#best case scenario: the screen shots are fake

[larrylimericks]

30Jul22

HS Edition In new footage X Factor supplied, Hey, Soul Sister’s the song H first tried. (Bit off-tune with his voice, But there’s bakery discourse!) Now hand over Lou’s Mr. Brightside.

LT Edition Explain his tattoos? He stays mum. What’s 369’s meaning? There’s none. But when he’s had enough Of all that Larry stuff, He’ll hit up your DMs ’bout his son.

[likesrandomstuff]

Avalance Fic Recommendations Part 4

The final part of this series. Thanks to everyone who reblogged and liked, and a huge shout-out to @heywhereisperry who encouraged and motivated me into doing this.

As I said in Part 1, feel free to add any more stories you think should be recognised to any of these posts, and my ask box is open if you would like more detail on anything.

Part 1: Bite Sized

Part 2: Snacks

Part 3: Meals

Banquets (Over 75,000 words)

When you do not have anything you need to do in the next couple of days

You're My Miracle by bihexualmess

My tags: Ava is FBI, Sara is a Private Investigator, Rip brings Sara on for a case

This just got updated the other week and ruined multiple nights of sleep for me. At almost 350k words, still going, I don’t know how to explain without spoiling stuff that happens a long way in. There are so many layers to both Ava and Sara here, and the trauma, and the issues, and the fact they will not talk to each other about anything. I jumped on this a bit late, as the title and description didn’t grab me, but oh boy, I was missing out. I did get to read a heap of it in one go, but that doesn’t help the slow burn. I would start this even though it’s still a WIP, just because it will take you a while, to read, and also the storylines need time to settle in, because they are heavy, but just amazing. It is now the longest Avalance fic with the latest update.

this is the way that we love (like it's forever) by CoffeeAndArrows, moonlitprincess

My tags: College Avalance dated and broke up, five years later they meet again, Ava’s dating someone else

This fic had me crying in the lunchroom during my second week of work because I couldn’t not read during my lunch break, and it was hitting me so hard. That was after starting it at 10pm, reading to 2am, sleeping until 6am, reading until 11am a couple of days before. Warning for major character deaths; the funeral for one is alluded to in the description. If anyone says something bad about Jordan, I will not be happy; one of the best original characters I have ever read in a fic. Sara’s not in a great place initially, but she gets there. And there’s some cute flashbacks to college Legends too.

you make me smile (please stay for a while now) by CoffeeAndArrows, moonlitprincess

My tags: High School Rivals AU, Ava’s class president, Sara is the superstar soccer captain, they have more in common than they thought

I just looked at the word count for this, and it must be the first time I have, because wow! It is a journey! There’s a couple of prequel, sequel and interjection stories in this universe too. Ava has to deal with her family not being super supportive when she comes out. Sara has to deal with Laurel struggling and their mum having a clear favourite (Laurel). Most of the Legends have really great arcs in here as well. Ava’s family is great. I wanna hang out with her little sister. Don’t be like 2018 me who gives up after the first chapter because they are mad about what Laurel is going through. She’s fine, and there’s a heap of great Sara and Laurel moments. I recently re-read the last 10 chapters, and I still couldn’t stop myself from reading like it was the first time.

i am who you used to love (and you are just a memory) by justpalsbeingals

My tags: The Vow AU, but Ava makes some better choices early on, they’re married, Ava gets into an accident and loses all memory of Sara

I hate the movie this fic is based on. The movie’s fine, and it was a delight seeing Tatiana Maslany in it while I was watching Orphan Black, but basically it is my worst-case scenario, losing my memory. The fact that this fic kept me hooked despite that, is a testament to the quality. The fic itself says “light angst”, I say it’s much, much heavier than that, but that’s just me. Warning, there are some intense twists in here, and everyone is a bit OOC to me, memory loss being considered, which might not be your thing.

and i will stumble and fall (i'm still learning to love) by lucylikestowrite

My tags: SwanQueen kid fic AU, yes, I know go with me on this, Ava adopted Sara’s unexpected baby, said kid finds Sara years later

In general, as I’ve mentioned before, I don’t like kid fics. Fics with future children coming back to meet their parents, or the couple going into the future? Some of my favourites ever. This has no time travel, but I trust Lucy. This story is under 75k, but the sequel is almost as long, so combined they’re over. The sequel is a WIP. I didn’t watch Once Upon a Time, but it’s the plot of the start of that, except the gay actually happens. There are a lot of issues our girls have to work through here, but the kid is so cute.

and we could try by plinys

My tags: it’s a story mostly told on twitter through fake screen shots of social media, Sara drunk messages Ava, Ava doesn’t block her

I’m sure this format of storytelling is not for everyone, and that’s okay! I was so confused by it at first. I would recommend starting with the shorter one, I can be your hero (in Part 2), just to see if you like it, before jumping into this. I read this when the epilogue, the fic, was released, and I was up until 5am because I couldn’t stop. It became part of my personality. Story wise, Sara and Ava are on different coasts, but both know Nate, Ray and Nora. Ray and Nora get engaged, and Avalance have to deal with planning that wedding, and whatever is going on with them.

take my hands now by plinys

My tags: Another Social Media twitter AU, Sara is The Canary, Ava is trying to arrest vigilantes, Nate accidently gives Ava Sara’s number

Another brilliant twitter story. Some of our gang is trying to arrest the other half. Sara knows who Ava is, Ava doesn’t know that Sara is the person she’s chasing. Everyone has public twitter accounts. Sara actually gets [spoiler villain] to stop an attack by sending them money for a drink.

your eyes, they shine so bright by plinys

My tags: Social Media AU, everyone works for not Buzzfeed, a colab series is pitched, Sara and Ava’s teams have to work together

Ava makes factual videos, Sara does not, they are forced to work together. Nate is everyone’s boss technically, but they do what they want. Nate and Ava are non-biological siblings, and Satan Camp is a running gag. Oh, fake dating is in there too!

right to the top, don't hold back by SJAandDWfan

My tags: American Ninja Warrior AU, Sara’s a veteran and the Legends train together, Ava’s a rookie, rivals to training partners to friends to …

I re-read this every year when the new Australian season comes out. It’s so burned into my brain that when I was watching the speed climbing at the Olympics I genuinely thought “I wonder how Amaya would go in this?”. Amaya’s pre-Ninja experience is rock climbing in this fic. I learnt so much about Ninja Warrior and how the show (at least in this universe) works, and it’s fascinating. Would recommend watching some clips if you’re unfamiliar with the concept. The story goes pretty in detail about the courses. For recommendations, either Jessie Gaff, who was a S1 Supergirl stuntwoman, or Australia’s own Olivia Vivian, who is just stages better than our next female.

biding our time (until tomorrow) by TheTruthAboutLove

My tags: Period setting AU, Ava’s too noble for her own good, Oliver’s dad is the villain

This was a really cool experiment. Basically, told in lots of mini chapters like a soap opera. I do not know much about this period of American history, but it did not matter. A lot of different Arrow-verse peeps show up along the way. I’m sure I complained out loud “you’re allowed to want things Ava!” at some point. There’s an attempt for fake dating, and it’s not the homophobia but the second daughter problem that gets them.

Click here to see all the parts

[butwhyduh]

Hello! idk whether requests r open, but hope they r. just feel like reading a random damian wayne x reader where reader is his best friend. Any horror will do. Thx!!

In the Darkness

Damian Wayne x BFF!reader

Warning: scary stuff, blood, horror

It was a dark stormy night in Gotham. That terrible temperature that hovered just above freezing until almost morning where it dipped just enough to make an awful icy morning commute. Normally you would be bracing yourself for your next morning trip to school. And forget about being warm, your apartment could barely keep up with being above freezing.

But this night you sat on plush velvet with a roaring fire in a gigantic stone fireplace at one of the Wayne’s penthouses in the city. The wall sized windows showed Gotham through streaming water. It almost looked peaceful.

Breaking you from your revery was a bowl of popcorn being plopped in your lap. You looked up to see Damian with a half grin before he sat down beside you. Titus sat down on his other side.

“We have that film you wanted to watch in theatre,” he said grabbing the remote.

“D, it’s still in theatres,” you said surprised. “How did you get it?”

“A, my father is Bruce Wayne. I could probably buy it. And B, I saved a certain theatre from being robbed and they owed me one and they lent me the film. You’re welcome,” he said, still looking at the screen. For Damian, that was practically the biggest compliment, that he thought about you.

“Thanks. Yeah, I usually just block out the fact that your dad is Bruce Wayne to be honest,” you said eating the popcorn.

“Be less honest,” he said with a gentle shoulder shove. “Let’s watch the film. I have to train tomorrow.”

It was a good movie. Scary with a bit of gore, though you weren’t prepared for Damian to tell you how blood patterns worked differently.

But with only 10 minutes left and the killer almost revealed, the power went out. You groaned and moved to grab your phone. Damian stiffened and looked around.

“Great, my phone is dead,” you said rolling your eyes. Damian quickly looked at his, dead too. At this point he was tense and Titus was on alert.

“Nothing should be out,” he said quietly.

“It’s a big storm, dude,” you said about to ask about flashlights.

“We have 2 main power supplies and 3 back ups. There should be no outage. And my phone was fully charged before the movie. There was a power pulse. This is a Wayne Enterprise owned building and we are in the penthouse. This could be an attack or coop,” he said standing. Titus stood by him and you couldn’t help but stand.

“There’s 2 ways to this floor. The main elevator and the service elevator that is in the guest bathroom,” Damian said. Knowing your location could save your life.

“You think someone is coming up here,” you said quietly. He nodded and moved over to the wall and grabbed a sword from a stand on the wall. You had thought it was decorative. Of course it was real. It was Damian’s.

“Here,” Damian said, reaching in his pocket to grab a large pocket knife. You blanched. “Worst case scenario only. You could hurt yourself before someone else because you aren’t trained. But if your cornered, this could save your life. Only open it if you really need it. Got it?”

“Yeah, D,” you said with frown. He stood a few feet in front of you and Titus was a safe distance away on alert. Your heart was pounding. You really regretted not taking Damian up on the offer to teach you some self defense. At the time the idea of bruises all over your body was the last thing you wanted.

The elevator dinged. It shouldn’t have. You needed a passcode and finger print to operate it. Not to mention, the power was supposed to be out. The door opened and a green mist wafted out and Damian stepped back to avoid it. Gotham villains loved toxins and he didn’t want to be under the power of fear toxin or pheromones or something. Titus got a dose and began barking wildly.

