh. A familiar tip-tapping tickle! He smiled widely. He knew that magic!

Just as he recognized the lovely tingle of Renet’s magic, she materialized in front of him, a mess of giggles as she pressed her finger to the top of Michelangelo’s beak.

“Boop!”

Michelangelo swiped at his beak, giving a happy cluck before tossing himself open-armed at the woman. He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her tightly, lifting her slightly from her chair in the process though she didn't care one bit. She returned the hug with equal enthusiasm.

“Renet!”

“Mikey!” Renet cooed, pinching the younger boy's cheeks.

“Leo.” Leonardo raised a hand and waved. “And Raph and Donnie and Draxum and Casey and April and dad and Sunita. Now we all know each other: who are you?”

Renet shifted herself to be able to view the rest of Michelangelo’s family, their curious eyes boring into her as they tried to make sense of the pari. She offered a smile and a wave to the group, then she considered and gave a quick bow to the older two among them.

“Salam! I hope one of those were right.” She covered her mouth as she giggled. “I am Renet.”

“It’s my friend I told you about!” Michelangelo cheered, wrapping an arm around her, “She gave me my blessing! But what are you doing here?”

“Wait— were you messing with us just now?” Raphael asked.

“Yep.” Renet chirped proudly. “You really shouldn’t go in that basement; that whole place is rigged to explode!”

Looks were exchanged by everyone, eyes lingering a little longer on Donatello than anyone else. April huffed, stepping forward to confront this new yokai and her claim.

“How would you know?”

“I’m a Time Seamstress!”

“In training!” Michelangelo added helpfully.

“I know certain decisions will lead to certain outcomes, and I’d rather not see my newest and only friend burn to death in a fiery blaze of pain and suffering.” Renet said matter-a-factly as she nodded.

Michelangelo blinked. “Thanks for that.”

Cassandra threw her head back and screamed to the winds. “Nooo! We’re back at square one again!”

“At least we don’t have a time limit?” Draxum suggested.

“We kinda do.” Leonardo pointed out, “Seriously— how long do you think it will be before Krang starts living it up in every major city in Japan?”

“Well I’m sorry for being optimistic.” Draxum huffed, and then shivered, “Ugh. Michelangelo is rubbing off on me.”

Michelangelo didn't care about the remark. He frowned as he walked over to Donatello, who was still standing just beyond the curb with his shoulders hunched and tight.

“Did… did you know something bad would happen if we went inside, Donnie?”

Donatello shrugged, his hands going down to fiddle with Shelldon’s heart.

“How did you know that?” Raphael asked, crouching over to be eye-level with his little brother.

“I dunno… I just knew…” Donatello muttered under his breath.

“Me and Mikey are usually the ones who ‘just know’.” Leonardo pointed out.

“Of course…” Draxum’s eyes gave the slightest gleam, pointing a claw toward Donatello’s new mystic bo staff. “His weapon must be displaying its mystic charges by now.”

“You think he’s psychic?” Splinter asked, his whiskers twitching with doubt.

“No.” Draxum said, approaching Donatello close enough to hover a hand over his shoulder. “He’s precognetic. Just like when you three first got your powers, his is still weak and he had very little control over it. But with time, he could grow to master it! Such a power is near limitless with the right control behind it!”

“That— that’s great!” Leonardo said; his cheeks hurt from smiling so much and so widely, but he didn't dare let the smile leave his face. “That means we’re five for seven on the mystic powers right?”

“Wrong.” Draxum muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose. “How many times does it have to be said that you and your brothers’ powers are not the same as your old ones, and even if they were, you’d still have to take the time to learn the full extent of them like you did before.”

“Well… when our parachutes didn't work, Raphie made a shield around us before we hit the ground.” Michelangelo pointed out.

“Grand.” Draxum nodded. “So we have precognition…” He motioned to Donatello, “Super strength…” He pointed at the smug April, “Shields…” He nodded toward Raphael, “AND NO IDEA!”

The last words were savage and targeted at Splinter, Cassandra, and the younger turtle brothers.

“Actually…” Raphael finally worked up the courage to say, his voice soft like a mouse, “I… might have an idea…”

“Were you going to share with the class?” Draxum asked, his dark eyes boring into Raphael like a predator’s sharp glare.

“He would if you’d let him talk!” Cassandra snarled, immediately coming to Raphael’s aid. She went to his side, holding onto one of his massive arms in support. “Go on, big guy.”

Raphael smiled in his best friend's direction before taking a sharp, deep breath. “D… do you know about the Council of Heads?”

“Yes.” Draxum said, lips pulling back in a scowl. “As a yokai, of course I do.”

“Not a clue.” Leonardo said, nodding his head.

“The Council are like our presidents.” Sunita explained quickly, to which the mutants and April all nodded their quiet understanding.

“W-well… when I was looking for a king, I… went to visit them and they tried to my bless my weapon.”

“Tried?” Leonardo prompted.

“Yeah. Uh. Didn't work.” Raphael hung his head and gave a weak laugh, then cleared his throat and looked back up. “They told me to turn around and— and not to look but I did. And…”

“And?” Draxum prompted, far more aggressively than Leonardo had. “Come on, wrap it up. We haven’t got all day.”

“They… there was this…”

Draxum nodded along, his eyes growing wider in his impatience as he tried to hurry the story along. Cassandra pointed two fingers at her eyes and then at Draxum as a warning of patience.

“It… like… kinda looked like Krang.”

“What do you mean?” April asked.

“Like— like a tentacle!” Raphael said, “With barbs on it…”

Donatello’s eyes went wide and then his head shrunk back into his shell. April and Leonardo were immediately on either side of the softshell, holding him up as his weak legs tried to give out on him.

“Like what we saw with Krang.” Michelangelo said.

“Exactly!” Raphael sighed.

“But that… couldn’t have been Krang.” Leonardo said with a laugh, “Krang was still in the mountain at the time.”

“I know that!” Raphael scoffed, “But they really, really looked like Krang. If they're the same species, then maybe they’d… know how to track him?”

“It’s highly unlikely…” Draxum mused.

“You got any better ideas?” Cassandra asked, her eyes daring anyone to speak up. No one did. “Fine. It’s settled. Let’s go talk to some heads.”

[queenxxxsupreme]

Hello, there. I hope you're feeling better. I saw your post about wanting soft Eskel blurbs and I would love to read goat dad tending to a field of goats. Like tooth rotting, diabetes inducing fluff. The fluffiest of fluff.

A/N: I hope you like this babe!!

***

One of the goats bleated loudly, catching Eskel’s attention. He looked up from the fence he was working on to see Gus, one of the kids you’d taken in over the summer, standing a little ways away from the herd that lingered near the witcher. 

Usually Gus didn’t stray far from Gertie, a brown calf, and Gus’s best friend. Gertie served as Gus’s eyes since the baby goat was born blind. 

“Gus? What are you doing?”

Gus bleated loudly, panicked that he didn’t know where his friends were. 

Lil Bleater made herself known, trotting to Eskel’s side and butting her head against his knees. 

“That’s rude.” Eskel patted her head, then went to Gus. 

The kid bleated again just as the witcher was scooping him up. 

Eskel placed Gus down by Gertie, then returned to the fence post he was fixing. Before he went back to work, he looked around to do a quick headcount of all the animals. There were three baby goats, Gus, Bastion, and Junior; one adult goat, Lil Bleater; two stallions, Ghost and Scorpion; Willow, a donkey; and Gertie, a calf. 

He smiled a little, content that no one had wandered off. 

Willow suddenly brayed, her ears pressing flat against her head. She was warning Eskel- and anyone else within hearing range -that someone was approaching the house. 

Eskel could hear it too, the sound of hooves on dirt. He almost panicked. There was more than one horse, more than one rider. No one ever came down the dirt road that led to your home. It was a deadend. There was no reason for strangers to stray that way. But then the witcher heard a familiar voice. It was his brother, Lambert, and Geralt was with him. 

Eskel began to move down the hill towards the house. The fence prevented Willow from charging the two intruders. She brayed as loud as she could until Eskel patted her flank. 

“Easy, girl.”

Her ears remained down against her head but she no longer brayed. 

Eskel watched as the two witchers came to a stop just a few feet away in front of the fence. 

“Look at you.” Lambert grinned. “The first ever retired witcher became a farmer.”

“I’m not retired.”

“Not yet.” Geralt got down from Roach first. 

Eskel easily scaled the fence and jumped down on the other side. It was easier than going to the gate and trying to squeeze out without letting one of the kids out. 

“Good to see you, brother.” The White Wolf tightly hugged Eskel, clapping him on the back.

“How did you find me?” Eskel asked as he pulled away from Geralt and moved on to Lambert. 

“Someone saw us in town. Asked if we were looking for another witcher.” Lambert explained. “Thought we’d swing by and give you some hell for retiring.”

Eskel smiled a little, happy to see that his little brother hadn’t changed in the years since they last saw each other. 

“Is that Lil Bleater?” Lambert asked, pointing at the old goat and moving towards the fence. He leaned over it, reaching down to pet Lil Bleater’s head. 

“Sure is.”

“Damn.” 

As Lambert was petting Lil Bleater, one of the kids, Junior, bleated and tried to headbutt Lambert’s hand. When that didn’t get the witcher’s attention, Junior resorted to biting at Lambert’s fingers. 

“Ouch! You little shit!”

“Lambert, meet Lambert Junior.” Eskel grinned, leaning against the fence. “We call him Junior.”

“Little bastard.” Lambert muttered, scowling at the kid as he bleated again. 

“We?” Geralt repeated, crooking one brow. 

Eskel brought his eyes to the witcher, nodding just a little. A faint smile came to his lips. 

“I’ve got someone I want you to meet. Both of you. Follow me.”

***

The three witchers walked across the large green yard that separated the field from the quaint little stone cottage that rested in the edge of the woods. 

“Take your boots off before you walk too far in.” Eskel told them as he pushed the door open. 

“Take our boots off?” Lambert repeated, scrunching his nose up. “I don’t take my boots off for anyone.”

“Take your boots off, or you’ll be the one cleaning the floor.” There was a teasing tone to Eskel’s threat. 

Lambert muttered a few curse words under his breath but did as told. 

“How’d you come across this place?” Geralt asked, looking around the small room curiously.

“There was a cockatrice problem. Three of them took to the town. Managed to take them down, but got a few new scars from them.” Eskel pulled his shirt up to reveal his side. Cutting across his side from his hip to his ribs was a thick, jagged scar. It was much paler than his sun kissed skin. He started to lead the way down a narrow hallway. “Heard the healer in town was exceptional.”

“Eskel? Who is it you’re talking….” You trailed off as Eskel came around the corner with the two men behind him. You stopped in your tracks, lips parting as you took in the sight of the two intimidating men. The dark haired one was lean, but still tall and muscular. The white haired one seemed to be built very similar to Eskel. Broad shoulders, thick muscles. 

“Y/N, these are my brothers.” Eskel gestured to each witcher as he introduced them. “Geralt and Lambert.”

A fond smile came to your lips. You put the rag in your hands down and moved towards them. 

“It’s so lovely to finally meet you gentlemen!” You didn’t shy away from hugging both men. 

Lambert’s eyes widened and he looked to Eskel for help as you wrapped your arms around him. 

“Y/N saved my life two years ago.” Eskel leaned against the counter and crossed his arms. “Had to stay here for a couple weeks to get better. By then, I didn’t want to leave.”

“You make it sound like I kidnapped you.” You pulled away from Geralt and then moved towards your witcher. You put your hand on his arm, smiling happily. 

“What are you making?” Eskel looked over to the pot hanging over the fire. It smelled like something was burning. 

You cursed and moved over to the pot, stirring the soup. 

“Will you boys be staying for dinner?” You looked back at the two witchers. 

Geralt and Lambert shared a little look, then looked to Eskel. Lambert crossed his arms, shifting in his spot. Eskel nodded once to Geralt’s silent question, telling him you were trustworthy. 

“We’d love to stay.” Geralt answered, bumping his shoulder against Lambert’s. “Wouldn’t we, Lambert?” 

“I’m always down for free food.” 

***

After dinner, the sun had gone down and you insisted Geralt and Lambert stay for the night. 

Eskel took his brothers outside to round up the animals and put their horses in the barn with yours and Eskel’s.

You worked on cleaning the kitchen, humming softly and moving around.

“Doll, I told you I’d help you clean when I came back.” Eskel spoke as he walked into the kitchen.

“I can get it.” You assured him. “Where are they?”

“Still outside. They’re discussing plans for tomorrow.” Eskel moved around behind you. You turned your head to watch himm, a smile coming to your lips. His arms snaked around your waist, pulling you back into his body. “Junior has taken quite a liking to Lambert.”

“Oh really?”

“Yeah. Keeps trying to eat his boots.”

You laughed, leaning back into Eskel. 

He nuzzled his nose into your neck, eyes closing as he let out a soft breath. 

“Thank you.” He murmured against your skin, tickling you just a little. 

“For what?”

“For being so…. welcoming to them.”

You turned around in his arms, hands brushing up along his forearms. 

“They’re your brothers, Eskel. I’d treat them no different than how you treat my sister.”

“But it’s…. It’s different with us.” He spoke quietly, eyes flickering down.

You brought your hand to his jaw, fingertips brushing along the side of his face. You pushed a few stray pieces of hair behind his ear.

“I know it is.” You gently said. “And I’m so sorry it is.”

He pulled your hand from his face and pressed a kiss to your palm. 

“I love you.”

“I know.” You smiled. “I love you.”

He leaned in to kiss you but just before your lips could touch, he was pulling away and cursing under his breath.

“What’s wrong?” You asked, brows drawing together as you watched him move towards the front door. 

“Willow is chasing Lambert.”

Taglist: @pressedinthepages @mishafaye @whitewolfandthefox@wolfyland07 @belalugosisdead @persephonehemingway @keira-hulmaster @dinonuggs69 @greatestauthorofmygeneration@shadow-hunters-lover @dancingwith-thesunflowers @tedi-fach-las @thecomfortofoldstorries @raspberrydreamclouds @natkowaa@disasteren @weathervanes-my-oneandlonely @onlyhenrys@wackylurker @criminaly-supernatural @magpie343@permanently-exhausted-witcher @hina-chans-stuff @the-space-between-heartbeats @havenoffandoms @carriebee1 @ger-bearofrivia @naominami @writingawaymylife@reaganjenelle@theawkwardpedestrian @scarlettwitcher@badassspaceprincess @just-a-sad-donut @summersong69 @an–actual–human–disaster@rubyqueen819 @omgkatinka @c-a-v-a-l-r-y @vonxcon @mazakeen @bravelittlesunflower @thereagles@awkward-turtles-world @menalliha @cotton_mo @maan24 @she-wolfoftheinquisition @titaniafire

[just-call-me-the-intrusive-thot]

An Unlikely Suspect

A Sanders Sides Among Us AU (Semi Janus Centric)

Pairings: Hinted Romantic Prinxiety, Romantic Logicality (might get clarified if I write a follow up), Platonic Virmile, Platonic Moceit, Familial Creativitwins, Platonic Moxiety Trigger Warnings: Character Death (Some semi descriptive), Gore, Light Body Horror descriptions , Remus being Remus, swearing Word Count: ~ 3600 

When an Imposter is found aboard the Skeld, life for the crew is turned upside down. Accusations, betrayals, and too many lies to count, can the crew survive the parasite’s attempt to take over?

[All characters belong to @thatsthat24 , I hope I did them justice ]

--

Life aboard the Skeld had never been easy. 

Even Janus couldn’t lie about that. The work days were long and never ending aboard the flying crapshack (seriously, was health and safety a joke to their superiors back on Earth?!) but no one was prepared for the Imposters.

The crew had treated them as a distant worry when the warning came through communications. The kind of warning that they regarded with a snort, perhaps a retort of “that sort of thing would never happen to us, it only happens to other people”. The same kind of blissful dismissiveness you’d expect when talking about the chances of dying on a rollercoaster, or being caught in the middle of a mass car pile up. 

Complacency, unearned comfort. No one spared more than a passing thought for the Imposters for months..

Then Dr. Emile Picani was found dead at his desk and suddenly the threat was all too real, all too quick. 

With a check of the medical records, once the crew found out one of the scans had come back as an Imposter, accusations had flown all too hastily in the beginning.

“Patton, you were in charge of manning the airlock! Didn’t you check the cargo properly?!”, Roman had accused him, alongside a couple of other crewmates. 

“B-But I did!! I swear!!”, the cyan-clad crewmate had protested, “I checked every single crate-!”

“Sounds sus, I say we make sure he never forgets to check the airlock ever again!”, Remus had all too cheerfully suggested. Thankfully their first in command, Logan, had stepped in to diffuse the argument, “Nonsense. We have very little evidence of any wrongdoing on Patton’s part. There’s only seven of us now, all crewmates will be crucial to our survival. Thus, no one will be taking action against him, or any other crewmate, without my strict approval. Is that clear?”

Aside from disgruntled remarks and some small accusations of favouritism, Logan was in charge, and the only crewmate able to prove his humanity since his medical scan was the only one left with the name undisturbed in haste, and thus was able to keep the crew in order, saving Patton from a horrific execution. 

For three days.

The implementation of a buddy system of sorts had been a flawless plan, allowing Logan to remain the only solo crewmate, checking in on each duo; Patton and Remy manning storage and the medbay, the twins handling waste disposal and electrical matters, and Virgil and Janus managing weapons and navigation systems. A smooth journey, only to be shattered by a blackout. 

Pandemonium had ensued almost immediately; halves of duos unwisely tried to head towards electrical, armed only with their tiny standard issue flashlights, leaving their other halves to try and find them or remain calm in the pitch blackness. Ten minutes felt like an eternity as Remus, with the aid of Janus, finally got the electrical wires properly repaired. The rest of the crew were quick to head towards electrical, hoping to account for everyone. However, a headcount carried the awful realisation that they were one short.

Logan.

Patton was the first to head for security, followed right after by the crew, only to find a gruesome scene. Logan Croft - what was left of him - lay motionless on the floor at the end of a blood trail that led towards the vent across the room. A distraught Patton stayed behind to guard the body alongside Virgil and Remy, while Janus and the twins tried to figure out where the imposter had come in from. Knowing that the vent system capped off certain sections, they only needed to check two other locations; electrical and medbay.

The former came up empty, so Janus led the group to the latter, kneeling down to check the vent and noticing a blood stain at the edge of the vent. A closer inspection revealed the print to be a hand, but the blood was too thick to leave identifiable fingerprints.

“So, the Imposter used the vent to travel here. And the only people who wouldn’t be out of place...”, Roman uttered under his breath. Janus could already hear him and his twin jumping to conclusions.

“Ah yes, jumping to conclusions is always the right answer, without exception.”

Janus hoped his sarcasm got through to them how bad of an idea it was.

“But Jan, look at this shit!”, Remus gestured between the vent and the area next door where Logan’s body was still lying, “There’s blood in the vent and the two fuckers who were in here are stuck with Virgil and the body!! For all we know, we could go back and two of ‘em could be dead-!”

“Alright, alright!”, Janus massaged his temples, thinking it over. 

“... Fine, Remus, call the emergency meeting.”

Without hesitation, Remus made a beeline for the cafeteria’s emergency button. As Janus waited for the teleporter to pick them up, he noticed Roman anxiously running a hand through his hair. “Nervous?”, Janus questioned with a sincerity reserved for tense situations like these.

The red-clad crewmate hummed worriedly, “Just… the thought of Virgil being left with them...”

Janus gave a fond but tired huff, about to reassure Roman when the teleporters built into their suits shifted them to the cafeteria. Thankfully, there didn’t seem to be anyone missing bar Logan, and the previously deceased Dr. Picani. Letting his mismatched eyes roam over towards the trio from security, Dee noticed that each was in a state of shock. Remy seemed to be keeping a stoic mask up but Janus knew those tremors in his palms that came from his reliance on caffeine, one he had been unable to indulge in as desired due to the rationing of supplies. Virgil gnawed his thumbnail while his arm jittered anxiously, probably aching for his anxiety medication more than ever. And Patton….

Patton looked devastated, emotionally and physically so. It was clear he’d been yanking on his hair in distress, and while it wasn’t immediately noticeable, his olivine cheeks bore tear tracks still. 

Janus found himself hoping, praying almost, that Patton could save his skin somehow.

“We found blood in the medbay vent,”, Roman began, snapping Janus out of his thoughts and back to reality. “Which means the Imposter must be Remy or Patton.”

Once kind green eyes tainted with distrust and distress fell on the poor cyan crewmate, “And considering everything up til now…. Patton, I hate to say it…. But you’re-”

“You’re looking pretty fucking sus, Padre!”, Remus finished for his twin. 

Janus could see Patton jolt, the hurt in his features at a once friendly nickname being used so callously felt far too cruel. The yellow crewmate prided himself on being able to see through a rouse, and Patton didn’t show any such signs of deceit, but…

“I-!! I’d never-!!”, Pat gasped, the pain clear, “I could never hurt Logan!! Or Emile, or ANY of you!! Please, I-!”

“Give it up, Pat, you alien bitch.”

Remy’s voice laden with venom and a notable shakiness cut through the words trying to scramble out of Patton’s mouth. “Like, it has to be you. You were in charge of the airlock. You were close enough to them to get at L and Emile. Worst of all, you were the only other person in medbay with me.”, Remy wrung his hands into his black jumpsuit frustratedly, “And when the lights came back on…. You weren’t in the room anymore!”

Patton shook his head, “No, Remy, I-!! I was in the hallway, I couldn’t see you-!”

“Popstar, come on...”, Virgil’s shaky voice came from across the table, “I… I don’t wanna believe it, but we… we have to face the facts here. Logan’s body didn’t show signs of a struggle, so he was probably comfortable with whoever did this. You fit that bill…. You even ran straight to Logan’s body, Pat!! Do you have any idea how suspicious that looks?!”

It all made sense, so much sense, but Janus’ brain still told him it was wrong. That something wasn’t right. 

“But!! But Logan liked being in security!! We all knew that-!!”

“But that still doesn’t explain any of the other evidence!!”, Remus chipped in, looking ready to condemn the poor man. Frantically, Patton looked to Janus. God, he’d never forget that look, the primal fear of death lingering behind terrified light blue. “Janus, please, you know I’m not lying, right?!”

What could Janus do but nod? He believed Patton. It wouldn’t do anything in the long run, but at least the poor man would know someone was on his side.

“I do believe you, Patton. This feels far too ludicrous to-” 

“Jan, you’re a fucking idiot if you believe that bullshit!”, Remus interrupted, “He’s just trying to manipulate you!!”

The conversation abruptly halted as Remus rounded the table, grabbing Patton’s arm, beginning to haul him towards the airlock. The cyan crewmate tried to protest, wriggling to free himself, but Roman and Remy both secured him, sealing his fate,

“PLEASE, PLEASE DON’T DO THIS-!!”

“Just stop, Pat, don’t make this-!”

“NO, LET ME GO, PLEASE, IT’S NOT ME, I SWEAR-!!”

“Shut up, you parasite bastard!!”

Patton struggled for his life against the twins’ strong hold while Remy readied the airlock’s inner door. Janus couldn’t bear to watch, “This is a mistake, you’re going to kill an innocent man, Roman-!”

“Stop, Janus!”, Roman snapped, “We… We can’t afford to turn a blind eye or more of us will die! It’s-! It’s the right thing to do-!”

“You know that’s a lie, do I even need to spell that one out for you-”

“Babes, with all do respect?”, Remy spoke up, opening the inner door and letting the twins toss Patton inside before shutting the door, “Shut the fuck up. Like, this is our chance to stop all this!”

The countdown as Remus set the airlock to open was harrowing, even for the demented twin. The group watched through the reinforced glass window as Patton slammed his fists into the door, his voice silenced by the sound proofing, but his desperation was so palpable no words were needed. For God’s sakes, a man was begging for his life! How could they let this happen? Janus felt Virgil turn away next to him, clearly unable to watch one of their closest friends die.

A surge of righteous justice threw Janus into action. Despite the alarmed voices of the others, he tried desperately to somehow undo the countdown. To somehow get the stupid control panel to cease the damned timer ticking away til Patton would meet his end in the vast nothingness of space. His efforts were for naught. Between the safety programming and the others prying him away, Janus was hauled back just in time to see the outer door open. The force tore Patton into the terrifying cosmic wasteland. 

Just like that, the crew lost Patton Hart. 

Janus felt his ears ring in the sudden silence, feeling like his head had been submerged in ice water. He could hear Virgil sobbing, muffled by what he assumed would be Roman’s shoulder or chest. In his peripheral view, he noted Remus’ green gloved hand clench and release in an effort to calm his nerves, surely. Remy sunk to his knees, not uttering a word edgeways. Human nature would kick in eventually, tell them in the end that they did what they could. That they’d eliminated a threat that took the form of their dear crewmate. But Janus knew. He knew this wasn’t the end, he’d just failed to save Patton’s life. 

Days passed; just two but to Janus and the others, it felt more like two centuries. They’d given Logan’s remains a decent cremation, using the ashes to mix with the plant food in O2. Logan had always wanted to help the planet, and now at least, in a way, he would do just that.

The schedules he’d set the others slowly crumbled. Remy avoided the med bay, “too many awful memories”, he’d said. The twins stuck together more so out of a shared lingering guilt, Janus theorised, still going about their manual tasks, though neither could bring themselves to sing a cheery tune or R-rated space sea shanty about banging an Eldritch Deity. Life aboard the Skeld felt as dead as their former crewmates these days.

Virgil caught up with Janus leaving Navigation; the anxious man had felt far more at ease sticking with his assigned duo partner than being alone. Janus couldn’t fault him. 

“... It’s fucked.”, the lankier man in purple had mumbled, “This whole situation is so, so fucked...”

Janus sighed exhaustedly, “That’s one way to put it, yes.”

The silence was uncomfortable. Neither man usually minded such a thing, but it felt unbearable now. So much so, Janus was thankful as Virgil spoke, “Why’d Dr. Picani have to die?...”.

Both of them were aware of why, but Janus assumed it was rhetorical, a theory confirmed as Virgil continued to mumble, “He was so nice, man. Never pressured me with my medical anxiety or anything, never made me sit through tests that’d freak me out. Helped make me feel secure but... Now nothing feels safe anymore...”

“Indeed, we lost a good man. Several good men.”, Janus felt Virgil cringe beside him, looking away.

“...... I didn’t….”, Virgil huffed, his eyes trained anywhere else but Janus’ face, “I never wanted to… to see Pat like that. He was my friend, Jan! Shit, he was like a father to me! He made me feel welcome when I transferred here but-!!”

A reassuring yellow gloved hand rested on Virgil’s shoulder, “I’m sure he knew, Virgil.”, Janus reassured him, “What’s done is, regrettably, done. Irreversible. We cannot get back those we’ve lost, but we can survive in their name. Let’s just hope that you were all right to stop me-”

Crunch.

The wet crisp crunch of something organic tore Janus from his thoughts. 

“... Did you hear that, Virgil?”

Frozen rigid, Virgil gave a shaky inhale, “I… I don’t think so-”

CRUNCH.

Janus didn’t bother to ask if Virgil heard it that time. He took off down the hallway, headed for the nearest room; Electrical. Virgil’s footsteps began to gain on his own, giving him the reassurance of backup when they reached the doorway. Damn. It was locked. The disgusting wet tearing sounds from inside made his stomach churn, “Virgil… on three.”

Virgil looked mortified at the idea, but he nodded, readying himself as he and Janus got ready to break in the doors. Thankfully for their shoulder joints, the doors opened. Not so thankfully, both men were treated to a horrendous sight. 

The twins had always playfully argued over which of them would come out on top.

It seemed now they had their answer.

Hunched over the remains of his brother was Roman Prince, his red suit absorbing the bloody remains splattered across it, leaving almost no trace. In his hands, Roman held various chunks of flesh torn from his own kin whose lifeless eyes were open wide in a twisted expression of surprise and betrayal. Roman himself had gone rigid, caught like a deer in the headlights, pitch black eyes darting between Janus and Virgil as they sunk back to their familiar emerald green.

“I-! This isn’t-!”

With Virgil unmoving beside him, Janus sprung to action, using their reporting device to activate the teleporter again. He cursed every extra second it took compared to the emergency button, watching as Roman managed to morph and clean himself up before they found themselves once again around the table. Remy’s eyes darted to the empty space Remus had once occupied, 

“.... No. Don’t you fucking tell me...” 

Virgil went to speak but Janus got there first, pointing a deadly determined finger towards Roman, “Roman’s the Imposter!”

Roman stiffened, “Wha-!?”

Janus wasn’t about to let him go free; he had a witness now, and a good chunk of evidence to condemn him with; “Virgil and I walked in on you eating your own goddamn twin! Everything else begins to make sense if it’s you too; the blackout especially, since you were working in electrical. You were also rather vocal with your accusations too, which would make sense considering it took the attention off of you!”

The defeated look in Roman’s dull eyes was the most delicious dessert in existence, seeing the monster look ready to confess, Janus gestured to Virgil, 

“Virgil can back me up, right?!”

Silence.

“.....Virgil? Back me up here-”

“Janus,”, Virgil’s voice was ghostly fearful, his eyes hidden behind the long purple dyed bangs he sported, “Stop lying.”

“.... What?..”, the shiver of fear, bone chilling fear, that rattled through Janus’ marrow and constricted his lungs was a harsh turn from his formerly confident demeanor.

“Roman and I saw you eat Remus, Jan...”

This wasn’t happening.

“We walked in on you tear… tearing him to shreds in electrical…!”

This wasn’t happening…

“Just like you did with poor Logan! And Emile!”