Damian pushed you back with his arm not holding the sword. “Try not to breath it,” he said as the mist filled the apartment. He could make out the shape of a person but couldn’t identify them. Within a minute, Damian realized that they were just some poor victim of whoever set up the toxin. They were screaming silently while their eyes darted around the room. Great, it was probably fear toxin.

Damian pushed a panic button he kept in his jacket pocket at pretty much all times. Hopefully the energy pulse didn’t affect the button. You shoved your shirt over your nose but it was futile. Damian stood in front of you looking around wildly. His eyes were dilated and his breathing was rough.

“Don’t move. It’s all fake! Don’t fall for it. It’s all fake!” He yelled and swung his sword away from you at nothing. Your vision blurred.

Damian and Titus fought some invisible monster in front of you. You turned to see the windows melting. You gasped loudly as the glass slid down like wet gelatin. The floor grew heavy. You weren’t even facing the same direction as Damian any more. You heart thumped painfully in a hard slow rhythm.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

You heard screaming laughter. Was the fucking Joker here?? You looked around to see no one.

“It’s in your head,” Damian yelled. He was still fighting an invisible foe. “It’s fake!”

The wall began to cave in. You could feel your body slide slowly towards the gaping window. You grasped at the couch but it too began to slide towards the edge of the wall. You were 50 floors up. There was no way to survive it. You shrieked and grabbed at the slick tile floor. The cold marble bit at your hands.

You could see your blood stick to the floor before defying gravity and floating to the ceiling. It pulsed with your heartbeat. You could hear the laughter in your head. It was so loud. You grasped at your skull. Your bloodied fingers left little streaks of blood all over your face.

Damian was calling you but he was the most dangerous one in the room. He was wildly swinging a sword and he and Titus were furiously fighting a battle. Was he fighting a past foe? The man in the elevator picked the wrong moment to move because Damian came closer and closer to him.

You watched as Damian killed him. His sword sliced the man’s arm first and he barred his teeth before growling at Damian. His eyes were wild and movement was more like an animal over human. Damian slashed him, this time in the abdomen. Dark red blood pooled from the wound and the man bellowed in pain. You cried and rocked. The world was collapsing.

The man was like a wounded beast and he tried to gnarl and slash his hands at Damian. Damian jabbed quickly, almost faster than you could see, and the man breathed his last breath as Damian’s sword pierced his heart. Blood pooled out almost lazily post death. The man’s eyes froze wide and terrible. You cried freely. Damian didn’t stop. He clearly was fighting another foe in his mind.

You balance turned on you and you almost threw up as you gripped the floor. “Stop! Stop!” You yelled as Damian and Titus both continued their battle with nothing.

The floor was turning again. This time, it became sticky as the ceiling melted down towards you. Little bits of melted plaster burned the floor. You rolled away as a large chunk hit the ground. The laughter sounded again and you saw a flash of white face pulled tight in a chaotic laugh.

The second elevator sounded and you scampered away and to behind the couch. Your fingers were white as they gripped the fabric to keep from falling out of the window. Monsters, beasts, men in black suits hurried towards you. Damian screamed and slashed at the air between him and the attacker.

“Don’t touch her! Don’t fucking touch her,” he bellowed. But it was too late. A monster in red grabbed you. You screamed and fought, landing a hit to their chest and a bite to their hand.

“She fucking bit me! Goddamn,” the big man groaned. He wrapped his arms around you tightly and you bucked but it was useless. He had you and you couldn’t escape. A man in black and blue shot Damian with a taser. This was how you were going to die, in a melting building with men as monsters grabbing you. How could you possibly fight them when they took Damian down? He’s the son of Batman.

A monster with a shifting face, once a man and another a beast, came towards you with a syringe. His mouth gaped and swallowed blackness. “No! No,” you moaned. Your throat was raw from screaming. He quickly jabbed you in the neck. Before you passed out, you saw the screaming laughing face of the Joker.

—————————————

12 hours later you woke up. You sat up quickly only to see Damian’s bedroom in the manor. Your head spun for a moment before stopping. His crisp white sheets and blue blanket and red ornamental rug laid on wooden floor. You were alone. You felt a small bandage on your neck and your fingers had small scabs along the nail lines on both hands. One of your fingernails was cut jagged to the quick. You grimaced as you touched the injured skin.

The walk from his bed into the hallway showed you two things: the floor was really cold and that you were wearing Damian’s clothing. A simple grey sweatpants rolled up and black Superman shirt was not enough in the chilly manor. You opened the door to an empty hallway. The floor had a thick soft rug that covered the sounds of your feet. You heard the sound of voices from the library at the end of the hall.

“I almost killed her,” you heard Damian say. His voice sounded pained and raw.

“It was the fear toxin. You didn’t do anything,” said one of his brothers. You couldn’t tell who yet but probably the oldest.

“I almost eviserated her, Grayson,” Damian said flatly. “The fear toxin made her cry in the corner and I almost cut her in 2.”

“She managed to bite me,” said another deeper voice.

“You left yourself open to be attacked,” said a third voice.

“Enough. She’s awake,” said a final voice that you definitely recognized as Damian’s father. “Come in.”

Damian sat on the edge of a wooden desk. Bruce sat in the desk chair behind the desk. Dick sat on a chair in the corner. Jason stood by Dick’s chair and Tim paced by a bookshelf. The other bat kids must have been out working.

“Hey,” Damian said searching your face and body for injury. He almost looked... vulnerable. His eyes stared at the bandage on your neck.

“Hi,” you said and your voice felt raw and painful. You rubbed your throat.

“How are you feeling?” Bruce asked. Damian quickly got you a chair. You sat down slowly. Your head still throbbed.

“Okay I guess. What happened?” You asked.

“Someone got ahold of a new street drug that uses a certain variety of fear toxin that is fast acting but short term and they atomized it and released it into the tower. They did it through a vent from the top down so you both got the largest dose. Luckily the security guard on the bottom floor only had some anxiety and a racing heartbeat and was able to recognize the situation. Damian’s tracker was activated and we got you both out as fast as we could,” Tim said.

You rubbed your temple. That didn’t sound right. What about the elevator? The man?

“Does your head hurt? We can get you something for that,” Damian said.

“I’m okay. Thanks. How long was I out?” You said trying to put things together.

“12 hours, give or take. You should probably get back in bed until tomorrow. Your mind and body need a break,” Bruce said. You nodded. Your head did hurt and you were tired but you couldn’t relax. There was just something off about everything. Maybe a side effect of the toxin. Damian offered to walk you back into your room.

“I’ll give you some medication to help with your headache. It might make you sleepy, okay?” He said pulling a syringe from a drawer in the room.

“Okay, I guess. My head does hurt,” you said climbing back in bed. Damian smiled and injected your arm.

His face. He smiled widely. Wider than he ever had before. Wide enough to have a gaping blackness. You went to scream but you were too tired. You tried to grab him to find you were tied in place. The manor’s neat clean walls faded to dirty dingy peeling mess and you could smell must and mildew. Your vision blurred.

The sound of a screaming laugh from a pulled back face was the only thing you could hear.

Let me know what you guys think 😀

It’s a part 1 of 2. The second part might be out Friday or next Friday depending on my schedule.

[camthesolemnone]

Hi, I have like, 4 more ideas that came to me while I was at work, so #1: horror movie. Medic and Heacy are in their cottage, and have just watched a horror movie of some kind before they go to bed, right? Yeah. BUT! As they get ready, something odd happens that sets them both on edge (turns out it's just one of the birds or something) but they end up scarred and not wanting to go to sleep

I changed this one a bit but the main idea remains in-tact. I’m sorry that this took so long to get out and that the ending is kinda shitty. I’m working on the other prompts you sent me alongside this one! Also, I don’t know if you saw the pinned message or not but requests are now closed, so please hold off on sending any more.

"Is leetle Scout asleep as well?" Heavy asked, sitting comfortably on the rec room couch.

Medic nodded and reached for the VHS tape sitting on the glass table in the middle of the room. A tiny smile graced the Russian's features.

"Is good, we have television all to our selves!"

"Ja, and don't expect to sleep tonight, Mikhail! Herr Engineer told me that this is one of the scariest movies he’s ever seen," Ludwig replied, holding up the tape for his partner to see.

Written across the label in black sharpie was the simple word, 'Halloween.' The label should have been difficult to read in the dark, but the Russian noticed how it almost seemed to radiate a burgundy light...must have been some crazy glow-in-the-dark marker Engineer had invented, he concluded. Heavy crossed his arms triumphantly and laughed.

"Do not count on it, Doktor! Heavy is not phased by baby horror films!”

“Oh, we’ll see about that!”

A moment of time was spent struggling to find out which remote went to which device, but eventually, the pair got the movie inside the VHS player and smiled excitedly as color flooded the screen. Ludwig left the room briefly to make popcorn and plopped down on the couch next to his lover to click “Play” on the title screen upon his return.

“If Doktor gets scared, you can hold onto me~” Mikhail teased, and Ludwig shoved his shoulder.

“Are you sure you’re 45 years old, liebe? Because right now, you sound like a lovestruck teenager!” The doctor shot, handing him the popcorn bowl.

“Well...” Heavy began, settling a massive arm around Medic’s shoulders, “One part of that statement is correct.”

.

Unsurprisingly, Heavy was correct about being immune to the movie’s horrors. Then again, Medic was also not affected by the film, so they took more pleasure in the plot and the acting then the actual scary moments. 

Of course, Ludwig grew giddy when gore was involved.

“Hohoho! Look at all of that blood! If I was the killer in this scenario, I would collect it for future use,” he commented.

Heavy raised a questioning eyebrow and attempted to distract himself with the popcorn, but he soon came to the realization that there was nothing left but kernels. His German companion took to removing the bucket from his grasp and standing up.

“I need to use the bathroom, so I’ll take this back on the way,” the doctor stated, and the heavy weapons specialist nodded in response.

Mikhail was left all alone with the intensifying film in the dimly lit room. He would never admit it, but now that Ludwig was gone, he felt smaller. It wasn’t a feeling of fear but of slight unease; things would likely be alright for Heavy, but there was always a shred of uncertainty.

As time passed and the movie reached its climax, Heavy became more and more enthralled with the action, to the point where he forgot about Medic’s absence. His eyes were fixated on the glowing screen, his hands gripped tightly at the wool blanket surrounding him. Mikhail fell deep into the world of gruesome fantasy, and as a consequence, he nearly shot out of his seat at the sound of rapid footsteps and whisper-shouting coming from down the hall.

“Heavy! Oi, big guy!” Demoman said, urgency in his tone.