This couldn’t be happening…

“Playing like you were the one who wanted to save Patton when…!! When you were the one who-!!”

Janus’ head swam with nausea. His mismatched eyes finally locked on to Virgil’s, barely visible to Remy, but all too familiar to Janus…

“Disgusting, lying Imposters like you-!!”

Those pitch black eyes that betrayed his glee even as his broken tone relayed the false narrative. 

“Should rot in space!!”

Remy cast his gaze between Roman and Janus, landing on Roman, “Ro, babes, is that true?!”

Roman nodded, dumbfounded, “I-It’s true, he-”

“He tried to get us too,”, Virgil continued, faux shaky voice ringing in Janus’ ears.

Everything made terrifying sense now. 

Virgil, a new transfer from a sister ship, who had his own (likely fabricated) medbay scan on hand and who was too anxious to have Dr. Picani perform a second, making the crew think there was just one Imposter.

Virgil, who would think to tell Roman remove the names on the medical files, even if the red crewmate didn’t do a perfect job.

Virgil, who was close with Patton, and had begun to befriend Logan, earning his trust, leaving him one of the few people who Logan wouldn’t suspect approaching him in the dark.

Virgil, who was smart enough to drag Logan’s top half into the vents and leave a handprint in medbay to frame Patton further. All too willing to throw the poor man under the bus.

Virgil, who stuck close to the only person left smart enough to suspect their scheme, waiting for the right moment to strike when Janus sealed his own fate.

“..... You son of a bitch.”, Janus breathed in disbelief. His anger bubbled to the surface before he could stop it, “YOU SON OF A BITCH-!!!”

Roman and Remy’s arms wrapped themselves around Janus’ arms and body, holding him still while all he could do was writhe, “What do we do now, babes?”

Virgil answered Remy’s question with a firm, faux anxious reply, “The airlock..”

Janus’ heart stopped in his chest.

“We… We had to lose Patton that way so…. So it’s only fair the REAL Imposter goes that way too!!”

He didn’t go without a fight. Janus made damn sure of that. The alien bastards wouldn’t get the satisfaction of him going quietly. He clawed at Roman’s face, ignoring the parasite’s tightening grip on his arm to the point he thought perhaps it would break. He spat hellfire and vitriol at Virgil who watched from a distance, content to let the smirk he’d been hiding show now that Remy couldn’t see. 

Oh god, Remy. Janus tried desperately to appeal to the last true human left, 

“Remy, you HAVE to listen to me, they’re not human, both of them are-!”

But Remy didn’t listen, following Roman’s lead of tossing Janus once more into the airlock. Fortunately, Janus had been able to hold onto his helmet as the door closed, sealing his - and by extension, Remy’s - fates. Trapped and waiting for death, he locked eyes with Remy who looked as sincere and guilt ridden as expected. Is this how Patton felt? So helpless and scared to die? Janus felt almost guilty knowing his suit still had a full canister of oxygen left to last him…. Hours? Maybe a day? Then he’d be at the mercy of space the way Patton was without his helmet to protect him. 

As the countdown reached 15 seconds, Janus watched helplessly as Virgil gestured to give Remy a hug. The way Remy accepted the arms of death only for Virgil’s stomach to split and devour the poor man tore the last of Janus’ resolve to shreds. 

With the countdown reaching zero, Janus Dolion faced the two Imposters watching him with a smug sense of glee, flipping them both the double bird as the outer door opened... 

--

The Imposter couple watched Janus be sucked into the vacuum of space with a sick sense of victory. They’d done it; the Skeld was theirs and theirs alone. Of course, that was until a rescue ship could come for them and the cycle would start over again. The thought alone was intoxicating.

“... I’m sorry.”, Roman murmured from beside Virgil who’d already taken to fabricating injuries they could use to trick the rescue party. The purple suited alien snorted, wiping the last of Remy’s blood from his mouth, “What for, Prince Parasite?”

The crimson clad Imposter scoffed affectionately. 

“I nearly got us caught.”, Roman’s suit growled, “I was just… so hungry…!”

Virgil softly wrapped his arm around Roman, gently caressing his beautiful jawline with a softness no hostile alien parasite should be able to use. 

“It’s fine, you drama queen. We still did it,”, he grinned, shark toothed and infectious going by Roman’s own razor smile, “Now you just have to put those impressive acting skills to use once I call in a rescue ship.”

“Aww, you think my acting is impressive?”, Roman’s chest puffed up in pride.

Were they not standing right next to a pile of gore that has once been a fellow crewmate, Virgil figured the starry look in Roman’s blackened eyes would have been endearing. Adorable even. Instead, the Imposter rolled his eyes, they still had work to do after all. There’d be plenty of time to properly celebrate later..

“Shut up, Roman... ” --

Man that got dark fast...

I hope you guys still enjoyed it and that the reveal was nice and shocking~!

If you like this, I’ll write some supplimentary stuff, perhaps some fluff prequel snippets, and perhaps a little sequel? 

Idk yet, but I hope this was a good read.

Taglist: @somehow-i-got-an-account   @cateye-glasses   @fandomsofrandom @patton-cake @does-this-look-logicality-to-you @justalittlecorrupted @irritating-lady-knight @katlikethesword @ali_is_lazy 

[duncanxtrent]

For the prompt thingy... Duncan and Trent as camp counselors... maybe ? 👀 Like they both take care of some kiddos and they are on diffrent teams so they have a friendly rivalry but they are crushing on each other. Or something idk jfjfkfk

(OMG SOMEONE ACTUALLY ASKED AND ITS ONE OF MY FAVORITE DUNTRENT ARTISTS YBUGKGUF)

Anyways

Wawanakwa Rivalry

Duncan quietly woke up inside the counselors cabin. He looks over and sees Trent peacefully snoring away. He smiles and gets up to put on some pants. Once hes fully uniformed, he takes a look at the schedule.

Once hes sure of the schedule, he walks up and bangs on the door of the Killer Bass cabin.

“Wake up guys! Its almost breakfast!” Duncan shouts.

Taka instantly opens the door, fully dressed in uniform.

“Ready to start the day, sir!”

(Yes I made the DR kiddos the camp kids leave me alone.)

Duncan laughs and ruffles Takas hair as Taka stands near the door. Groggily, Makoto, Kyoko, Sayaka, Leon, Chihiro, And Aoi make their way out of the cabins. Duncan does a quick headcount, but then makes a strange face.

“Wheres Mondo?” He asks

“Hes still asleep” Leon groans

“Ill go get him!” Taka says stomping inside the cabin. Soon he drags out a very tired and Groggy Mondo from inside.

“Its too early for this. Just let me go the fuck to bed.” Mondo curses.

“Trust me. I also think its too early for this kid.” Duncan smiles. “But if you sleep any longer, you’ll miss todays french toast!”

That instantly seemed to get Mondos attention. Because he instantly ripped his arm from Takas hand, ran inside, stressed himself, and came back out to the other students.

“Right kids! Now whats our motto?”

Mondo gave an audible groan.

“Oh come on its funny.”

Mondo sighed but reluctantly saluted, as tre reat of the kids followed.

🎶One Two Three and Four! Killer Bass Will Get the Score!🎶

🎶Five Six Seven Eight! Gophers are trash, and Fish are Great!🎶

Duncan seemed to stifle a laugh on the last part. “Alright guys! Now stand in a straight line behind me.”

Taka instantly stood in the front with Mondo behind him as the rest of the students stood behind them.

“Alright, and MARCH!” The 9 of them marched off towards the cafeteria.

Once there, the kids returned to normal walking and headed to their cabin table. Once he was sure the kids were sat, he headed up to the cafeteria, only to encounter Trent getting the breakfast for his cabin.

“Trent! Hi…” Duncan says noticiably more nervous.

“Hey there, sup shorty!” Trent says wrapping his arm around Duncan. Duncan meeped.

“So how have the kids been?” He asks

“Well, Mondos been a bit of a hassle, but other than that the kids are great.” Duncan whispers timidly.

“Oho! Youre lucky. Celestia, Byakuya, Junko! Together those three kids are a mess of trouble! Ive mainly been able to get them under control, but What I wouldnt give to be in your cabin.”

“Same here.” Duncan mutters quietly.

“Hmm?”

“Nothing! Anyways I should probably finish up here and get the kids breakfast.” Duncan says quickly picking up the breakfast for the cabin.

“Oh… Ok…” Trent says disappointed.

Duncan immediately stops in his tracks. “But if you want to talk more counselor stuff! We can hang out when I hand off the kiddos to Courtney!” Duncan quickly yells.

“Oh! Ok sure!” Trent quickly responds.

“Its a date!” Duncan says walking off. Trent turns beet red before walking off. Duncan immediately facepalms.

“A date? Really?! Come on you idiot! You should have done better than that!” Duncan mutters pacing back and forth.

“Um… Mr. Tarun.” Sayaka tugs at Duncans pants.

Duncan notices and realizes hes still holding the kids breakfast. “O-oh! Sorry!” Duncan nervously laughs.

He walks around the table and gives each of the kids a plate of breakfast, containing french toast, sausage, and scrambled eggs with lemonade. The kids quickly begin eating their breakfast. Duncan sits down with his plate and begins quietly eating while contemplating his life choices. However, the kids quickly got into some trouble.

“H-hey stop that!” Taka says nervously.

Duncan sat up and noticed that Junko and Byakuya were standing next to Mondo. Mondo seemed visibly upset.

“Whats wrong Diamond, cat got your tongue?” Junko taunts.

“What the hell do you to want?” Mondo asks angrily.

“Oh I just came over cause I thought youre french toast was looking plain.”

“My toast is fine.” Mondo says angrily shoving a bite of eggs into his mouth.

“Really? Cause I think this plate could use a nice slab of BUTTER!” Junko dumps a whole stick of tub of butter on Mondos French Toast. Mondo just stared at the toast, terrified.

(Context to this: I am partially referencing His execution. But in this case the reason for his trauma is that his dad was turned into a butter like substance following an experiment he was working on)

The rest of the kids at the table gasp. Leon begins laughing but Sayaka punches him in the arm.

Junko laughs. “Oh whats wrong? Did I not add enough? Do you want some syrup as well?” She taunts.

Byakuya simply stifles a laugh. “A mere peasant frozen by a tub of butter. Pathetic.”

“H-hey leave him alone!” Taka says attempting to stand up to them.

“Or what?” Junko laughs

Taka meekly backs off.

Duncan angrily stomps towarfs the two bullies.

“Hey you two! Leave Mondo Alone!” Duncan shouts.

“Oh shut up you faggot! We all know you want inside our camp counselors pants! Why dont you run along like the squealy girl you are?” Junko sneers.

Duncan becomes even more angry. “If the two of you dont leave right now, Im sending the two of you home!” Duncan threatens.

“And then what? Lose the Trust of your little boyfriend.” Byakuya laughs.

Duncan is about to knock the little shits heads off when suddenly Trent comes up behind him.

“Duncan, you may step out of the situation.” Trent says putting a hand on his shoulder.

“But-“

Trent leans into his ear. “Trust me, dude, I got this!” Trent whispers.

Duncan backs off as Trent approaches the two children.

“Junko, Byakuya, my office. NOW!” Trent shouts firmly.

Trent walks the two children to his office and eventually returns back to the cafeteria.

“Im having them clean out the toilets for the next week. Those two went way too far.” Trent explains.

“Thank you…” Duncan mumbles.

“Hey its no problem.” Trent outs a hand on Duncans shoulder. “We gotta look out for each other right bro?”

Trent leans in closer to Duncan, and without thinking about what hr was doing, Duncan leaned in and quickly pecked Trent on the lips.

Trents face went incredibly red while Duncan seemed nervous.

“Oh jeez Im sorry, I didnt mean to, I just thought thats what we were doing and-“ Hes immediately caught off by Trent taking Duncans head in his gands and bringing him in for a second kiss. The kiss becomes a loving kiss and the two of them stand there hugging while kissing eachother.

“Ewwwwwwwwww!!!! Ms Satellaaaaa!!!!! Mr.Tarun and Mr.Cooper are kissiiiiing!!!!!!” Sayaka shouts.

They both let go of the kiss and look at Sayaka as Trent begins laughing. Duncan sees this and begins laughing too.

“So Im guessing you like me too then?” Trent asks sarcastically.

“Yeah. Always kinda have.” Duncan laughs.

“Well then, maybe we could hand the kids off to Courtney and Gwen, and the two of us can spend the rest of the day hanging by the lake.” Trent says twirling Duncans hair.

“That sounds lovely.” Duncan mumbles leaning into Trents chest.

“EWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!” The kids stick their tongues out seeing their counselors kissing.

Trent and Duncan just laugh before letting go of each other and going towards their respective tables. Duncan sits and begins happily eating his breakfast.

Meanwhile Kiyotaka notices the whole event unfold, and just as Mondo finishes clearing the butter on his plate, pecks Mondo on the cheek before returning to his food.

Mondo looks at him increduously, blushing red for a second before just shaking his head and returning to his food

(END)

[vegetacide]

TaG: Bloodlines (Part 11)

Veg • notables: Still kicking...

As always TY @gumnut-logic and @scribbles97  cause they put up me invading their PM’s

Chapter 1|Previous Chapter | NEXT

Rating and General warning: Mature content head. If you are not a fan of medical issues of a female nature in relation to pregnancy please proceed with caution.

Characters: Virgil/Kayo.

E N J O Y

8-8-8

Part 11 - Pengalihan

Thunderbird Two banked around the crest of a hill to come across a scene of complete madness.  The red and blue lights of emergency vehicles flashed all around, people were scattered about in unorganized chaos and a couple of GDF troop carriers had just arrived and were off loading personnel and equipment.  In the middle of it all sat Thunderbird One, her long streamline haul gleaming in the bright utility lightings that were being used to light up the mining sites service area.  She was  cordoned off and guarded  by a row of black and whites that were doing their best to keep the gawkers back and out of the way.

Hitting the comms, Virgil brought Two to a hover some hundred meters up the rise. VTOLs blasting the hill side and flattening what little vegetation still remained among the scree and debris that had been dumped along the embankment.

“Thunderbird Two to Scott. On site,  you got a place for me to set down.”

“I see you Thunderbird Two and I’m working on it. Veer left ninety degrees.  Once those dozers have vacated you should have enough room to set down and plenty of room to work.”

Virgil looked to his left and watched several hard hats racing towards a group of parked dozers in a back lot just behind what looked like a collection of construction trailers. From his vantage point he could make out a clear line of sight to the mine shaft so getting pods to where they need to be wouldn’t be a problem.

“F.A.B,”  He adjusted Two’s altitude to kill some of the turbulence rushing down the hillside and kicking up dust down below.

“Wow, it’s a mess down there.” Gordon said from his copilot seat,  his nose almost plastered to the right view port.  “Who’s in charge of this mess?”

“No idea,  it’s a collaboration of a couple big construction firms last I heard. No wonder Scott is having a hard time of it.”

The chair next to him swiveled in his direction and Gordon pointed a thumb back over his shoulder. “You don’t seem all that surprised by this.”