The Russian let his blanket drop to the floor and stared at the demolitions expert with confusion and anxiousness. The Scot all but captured his arm with both of his own and began dragging him down the hall as best as he could.

“Slow down, Tavish. What is this about?” Mikhail asked.

Demo turned his gaze back to his teammate.

“The Doc ‘s dead in the cludgie!”

Heavy’s eyes widened with shock, emotional pain, and fury towards whoever had committed such an act. Sure, Medic would respawn, but whoever had laid a finger on his beloved doctor was in for a beatdown. Unless it was an accident, in which case Mikhail would scold the German about being reckless.

The pair burst through the door to the community showers and the Russian nearly gasped at the sight. Ludwig laid unmoving in the center of the room with blood staining the front of his lab coat and the ground surrounding him. There was no weapon to be found, but in the corner of the room, with his back towards the door, sat a curled up, trembling, mumbling Scout.

Mikhail’s first thought was that Jeremy had committed this grisly murder, but Tavish put a hand out in front of his chest before he could progress. The Russian opted for whispering Medic’s name as a substitute.

“Scout! What the hell happened here!” Demo cried.

The young runner didn’t reply. He continued to rock back and forth, murmuring and wrapping his arms around himself. The Scot approached him cautiously, taking a calm, more concerned approach. Heavy followed.

“Aye, are you alright, mate?”

Demo reached out to put a hand on Scout’s shoulder, and a series of rapid events unfolded.

Scout’s entire body whipped around and stood up, and the Bostonian let out a high pitched, almost demonic screech. In his left hand was a knife stained in blood, Medic’s blood, and Heavy and Demo exhibited two very different reactions.

Demoman yelped and jumped back, going into flight mode. The massive Russian on the other hand, fearful for the lives of himself and his friend, took a strong step forward and lashed out at Jeremy’s face. One square punch to the jaw was enough to send the man flying across the communal bathroom and into the wall. He slumped over after the hit, out cold.

“What in the-! It was almost like that boy was possessed!” Demo shouted.

When Mikhail and Tavish’s hurried breathing finally began to slow, a new sound rang throughout the room: laughter.

Medic was rolling on the floor alive and well, laughing his ass off and further soiling his labcoat. Heavy gasped out a “Doktor!” at the man’s sudden revival while Demoman stood frozen.

“Hahaha! I can’t believe it! I just thought I’d have a bit of fun scaring you, liebe, but watching you knock out Scout was far more amusing!” The doctor exclaimed, rolling on his stomach and propping himself up on his elbows like a teenage girl lying on her bed while talking to a friend over the phone.

Demoman was the first to flare up.

“What?! So you’re saying this was all a prank?! You’re sick in the head, Medic!”

The Scot was tempted to slap him silly, but with Heavy in the room, that clearly wasn’t an option. With another frustrated grunt, he stomped off and back to bed.

Now it was Heavy’s turn.

“That was not funny, Ludwig! Heavy thought you were dead!” He scowled.

The doctor hauled himself off the ground and stood up straight, wiping some of the fake(?) blood on his hands off onto his lab coat.

“What’s there to worry about? Even if I had been stabbed, I would have just respawned, Mikhail.”

“I know, but...”

Medic’s expression dropped. His love had one massive paw gripping his opposite forearm and his face was distraught. He looked smaller, scared almost, and a tiny crack situated itself in the German’s heart. If he had known such an act would hurt Heavy so deeply, he wouldn’t have even thought about going through with it. There was also the issue of Scout. Ludwig relished the sight of the cocky, annoying Boston boy being beat up, but for once, he regretted roping him into his plans. The runner had been all too willing to help him with the scare, and Medic repaid him with his bear’s violence.

He sighed and shook his head at himself internally. Yes, his prank hadn’t been very rational, he concluded.

With slow, apologetic steps, Medic approached his partner and wrapped his arms around him gently, rubbing his broad back with one hand.

“Es tut mir leid, Heavy. This was all very foolish of me,” he admitted.

Heavy returned the embrace and buried his nose into his doctor’s hair, which smelled of blood and autumn leaves.

“You know it is because I do not like seeing you hurt, moya lyubov. Every time evil Spy kills you on battlefield, my blood boils. Would sacrifice myself a million times to keep you safe,” he murmured, and Ludwig’s heart cracked a little more.

His arms tightened around the giant with increased guilt. It pained him profoundly to see Mikhail die too.

 “I love you, Heavy. From the bottom of my soul, I am truly sorry.”

The Russian moved one hand from the smaller man’s waist to cup his cheek protectively.

“I love you too, Doktor, but please, do not play with death. Someday, we will not get another life.”

.

The credits of the movie had long concluded by the time the two of them returned to the rec room. Medic was rather disappointed that he had missed the latter half of the film, but what made up for it was a soft kiss to his forehead and a set of teasing words given to him by his lover before being sent off to sleep.

“Next time, we watch psychological thriller, da? Less gore will give you less dangerous ideas,” Mikhail suggested, patting a hand on Ludwig’s shoulder.

The doctor laughed and gave him a sly smile that warded off his fears, allowed him to breathe normally again. He was still alive.

“I like the sound of that, but you’re making the popcorn!”

[joshslater]

The Other Santa

Similar stories and bonus material on my Patreon.

Chet peered nervously out the window again. He couldn't decide what was worse, looking out through the window and risk being seen and caught, or not looking out and miss an approaching cop and getting caught. Fuck, he was in deep shit now. The building was supposed to be empty on Christmas. Best case scenario the dude would survive and not remember him. Well, best case scenario was him not getting caught, and as long as that was the case he really couldn't give a shit who else lived or died.

Suddenly there was a noise behind him. Something got knocked off the table. He swerved around, his pulse taking a dramatic jump. There across the room was a fully nude man. Almost fully nude, as he was wearing a Santa hat and a Santa bag, but apart from that his muscular, tatted body was on full display. He'd seen many like that in prison. They are usually dedicated and committed, not just to their body and workout, but to everything. That's why Chet had stayed clear of them. If they like you, you are solid, but if they don't they are dedicated and committed to making your life hell. Better not be near them in the first place.

"Ho ho dude. How's it hanging?" the intruder asked. Chet realized his gun was on the other side of the room.

"How'd you get in?"

"Through the chimney, right? Is there one?" He looked around the cramped one-room apartment.

"You think you are fucking Santa or something?" Chet wondered if he could swipe the legs of the dude, get behind him and grab the gun.

"Santa? No, he's zipping round spreadin' cheer and jolly or whatever the fuck he calls it. No, I'm more of a naughty list guy. And you, Chet, are on it." He pointed at Chet with a finger gun, looking way too comfortable at standing naked, Chet thought.

"So you're what? Putting coal in socks or some shit?" The naked dude started to look around in Chet's dump of a home.

"Nah, we both know you're way beyond that." He started to move towards the bed, focused on something on the chair that acted as Chet's makeshift bedstand. "I try to talk sense into guys and take something for the trouble. Or fuck them straight. Sometimes beat the shit out of them. Everyone is different."

Chet practically dove across the room and grabbed the gun out of the pocket of his jacket. In a swift motion he unsafed it, pointed it at the naked Santa, and pressed the trigger. The sound of a loud crack came from his hand, and he immediately dropped the gun and howled in pain. Fake Santa picked up a pill bottle and turned to Chet. "Are these the only ones you steal, the antidepressants? No narcotics?"

"Fuck you! What the fuck happened to my hand? I can't move it!"

"Snapped tendon? Broken bones? I don't know. With a gun anything can happen. Isn't that right?" Chet's memory flashed to a few hours earlier when he shot at the guard as he was fleeing.

"What do you want from me?"

"I thought you needed someone to pin you down hard, and fuck you long and hard so you would feel it for days. Fill you up with seeds and common sense. But it looks like you keep fucking with yourself, so perhaps that's what we'll do instead."

"I don't... What?"

Poser Santa smiled a smug smile as he dug deep into the Christmas sack and pulled out an empty hand. "From my sack to yours," he said and threw a handful of nothing towards Chet. He could feel warmth in his chest, spreading throughout his body, and horniness like never before. In seconds his jeans were painfully tight, and he had troubles unbuttoning it with his left hand. "What the fuck did you do?" he shouted, but he was again alone in the room.

"This is Murphy again, we have apprehended the suspect with no resistance and secured a gun at the scene. We are going to take him to the hospital instead. Looks like he stole a bottle from the batch of viagra mislabeled as antidepressant and had a bunch. It appears he'd masturbated so hard he's broken his right hand, and just continued with his left. He is psycotic and rambles about having met felon Santa, whatever that means. We'll run a drug panel and tox screen. Also his dick is the biggest I've seen, and it's purple so that needs checking out too. Over."

[waitimcomingtoo]

Missing Link

Pairing: Tom Holland x Reader

Synopsis: Tom can’t find you during the quarantine and the boys are no help. Also, Tom has chickens if you didn’t know

A/n: got this idea from a prank on youtube. Thank you to all that helped me with the plagiarism thing yesterday! Lots of love. Stay safe and healthy ❤️

Masterlist

“Hey, guys. I’m just gonna take out the trash.” You held the trash bag up a little as you alerted the four boys in the living room as to what you were doing. Harry, Harrison, and Tuwaine did not look up from the video game they were playing, but Tom gave you a gentle smile and reached for your hand.

“Okay, Princess.” He squeezed your hand before returning to his game as you walked out of the house.

“Damn.” Harry mumbled once you left.

“What?” Tuwaine asked, neither of them taking their eyes off the video game.

“She said she was taking out the trash.” Harry pointed out.

“Yeah, and?” Tom asked, gripping the controller angrily when he lost.

“She forgot Harrison.” Harry sighed.

“This is why people say Sam is the cute twin.” Harrison grumbled.

“Die.” Harry deadpanned as he focused on the game. Tom and Tuwaine exchanged looks as Harrison gave Harry the side eye.

An hour later, the boys were growing listless with their game. Harrison put his controller down and rubbed his aching eyes.

“Alright, I’m starving. Let’s eat.” He rubbed his hands together and walked into the kitchen.

“Me too, mate.” Tuwaine tossed his controller onto the couch and joined Harrison in the kitchen.

“Let me get Y/n and we’ll have some lunch.” Tom said as he walked into the bedroom where he assumed you’d be.

“Are you hungry, baby doll?” He asked, frowning when he didn’t see you in there. He walked to the connected bathroom, but the door was wide open and you weren’t inside. Confused as to where else you would be, he checked the rooms one by one, starting his Harrison’s and ending with Tuwaine’s. When you didn’t show up in any of them, he began to get worried. He went down to the basement and yelled down the stairs.