He shrugged,  his eyes scanning over his controls and keeping an eye on the progress of the dozers below.  “Been keeping tabs on the progress on a few engineering sites. This project has had a lot of set back in recent months.  The other construction firm was brought in ahead of schedule in hopes that it would speed things up. .  Stupid idea if you ask me,  they were no where near ready for the extra crew.  No way they could keep proper safety measures in place with these extra bodies in play.”

One of the many downfalls to projects of this nature. The money behind it all wanted results and their quarterly statement to be in the black. There were a lot of funds riding on the transcontinental transport tunnel that was going to bridge the gap between the Western tip of Russia through the Diomed Island chain and across to the Eastern end of the Alaskan land bridge.

It was a daring venture to say least.  The Bering strait was rough on the best of days,  trying to construct a tunnel system some fifty odd meters down in a sedimentary trench deep enough to hit bedrock was anything but easy.   An engineering feat of epic and mind blowing proportions.  If they could accomplish it,  the implications on commerce would be huge and add a whole new avenue for transporting goods from one end of the world to the other.

Top that with the latest in maglev rail systems and it would revolutionize the shipping industry.  Run with robotics and minimal manpower in transit,  low impact on the ecosystem once fully implemented and someone was going to be sitting pretty on a pile of cash.  That was of course if they could get it built.

One delay after another had plagued the project from the get go. From faulty equipment,  personnel issues and bad timing with the weather.  Now it seemed something had failed in a big way and from what little information John had been able to provide on route, there may or may not be upwards of forty six workers trapped down the this access shaft.

Securing Two, Virgil swung about and signaled to Gordon to follow.  Passing through the bulkhead they made their way to the pod bay, Two starting to rise up on her struts as soon as they had cleared the reinforced doors.  The hull beneath his feet rumbled as she trundled upwards but he paid it little attention,  pod assembly first and foremost on his mind.

“Grab a medkits and blankets and a couple backer boards,  we have no idea what we are heading into.”

‘Got ya,” Gordon nodded, already heading to the supply area at the back of the bay.  “Think John or Scott have any new info yet.”

Distracted by the controls in front of him, Virgil shrugged non-committedly. “Your guess is as good as mine.  Comms down the shaft seem to be fried and John was having a tough time getting thermal readings. Too many metallurgical components in the surrounding sediment are throwing his readings off.  We’ll have to take our own scans while we are down there."

“You think that will work?”  Gordon’s voice carried back through the bay.

The heavy assembly system kicked into life.  Not knowing what they were walking into, he decided against the track system and went right for the bifurcated spider legs and traction gear.  He just hoped that that tunnel wasn’t flooded, thought the pods could easily handle it.

He eyed his exo-suit a moment and with the easy brush of a finger on the console it unlocked from its loading bay.  Another quick flick and it was loaded up on the back of the pod.  Better to have it and not need it.

Task completed, he turned to give Gordon a hand with the gear.  “Ya,  it should as long as the tunnel hasn’t been too compromised and isn’t flooded we shouldn't have an issue.”

Gear stowed away, they climbed aboard the pod and without further adieu the heavy blast door of the pod compartment rolled up and out of the way.

The scene outside hadn’t changed much in the few moments it had taken them gear up and unload.  People were still scattered about but now the GDF was corralling them into groups further back from the shaft entrance.  Several bulky shapes of GDF flyers were circling above, kicking up loose debris as they chased off news droids that had invaded the DZ airspace.

Thumbing his comms, Virgil signaled to Scott and his figure appeared out the mess of suited and uniformed people crowded near One.

He didn’t look pleased to say the least, the crease between his eyes evident even from a distance.  His long legs ate up the distance, the GDF that appeared behind him forming a blockade to keep the riff raff at bay.

Virgil popped the canopy,   the plexi-shielding swinging up.  He squinted and grabbed his helmet as the one of the flyers came close, its Vtol downdraft warm and swirling up dust.

“Scott,”  He nodded with a grunt as he swung down out of the pod,  his heavy soled boots thumping.  “We got a sit-rep yet?  John was surprisingly vague.”

“Not intentionally.”  John’s voice crackled through the comms in his ear.  Virgil wasn’t surprised his brother had been listening in and his early words hadn’t been meant as a slight though he knew John wouldn’t take it that way.

“For a construction project this big you would think they would be more organized..” Scott huffed skidding to a halt, his eyes doing a quick scan over the gear that was assembled. “We’re getting contradicting accounts of what happened.   Some say there was a section collapse.  Others, an explosion of unknown origin.  I’ve taken some preliminary scans but the results are inconclusive.  All I know is there is a pocket down there about hundred and fifty feet down the shaft that’s blocked off.”

“Signs of life?”

Bringing up the scan details on his wrist comm, Scott pointed out the area in questions. “Audio’s picked up tapping.  Standard Morse Code but it stopped about twenty minutes ago.”

That wasn’t a good sign. “Number of missing still the same?”

“I’m waiting for confirmation.  More came up the shaft after the initial count.  Visibility is poor down there so we’ve had some stragglers.”

“Take the pod down, check the integrity and see if you can get further signs of life. I’m going to try and get the story up here and a firm headcount.  I’ll also relay info up to John. Comms in the mine are sketchy at best so line of sight is required.” 

“F.A.B.”

Eyes track the movement of the spider legged pod as it crossed the compound.  The machine was a wonder and from what he could see from his vantage point the interior of the pod bay it had departed from was no different.

The technology was revolutionary in innovation and design. International Rescue reputation was well warranted in that regard and he could see why his employer would be so obsessed with them though he knew there was an underlying darkness to the obsession.  He’d seen it himself a time or two.  Disposing of the remnants of whomever it was that crossed his path.

It was a thankless job but he was paid well for his efforts and his well financed employer never skimped.

Slipping between two of the many supply shipping containers that dotted one side of the service area,  he obscured himself in shadow.  Away from the hubbub and chaos of people darting to and fro there was little chance he would be spotted.  The GDF were too entangled in their own task of trying to bring some sort of order to the situation to take notice of one solitary figure.

He’d snuck around easy enough before the evacuation order had been announced. After the noisy blast of a  horn in triplicate it was as if he was invisible. The contradictory rally points purposely imposed and uncorrected making the ensuing tangle of people the perfect cover for him to slip in amongst the moving mass of bodies.

His counterpart had been waiting for him, standing off to the side and obviously not one of the many clambering workers with his pristine coiffed hair and tailored pants. The dirty hard toes boots a decidedly tacky but necessary accompaniment to his apparel.

The acknowledgement of the others presence  was simple and took but a second of eye contact and a briefest of nods. His associate then easily donned the façade of a simpering idiot  and joined the hurried workers. Disappearing as the first thundering roar of rescue entered the scene.

The man truly was an idiot though so slipping in to the role he was to play was only natural.  He really had no idea how much he was being manipulated. Every action, one his employer had direct,  every reaction one that was completely expected.

The association with the billionaire inventor was just one part of the puzzle, a naïve one at that as the twit had no idea who was really behind all the careful planning.  Planning that had been meticulously cultivated over the last several months so that all the players would be exactly where they needed to be at precisely the right time.

He knew exactly how important this next stage of the plan was and there was  the real threat of cold steel at his neck and an unmarked grave in his future if things didn’t go the way his employer envisioned.  Not an appealing end to his career to say the least.

Billionaire dealt with, he returned his steely gaze to the task at hand. Tracing the path the pod had taken he watched as the canopy opened and one of his targets hopped down, followed shortly thereafter by another and a greeting of sorts took place between them and a third.   He knew as much as his employer would divulge about the ongoing grudge with the first responders though he cared very little about the true nature behind it.

He was being paid handsomely for his work and the bonus of screwing over that family was rather appealing.  Taking them down a peg or two was something he had wanted to do from the first time he’d met them.

Further pondering though would have to wait for a more appropriate time as he had a task to complete.  Part one of the plan had gone without a hitch and the true responsible party’s identity was safely out of sight.

It was only a matter of time before their patsy’s involvement would be discovered.  He was a well known man after all. Infamously so when it came to International Rescue and he wouldn’t be able to hide in the crowd for long. His reputation for failure in his chosen field was well known and his employer had made sure that his ineptitude was something that couldn’t  be missed. Use of him as a distraction in the past had already proven rather successful in aid deflecting from their true goals and there was no doubt that he would be again.

He himself was a part in the grand scheme and he took a certain amount of pride in the subterfuge his involvement had incurred.  The Tracy family really had no clue. 

Leaning on the shipping container,  he zeroed in on the sudden bustle of organized activity.   It appeared things were moving again as two of the brothers hustled back into the pod and it started moving towards the mouth of the shaft.

Palming a small, encrypted communication device he quickly activated it.  “Targets on site and entering shaft.  Phase two is a go.”  

Message sent, he snapped the device in two and tossed it over his shoulder into the brush. His thick padded work jacket and mining helmet soon followed.  Straightening he did one final check of his GDF Blues  and stepped out  into the harsh halogen brightness of the industrial lights.;

8-8-8

TBC

Chapter 1 |Previous Chapter | NEXT

[rhub4rb]

Of Birds and Bugs

AO3

Ch.1 Ch.2 Ch.3 Ch.4 Ch.5 Ch.6 Ch.7

-_-_-_-

"Don't worry, that won't be necessary," Damian's voice cut through the chatter of the class, and Marinette wondered how he managed to do that.

Immediately, everyone's eyes were on them, and Marinette found herself shrinking, hiding behind Damian slightly.

"Marinette!" Alix and Kim yelled out, with Max standing between the two, all three of them looking worried.

"I didn't know if you would have been able to get here," Alix said, walking over to Marinette.

"Claude drove me," Marinette said, nodding in her bodyguard's direction who waved at them.

"Mme. Bustier wouldn't listen to us when we said she forgot you," Kim told her, looking mad at the teacher.

Marinette's grip on Damian tightened slightly, before she took a deep breath and relaxed again.

"Your teacher didn't do a headcount?" Damian asked incredulously, looking down at her, Marinette simply shrugging. "That's-"

Damian was cut off by the shrill voice of Alya.

"Marinette how dare you!"

Marinette breathed in sharply, eyes darting between her three friends and Damian, before looking at Alya with panic in her eyes.

"Doing all of this for attention, I mean that's low, even for you."

Marinette blinked once, twice, cocking her head to the side, looking at Alya in confusion.

"...What?"

This response only seemed to anger Alya even more though, as she puffed out her chest and narrowed her eyes.

"Don't play dumb with me, you know what! Acting as if you got left behind at the hotel? We know Lila told you about the change of plans, yet you just stay at the hotel and pull this crap!"

Marinette's brows furrowed.

"Lila never told me anything about a change of plans," Marinette stated simply.

"Yes she did, I saw her send you a text last night!" Alya exclaimed.

Marinette blinked a few times again.

"Lila doesn't have my number," Marinette slowly shook her head.

"Yes, she does because I gave it to her," Marinette's eyes narrowed.

"You don't have my number either," She said curtly. "And even if you did, you have no business handing it out to people without my permission."

"What do you mean I don't have your number?" Alya asked, confused.

Marinette just rolled her eyes.

"Maybe you should check when you last used that number," Marinette simply stated, before walking over to the back of the group, the class looking at her wide-eyed.

She wanted to feel bad for saying that stuff to Alya, and by the disappointed look Adrien sent her, she knew that he thought so too. She shrunk in on herself, hiding behind Damian slightly, who looked at her confused before finally spotting Adrien, promptly sending a glare his way.

"Your classmates seem nice," Damian said sarcastically.

Marinette laughed awkwardly, keeping an eye on the group as they started walking.

"We used to be really close to each other, but I guess we grew apart," Marinette shrugged. "Not everyone is all bad though, Alix, Kim, and Max are all my friends," She said, pointing in the direction of the trio, Kim wiggling his brows and Alix sending them a wink. "...Never mind."

-

It was interesting, being able to talk to Marinette properly. He had only truly gotten a hint of her personality the night before, so holding a full conversation with her was nice.

"In my pajamas! It was so embarrassing," Marinette told, covering her face with her hands. "I don't know how many pictures Alya has put up of me on her Instagram. She took them down a couple of years ago, but gosh, I was so embarrassed."

Damian hadn't expected Marinette to be a bit of a spaz, but he found that it was a rather endearing trait of hers.

"She just posted pictures of you without asking?"

Marinette paused for a moment, probably trying to remember, only to end up shaking her head.

"I was fine with it in the beginning, we were friends and it was mostly just our classmates that saw, but..." Marinette shrugged. "It did start bothering me after a while, but she wouldn't take the pictures down for some time." She looked thoughtful for a moment, trying to think of the right words. "Because of the Ladyblog, Alya has a lot of followers, and some of them follow her everyday Instagram account too. I started getting some rude comments on my own posts, on an account I have now deleted."

Damian was starting to dislike her classmates less and less, the more Marinette told. Disrespecting her privacy several times over, asking her to do things last minute. He did wonder what the Ladyblog was however, and noted to himself to check it out later, or ask Tim to look into it for him.

"Do they always just... expect things from you?" Damian asked.

That made Marinette stop in her tracks, brows furrowed in thought. In the end, she just let out a sigh before gently pulling him along again.

"I guess? I don't really know why it became that way, I just- I've always been happy to help, you know?" She said, finishing off with a disarming smile.

Damian was left speechless for a moment. This girl's generosity was getting abused on a daily basis, and all she had to say was that she was happy to help?

She didn't even seem upset about it!

"You really are an angel, aren't you?"

It didn't hit Damian that he had said it out loud until he noticed how her eyes widened and the most wonderful rosy color filled her cheeks.

"I-I don't know about a-angel, really..."

This was his chance! Come on Wayne, you can be smooth, just don't be rude to the girl who was literally heaven-sent.

"Of course you are, Angel, and I think I'd like to keep calling you that," Damian said, trying to look at her as charmingly as possible. "Unless you don't want me to, of course."

Damian smiled in success as Marinette stammered out an okay, looking more and more flustered by the moment, until she just gave up and nodded instead.

"If it would not be too much trouble then, Angel, would you like to join me for lunch today after the tour?"

Marinette didn't get the chance to reply, as just when she opened her mouth to give him an answer, someone yelled out.

"Marinette!"

-

"Marinette!"

Dread filled Marinette's chest as Adrien called out to her. Her grip on Damian's arm tightened, Damian looking at her in confusion before looking in the direction of the voice.

She hadn't even gotten the chance to process that Damian had the same nickname for her as Robin did.

Adrien had quickly made his way over to the duo at the back, Claude standing at the ready discreetly behind them.

"Marinette, Princess, why don't you join me and the other's for lunch later?" Adrien asked, smile blinding.

Marinette wasn't sure if the use of her nickname was an accident or not, but she couldn't really find it in herself to care over the feeling of fear.

"I uh- actually I was going to-"

"Come on, the others feel bad about leaving you behind at the hotel, they want to make it up to you."