“Y/n?” He called your name and got no answer. “Hello?”

He went down the steps and looked all around the room, but you weren’t there either. He stopped for a moment to scratch his head. He knew you weren’t in the kitchen or common area because that’s where he had been. And he knew you weren’t in the bedrooms because he had just checked them. The house wasn’t big enough for you to not hear him calling your name, and he feared that meant you weren’t inside.

Tom padded back to the kitchen where the other three boys were eating various forms of lunch.

“Guys, where’s Y/n?” Tom asked as he reached the kitchen counter. All he received as a response was a series of shrugs.

“I don’t know. Haven’t seen her.” Harry said as he put the finishing touches on his sandwich.

“I haven’t seen her either.” Tuwaine added, stealing half of Harry’s sandwich.

“I thought she was taking out the trash?” Harrison recalled.

“Yeah, that was over an hour ago.” Tom began to worry even more. He’d been so caught up in the game, he didn’t even realize you never came back into the house. The common area was in the middle of the front and back door. He would’ve heard or seen you had you come back inside.

“Maybe the chickens ate her.” Harrison shrugged as he took a bite of his food. Tom snapped out of his worried state to glare at Harrison.

“Don’t be a div, Haz. Chickens don’t eat people.” Tom snapped, growing frustrated as none of the boys took the situation seriously. He leaned back on the kitchen counter and stretched, blowing out a nervous breath.

“These are weird times, man.” Harrison defended. “Don’t you think they get tired of corn and seeds sometimes?”

Harry nodded along as if Harrison said something of substance, stopping when Tom shot him a look.

“No I don’t, because they have brains the size of walnut. And apparently, so do you.” Tom huffed. He ran his fingers through his hair and gave it a stressful tug.

“Let’s not turn on each other, guys.” Harry warned as he sensed tension rising.

“He’s right. It’s what the chickens want.” Tuwaine said knowingly and Tom gave him a long, angry glare.

“I’m leaving.” He declared as the boys snickered amongst themselves. He stormed into your shared bedroom and looked around again, hoping to find this there this time.

“Princess?” Tom called as he looked behind the door. “Are you in here?”

He sighed in defeat when he didn’t find you once again. He went through the same routine of checking Harry’s room, then Harrison’s, then Tuwaine’s.

“Y/n? Where are you?” Tom called, his voice echoing off the walls. When he got no reply, he impatiently licked his lips and took out his phone. He called you, sighing angrily when he got no answer. He tapped his foot as he waited to leave a message.

“Hey, sweetheart, it’s me. I’m worried about you. Please give me a ring when you get this. I love you, bye.” He left you a voicemail, trying to keep his voice calm as he spoke to you. He put his phone back in his pocket and returned to the kitchen, empty handed.

“She’s not here. I checked all the rooms in the house. She’s just not here.” Tom said in exasperation. He had no idea how he managed to lose you during a nationwide lockdown.

“Relax, mate. She’s probably went on a walk.” Harrison offered some helpful insight.

“But we always go on our walks together.” Tom whined like a child.

“Or maybe she just needed some alone time.” Harry suggested. “The poor girl is trapped in this house with four boys and nowhere to go. She probably needed some air.”

“I saw her talking to a lady bug the other day just for some female interaction.” Tuwaine commented.

“Okay. You’re probably right.” Tom decided to believe in the best case scenario. “She’s just on a walk.”

All the boys, including Tom, nodded in a agreement that you were just on a walk. After a beat of silence, Tom let out a whine.

“How long is this walk!” He exclaimed. The boys exchanged looks as Tom pulled out his phone.

“Hi angel. It’s me again.” He let out a shaky breath. “I’m scared somethings happened to you. Please ring me as soon as you get this. I miss you. Bye.”

He stared at his phone for a minute, hoping your name would light up on his screen. When it didn’t, he sighed sadly and put it away.

“Guys, I’m really worried now. I haven’t seen Y/n in three hours.” He licked his lips again, his mouth feeling dry with fear.

“Relax, Tom. She’s gotta be somewhere around here. She legally has to be.” Harry insisted.

“I’ve checked every room in the house. Twice! Where the hell did she go?” He asked in exasperation. He looked to the boys for answer but they had nothing to give him.

“Maybe every time you come into the room, she leaves it swiftly and quietly.” Harrison moved his hand like he was painting a picture.

“Like a gentle breeze.” Tuwaine whispered right in Toms ear, who flinched away.

“Why would she do that?” Tom asked in confusion.

“To avoid you.” Harry shrugged as he sipped his tea.

“Maybe she’s playing Hide and Seek.” Harrison pointed at Tom like he had a brilliant revelation.

“Or tag.” Tuwaine added.

“Why would she start a game of Hide and Seek without telling me?” Tom groaned at their incompetence.

“Or tag.” Tuwaine repeated.

“Did she expect me to just assume we were playing?” Tom asked, half humoring their ridiculous theories.

“Yes. You’ve never playing Surprise Hide and Seek with someone?” Harrison scoffed at Tom. Tom looked at his friend like he was crazy.

“Whats Surprise Hide and Seek?” Harry piped up. Tom felt the real issue slipping away from the conversation.

“It’s like regular Hide and Seek but it’s a surprise because you didn’t know you were playing it.” Harrison explained and Tom gripped the countertop in frustration.

“I highly doubt Y/n is playing Surprise Hide and Seek.” He said through a fake smile.

“Well we still have the chicken theory.” Harrison reminded the boys. Harry and Tuwaine nodded as Tom gave them a searing glare.

“We do not have the chicken theory! Chickens do not eat people! For Christ’s sake.” Tom slapped the countertop.

“We don’t know that Tom! We don’t know anything about chickens.” Harrison exclaimed. “Maybe the chickens saw you eating chicken and decided to get revenge. You named the chicken Predator, and now it ate your girlfriend. That’s on you!”

“I didn’t name the chicken Predator!” Tom shouted back.

“That was me.” Tuwaine raised his hand. “And leave Predator out of this. If he killed Y/n, it’s because he caught her slipping.”

“Have you all lost your minds?” Tom yelled at the bunch.

“Yes.” They said in unison. Tom was dumbfounded at this and seemed to space out. The boys stared at him in confusion as he stared off. Harry waved a hand in front of Toms face, and he didn’t blink.

“What are you doing?” Harry asked nervously.

“I’m counting to 10 in my head.” Tom stated catatonically. “Whew. Okay. I’m calm. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go find my girlfriend.” He spun on his heel but didn’t even get a step forward when he heard Harrison’s voice.

“Might want to check the chicken co-“ Harrison stopped his sentence when he saw the crazed look in Toms eyes.

“Finish that sentence.” Tom dared him.

“I don’t want to.” Harrison mumbled in fear.

“But I’m asking you to. Finish that sentence. Don’t be shy.” Tom said again, staring Harrison down. They looked into each other’s eyes for a moment, the tension building.

“Might want to check the chicken coop.” Harrison said quickly.

“I’ll kill you.” Tom lunged forward but Harry and Tuwaine held him back. Tom relaxed and fixed his shirt, clearing his throat as he nodded to the boys to signal that he was ready to behave.

“I’m just scared, guys.” Tom sighed as his frustration turned into sadness. “And none of you are taking this seriously! Something could’ve happened to her. She could be hurt or lost or scared.”

“Or on a walk.” Harry tried to reason with his brother as he got back on the couch to play video games.

“What if she’s not?” Tom protested. “What if someone took her?”

“Have you tried calling her?” Tuwaine asked.

“No Tuwaine. I sent her a letter asking where she was. I sent it to her via a carrying pigeon. We’ll have an answer in 3 to 5 business days.” Tom snapped in sarcasm. Tuwaine held his hands up in defense and Tom immediately felt bad.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap, I’m just worried about her. I’ll give her another call.” Tom said as he pulled out his phone to ring you. He got your voicemail again and sighed. “Y/n, baby, please ring me back. I’m dying here. I need to see you and make sure you’re all right. Ring me, please.”

Harrison and Tuwaine gave him sympathetic looks, finally grasping how worried he was. Tom shook his head and took a seat next to Harry on the couch.

“Harry?” Tom asked quietly.

“Yes?” Harry turned his attention to his brother.

“I think I’m single now.” Tom sighed.

“I’m sorry to hear that, mate.” Harry chuckled at his drama.

“I’m sorry too.” Tom nodded, accepting his fate as a single man.

“Hey, Tom. Hey, Harry.” You walked into the room and took a seat on the couch, turning your attention to the video game on the screen.

“Hey, Y/n.” Harry said without looking up. Tom did a double take at the sight of you, nearly jumping off the couch.

“Where have you been?” Tom practically shouted, making you jump back a little.

“I was taking out the trash.” You laughed a little at his reaction.

“For five hours?” Tom demanded.

“I’m teasing.” You laughed and pulled him closer to you on the couch. “I was pranking you. I’ve been hiding through the house all day while on Instagram live. Look, say hi to the camera.” You showed him your phone and he saw his own confused face on your screen with a couple thousand followers watching.

“Gentle breeze theory wins!” Tuwaine cheered from the kitchen.

“I really thought it was the chickens.” Harrison grumbled from the other side of the room.

“What?” You asked regarding Harrison’s comment.

“I’ll explain later. You mean to tell me you’ve been here all along? And recording it?” Tom asked you in disbelief.

“Yep.” You said proudly. “I had a lot of people tuning in to see how long it’d take you to find me. I figured I’d give you a break once it hit the four hour mark.”

“You didn’t think to check her Instagram?” Harry laughed at his brother for his stupidity.

“You’ve been on live all day?” He couldn’t believe he hadn’t thought to check your Instagram.

“I was on with her at one point.” Tuwaine mentioned and Toms eyes widened as you nodded.

“How’d you even get back in the house? I never saw you come in.” Tom realized, knowing for a fact he would’ve seen you come back inside.

“Climbed through a window.” You shrugged casually.

“Climbed- you climbed through a window!?” Tom exclaimed, making you laugh. He finally laughed as well and pulled you into a hug. He sighed in relief that he had you back before kissing the top of your head. You wrapped your arms around his torso and let him hold you.

“I missed you, princess.” He mumbled into your neck as he cuddled into you. You smiled and squeezed him tightly.

“I was always around the corner.” You told him, kissing his forehead. “I’m sorry I made you worried, baby.”

“It’s okay.” He smiled softly at you. “I’m just glad you’re back.”

“I’m glad too.” You pulled him into a brief kiss. “Now what’s this about chickens?”