Marinette could only imagine what making it up to her would look like, and she would rather not have her fears confirmed. She knew what they really wanted to do with her, or at least Adrien, and Marinette wasn't interested at the moment.

"I just made plans, actually," Marinette said, but her voice was meek and soft, wavering.

Adrien glanced at Damian, probably realizing what those plans were, and quickly grabbed Marinette's arm, pulling her from Damian.

"Come on, Princess, you can't seriously choose a stranger over me," Adrien took hold of her chin, tilting her head up and uncomfortably close to his. His hold on her arm was starting to hurt, Marinette noted to herself numbly. "We're in this together, aren't we?"

"N-no, Adrien let go," Marinette whispered, not wanting anyone else to hear, trying to get out of his hold. "Please."

"You know, Princess," Adrien continued mumbling, as if he hadn't heard her. "I think I've wasted my time going after Ladybug."

Marinette's thrashing started to become more violent, and she hoped that Claude would notice on his own, because Marinette was too scared to start yelling.

"Adrien, Adrien please, let go."

Damian took a step forward, but before he got the chance to do anything, Claude had already ripped Adrien away from Marinette.

"Mlle. Dupain-Cheng told you to let go, Agreste."

Claude kept his grip on Adrien as he started walking towards the tour guide, Richard if Marinette had heard correctly, nodding to her before he left.

Marinette rubbed her arm where Adrien had held her, even if she couldn't quite register the pain yet.

She couldn't believe he had actually done that in front of everyone, though it didn't seem like they had noticed the commotion at all. Then again, neither of them had been all that loud.

"Angel?" Damian's soft voice cut through her thoughts, and it wasn't until he gently started wiping them away, that Marinette realized tears were running down her cheeks. Hesitantly, he pulled her into his arms in a loose hold, probably wanting to make sure she was okay with it.

When all Marinette did was turn around and cry into his chest, his hold on her tightened.

-

After some time of Marinette crying in his arms, Damian slowly led the two of them to a secluded part of the building.

"Thank you," Her voice cut through the silence.

Damian had spent their quiet thinking about what had happened. Were Marinette and, Adrien if he heard correctly, dating? The look Marinette had given the blond boy would suggest otherwise, but what was their relationship then?

"Angel what... what happened in there?" Damian asked, looking at the girl with worry.

"Just Adrien being Adrien, I guess," She said softly, but she refused to look at him.

"Is he always doing that?" Damian asked, this time with a clear anger carrying in his voice.

"No! No, normally he doesn't get physical and stuff..."

It was obvious that she didn't want to talk, and Damian could understand that. He had only just met the girl properly, and already were too many things not going the way he thought they would. That didn't mean that he would give up though.

Marinette was a sincere girl, out of anything, that was what had stood out to him the most. She meant what she said, about herself and those around her.

That was why this was confusing Damian.

From the little he had seen of her, the situation with Adrien went against all of it.

Marinette was nice, yes, but she didn't seem like the type to not speak up against what, to Damian, looked like abuse.

He looked at the girl beside him, trying to understand her.

"Adrien seems like a bit of a dick to me," Damian said, feeling a swell of pride as he finally heard her giggle, if only a little bit.

"Yeah, he... he's been better. Not in a long time though," she sighed. "Adrien and I are best friends, or well, we used to be. He gets mad over everything I do though, so he's kind of hard to please..."

Damian frowned at that.

She shouldn't have to "please" Adrien, even if he was her best friend.

"What do your friends think about it?" He decided to ask, rather than saying what he really wanted to say.

Marinette's brows furrowed as she thought it over.

"I don't think they know," She shrugged. "Adrien normally sticks to our other classmates and stuff, so he usually only talks to me in private."

More and more alarm bells started going off in Damian's head, but he also knew better than to just tell her what was wrong with all of that.

Just from what she had been saying now, it seemed as if this was something that had been going on for years. If that was true, Marinette would most likely just deny whatever Damian said.

It wasn't even the fact that Marinette happened to be a girl he was interested in. What was going on between her and Adrien was clearly not healthy.

Maybe Damian would talk to his father about this later.

-_-_-_-

@ozmav @skyel0ve @kuroko26 @thebookwormfairy @imfreakingmagical @thornangelic727 @shizukiryuu @fangirl-food-feelings @driftingmoonlitpetals @spicybelladonna @god-is-dead-and-so-am-i @melicmusicmagic @minightrose @graduatedmelon @awkwardturtlez @sizzling-fairy-oil @royalchaoticfangirl @vixen-uchiha @mewwitch @my-name-is-michell @queen-of-the-trash-planet-tm @constancetruggle @kae690 @resignedcatservant @worlds-tiniest-spook-pastry @drama-queen-supreme @derpingrainbow @captainmac6 @k-rena-k @lunar-wolf-warrior @friedchickening @fandomfan315 @fanboy7794 @yin-390 @unholykrow @teresarosiadeviluke2112 @ayuchan07 @seraphichana @justanothersepticeyefan @politelyvicious @roseinbloom02 @uncompressed-boi @cadencehood @kaleigh-girlonfire

[perspective-series]

Pet Perspective (19/19) FINAL

By: @arc852 and @hiddendreamer67

Warnings: injury, guilt, talk of shock collars

First Chapter || Previous Chapter || Next Chapter

————————————————————————————–

 Virgil brought Roman upstairs and very carefully put him on his bed’s surface. “There we go, uhh...I’ll have to make a space for you, since your room isn't here anymore. Unless you want to sleep in my bed with me?” Although that might be a bit dangerous.

“I don’t care.” Roman shrugged. He didn’t care about anything.

 Virgil paused, looking back and Roman. He sighed and knelt down on the ground so he was eye level with Roman. “Roman...I think we need to talk.”

“I know, alright? I screwed up.” Roman squeezed his eyes shut. “Just drop it.”

 “No, no, that’s...if anything, I screwed up but I don’t really want to talk about blame at all right now.” Virgil sighed, looking down. “I just...I…” He closed his eyes. “Where were you trying to go?” He asked softly.

“I wasn’t.” Roman let out a choked laugh. “That’s the dumbest part, isn’t it? What finally got me wasn’t even an escape attempt.”

 Virgil blinked. “Wait, then...what were you trying to do?”

“I was just trying to have some fun!” Roman groaned. “And I shouldn’t have been so careless, and I tried to turn back, and… and….”

 “Hey, it’s okay. It...It was an accident. You did what you could and you shouldn’t fault yourself for trying to have...fun.” Virgil said, trying his best to be comforting.

“Being a borrower isn’t about having fun.” Roman hissed, hating he had lost sight of what’s really important.

 Virgil frowned, confused. “Well...what’s being a borrower about then?”

“Surviving.” Roman grumbled bitterly. “And preserving our way of life.”

 Virgil sighed. “Roman...I hate to be the one to point it out. I really do. But...I don’t think that’s really possible anymore. I know I said I would give you the decision if you wanted to leave and I still stand behind that...although it might be a bit longer now with your legs like this...but I think the old way borrowers used to live, your old way of living...I’m not so sure it exists anymore.”

Roman bit his lip, opening his eyes to stare up at the ceiling. They were watery, like Roman was trying to hold back a river of tears.

“...I know.” Roman’s voice was shaky. “I think… I think I’ve known that for a long time now, actually.”

 “I’m sorry, Roman.” Virgil said, feeling so bad not only for him but for all borrowers. “It’s our fault. Humans fault that that’s the case.” He was quiet for a moment, thinking. “Despite knowing that...do you still want to leave?”

“What?” Roman turned to Virgil with a slightly betrayed expression. “I’m in the middle of a breakdown and you’re still trying to get a roommate headcount?”

 Virgil blinked and then looked sheepish. “I...no, you’re right. Now's not the time for that, gah, I’m sorry.” He shook his head. “There I go, messing things up again.” He muttered.

Roman sniffed, rubbing at his nose. “Well, at least you’re not the only one.”

 “Roman, the car thing wasn’t your fault. It was an accident.” Virgil repeated himself. Yeah, Roman probably could have slowed down but he was doing exactly what he was supposed to do with a car. More or less.

“It was my fault there was an accident.” Roman corrected. “You… you told me to slow down, to stop, to go back. You knew best. And I didn’t listen.”

 “Okay...yes.” Virgil finally agreed. “Yes, maybe you were going a little too fast. But I also understand why you didn’t listen to me. You’ve spent your whole life listening to humans. Doing whatever you wanted. You saw this as a chance to have a bit of freedom. Which is good because that’s why I got it for you. Though it...kind of backfired.” Virgil explained.

Yes, in a way where Roman would never have the same limited freedom as before. “It… it was sort of sweet.” Roman admitted. “That you trusted it with me at all.”

 “Roman, of course. I...you know I was serious, about before, right?” Virgil asked, eyebrows furrowed. “About...giving you more freedom? Making your own decisions? Letting you…letting you leave if you wanted to?” Virgil paused. “...Right?”

Roman looked away from him. “Well… you didn’t want me to leave. And you were right, about all that stuff about the outside world being unsafe. I mean I didn’t even get down the street.”

 Virgil felt himself deflate, seeing how Roman really felt for what seemed like the first time. “It’s true, I didn’t want you to leave. I thought it was too dangerous and this only proved my point.” Virgil said but then continued. “But I was never, for one second, going to stop you if that’s where you wanted to go. I may think it’s a stupid decision,” He gave Roman a smile at that. “But it would be yours. And I wasn’t going to take that away from you.”

“Oh, well good.” Roman gave a dry laugh, trying to diffuse his discomfort. “Because I beat you to the punch.”

 “Roman, seriously, why would you think I wasn’t serious about this? I mean, I know your track record with humans. And just...humans in general are jerks to your kind, but still! And Roman, this...this isn’t the end. Your legs are...hurt now but they’ll get better. They-They should get better.” According to the doctor, at least. He was hopeful.

“I’m sorry, I just have trust issues!” Roman threw his arms up in exasperation. “It’s a character flaw, sue me. I knew you cared, and- and you’re honestly the best human I’ve met, but I thought you cared so much that… that it didn’t matter what I wanted.”

 Virgil looked down at Roman sadly. “...I’m sorry you thought that. If I had known I would have...reassured you more? Though...I guess it didn’t really help when I said you could decide in a week, huh? I put limitations on your own decision, didn’t I? I...I shouldn’t have done that.” Virgil realized, looking ashamed of himself.

Roman looked at Virgil consideringly. “Thanks Virgil.” Roman gave him a small smile. “I’m glad you’ve come around.”

 Virgil gave a small smile back. “I’m...I’m glad too. Thank you for opening my eyes to how much of a jerk I was being.” Virgil chuckled.

“You can always count on me for that, Emo Nightmare.” Roman playfully winked. “And I mean… it wasn’t so bad. If I had left when I wanted, I never would have gotten the chance to take Specs under my wing. ‘Course, I also would have access to both my legs right now… unless another cat found me.”

 Virgil winced. “How about we not think about that right now.” Virgil asked, not wanting to think of Roman even worse off then he already was. “You have gotten pretty close with Logan though. Which is good, I think that’s what Logan needed.”

“The shop ones are always lonely.” Roman looked a bit forlorn. “They get broken. I’m glad they didn’t get to Logan.”

 Virgil winced at the thought. “Do I...even want to ask what being broken entails?” He was curious but he also didn’t want to know.

“Obedient, which I guess Logan is, in a way.” Roman frowned slightly. “But the good thing is Logan’s loud, when needed, and he speaks his mind. And he’s curious about the world around him, how it works and all that. He wants to learn. I admire that, truly. Usually the curiosity gets snuffed right out of them.”

 “That sounds awful.” Virgil said, but then frowned as he thought back to when Patton first got Logan. “Wait a second...when Patton brought Logan home, he was already wearing a collar. You-You don’t think…?” Maybe there was a reason Patton had taken it off of him.

“What, the shock collar?” Roman raised an eyebrow.

 Virgil blinked. “The...shock collar? Wait, it was a shock collar?!” Virgil exclaimed, more than a little shocked.

Roman gave Virgil a bewildered glance. “You- you didn’t know?! That thing was huge, bulkier than a bison! And the little guy was twitchier than a flea, you could practically see the sparks.”

 “I-I didn’t know what a shock collar looked like, and I never paid much attention I just...I just thought the pet shop gave it to him for some other reason I didn’t know it was hurting him!” Patton must have figured it out, that’s why Logan had stopped wearing it. Why hadn’t he been told? Why hadn’t he figured it out?

“I mean, knowing Logan now, he was probably getting in trouble for talking back.” Roman gave a chuckle. “Can you imagine Logan’s actually the rebel of this household?”

 Virgil couldn’t help but chuckle as well. “I guess it’s the teenage rebellion.” Virgil joked but then paused. “I...still can’t believe he’s so young. And...he’s already had to go through so much. Including having a freaking shock collar on him.”

Roman gave a sad nod. “It’s terrible, growing up in a world like this.”

 “I never knew...no, I mean, I guess I never cared enough to think about it.” Virgil sighed at that, hating that that was the truth. “Humans are awful, aren’t they?” Virgil chuckled humorlessly.

“Yeah, pretty much.” Roman agreed. He sent Virgil a glance. “Most of them, anyways.”

 Virgil smiled. “Heh, yeah…” He cleared his throat. “It’s going to be a rough couple of months though.” Virgil said, changing the subject. “I know you still want to leave but I think we might have to postpone it until...after you’re all healed.”

Roman gave an awkward cough. “I mean...so, I might have sort of...changed my mind?”

 Virgil froze. “I...what?”

“I mean, there really is nothing out there.” Roman grimaced at that painful truth. “I’ve been in and out of the shelter enough to know better by now, and honestly? This isn’t so bad.”

 “Yeah but...I don’t want you to just settle either.” Virgil said, shifting awkwardly. “I mean, I’m thrilled! I just...want to make sure this really is what you want.”

“No, I- I think it is.” Roman decided. “I mean, it’s a big turn around, but- well you and Patton are really nice, heck you let me ram myself across the yard in a car, so I know you’re not going to be overbearing. And there’s Logan, so it’s not like I’m alone in this either, we can totally talk behind your backs about how annoying you’re both being.”

 Virgil snorted at that before smiling. “Well...I’m glad then. I’m glad that Patton and I make you feel listened to enough that...that you actually want to stay.”

“I’m glad, too.” Roman admitted. “I think it’ll be fun, bossing a human around.”

 Virgil laughed. “I’m sure you’ll have a blast.” He let his laughter trail off though. “Roman, I will do everything I can to make sure you are your own boss but...Patton and I might mess up along the way. I’m not going to lie and say we won’t. So...tell me when I’m being a jerk, yeah?” Virgil chuckled, though more nervously.

“It’s cute that you think I wouldn’t.” Roman teased. “But...yeah, sure thing. I appreciate your honesty.”

 Virgil relaxed laughing. “Right, I should have known.” He smiled down at Roman. “Welp, I think it’s about time we head to bed then. That medicine should have kicked in by now too, how are you feeling?”

“Good.” Roman closed his eyes a bit blissfully. “Really, really good.”

 Virgil smiled as he stood up. “Well, I’m happy to hear that.” Virgil looked between the bed and the desk. “I know you said you didn’t care before but...do you want to stay on my bed or do you want me to make you something on my desk?” Virgil asked, wanting to make sure he got Roman’s input on this.

“I don’t think I ever want to move from this spot.” Roman mumbled sleepily.

 Virgil chuckled. “My bed it is then.” Thankfully, Roman was already off to the side enough that Virgil still had plenty of space on his own side. He got into bed, being mindful of Roman and reached over to turn off the light. “Need anything else before lights out?” Virgil asked.

“Nope.” Roman shook his head, giving Virgil a smile. “Thanks for asking, though.”

 “Of course.” Virgil gave a smile back. He shut off the light. “Goodnight, Roman. I’m...glad this all worked out.”

“Me too.” Roman said, pleased to believe his own words.

-------------------------------------

 “Happy actual Birthday, Logan!” Patton shouted as they finished singing. They didn’t go with candles this time, so Virgil simply went into slicing up the cake to pass out. The whole thing was vanilla, since Logan seemed to prefer that one last time.

--------------------------------------

“Thank you, Patton.” Logan gave him a grin, so used to the human’s volume now that he felt no need to cover his ears.

--------------------------------------------------

 Patton grinned and Virgil came over with a slice of cake. “Alright, first slice goes to the birthday boy.” He set it down in front of him. “Can’t believe you’re eighteen already.” Virgil laughed, although it was more like, he still couldn't believe Logan was only eighteen.

----------------------------------------

“It feels as though it has taken a lifetime.” Logan admitted, eagerly digging in to his portion.

“Don’t worry.” Roman teased, prodding Logan in the side. “You’ll always be our lil’ baby calculator.”

Logan groaned. “That is the exact opposite of what I want and you know it.”

“I do?” Roman pretended to look innocent. “Because I thought just last night you were informing me I knew nothing.”

“Nothing about air travel, which is why the prospect of launching yourself in a paper airplane is dangerous-!” Logan began to rant again.

-----------------------------------------

 Virgil frowned as he came back with another piece of cake. “I’m sorry, what was that about a paper airplane?” He raised an eyebrow in Roman’s direction.

---------------------------------------

“I would never.” Roman was quick to not meet anyone’s eye.

--------------------------

 “Roman, I thought we agreed on no dangerous stunts until your legs are fully healed.” Virgil said, motioning to the borrowers legs, still in casts.

-------------------------------------

Roman let out a loud groan. “Spoil sport!”

-----------------------------

 Virgil rolled his eyes, placing the piece of cake down for Roman to eat. Patton then came over, having cut a slice for Virgil and handed it to him. “Thanks, Pat.” Virgil said.

 “No problemo, kiddo! Oh! Virgil, you have something on your face!” Patton exclaimed. Virgil blinked, hand going up there.

 “I do?” He asked, feeling around for it.

 “Yep! Right...there!” He placed some frosting on the tip of Virgil’s nose. Virgil blinked going cross-eyes to stare at it. Virgil smirked, getting a nice dollop of frosting on his finger.

 “Oh, it’s on.” Patton squeaked and started running as Virgil chased him around the kitchen with the frosting.

“I thought I was supposed to be the youngest.” Logan rolled his eyes. “They’re so childish.”

“Surprise, we’re raising children.” Roman joked. 

“Oh, as if you’re not also a disaster.” Logan huffed.

“But we’re your disasters.” Roman reminded him.

“Yes, you are.” Logan looked off into the kitchen, gazing fondly at the way Patton was still trying to dodge Virgil’s frosting attacks. “I’m glad we stayed.” He said suddenly.

Roman paused, looking over at the same scene. He smiled, nudging Logan gently on the shoulder. “I’m glad we stayed, too.”

[x--daughters-of-darkness--x]

Evanescence’s Amy Lee: ‘It’s Time for Us to Take Our Country Back’

Evanescence encourages speaking up in the new single “Use My Voice,” the latest offering from the band’s upcoming album The Bitter Truth, out later this year.

“Cover my ears and close my eyes/Just long enough to stop the noise,” Amy Leesings over subtle instrumentation. “Go and take everything and throw it away/But I will use my voice.” The song erupts into a chorus featuring several female vocalists, including Halestorm’s Lzzy Hale, Taylor Momsen of The Pretty Reckless, Sharon den Adel of Within Temptation, and violinist Lindsey Stirling. Lee’s sisters Carrie South and Lori Lee Bulloch, guitarist Troy McLawho’s wife Amy McLawhorn, and the song’s co-writer Deena Jakoub of Veridia also lend a hand on the track.

The title doubles as a campaign Lee launched last week in partnership with HeadCount, a non-partisan, non-profit voter registration organization. (A PSA featuring a portion of the song accompanied the campaign.) “This year is going to be more complicated than normal because of Covid,” Lee tells Rolling Stone. “Every state has different rules for registering and voting, and things will be different because of the pandemic. It doesn’t have to be overwhelming. UseMyVoice.org is a neatly organized place where you can easily find out how to vote safely in your state, when to get your absentee ballot sent in by, even who the candidates are and a little about them. Our hope is to empower people with this information.”

“It’s always been a personal rule for me not to talk politics, because I want our music to be a place where we come together, where we put our differences aside and connect as one big unified spirit through music,” Lee tells Rolling Stone. “But the state of our nation right now weighs very heavily on my heart, like never before. I feel too much to keep it in this time and a responsibility to do something with my platform to try and help — to empower the people. To shine a light. To fight for freedom because it’s not free, it takes work. We can’t just expect things to go as they should and for people to be honest and fair, we have to keep them in check. I believe it’s time for us to take our country back.”

“The concept of playing a private show for fans who check their voter registration status is strong,” adds HeadCount’s executive director Andy Bernstein. “We think we’ll see several artists do this as the election gets closer. With a dedicated fanbase like Evanescence has, and an artist as personally engaged as Amy Lee, it’s a can’t-miss idea.”

“Use My Voice” follows the singles “The Game Is Over” and “Wasted on You,” the latter of which was recently nominated for Best Rock song at the 2020 VMAs. It marks their first nomination since 2003’s Fallen. “Kinda makes me regret spending 400k on the ‘Call Me When You’re Sober‘ video when we could have just filmed ourselves on our phones for free!” Lee cracks. “Who am I kidding, I didn’t have an iPhone back then, times have changed. We all feel very proud of the ‘Wasted On You‘ video because we were all a part of it in a way that we never have been before, and we all shared ourselves more intimately than before. As much as 2020 has sucked, I have enjoyed finding ways to use limitations as a creative tool. It’s like learning a new instrument.”

The Bitter Truth, the band’s fifth LP, marks their first new music in nearly a decade. Lee is optimistic about releasing new music during this unusual time. “We can’t be out there promoting like we normally would, we can’t be onstage performing these songs live for fans in the moment, but we can still connect through our music in a way that is just as real and make people happy,” she says. “It’s definitely made us happy. And anyway touring comes second to music making. We’ve just been forced to focus on the most important part of what we do this year, which isn’t a bad thing. It’s been so fulfilling to finally let these songs fly.”

[fandomtrash465]

Time Fluff: Chapter 3

A/N: Hi lovelies! Sorry that this chapter took a little bit longer to get posted, I just wanted to make sure that this one is really good with the action and everything. I hope that you guys still like it as much as the other two chapters! And special thanks to all of you that commented on my last post, luv you all <3

Summary: Bucky x reader. Bucky and reader have liked each other for a long time but they’re both in denial of the other’s feelings. What will happen when Tony’s new invention accidentally brings 40sBucky and 40sSteve to the present? If this were to go in the actual MCU timeline it would probably be sometime before infinity war and before they actually figured out time travel. And for anytime that 40sBucky or 40sSteve are mentioned I used * to make it less confusing for which Steve or Bucky it is. 

Word Count: 1595

Warnings: Like two swear words

Other Chapters: Time Fluff Masterlist 

 *Howard Stark’s lab, 1943*

“I’d be careful with that if I were you pal, you’ve got no idea what you’re messin’ with over there” Howard says this to Steve when he starts looking around the area at all of the contraptions. 

“How do you keep track of all this? Do you even know what everything here is?” Bucky asks while holding up a small metallic object. 

“I-“ Howard begins to respond but a faint blue light coming from the wall catches his eye before he can finish his thought. “I guess I don’t?” He cautiously walks toward the wall, gaining the attention of Bucky and Steve. 

“What the hell is that?” Bucky slowly reaches out to touch the growing light. 

“No, Bucky stop!” Steve shouts and grabs Bucky’s arm, but it’s too late and by the time that Steve had a hold of Bucky the blue circle of light had already sucked them in, and they disappeared. 

 *Tony Stark’s lab, present day*

“Oh my God! What was that thing!?” Bucky exclaims while trying to catch his breath and takes in his surroundings. 

“I have no idea what that was or where we are. What is all of this? This is even crazier that Howard’s lab” Steve gets up from being thrown on the floor, also trying to regain his breath. He starts to hear footsteps coming toward the door, a benefit of the super soldier serum. “I hear someone coming, quick Buck, hide” Bucky runs to grab something that looks like a gun and hides behind a large machine. Steve is just barely able to grab something to defend himself with and hide behind the big object near Bucky before the door to the lab starts to slide open.

*Reader’s POV*

In the middle of having a delicious dinner with the whole team we all heard a loud bang come from the lab upstairs. I took a quick headcount of everyone at the table and noticed the others doing the same, no one was missing so who could have made that noise? “Did we leave something on?” I asked Tony and Bruce in a quieter voice than I normally would have. 

“Not that I know of…” Bruce answered cautiously.

“I’ll go check it out” I say and begin to get up when Bucky gently touches my arm. 

“I’ll go with you, we’ve got no idea what’s down there” He says and rolls up his sleeves.

“I’ll come too” Wanda adds, knowing that if there is a threat that she will be one of the most powerful people to have up there. We start heading up normally and get quieter as we approach the door. 

“Be careful” I whisper as quietly as possible to them. Just before I open the door I hold up my fingers and do a countdown from three down to zero. I push the door open silently and hold out the gun that I almost always have on me. The three of us look around and I notice something off about the time machine, whereas before we only needed one more part now almost the entire thing has been demolished. I suddenly gasp and aim my gun as I see a figure crouching behind one of Tony’s inventions. 

“Who are you and what do you want?” Wanda asks calmly when she notices what I have. The figure slowly starts to move to a standing position and I can now see their face.

“Oh my God you freaking jerk. How did you get down here before us?” I ask as I now come face to face with Steve Rogers*. I set down my gun and roll my eyes at his prank even though he for some reason looks confused. I look over to Bucky as he’s been oddly quiet and I notice him staring at a different machine of Tony’s.

“I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about, ma’am” Steve* says politely as if he doesn’t even know me.

“Who’s that?” Bucky asks in a small voice and as the figure comes out he falters a bit because of how shocked he is at staring at himself from 70 years ago, the “other Bucky*” also looks very shocked. My eyes widen and I look between the two of them and Steve* trying to make sense of everything. 

“Okay what is going on here?” Wanda looks just as confused as I am, if not more so. 

“Friday? Please tell Tony, Steve, Bruce, Natasha, and Vision to come into the lab” I ask Friday without taking my eyes off of Bucky* and Steve*. She doesn’t respond and I figure that that’s because she didn’t want to frighten Steve* and Bucky*, but I knew that she had told the rest of the team because I could faintly hear their rushed footsteps. 

“Y/N! Friday told us that you needed us” Steve bursts in, immediately followed by all of the others. He takes a quick inventory of the room and freezes when he sees himself dressed in garments from the ‘40s. “What is this? Who are you?” They ask each other at the same time.

“My name is James Barnes, his is Steve Rogers, but I have a feeling that you already have that figured out” Bucky* says and looks all of us over, I notice his gaze lingering on himself, Steve, and I a bit longer than the others. 

Tony comes up behind me and says quietly “I think that the time machine worked” My eyes widen when I finally put the pieces together.

“How did you guys get here?” I ask, now wondering how they would have traveled over without us making anything happen. 

“The jerk over here decided to touch this glowing light coming from a wall in Howard’s lab” I can almost hear Tony’s breath hitch at the mention of his dad’s name. 

“Alright, well to be safe and make sure that you’re telling the truth I’m going to go set up a lie detection test” Natasha says with her arms crossed and gives me a look that says ‘you owe me an explanation’. 

“With all due respect Miss Romanoff, I could do a scan of these two and find out what timeline it is that they are from” Vision suggests while raising a hand to interject. 

“That’d work, thanks Vision” Nat responds with a smile and looks relieved that she won’t have to set up an entire interrogation when we all already feel the need to believe the two of them. Vision rises up and starts to visibly scan the pair while they look absolutely terrified, and rightfully so seeing as the craziest thing that they’ve seen science create is Steve. 

“Scan complete. Their DNA suggests that they are indeed from 1943 and are telling the truth” Vision sinks back to the floor while giving his evaluation. 

I sigh and rub my head for a moment and try to stay calm, especially because both Steves and Buckys look like they’re about to lose it. “Okay, Tony and Bruce? Can you go explain all of this and everything that we were doing to Steve and Buck, our Steve and Buck. Vision, go tell everyone else what’s happening. I’ll explain everything to Nat and then I guess I’ll have to show these two around the compound seeing as with this thing the way that it is they could be here for a while” I say and end with a gesture towards the charred-up time machine.

“That is if you two are comfortable with me showing you around?” I ask Steve* and Bucky* to make sure that they’re at least somewhat okay with how we’re trying to handle this situation. 

“Of course, doll” Bucky* says and nods in my direction politely with a small smile and it feels odd to be called ‘doll’ by someone other than the Bucky that I know. I notice Bucky almost glaring at his younger self but I don’t think much of it.

“Okay then. Let’s go people” I say and everyone goes in their respective directions. I pull Nat aside and begin quickly explaining everything to her.

“So, you spent almost two weeks huddled up in this lab figuring out time travel?” Natasha recaps while deadpanning after I finish explaining myself.

“Yeah pretty much” I say cautiously, unsure of how she will respond. 

“I honestly don’t know what else I expected. I mean it was you, Tony, and Bruce in here for two weeks, I’m kind of surprised you didn’t get done with this sooner” We both exchange a light laugh “But seriously, be careful with those two, especially with Barnes 2.0, don’t want a jealous super soldier on our hands” She finishes with a wink before walking out and I blush a bit at the thought of being able to make Bucky jealous. 

“Okay you two. You have basically no idea what is going on, do you?” I ask while trying to ignore how weird it is talking to my two friends as if we’ve never met before. 

“I’ve put together that we somehow time traveled to the future and there is somehow a Bucky and me here that look almost exactly the same as us” Steve* tells me kindly as if he can tell how close I am to freaking out about this whole thing.

“Yeah, and why does future me have a metal arm and looks like he’s homeless?” Bucky* asks curiously with a hint of concern in his voice.