Tag List 🏷

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[aion-rsa]

Spiral: From the Book of Saw Ending Explained

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

This article contains Spiral spoilers.

After all these years on the force, Chris Rock’s seasoned Det. Zeke Banks still hasn’t figured out that when you play a Jigsaw game, the unwritten rule is you have to lose. Sure, his one-time partner, Det. “William Schenk” (Max Minghella), isn’t actually Jigsaw, nor even a true-blue disciple of John Kramer. However, Will learned the master’s trade, and he learned it well. Which is why at the end of Spiral: From the Book of Saw, Will’s on an elevator that’ll apparently lead him to safety out of this warehouse, and the SWAT team just murdered an innocent Black man.

… Well, as innocent as a man like former Police Chief Marcus Banks (Samuel L. Jackson) can be. It’s interesting though that Will let Marcus’ son, Zeke, live, isn’t it? We’ll get to that later.

For those who want a refresher about how this Saw movie all played out, let’s go back to the moment which set this all in motion. Twelve years ago, Zeke Banks was a beat cop with a crooked partner named Pete. While investigating a crime in an apartment building that apparently involved a cop murdering someone, Pete is taking a witness statement from a man who says he’ll go on the record: yes, he saw a corrupt police officer commit a crime. So Pete pulls out a gun and shoots the witness in the heart.

By the time a younger Zeke gets on the scene, Pete has placed a gun in his victim’s hand and claims he shot him in self-defense. Zeke of course knows it’s a lie, as does the child who watches from a bedroom doorway in the corner. That child grows up to be Minghella’s character.

The twist is actually pretty heavily hinted at throughout the movie. When Zeke and Will go to a church to talk with Pete—who ended up serving nine years of hard time after Zeke turned him in—the former partner even admits what they did was wrong, saying “it was crazy back then” and that the guy he murdered “had a family.”

Throughout Spiral, we are told that these Jigsaw murder games are “too personal” to be another Jigsaw disciple. This copycat is out for revenge. And at least for this viewer, I immediately began suspecting Will, who always talked about his wife and son but never introduced them to his new partner. When Zeke calls Will at home, we hear a baby crying off-screen but never see it.

So when Will then also dies, apparently off-screen, in a murder that wasn’t even apparently a game—it seemed like he was skinned alive in a butcher’s shop—it becomes pretty obvious that Will is actually the son of the man Pete murdered. Seriously, we have a whole scene about Zeke consoling the widow of a buddy on the force who died, but no one thinks to call Will’s supposed wife about the young detective’s death?

But you’re not supposed to think about that plot hole. The point is that as a child, Will only got nominal justice thanks to Zeke turning his partner in. But Zeke is the anomaly: the one good cop who will not tolerate the “code of silence” in cases of blatant corruption.

That corruption in the police force stems from the system itself. While we’re never told exactly what Article VIII is, the citywide law is apparently the PATRIOT Act on steroids, or just Giuliani Time redux, allowing police to deal with perceived criminals at their “own discretion.” One of the apparent architects of it was Zeke’s father, then-Police Chief Banks. Played by a cocky Jackson, we learn in flashbacks how systemic the coverup culture is on his watch.

Hence Marcus dreads Zeke will be killed by other cops because his son did the right thing and turned in a rotten apple. Indeed, one of Will’s future victims, Det. Fitch (Richard Zeppieri), even lets Zeke take a bullet, refusing to answer Zeke’s calls for backup.

Zeke is protected, to an extent, by his father and his otherwise reasonable seeming, if complicit, captain (Marisol Nichols). But Zeke turning in Pete failed to bring any tangible change to corruption among the department’s ranks. Even Zeke’s best friend on the force winds up being the new Jigsaw’s first victim because he lied constantly on the witness stand, getting potentially innocent people sent to prison in order to bolster the DA’s conviction rate. It’s why Jigsaw takes his tongue.

This is Will’s grand idea: take the teachings of John Kramer and apply them to the entire Metropolitan Police Department.

“[The spiral] is a symbol of change, evolution, progress,” Will says. “But why limit that to an individual when you can apply it to a whole system? You got shot for doing the right thing. Let’s face it, these cops aren’t going to clean up on their own. We take a tongue here, a few bones there, they’ll come around. We’re going to fix a broken department. You and me.”

So the boy who saw his father murdered by a dirty cop changed his name to Will Shank, became the top of his class in the police academy, and situated himself as the partner of the one honest cop who’s spent 12 years looking over his shoulder. He also created a fake home life, so no one wondered what he was doing after hours.

Strangely, he isn’t above a little murder himself. A drug addict named Billy Riots is who Will pays to bump into his first victim. Will later kills Benny, skinning him so that it’ll look like Zeke’s new partner died screaming.

In any event, the movie ends exactly how Will wants it to. He sets up a trap where Zeke can try to save the old crooked partner he sent to prison (Zeke fails twice in Will’s eyes, first by attempting to actually save the man and then by not succeeding). Next he gives Zeke the choice to join his crusade by standing by and watching his daddy die.

I’m not sure why Will thinks the best way to win over an accomplice in Zeke is by killing his father in front of him since the murder of a father is what inspired this whole mess. Nevertheless, Zeke winds up in another no-win scenario. He has one bullet he can use to kill Will, if he so chooses, or use it to disarm the elaborate trap bleeding Marcus to death, drip by drip from tubes into mason jars.

Zeke tries to save his father, which fails another test in Will’s eyes. At this point though, he’s already implemented his “full-proof” escape plan: Zeke still can’t win.

When the SWAT team busts down the door, they hit a wire which triggers another fail-safe in Marcus’ trap. Like a puppet on strings, Samuel L. Jackson is pulled back into the air, with the blood draining out. A string also pulls his hand up with a shotgun in it, making Marcus seem like a threatening Black man. The chief is brutally gunned down by his own police force.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

The political subtext in all of this is thick. With a story idea originated by Rock—notably before the murder of George Floyd last year—the Saw franchise has returned in the Black Lives Matter era with a potent (if heavy handed) allegory about racism in law enforcement and the institutional menace of authority valuing the protection of their own over the safety of the public.

One imagines the real reason, then, Will lets Zeke live—even after he still tried to save his corrupt daddy from being gunned down like so many other fathers and sons—is so Rock can go head-to-head with Will again in another sequel. It certainly feels like we’re all still on the same spiral downward. So why not a Saw sequel with a recurring protagonist?

The post Spiral: From the Book of Saw Ending Explained appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3ogbgsI

[emy-loves-you]

Sanders Sides AU-gust Day 13: Rock Band

Patton is the most popular boy in school, yet he can’t get the attention of his three crushes. When he learns that they’re all starting a band together, he becomes determined to make their dreams come true. Patton POV, endgame LAMP 

TW: Use of homophobic slur

Day 12 | Masterlist | Day 14

Patton Picani liked to think that he had superpowers. He could sway almost any person to be kind with just a smile. He could ask one question and topple an entire social norm. He could transform a nobody into a somebody with just a few words. It was his superpower, the ability to effortlessly sway the masses.

The truth was… complicated. Or rather, it was a series of scenarios and lessons that gave Patton this ‘superpower.’ The people who gave them to him? His parents, Emile and Remy Picani.

Emile and Remy loved their son very much and taught them everything they knew. This wasn’t a bad thing; Patton soaked up the lessons like a sponge. But the parents each had different things to teach him. Emile taught Patton everything he knew as a therapist so he could avoid conflicts. How to tell what someone’s feeling, what to say when someone’s upset, etc. Remy taught Patton how to grow up in a world turned against him. How to tell the difference between real and fake friends, how to lie with a straight face, how to spot a bully, etc. Emile helped Patton be confident in expressing himself with pastel colors and skirts. Remy helped Patton never lose a game of poker. So before Patton even started elementary school, he knew how to use his ‘superpowers.’

Patton also learned things on his own throughout the years. He learned that bullies were feared but not trusted. He learned that teacher’s pets would tell on you at a moment’s notice. He learned how to control the rumor mill, and which friends would stab him in the back. So in their tiny town with only three elementary schools, two middle schools, and one high school, Patton rose to power quickly. But Patton wouldn’t abuse his power. No, Patton tried to make a difference. He offered teacher’s pets protection and popularity in exchange for getting bullies suspended. He kept the rumor mill focused on the popular kids and away from the nobodies that couldn’t protect themselves. He ruined the lives of violent jocks and snotty rich kids with a few words and a disapproving frown. Bullying reached an all-time low, and by the time Patton was in high school he was the ‘friend’ of almost everyone in the city under the age of 21 (and all their parents. Patton was a model citizen, no one could dislike him).

But there was a cost for Patton’s power. Even though he was technically ‘friends’ with everyone, he didn’t have any actual friends. Everyone thought they were his friend, but after a while, everyone’s faces started to look the same. And even when they did catch Patton’s attention, they were usually too far down the social ladder for Patton to be more than casual acquaintances with.

There were exactly three people that caught Patton’s attention, and they just so happened to be his three crushes.

The first crush came in the form of Roman Prince. Like the name implied, Roman was a Disney Prince in terms of charisma and charm. He was in every school theatre production, and almost always the lead role. He would have been a popular kid, if not for his rivalry against Janice Mayberry. Janice had been at the top of the social ladder just as long as Patton had. She was extremely pretty, and a cheerleader to boot, so not even Patton’s influence could top the sheer power she held. So outside of the theatre group, Roman was a nobody. But Roman was also daring, and just, and drop-dead gorgeous. Patton attended every single play and musical, just to see Roman on stage. But beyond giving Roman a brief ‘congratulations’ at the end of each production, Patton couldn’t talk to him.

Patton could interact with his other crush a little more. Logan Berry was the definition of a nerd. He was in all advanced classes, he wore ties, he never got below 95% on any test. But he wasn’t a teacher’s pet. Actually, most teachers here hated Logan, for the simple fact that Logan would not let mistakes slide by. If a teacher said something wrong during a lesson, Logan spoke up. If a teacher graded something unfairly, Logan spoke up about it. The teachers always tried to report Logan for his ‘attitude,’ but the truth was he didn’t have an attitude. Logan only stated facts, and he kept his hand up politely while never having any sort of inflection in his tone. There were only a hand full of people that could make him show emotion, hence the nickname ‘robot.’ Patton wanted to speak up about the nickname, but he knew it would only draw more attention to Logan. But Logan wasn’t emotionless. He was kind, and patient, and helpful. Patton had needed help in his math classes, and his parents paid Logan to be his tutor. Patton ignored the fact the Logan was being paid to interact with him. Logan was extremely good with explanations, even when Patton couldn’t wrap his head around a concept. After a few weeks of math tutoring, Patton asked for help with English. One thing led to another, and they were basically study-buddies (with, you know, one of them being paid). But outside of study sessions, Patton couldn’t talk to him.