“I’ve got a lot to explain to you guys” I say while looking between them both.

[pikapeppa]

Cullavellan & FenHawke pirate AU: Voice

Chapter 30 of Where The Winds Of Fortune Take Me is up on AO3! Just the first section here; Read the whole thing on AO3 instead.

In which I resolve those cliffhangers from yesterday’s chapter. HA.

Wonderful art as always by our talented mastermind @schoute​!! Fun fact: this was the first piece of FenRynne pirate art I requested, and I’m thrilled to finally use it in the fiiiic!

- CULLEN -

Piper ran straight at the nearest pirate with an animalistic howl, and Cullen took a split second to be stunned by her chaotic attack before following her into the fray. Two other men were about to attack Piper while she was occupied with her foe, and Cullen parried one man’s blow before kicking the other in the hip, sending him sprawling before swinging back around to cut down the first man with a slash across the belly. 

As Cullen continued to fight, he tried to get a swift headcount of their enemies. There seemed to be… seven of them alive now, perhaps eight. Unfavourable odds, certainly, but it could be worse. Piper was jabbing and snarling at her foe like a rabid wildcat, and it was obvious to Cullen that the vehemency of her attack was throwing him off, particularly given her diminutive size. Fifteen paces away, Fenris was handling himself with the same silent and brutal efficiency that he’d displayed during sparring sessions on the deck: in the two seconds that Cullen spent watching him, he trapped a man against a tree with one arm to his neck, headbutted him, then stabbed him through the gut before spinning to block a blow from another foe who was just behind. 

He’s all right, Cullen thought, and he turned back to assist Piper instead. Her enemy was dead, and she was engaging two others with a boldness that was both admirable and terribly worrying, given that both men were almost twice her weight.

One of the men reached for his pistol. Cullen rushed him and slashed at his arm, causing the man to dodge away with a cry of shock. He tried to aim his pistol, but Cullen grabbed his outstretched arm and pulled him close, then elbowed him in the face before slicing him open from throat to hip.

He glanced at Piper once more, and his heart leapt into his throat. She was ten paces away, and she and her foe were on the ground, Piper scrabbling through the sand for her dropped épée while her sorely-injured foe shoved himself clumsily to his feet. As Cullen watched in horror, Piper’s enemy reached out and grabbed the back of her shirt.

Cullen bolted toward her. The pirate was dragging Piper back through the sand, and now he was hauling her to her feet and reaching for her throat with one large meaty hand… 

“No!” Cullen bellowed.

The man twitched in startlement and loosened his grip on Piper, and she spun around and slammed the heel of her hand into his nose. Then Cullen plowed into him in a hard tackle. 

They skidded painfully across the sand with Cullen on top. The pirate was gasping in agony from a wound in his side but still reaching for the dagger on his thigh–

Cullen grabbed the dagger and ruthlessly stabbed the blade into the side of the pirate’s throat. He pulled the dagger free, and the copious spurt of blood was accompanied by the man’s choking cry.

Cullen shoved himself to his feet and turned to Piper. She was glaring at the pirate, her chest heaving with angry breaths as she wiped some blood from her mouth. She spat a gobbet of bloody saliva on his body, then looked up at Cullen. “Come on,” she snapped. “Fen needs us.” She began running back toward Fenris, who was battling three men at once. 

Cullen hastily caught up to her. “Are you all right?” he shouted. 

“I’m fantastic,” she yelled back. “I bet I can kill more of them than you.”

Her smile was blood-tinged and angry and not at all reassuring. But before Cullen could say anything more, Piper looked past him at the treeline and slumped slightly. “Fenedhis lasa,” she complained. “More on the approach.” 

Cullen looked, and his heart sank into his stomach; six more men were approaching, and there were the three that Fenris was fighting, and – oh Maker’s breath, was that shouting he was hearing from up on the ship itself?

Piper stopped in her tracks when she heard the sound, and as Cullen watched, she seemed to swell with rage. “They’re on my ship?” she shrieked. 

Cullen reached for her hand. “Piper–”

She pulled her hand away and pointed her épée at the oncoming enemies. “We kill these assholes, then we destroy anyone who dared to set foot on the Lady Luck,” she snarled. Without another word, she bolted straight at the six incoming men, and Cullen ran after her. 

She flew into the enemies’ midst like a tornado, screeching like a banshee and jabbing her épée in a flurry of chaotic strikes as she reached for her flintlock, and the element of surprise gave her a clear second of advantage: she shot one man in the face and another in the belly before swinging the flintlock into another man’s jaw. Then one of the men grabbed her around the waist. 

She snarled and flailed wildly, inadvertently elbowing him in the face and forcing him to drop her, and Cullen swiftly joined her to control the fight, keeping the remaining men back as best he could. But the odds were clearly against them now. His muscles were starting to ache from every parry and thrust, and Piper was gasping for breath between curses, and Fenris was still fighting one of his three foes – a clear indication that he was getting fatigued himself.

Then three more men burst from the treeline.

Maker save us, Cullen thought in dismay. Then an arrow punched through one man’s chest. 

Cullen looked up in surprise. Varric and Dorian were approaching, and Dorian was reaching for a second arrow from the quiver at his hip. 

Varric felled Fenris’s final enemy with a crossbow bolt. Fenris looked up and nodded brusquely at Varric, then bolted toward the Lady Luck without a word. 

Varric looked over at Cullen. “Need a hand, Curly?” he shouted. 

“Absolutely,” Cullen called in relief. Within a few blessedly short minutes, most of their foes were dead with three making an escape back to the treeline, and no more were emerging from the forest. 

Cullen straightened and blew out a relieved breath. “Thank you,” he said fervently to Dorian and Varric. “I was concerned for a moment.”

“I wasn’t,” Piper said belligerently. “We would have had them. You hear that, you rotten sack of swine?” she yelled at a nearby dying man. “You were dead the second you dared to come anywhere near the Lady Luck.” She bent down and opened his throat with her dagger, then rose to her feet and started striding back to the rope ladder that they’d used to get down to the beach. “We need to get back to the ship. The crew–”

Cullen took her hand to stop her. “Piper, take a moment to breathe,” he begged.

She pulled away from him with a glare, and Varric held up his hands. “Cap, it’s under control,” he said quietly. “The bad guys were outnumbered on the deck. With Fenris up there now, I’d bet good money that none of them are left alive.” 

Piper took a deep breath, then slowly released it. “Fine,” she said in a calmer tone. “But we still need to get up there. And I want to know who these bastards are,” she said with a vicious kick to the nearest enemy’s body. “No one is getting the jump on us again. We’ll be ready for them next time.”

“Of course we will,” Dorian said jovially. “And I’ll make sure to wear my crimson linen trousers from now on. It hides the blood spatter so much more effectively.”

Piper scoffed and punched his arm before leading the way back to the rope ladder. Dorian and Varric made idle jokes as they followed in Piper’s wake, but Cullen couldn’t find it in him to feel lighthearted, not when Piper was so upset. 

He picked up his pace and reached out to take her arm. “Piper–” 

She pulled her arm away. “Don’t,” she snapped.

He hastily moved his hand away, then peered at her carefully. Was she angry at him? “Piper, if there is something I have done…” 

She exhaled slowly, then gave him a serious look. “Not now, Golden Boy,” she said quietly. “My crew need me.” She started climbing up the rope ladder. 

Cullen’s heart squeezed at her dismissal, but he tried not to worry too much. She’d called him Golden Boy, after all, so that meant she couldn’t be too angry. 

At least that’s what he hoped it meant.

Read the rest on AO3, picking up from Fenris’s POV!

[lyricalafrica2]

Roaming Alone...

Having idled a couple of days at Maun Rest Camp, I decided I needed to make a move to see more. My run along the dry river bed that morning brought so much home.


I was meeting up with friends that evening and they said I was more than welcome to stay with them, which would save me packing up my tent in the dark before I caught the 7.30am bus. Typically it didn’t leave until 8.30, but you kind of get used to that.

Heading for an over nighter on the mgadigadi saltpans and excited at the thought of seeing wild meerkats on the planes. I got to Gweta with plenty time to spare, so I sat around the lodge from where we were to be collected. It was hot and dry.


The lodge owner knew my friends from Maun and after passing on their greetings later that morning as him and his wife sat entertaining at the bar, they invited me to join them. He was only from Hartlepool, an ex union rep. Seriously, everywhere I go….. they poured me a large Sauvignon Blanc and I sat there chatting, in fact perhaps for slightly too long. Before I knew it, someone came up to me and advised the jeep had left without me. Obviously not so good at the headcount thing! I’d already met some of the ladies who were booked in for the same trip, all from the Netherlands. Funnily enough it transpired that all had met on previous trips and had known each other a minimum of a year and some much longer. It was a nice group to share the trip with as it transpired. All very chatty.

As we made our way through the bush and scrub, the usual donkeys and goats tripped around the landscape. Even a few horses. We stopped a couple of time so that the guide could explain factss about the mophane trees and the baobabs, I can’t help but be impressed by these amazing trees, sadly in taking so long to become established, their numbers have been dwindling. Such broad trunks and tapering branches, and roots that look like they’re often carved out into organic human forms, like sprawling legs and torsos.

We found the meerkats just before the sun started to set in the sky and just as the white glimmer of the pans were coming into view. Cheeky, curious, they’ve become habituated to human presence, but not enough to approach a stranger. My bubble burst of lying flat on the ground snapping a way and having one keeping sentry on my head.

They weren’t a big group, maybe around, seven or eight, with the younger being more cautious than the elders. There had apparently been a group of thirty or more, but in that size group they tend to split and form separate packs.

We watched them for around half a hour sitting up on their hinds, keeping a look out, scurrying around and stopping to dig dig dig. They feed generally on scorpions and small rodents and snakes. Hardcore for ones so cute! We tracked them on foot for a while, until the guide became bored. He wasn’t the best in his general approach and some things seemed a little rushed.

We made our way to the edge of the pans and he dropped us there, pointing out the direction of the camp. We had to walk it, I made sure I changed out of my sandals which were beginning to rub over my toes. Last thing I wanted was raw, bloodied wounds on my feet.

As we stepped out of the jeep, the dry salty crust crackled and cracked beneath our feet. It was so desolate ahead, I kept turning around to to watch that great orange orb, sink lower towards the earth, turning the surrounding sky all shades pink and orange, indigo with those accents of glimmering gold around the edges of the sun and the clouds. And in the blink of an eye, it bowed its head and disappeared. I find it incredible the rate at which the sun finally sinks blow the horizon.

We slowly made our way closer to camp, stopping to take pictures of the very moonscape like earth and the horizon. It was a very quiet experience, very peaceful.

When we got to camp, we unloaded our bags from the jeep which met us there. I eventually rediscovered my phone, which I’d evidently put into a side pocket for safe keeping and we were shown around. Our dorm…. 5 beds, a firm block covered by a a proper bivvy bag, zipped right up. Underneath, plenty comfort with a double duvet and pillow, then off to the left of there, around 50 meters or so was the loo with a view. A three sided cubicle with a longdrop. There was a sink with a canister of warmed water and various hand soaps, lotions and a towel. Another batheroom was way off to the right of the campfire and dining area. As it got dark, candles placed in paper bags were lit all around the landmarks, lighting the way.

A dinner table and serving area had been set up where we were served potato soup and bread, they made popcorn for me. A vegetable “curry”, perhaps more akin to a Mediterranean stew, heavy on the paprika and chunkily cut carrots. And for desert some kind of cake and custard, but for me a tin of fruit salad in syrup. And for breakfast, a tin of fruit salad in syrup. I’m not one to live out of cans, pineapples, avos and oranges were so abundant, but when in Rome…(or on the pans). Still, I graciously consumed the tinned fruit in its cool sugar syrup.

After dinner we sat around the campfire chatting. Before I left, Terry the lodge manager mentioned that if I got a chance I should take a walk after dark. He said walk away from the camp on your own, go as far as you dare, you won’t get lost as you’ll always have the campfire to guide you back. Only when I returned the next day did he tell me he’d often told others to do the same, waited till they were far enough away, then extinguished the fire just to get them going. The thought made me chuckle, but he wasn’t there to pull the prank on me!

It was certainly what I needed though and very much gave me that sense of being that tiny little life amidst an amazingly vast landscape, looking up and out into the dark sky strung like a Christmas tree with a complex of stars and constellations, the Milky Way hanging there like a voile. A spectacular experience. It was unnerving yes as I moved towards the edge of beyond, I occasionally stopped so there wasn’t even the sound of my footsteps crushing the salt beneath. I could still vaguely hear the chatter of camp, so I decided to push on. I think I maybe walked around ten minutes each way. At my destination, all I could hear was that piercing buzz of silence in my ear. Looking around nothing distracting my mind, just feeling utterly in awe of the planet we live upon. I stood there a while before deciding to head back to camp. Surprisingly it was more unnerving walking back towards the light of the campfire. I can only surmise that as you walk away from the light, it has your back; but as you walk towards it, the darkness is behind you, the unknown. We all have things that we need to walk away from, people, circumstances, places and sometimes fear holds us still. Going above and beyond that helps break that resilience down. Believe you will be ok, believe that you got this and invariably you will be absolutely fine.

I awoke very early, but decided I was too cosy to budge, so went back to sleep. I eventually came to again to find my fellow camper Isabelle already snapping away, taking pictures of the sunrise. An opportunity not to be missed.

Breakfast was eaten around the same dinner table as the evening before, we packed up and loaded our belongings into the jeep and managed to persuade the guide to let us walk back to the edge of the pan. We took many more photos, stopping to strike our seemingly appropriate yoga poses along the way. I was a little sad to leave, but equally, I suspected as the mid day sun crept in, it would become unbearable with no shade. If the scorched cracked earth was anything to go by, it wouldn’t be so great for us either.

En route back we spotted wild ostrich, and a group of vultures huddled together warming up under the new day’s sun. Quite a sight!

The guide didn’t afford us much time to stop and see anything and before we knew it we were back at the lodge. I found my tent and having decided to stay there for an extra night, put it up in the camping ground. I was on my own, not one other neighbour. Only a little later the owners offer me a room, so off I went to dismantle my little pop up residence and relocate to the cooler climes of a comfy room. I had a dip in the pool and snoozed off and on for a few hours feeling quite content, joining the girls for a natter and saying goodbyes as they were off early the next day for more exploring. They’d come down from the Boteti river to Gweta, definitely on my list of to dos with such an epic zebra migration going on!

Later on I rejoined the owners and some newly arrived friends at the bar. The gentleman - a fairly prolific guide throughout Botswana and Kenya and his wife a practicing artist. A lovely and very interesting couple. It was on this mans advice that I found a doctor to consult on my newly planned trip to Kasane. I’ve had a lump growing for a few months now, unexplainable. I’ve gone from believing it was a tarus to (a hard honey growth in my gum), to seeing it appear more visibly beneath my cheek bone. And so the very next day, come midday, I decided that I’d take the bus to Kasane and see the doctor the day after.