Then there was Virgil Storm. Virgil had transferred to their high school halfway through Freshman year. He was a loner, never seen hanging out with anyone. But something about him immediately drew in Patton’s attention. Maybe it was the (confirmed) rumors of Virgil getting kicked out of other schools due to fights. Maybe it was the way that his lips quirked every time he got a question right in class. Or maybe it was the way he looked in gym class, hoodie off and muscles exposed. Whatever the reason, Patton had been drawn to Virgil. Even if they had never spoken to each other. Well, until now.

It was September of Sophomore year, and Patton had been strolling down the hallway, minding his own business. He normally didn’t eat lunch at school, so he used this time to interact with teens outside of classes.

Crash!

Patton’s head whipped around, seeing a student shoved into the lockers. Now, that wouldn’t do at all. Patton quickly made his way to the fight, quickly recognizing the two teens. Virgil was on the ground with a bloody lip, while Jacob Smith stood over him. Jacob was captain of the football team, if Patton remembered correctly. Patton frowned as he noticed several of his ‘friends’ stand in the background but not help Virgil.

“Jacob!” Patton stepped between Virgil and Jacob, effectively pulling everyone’s attention towards him. Patton put on his best ‘disappointed’ expression. “Why are you hurting him?”

Jacob frowned. “He deserved it, Patton!”

Patton tilted his head slightly, making sure he kept the wide-eyed, innocent look. “What did he do?”

Jacob growled. “He’s a faggot that deserves to rot in Hell!”

Patton used all of his self-control to not show any of his shock. He didn’t know Jacob was such a homophobe. To use slurs and hurt a kid for being gay? That won’t do at all. Patton kept his curious look. “What does ‘faggot’ mean? Does it mean he’s a meanie?” Poor, innocent Patton wouldn’t know what that word meant. And Jacob Smith just sullied poor Patton’s mouth with those words. At least, that’s what everyone else thought.

Everyone stood in silence before someone spoke up. “It means he’s gay!” Patton couldn’t figure out who said that, but he mentally thanked them for giving him the perfect opening.

“So he got hit because he’s gay?” Patton hunched over slightly, pulling out all the stops for his ‘innocent, defenseless little lamb’ look.

Jacob smirked, glad to see that Patton was catching on. “Yeah, he deserves to be beat until he learns his lesson!”

Patton let his lip quiver as he summoned his crocodile tears. “B-but I’m gay!” While this wasn’t extremely common knowledge, it was extremely implied through Patton’s mannerisms and style of dress. Patton let the tears pour out. Several students started to approach as they caught on to what Patton was implying. “A-are you gonna b-beat me too?”

Jacob seemed to realize his mistake. “Pat-” He moved in to wrap his arms around Patton.

Patton flinched in (fake) fear, throwing his hands over his head. Still, what he yelled was loud and clear. “NO, PLEASE DON’T HURT ME!” Several students grabbed Jacob by the arms and dragged him away.

Janice approached Patton now, making sure to put some distance between them. “Are you okay, Pat?”

Patton let out a shaky sigh before lowering his arms. He gave Janice a wobbly smile. “Y-yeah. I’m gonna go wash my face in the bathroom. Can you go make sure Jacob doesn’t try this again?” Janice nodded, slinking off to wherever Jacob was dragged to. Now that all of the crowd was focused on Jacob, Patton turned his attention to Virgil. He was staring up at Patton with a mixture of awe and… fear? “C’mon, let’s go get cleaned up.” Virgil nodded mutely, getting up on his own. He grabbed his bag and a case of some sort (he probably dropped them when Jacob attacked him) before following Patton to the nearest bathroom. Patton grabbed some paper towels and got them wet before handing them to Virgil, who sat on the counter of the sinks. “Here, for your lip.” Virgil accepted it silently, dotting his lip to stem the bleeding. “I could take you to the nurse if you want.” Virgil shook his head no and Patton shrugged, moving to fix his makeup.

“Is it true?” Patton’s head shot up and Virgil looked away with a blush, hiding his face in his hoodie. “That you’re… um…”

Patton finished the question. “That I’m gay?” Virgil nodded, still blushing. “Yeah, I am. Are you also gay, or was Jacob accusing you of being gay for no reason?” Because if Virgil wasn’t gay, then that was an entirely different can of worms to deal with (one of which being Patton’s crush on him).

Virgil nodded. “Yeah, Jacob had seen my phone screen with me and my boyfriends.”

Patton tilted his head. He didn’t know that Virgil had boyfriends. “Can I see?” Virgil nodded, slowly taking out his phone to show Patton the lock screen. Logan, Roman and Virgil all stared at him, huddled under a mass of blankets. Patton felt his heart constrict at the fact that all of his crushes were dating each other so Patton didn’t have a chance, and smiled. “Awe, you look so cute together!” He moved to resume working on his makeup and accidentally bumped Virgil’s case with his foot. “What do you have in there?” He asked, genuinely curious.

Virgil blushed. “It’s a guitar. Me and my boyfriends were gonna practice after school.”

Patton let his eyebrows raise in shock. “You guys play guitar?”

Virgil turned even redder. “I do. Roman does bass and Logan does drums. We have a small band called The Sides. It’s nothing really.”

Patton’s eyes lit up. “You have a band? That’s so cool! Do you play at parties?” Patton hadn’t been to many parties lately.

Virgil sighed. “No, not yet. I don’t think we’ll ever be good enough for that.”

Patton shook his head. “I bet you are! Do you know how awesome it would be to have a live band at your party instead of some lame DJ? I promise, once you start promoting yourself, people will be begging to hire you!” Suddenly, the bell went off, signaling the end of lunch. “Oh, I’ve gotta go. See you later!”

Patton made a note to bring up playing instruments with Logan during their next study session. Even if Patton could never be romantically involved with his crushed, he could still make them happy. And if that meant pulling a few strings to make them the most popular music group in school?

Well, Patton was willing to pull a few strings for them.

[drsilverfish]

Where the Girls Go Wild and the Boys Play Hard - The Subtext in Swayze’s Bar - 15x07 Last Call

Well, I guess now we know why Swayze always gets a pass... (a shared crush with an old flame).

And I guess we also know that the silent word in the episode title Last Call is booty... as in Last (Booty) Call - or, the tragic end to an old fling.

Ok, so I’m late to the party (I’m sure there is a party, right?) as I’ve just watched the episode and I’ve been avoiding spoilers! 

No doubt the queer subtext in this episode, regarding the nature of Dean and Lee’s previous relationship, has already been the subject of much discussion, many meta and gifs. So, apologies for any repetitions, but I’m gonna give it my best shot.

Firstly I was struck by the name of this old hunting “brother” of Dean’s - Lee. I know Lee Webb was a country singer. But, in the larger mythos of Supernatural, which Kripke based on Kerouac’s On the Road (Sam = Sal Paradise and Dean = Dean Moriarty) Lee would fit as a reference to Old Bull Lee, another character in On the Road, based on Kerouac’s friend, the writer William Burroughs (who was of course, gay).

There are many elements we’re used to - Sam/ Eileen (now overtly on the edge of something romantic) paired in the narrative whilst Dean/ Lee are paired; sharing drinks as substitutes for erotic intimacy (here, dick-touching):

which SPN has used before, notably back when Dean got infected by Nick the Siren by sharing his hipflask with him in Baby in 4x14 Sex and Violence (a subtextual kiss).

Then there’s the reference Dean and Lee make to a good ol’ time of theirs back when they shared an encounter with triplets (of unspecified gender) whilst hanging out with Lorna, in a situation at Swayze’s which could, potentially, turn into a present-day threesome, given Lorna’s earlier overt sexual interest in Dean, and the subtextual tension between Dean and Lee.

This reference to triplets (of unspecified gender) of course, reminds us of those other triplets (also of unspecified gender) to whom Crowley and Deanmon did “extraordinary things” together back in 10x01 Black during their “summer of love”.

But it was the intimacy of Lee’s line to Dean from the stage: “You can’t just sit around lip-synching to Eye of the Tiger when no-one’s watching,” that punched me in the gut. Dean had allowed himself to really be seen by this guy, i.e. shared his secret dream to be a rock star with him, which we’ve previously seen him reveal to another old love, Robin, in 9x07 Bad Boys. 

So yeah it turns out, as Rowena said, “What’s bi is bi,” - and sometimes bisexual lighting is bisexual lighting:

“Making their way, the only way they know how... that’s just a little bit more than the law will allow...” 

The Duke’s of Hazzard theme song, sure, but also, in this context, of course, an anthem, for Dean and Lee, to “outlaw” (queer, closeted) sexuality. 

Then there’s Lee’s bar, Swayze’s, itself, which sheds new light on Rocky’s Bar, the “happiness-trap” dream mind-bar which AU!Michael created in Dean’s head in 14x10 Nihilism in order to subdue him:

Looks like Dean and Lee shared a dream about owning a bar together, way back when Sammy was off at college and Dean and Lee were “hunting buddies”.

And look, Cosmic Cowboy makes an appearance inboth Swayze’s and Rocky’s: 

Yeah, I know it’s a real Family Business Beer Co beer, but that don’t mean it can’t play a role in the subtext additionally, where it connects these two old lovers’ dream bars:

I’ve written previously about the queer-coding of bars in SPN over the years:

https://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/50661253249/the-bar-scene-in-8x23-spoilers-detailed

https://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/115759833784/dean-winchester-bars-and-m-m-encounters 

https://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/182142619479/rockys-bar-a-closer-look-in-deans-mind-14x10

And there’s plenty of queer-coding in Swayze’s. Just look at those two guns crossed on the wall between Dean and Lee:

Sure, they’re about to fight, so that’s one layer, but as with the touching beer bottles above, this is also dick-on-dick symbolism 101.

And would you look at that freaking TV screen with the man on the end of a pier at sunset? Yup that also appeared in Rocky’s:

As I’ve often discussed before, pier symbolism has come, in SPN’s visual subtext, to stand for the intimate connection between Dean and Cas, from that pivotal scene in 4x20 The Rapture in which Cas entered Dean’s fishing dream, rebelling against Heaven to do so, and tried to warn him about Heaven’s plans.

Notice The Rapture is also referenced in 15x07 because the case Dean is investigating was reported in the news as a girl being “raptured” (taken up to Heaven). And that pier scene from The Rapture was referenced last week too, as Cas mused about Dean’s love for fishing’s “meditative qualities” during his Jenny Lake case in 15x06 Golden Time. The profound bond may presently be under strain, but oh boy, is the subtext singing from its hymn sheet.

Cas’ absence (and Dean’s longing for him) is layered into the subtext of both Rocky’s and Swayze’s bars. In 15x07 Dean has left the bunker because (we may infer) he’s finding Sam’s burgeoning happiness with Eileen hard to deal with, given his own break-up with Cas, and yet, the poor sod goes and runs, tragically, into another lost love. 

And then this dialogue hits us, and Dean, with break-up feels:

Dean: “Best friends don’t just up and leave without saying goodbye...”

Lee: “Unless they deserve it...”

You have to wonder if the similarities between Rocky’s (which was a fiction, an illusion) and Swayze’s, contains an ominous hint of Chuck’s handiwork. Perhaps he set up this painful scenario (by association, also a fiction) for Dean, to cruelly toy with his emotions. 

The reference to 4x06 Yellow Fever really made my subtext-dar go off, in terms of the multiple layers Jeremy Adams managed to deftly work into Last Call. Dean laughingly tells Lee about catching “ghost sickness” that one time (and of course, Lee’s Eye of the Tiger reference also recalls Yellow Fever for us). 

Yellow Fever, Dabb’s first episode for the show, is, in subtext, a study in queer-panic, which the “ghost sickness” (which infects Dean, not Sam) stands in for. See my queer reading of that episode, here:

https://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/182874642184/old-timey-spn-a-fresh-queer-look-at-4x06

“Ghost-sickness”, aka queer closeted anxiety, becomes deeply poignant here, hanging between Dean and Lee, like the ghost of their old intimacy, which they never vocalise, but which may (if we choose) be read in the way they touch each other.

Overall, this was a beautifully written episode by Jeremy Adams, and the final, tragic (sublimated) penetration of Lee by Dean with the pool cue - a real death echoing, in subtext, with all the “little deaths” (yes, sex) they’ve shared before, was acted to perfection.

Lee’s noises and grunts are the noises of a fight, yes, but close your eyes and listen to that scene. “Wait, wait,” Lee says breathlessly, and Dean pauses, before Lee tells him it’s ok to pull out. And Dean can’t freaking look Lee in the eye because this terrible new intimacy is layered ontop of older intimacies:

So is Dean’s bisexuality still subtext, after this episode?

Yes, given that out there in the fly-by-night froth of mainstream entertainment journalism, it remains (as far as I can see, in my admittedly brief trawl) unremarked upon in 15x07 episode reviews and recaps:

https://tvmoviefix.com/supernatural-season-15-episode-7-last-call-review-recap-spoilers/

https://ew.com/recap/supernatural-season-15-episode-7/

But, Dean does slay the monster in the closet that gives you fake happiness if you feed it the blood of innocents. And in that, we might read a metaphor - for Dean slaying his own closetedness (as much, anyway, as the CW will permit): 

My usual disclaimer applies: reading SPN’s queer subtext does not imply or promise textual confirmation is on the way. 

[bluefire12348]

Jen 10 au

(this is a small scenario in my Jen 10 Dimension) (in this world Kevin and the rooters are still bad guys who have been going after Jen since she was 10, Gwen and Jen are plumber partners and are good friends. yes Gwevin is still going to happen in this Dimension,  This is just going to give you guys a view of Jen’s dimension. I might write some more, depends on what you guys think)

  It was supposed to be a nice quiet day. Jen was on her way to work at Mr.Smoothies. She parked her car on the sidewalk trying to make sure she doesn’t take up to much space. When she was satisfied with her parking she stepped out of the car then grabbed her Mr. Smoothies apron and hat. 

  Closing the door, she walked up to the back door of the building. “Jen!” before she could step into the building she heard a familiar voice from behind her. Turning around, she spots her partner and good friend Gwen running up behind her. Gwen reaches up to her panting. “The Rooters are after you” she said panting.  Jen gave her a puzzling look, “umm yeah they have been since i was ten”. She gave Gwen a deadpan look. Gwen grabbed her shoulder “They are sending Kevin and the Amalgam kids.” Jen still didn’t look worried.

 She moves Gwen’s hands off her shoulders, “Gwen it’s fine, i can handle Kevin and his gang”. She said while holding up her Omnitrix and opening up the back door to the building. Gwen glares at her and sighs “fine, but I’m going to stay close in case you run into trouble” Gwen says while putting her hands on her hips. Jen rolls her eyes and walks inside the building.

  Gwen groans and walks to Jen’s car. She unlocks the front door with her spare key Jen gave her. She climbs in the front seat and shuts the door. She opens up the glove compartment and pulls out an old spell book she stole from Hex. As soon she opens they book she doesn’t notice a blue car pulling up in front of Jen’s car. 

 In the front seats was Kevin and Pierce, and in the back was Alan and Helen. Kevin pulls out an ID mask and puts it on his face. His skin turns into a light tan and his hair turns short blonde while his eyes become a dark blue. He looks into his rear view mirror and sees Gwen in the driver seat of the car behind them reading a book. Alan looks behind in the back window and notices what Kevin is looking at. “Hey, Kevin it’s your girlfriend” He mocked. Kevin turns his head and gives Alan a cold glare. “she is not my girlfriend” Kevin said in a dark tone. Alan chuckles a bit “I’m sorry Kev, but I can’t take you seriously when you look like that.” Helen joins in on Alan’s chuckling. 

 Kevin groans and looks back into the rear view mirror staring at the unknowing plumber. “Keep an eye on her while I go capture Jen” Kevin said while turning off his car and unlocking his door. “if she notices something or tries anything, you know what to do” He said while climbing out “Don’t worry Kevin, we’ll keep a good eye on your girlfriend” Helen teased while Alan tried to keep in his laughter. Kevin groaned and rolled his eyes “she is not my girlfriend” The he shut the door. He glanced back at Gwen one more time before walking towards the Mr. Smoothies building.

 Jen hands the Customers drink and food to them “have a great day”. Jen sighs as the customer leaves. She looks outside at the window were Gwen was reader her magic book. Somebody walks up to the her and she puts on her best fake happy face. “Hi, Welcome to Mr.Smoothies, Would you like to try our Blue-Strawberry Special. We have for only a limited time. How can I Help you today?” she said in a very cheerful voice. She looks at the face that she has never seen before. She notice the stranger gave a weird smile that almost seemed familiar. “Yeah, I would like to take your Omnittrix to go please”. Jen stares at the stranger in confusion and narrows her eyes. “I’m sorry I didn’t Quite get that, would you say that again?” she said notice the strangers hand started to become the same matter as the table. “Sure, I said i would like to have your Omnitrix to go please” He said now staring into her eyes. “and i would also like for you to give up to the rooters.” As soon as he said that Jen presses the button under the table, making an alarm go off so that the people would get out in time.

 Gwen hears the Alarms and so did the Amalgam kids. Gwen puts down her book and jumps out of Jen’s car. She start to run to the building till she feels a fast force push her down and land on her. “Sorry Gwen,it’s nothing personal, but can’t let you ruin this mission” Helen said while pinning Gwen’s arms behind her back. Gwen blast a ball on energy at Helen, pushing her off. Gwen gets up and runs shouting at Helen “Sorry, nothing personal” and runs off to help Jen.

 Kevin burst through the wall, almost landing on Gwen, his ID mask broke. Jen steps out in her luchadora tetramand form.”esto está saliendo de mi cheque de pago” She said in Spanish, which in her tetramand form she can only speak spanish. Glaceing at Gwen she notice Manny charging at them. “Gwen mira!” she said while punching the small tetramand hybrid in the face. Manny Tries to punch back but Jen catches all four of them and throws him through the whole in the wall.

“escucha, no estoy de humor para ser secuestrado hoy Kevin“ Jen said while lifting Kevin up and dropping him down, “golpear a alguien a través de la pared podría hacer que me despidan“ she continued. Kevin looked up at her in confusion “you know when your in that form I don’t understand a word you say” he explained hoping to get her guard down. Jen hits the omnitrix on her chess making her transform back into her original form. “I said, punching someone through the wall could get me fired”. she explained again but this time in English. Kevin smirked and looked up at her (he was sitting on the ground) “well you wont have to worry about that pretty soon” Kevin said while glancing behind her. Jen has a look of confusion on her face till she turned around to see what Kevin was looking at, But it was too late, when she turned around pierce shot a quill at her arm, knocking her out instantly. She falls into Manny’s arms and he holds her up.

 “JEN” Gwen yells as she sees them capture her partner. When Jen was busy dealing with Kevin, Manny, and Pierce. She was fighting Helen and Alan. Gwen put a force field between her, Helen and Alan then pushed them away from her. She turned to the other three keeping a knocked out Jen hostage. “let her go” Gwen said in a dark tone. Kevin smirked “Sorry, but kinda need her” he said walking up to Gwen. 

The piles of bricks and other stuff from the wreckage started to float around Gwen, “Let. Her. Go. Kevin” She said through gritted teeth. Kevin started to notice the floating objects but decided to ignore. Gwen’s eyes glow pink. 

“Kevin i am giving one last warning, let her go” 

Kevin and Gwen both stand still. Suddenly Kevin absorbed the concrete from he ground and started to charge after her. Gwen changed into her anodite form and used a force field to push Kevin back. Kevin lands on his back. Gwen flys down to him and puts her face inches in front of his “LET. HER.GO” Gwen shouts in his face. Kevin has a slght look of fear till it was replaced by anger. he glares at Gwen the snaps his figures. 

Manny and Pietce look at each other then Manny gently puts down a now waking up Jen. Jen sits up “What happened?” she asked looking around. Now noticing an Anodite Gwen hovering over Kevin. She soon starts to remember what is happening and quickly get up and backs away from Manny and Pierce. 

Her hand overs over the omnitrix “back off” she said while choosing an alien. She slams her hand down on the omnitrix and her body streches and morphs into her Kineceleran form. Noticing Kevin was going to grab Gween The screen goes down and she races of to get Gwen. Moving Gwen away from Kevin. “Sorry, but her was going to adsorb your mana” She said in her now scratchy, higher voice. “Thanks” Gwen said looking away. 

Suddenly a fog surrounds them. Jen puts down her face shield then grabs Gwen. Moving them both out of the fog and into clear air. As soon they were in the clear the Amalgam kids were gone. 

The omnitrix times out and Jen transforms back into her normal form. “Were do you think they went?” Jen asked looking at Gwen “I don’t know” Gwen said while turning back into her human form. 