The journey from Gweta to Nata wasn’t so bad. Maybe an hour or two. I stood waiting for another hour for a bus to Kasane, before I was alerted to a lift in a car which would depart sooner. There were five of us, I was one of three crammed into the back of the small car, the passenger and driver seats were pulled right back restricting the passengers leg room. It was hot, exhausting and unpleasant, I’d already made up my mind I didn’t want to be putting my tent up in the dark, so I’d booked a safari tent at the lodge I was going to stay at overnight, luckily it had a en suite bathroom. I unloaded my luggage from the car and snapped “patience!” at the driver as he pestered money, money, money. Could he not see my hands were full of bags? I’ve had my fair share of male african attitudes, I can’t be so generic to say that they are all the same, but in seeing so much opportunism and often fairly derogatory approach to women, given certain moments, even I occasionally cannot humour them and vocalise my annoyance in the way I’ve been spoken to or treated.

When asked about the way I was making my way around Africa, someone asked me if it was safe, if I trusted the locals? I said they were only human, like you and I, that is just basic common sense and acceptance, you do however like anywhere come across characters who you would rather just have not come across. Sadly I have come across a few too many. A girl can only take so much aggressive coercion, deception and assumption.

So after a couple of lonely glasses of wine at the bar, I made my way back to my tent and settled down for the night.

The next morning, I woke with a plan to visit the doctor. It was relatively easy to get to there via taxi, but I wasn’t prepared for what he said next. I was basically told I needed to go to Francistown the next day to see someone at the hospital who would remove it. It needed analysing and the results should be in by the following week I was reassured. I was still exhausted from the previous day’s journey and the thought of having to repeat that again so soon had me in bits and that was despite the thought of what might have been going on with my body. I’m aware of the human\my ability to catastrophise, but when you are thousands of miles away from home and facing something that may or may not be serious, it’s nice to have someone there to hold your hand and this time I was alone. Not wanting to scare anyone and knowing the diplomacy I needed, I whatsapped one of the only friends that I felt would deal with this practically and emotionally. In tears, I broke the news, I really did just need to get it out of my system. Come that afternoon, I was on my way back to Francistown for the operation the next day. I checked into a the hotel, who had a mix up as the system was down. They told me they had nowhere for me to stay, until I suggested they provide a taxi for me to get to another suitable place to stay. Suddenly the management were on the phone, apologising and granting me a room. I settled down to watch a movie on Netflix with a takeaway salad and did my best not to think. - perhaps I sound like a bit of a madam? I sometime reread things and knowing myself and my lack of boundaries in usual circumstances. Being away and dealing with the unknown I can be naive, but equally I know I need to look after myself. Call it survival mode if you will.

Up early the next day, I did a brief workout before leaving for the hospital. My details were taken and I was led over to a clinic on the other side of the street, where I waited to be seen. The doctor checked me over and said that it definitely needed to be removed, but thought the growth was infected so wanted to put me on antibiotics to see if it made a difference and then see me again in two weeks. So a 1000km round trip for a packet of doxycycline and an very expensive pair of latex examination gloves later, I left the clinic, disheartened and still tired, physically and emotionally. I did what I always do in those circumstances, go find decent coffee.

I headed through the less desirable part of town in the direction I suspected that the bus depot and main shops were. Along the way acquiring a middle aged man with a hobble, who evidently saw his entitlement from a younger lady walking down the street. I wasn’t comfortable, he wasn’t particularly endearing or pleasant and as much as I sped up, I could hear his footsteps just behind me. It was the last thing I needed. I eventually saw the mall and made a left turn, as did he. I stopped to cross the road as he did, he followed me all the way into the main forum. I saw a clothes shop and seeing my chance to escape, ducked in, as did he, until I turned around and audibly said “would you stop following me! “ The shop assistants turned to look, as did a few customers and before I knew it, he was gone. My advice, as a woman travelling alone, stand firm, make a fuss if need be, don’t tolerate intimidation and yes, make sure you know your directions and know your safe spaces!
Thankfully, he never found me again that day. I had my coffee, picked up some snacks, then had another before deciding that I would head back to Kasane, but I would break it up a little by going via elephant sands. This was two hours away, doable in a less trashing way.

I booked the local coach and was dropped on the main road a couple of kilometres from the camp, from there I was picked up by a friendly member of staff. As we drove into camp I was greeted by my first glimpse of the elephants, quenching their thirst at the watering hole. I couldn’t dump my bags quick enough! I grabbed my camera and phone for back up and immersed myself in capturing their presence. Even while others went to dine, I sat there on the edge of the boma, observing, photographing and awe struck. I find these beautiful beings funny, endearing highly emotional and intelligent in their orderliness. Taking in the way they were in some kind of rotation at the watering hole, with elders giving gentle or sometimes rather aggressive nudges to move others back, or take up positions of sentry. I saw an elephant stumble as he was pushed accompanied by a loud trumpet call.

All got a chance to fill their trunks and at most times, their was one member on the periphery observing. Their dexterous trunks are like a multi tool used to suck up water like a straw before folding it into their mouths, or fondling another affectionately. They even trail their trunks along the floor to loosen the grass, so it is easier to grab and go. I sat there in the breeze for as long as I could, watching, hearing the pop pop pop of their bubbling gas until I got so cold I had to duck into the bar area for shelter. I sat there a while chatting with the bar hostess, she was called Sarah too and had only started a couple of weeks ago. She admitted that everyday she worked there, she feared for her life. Eventually we were joined by a man and his friends called Billy. As the conversation progressed, Billy turned out to be a tour guide, who ran his own tours around the world by motorcycle and only lived in Whitley Bay!! We regaled about life in the North East and the Ouseburn of course! We sat talking long after everyone else went to bed. He kindly walked me back to my hut, flashing the torch around to find any shining eyes, picking up on what we thought was a civet.

As I got ready for bed, I sensed it would be a while before I warmed up as I grabbed the duvet and an extra blanket from the bed next to me to insulate myself further. Eventually I drifted off in my little cocoon.

I woke in the middle of the night, only to find a bird had got trapped in my bathroom, startled by my presence he kept making bid for freedom, but running into walls and never quite finding its way out. He may well have got in through the front door during the night, I woke a couple of times to find it standing wide open, despite forcing the latch back in, the wind was seemingly forcing it back out. It made me laugh, there were hyenas, leopards and lion in the area, and even a tent had a zip up door….

I woke early to catch the sun coming up over the landscape, but lazed a while until I felt ready to leave. I’d been aware of encounters of the close kind for most of the night. Always excited, not so much scared. I got ready and went in search of coffee. It was cold and windy, even clutching my cup close in my usual way didn’t provide sufficient warmth.

My mind turned to the lump on my face. The unknown. The if’s, but’s and maybe’s. I was so cold, was that why? Did I have a temperature? I decided to go back to bed and try to get warm. Despite a couple of visits from the cleaner who seemed a little concerned about my need to sleep, I stayed there until just gone eleven. Sarah from the bar, popped her head in to reassure me that it was getting warmer. I crawled out from my little nest and tentatively left my hut.

Not long after I sat done on the boma, a man came over to chat and introduced himself as Alasdair. He was a film maker from S.A, but who had lived in various countries on the African continent. Very interesting! We exchanged brief histories and he said if I should need anything then I should ask for him if he wasn’t around at the time. “Most” of the people I’ve met have been so lovely and so in it together. He suggested if I needed medical treatment that Johannesburg might be a good option!

I spent the rest of the day watching the elephants come and go from the watering hole. First to arrive having sensed today’s delivery of piped water was an elederly bull, with a half tusk on his right side. He came hastily padding through camp in an almost comical way. The others started arriving sporadically. Not only was I more absorbing of their general behaviour today, I also started taking in their quirks, their individual personalities and features. Like the bull who liked to rest his trunk over his tusk. Another had a puncture in his right ear and another had the most raggy added ears I’ve ever seen.

I had a conversation the other day about Botswana’s overwhelming elephant population. They’re safer here as poaching isn’t tolerated, hunting isn’t allowed and so the species are graduating over the boarders from neighbouring countries. They have attempted population control with shoot to kill operations using the military, (which is tarring Botswanas reputation), but as I’ve discussed without condoning this form of control, their is an increase in clashes between the elephants and the people in vulnerable communities due to their surge in numbers. Elephants can be destructive and in particular when there is such a notable water shortage, it almost amplifies it.

At one point it was thought that removing the matriarch was a good way slowing the growing number, however that had its own problems. Elephants rely on the matriarch for guidance and regulation, take her away and it often results in a lot of unruly teenage bulls who’d never been taught how to behave, almost rebellious and exceptionally dangerous. They needed their mum for that essential socialisation, the matriarchal wisdom passed down from generation to generation that keeps the herd safe.

All said and done, they appear to be a lot safer here, but it would be nicer still for people to wake up and give animals the rights they deserve, the acceptance and find a solution that served more than just man, a solution that sees everybody winning and everybodies needs accounted for.

All I have to say is that I can’t get enough of their lumbering loveliness. They’re such a joy!

Elephants Sands is a fabulous place, but the dependency that it is breeding on this pumped in water supply can and has caused problem if it hasn’t arrived. They’ve been known to go digging up pipes, drinking water from the ablutions and all sorts. They even turn off the water supplies over night to try and avoid such behaviour.

Hold up for more pics to come....😎💫

[bo-sin-limite]

Fast-track to Nowhere

Dr. Kaufmann: After you reached out to me, I saw some pictures from Chile on your Facebook thing…is that where you live now?

Bo: Those are actually from like 8 months ago... I just got here from France as I want to go skiing and I have some friends with a shack up here. But before I spent like 3 months hitchhiking across Argentina - I love that place. You should totally check it out: Lush green Araucarnia forests, giant lakes and glaciers in the South. And up North it’s these crazy extraterrestrial desert landscapes, rainbow-colored hills with space-llamas. Worth it just for the hikes, but also fancy for lazy drivers like you. and Mother of God: the food is just fantastic. incredible steaks and red wines for next to nothing. You would love it there.

The Andes mountains cut across the whole thing, actually they run up through North-America as far up as Alaska. Anyway now I’ve just done Spain and France on my way to the Alps. I am so glad to meet you here after all this time. Last time I met you, you were in Düsseldorf working for some tech-company. What are you doing now? And what brings you up here?

Dr. Kaufmann: I am still in Düsseldorf, actually I just bought a flat there.

Bo: Now why would you stay in that shithole for so many years?

Dr. Kaufmann: I am still working with UltraCorp, the money’s good and I am now the Head of Innovation and Agile Project Development.

Bo: That actually sounds pretty breakthrough - congratulations!

Dr. Kaufmann: Well to be fair it’s not really like we invent anything - actually we scout for new products and ideas from others that we could try to implement in our company. Arguably it’s a nicer label for trying to catch up with the present.

I am here this week for the digital designer conference down in Zürich. Supposedly I am here to escape the mental incest pond of my company and discover the next big thing for UltraCorp. But then instead... I hate these conferences!

Everyone’s just repeating the same shit over and over. It’s like a ritual we perform to show we truly believe it.

It feels like all the people from the industry, we’re on stage together putting on a play for the world. It’s not like any of them convince me of their bullshit, but the good actors are so deep in-character that with some I am afraid they don’t know they are acting.

Alas, I am part of this doomsday machine and have my part to play.

And while somehow we are all acting together, at the same time we are competing for attention - it’s the business version of hell! It’s like going to a physical manifestation of linkedin and being stuck there for days.”

A waiter comes by: Have the gentlemen decided?

Dr. Kaufmann: I will have the French breakfast with croissant, fresh orange juice and a Latte.

Bo: Just a coffee for me...and your wifi password please.

Dr. Kaufmann: Aren’t you hungry?

Bo: Can you put it on your company bill?

Dr. Kaufmann: Don’t worry about it - I’m buying.

Bo: Sweet. Then I will have the big Aussi Avo Smash and a plate of Jamón Iberico please. oh and make that a tall Chai Latte. Gracias

Dr. Kaufmann: So in between all these Xerox copy presentations, they give you caffein and sugar so you can stay awake to subdue yourself to yet another round. But the food is not really free - the buffet is a great opportunity for “networking”- it’s a goddamn snake pit. The more small talk I endure, the more emails I have to evade later.

You can’t even take a leak without being harassed by these goddamn sales reps with all their bullshit. It finally made me understand the suffering of being the prettiest girl in high school. These sales reps are fuckin animals! They are professionally trained to detect your weakness, conditioned to smile. Rejection turns them on. They offer gifts and politeness to force your natural urge for reciprocity...

Bo: Well that sounds annoying. But I guess it’s their job to get along with you.

Dr. Kaufmann: Yes, but they just take it way too far. They got all this hypnotic body language bullshit going on - they mirror your posture to gain empathy.  

They stop seeing you as a human being - really they just want to take you behind the shed and jump you. Never let them smell the scent of opportunity!

Once your business card is in that goddamn sales funnel - you will never be free. They will keep stalking you!

Bo: Poor bastards. I think you need to snap out of it. We should hike up to Müllers Zipfel today - that will give you some headspace!

Dr. Kaufmann: Can’t. Flying back tonight. I have projects to deliver and a hard deadline next week. That’s another reason I hate conferences: Your workload at home just stacks up - and you feel guilty as if you had gone to play golf. So on top of travel - you end up working the weekend. Once you have some seniority, you have to deliver shit, no matter what. You can’t really explain to people you would rather go to the gym or your weekend has any kind of tangible priority.

Bo: But if you are so busy, then why did you come to the conference?

Dr. Kaufmann: Well my boss kind of made me, apparently he committed to some guy from the supervisory board. Plus I had to pitch my face to the CEO of GigaCorp…

Bo: Isn’t that your competitor?

Dr. Kaufmann: Yes they are. Except we are cooler, more sustainable and more innovative.

Bo: I figured you couldn’t switch to your direct competitor?

Dr. Kaufmann: Well it sucks for my future ex-company of course, but for me it’s actually kind of necessary. I have been with Ultra for like 4 years and it’s starting to look lame. I should switch within the next year or so - if they give me the right package...  

Bo: You mean a new challenge and some free time?

Dr. Kaufmann: Good one :-) No, I need to increase my headcount and a bigger bonus.

Bo: But the money you make right is already completely sick! Didn’t you just buy your 3rd house?

Dr. Kaufmann: I have a friend, he makes like 3x what I make. It’s ridiculous. Plus I need to up my headcount now, if I want to make C-Level before I reach 50.

Dr. Kaufmann: Well those actually increase my monthly cost. I do alright, but I am still not at that point where it’s really worth it...

Bo: You have it all figured out then?

Dr. Kaufmann: You just look at where you want to be in 10 years, determine the steps to get there and calculate backwards. It’s not exactly rocket science.

Bo: But then you are glued to rails. The rest of your life will be one straight line.

Dr. Kaufmann: It relaxes me to see I am on track - currently I am actually 2 years ahead of my plan. How else would you do it?

Bo: I’d run that train right off the tracks.