“Thanks for helping me though” Jen looked at Gwen. Gwen doesn’t look back “Your my friend and partner, its my job to look after you” Gwen looks back and smiles. 

“but why were you in your anodite form? I know for a fact you could’ve taken care of them without using your full power-” Jen then suddenly relized something and smirk “or is it only Kevin that can a rise out of you like that” She said teasing Gwen.

Gwen’s face turns red and she pushes Jen away from her “no, i just overreacted was all” She said looking away. Jen shrugs her shoulders and walks away to talk to her boss about the giant whole in the wall.

Translations (please note, I used google translate for these. so they are not exact translations)

“esto está saliendo de mi cheque de pago“

“this is coming off my paycheck“

“Gwen mira”

“Gwen look out”

“escucha, no estoy de humor para ser secuestrado hoy Kevin“

“Listen I'm not in the mood to get kidnapped today Kevin”

“golpear a alguien a través de la pared podría hacer que me despidan“

“hitting someone through the wall could get me fired"

[adolanables]

Bleed (G.D.) Part 2

Masterlist

Based off the song CHAMPION by ELINA

“Do you get high when I hit my lows? I hope you feel like you’re a champion when you break my heart once and for all.”

“Hey Roxie!” Madison pulled her friend into a hug with a big smile on her face, the bright lights of the set nearly blinding Roxie. 

“Hey babe, how are you?” Roxie smiled at the girl who was currently sitting in a makeup chair getting her hair done for her newest music video. Madison Beer and Roxie Castro had been friends for nearly as long as Roxie and Grayson. Every photoshoot, video shoot, you name it, Roxie had done Madison’s make up. Today was no different. She had almost cancelled considering everything that had happened yesterday, but she needed the money and she owed Madison. She had ran out of the house before Grayson had even woken up, ensuring she wouldn’t accidentally run into him. 

“Exhausted, but ready to shoot.” Smiling and taking a sip of her coffee, Madison watched as Roxie started taking out her supplies. “How’s life at the Dolan residence?” Madison knew how close Grayson and Roxie were, but no one truly knew the extent of their relationship besides Ethan. Everyone always speculated that there was no way two insanely hot people could be that close and never do anything. They always denied the accusations, not wanting the rumors to spread and weasel their way into their private friendship. 

“Same old, same old.” Shrugging and dipping a brush into a clear primer, Roxie began to go to work on Madison’s look. “Ethan’s got a girlfriend - Maria - she’s just great.” 

“And Grayson?” Raising an eyebrow, Madison peered up through her lashes at her friend. “Word around town is he’s finally becoming that fuck boy everyone thought he already was.”

“Oh?” As she began the foundation, Roxie cleared her throat. “Yeah - um - he does seem to be taking advantage of that a lot more lately.” 

“Weird shift.” Madison shrugged her shoulders and let out a sigh, deciding to drop the subject. “Anyways, a big group of us are going out tonight - a lot of people with fakes so you’d be fine if you wanted. Pleaaase come.” She stuck her lower lip out in a pout that made Roxie chuckle and just nod her head; what could it hurt?

When Roxie got home, she was relieved to see Grayson’s car missing from the driveway. As she walked through the silent house, she realized she was here completely alone. Taking advantage of the silence, she made herself a salad and ate it quietly out on the back patio with her feet in the pool. As much as she loved living here - well, before all the shit with Grayson - it was usually pretty loud. The twins were always yelling about something and if they weren’t, the music was blaring - a moment of peace and quiet was rare. 

As the twins walked into the house with acai bowls in hand, Ethan smacked a stiff arm across Grayson’s chest. He could tell he was about to walk outside and try to talk to Roxie as if nothing had happened. “Give her one day… please?” Ethan felt like he was the literal physical barrier between the two and he sometimes wondered what would happen if he just stopped trying to intervene. He thought they’d surely have killed each other by now. 

“Fine.” Grayson huffed, rolling his eyes and wandering off to his bedroom - not hesitating to slam the door shut. Ethan rolled his eyes as Roxie’s head whipped around at the loud sound, a small smile appearing on her lips as he waved at her. Ethan couldn’t read Roxie the way Grayson could, but knowing someone for five years gives you some pretty good insight. 

“What’s up, E?” Her smile was wide as her friend sat down next to her and shoved a big bite of food into his mouth. 

“Fucking starving.” Mumbling, but nudging her in the side with his elbow, he continued. “What’re you up to today?”

“Think I’m gonna go out with Madison tonight.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and set the empty salad bowl down next to her. “What about you?”

“Maria invited me over for some surprise.” Letting out an awkward laugh at how that sounded he clarified. “Think she’s making me dinner… are you gonna be okay alone here tonight?”

“Yeah, for sure.” Pushing herself up off the ground and shooting Ethan that signature smile she turned on her heel to head back inside. “Worst case scenario I’ll just stay at Madison’s.”

As the door shut softly, Ethan blew out a puff of air. He always felt like he had to be the middle-man between Roxie and Grayson. Their fights were so bad sometimes he had to barge into whoever’s room they were in and pull them apart. It was so unhealthy, but if you ever tried to tell either of them that, they’d look at you like you had three heads. He really wondered if all of their fighting and confusion would just be solved if they both gave in and actually dated each other. They were both so hard-headed he wasn’t sure it would ever happen, but he knew things were getting worse. The way Grayson was acting made him worry for Roxie. 

Roxie didn’t go out all that often and she got drunk even less. She wasn’t as weary of alcohol as the twins were, but she didn’t like to do much of anything that meant Grayson couldn’t come with her. When she did drink, it was usually when she was emotional and it always ended badly. Always. Ethan couldn’t remember a time when she had gone out for drinks and just peacefully gone home to sleep. He was kind of grateful he’d be gone tonight, but he hoped the night wouldn’t be too eventful that he wished he would have been there.

-

With one last swipe of her lip gloss, Roxie grabbed her red clutch - glanced at herself one last time in the mirror and headed off. It was nearing 9PM and Madison was outside the Dolan house in an Uber waiting for Roxie. They were going to a pregame before they headed to the bars. As Roxie’s heels clicked through the hardwood of the house, Grayson’s attention was drawn from the protein shake he was about to make. 

“Where ya headed?” He popped his head out of the kitchen just in time to catch the back of his best friend’s head that had been straightened to perfection. She had on a pair of ripped light jeans that showed her fishnet tights and see-through black bodysuit. The way she whipped her head around to shoot daggers into him made his dick tingle - god, she looked good. Something about the anger turned him on to no end. 

“Out.” One word was all she gave him, quickly ripping the door open and slamming it behind her. Grayson rolled his eyes and just sighed; she was mad at him and absolutely smoking - great. 

“Oh man.” Madison’s smile got wider as Roxie slid into the leather seat next to her. “You look good, babe.”

-

Grayson couldn’t get Roxie out of his head that night. She looked so fucking good and it wasn’t for him and he was pissed. The girl he had invited over had bailed for the night and he didn’t feel like trying to set up new plans. Ethan was gone so Grayson wasn’t sure what to do with the rest of his evening. Roxie rarely went out without him and he knew the only reason she did tonight was because she was pissed at him. 

“Hey, E-” Grayson spoke quickly into his phone, the uncertainty of where Roxie was overwhelming him. Before Ethan could respond, Grayson was sputtering again. “Any chance you know where Rox was going out?”

“Nope, sorry bro.” He had only answered the phone in fear something bad had already happened with Roxie and Grayson; the last thing he was going to do was tell Grayson where she could be. 

The phone call ended quickly after that, Grayson letting out a frustrated sigh as he tossed his phone onto the couch. Surely Roxie would come home sometime around 1AM absolutely hammered and start some sort of argument with Grayson. They’d yell at each other for a bit and maybe Grayson would get laid. That’s how it always played out at least - he figured he would just watch Netflix until she stumbled through the door in a few hours.

Meanwhile, across town at a vlog squad pregame, Roxie was six shots and two hits deep. Her eyes were slightly hooded making her already lusty face look even more seductive. It was no secret that Roxie was a hot commodity in Los Angeles. She was beautiful, friendly, and oh so funny. On top of that, she was essentially completely unattainable. Everyone knew how close she was with the Dolan twins and even though they denied being more than friends, no one ever wanted to step on Grayson’s toes. 

The news of Grayson’s shenanigans over the past month had spread like wildfire and all of a sudden, any unspoken restriction on Roxie was null and void. If Grayson was sleeping around, there was no reason she couldn’t make decisions like that for herself too. Jeff Wittek’s left arm was slung around Roxie’s waist as she took another gulp of her vodka lemonade. She’d always thought Jeff was hot - probably because he and Grayson shared similar features. To add the cherry on top, he was the definition of bad news - Roxie’s ideal choice for a man to give attention to. 

“You want another hit?” Jeff nudged her, taking a puff of the joint between his fingers. She nodded softly, taking it from him and taking a slow drag - her eyes fluttering shut as she let the high continue to wash over her. She didn’t even notice the bright flash of a camera on the side of her face as she handed the blunt back to Jeff and gave him a small smile. 

-

Back on the couch, Grayson was thumbing through snapchat stories mindlessly - his heart dropped when that familiar face popped up on his screen. It was always interesting to see what influencer’s posted on their private accounts, but Grayson really did not expect to see Roxie taking a hit with Jeff from the vlog squad practically feeling her up. He let out a loud yell, throwing his phone across the room in anger as he ran a hand through the hair that had fallen down onto his forehead. The only thought running through his head at the moment: what an absolute bitch. 

Grayson felt absolutely betrayed. He had done so much for Roxie - even going as far to offer her part of his home. He’d left girls for her - never admitting that was the real reason but they both knew the truth. He wanted to explore his options and see how good it felt to succumb to the countless women throwing themselves at him. Shit, it felt good - endless women each night practically crying about how hot he was. Some days it felt like he could never get enough of it, every dream he had of marrying young and having kids had flown out of his head in the last few weeks. He wanted this type of praise for the rest of his life. If Roxie couldn’t handle that and stay by his side like she had for years, he wasn’t sure if there was a place for her in his life anymore.

-

“Hey, are you okay?” Madison’s hand gripping Roxie’s wrist was the only thing she could focus on - the rest of the building spinning around her rapidly. She wasn’t sure how much she’d had to drink since they’d gotten to the bar. They were in a VIP booth with bottle service and she was taking full advantage of all of the attention she was getting. Jeff was fully on track to bed Roxie that night, until a guy slid a hand over her ass and Jeff threw a punch. It didn’t take long for him to get tossed out and for Roxie to throw back even more drinks. 

“Mhm!” She threw a smile up at her friend; definitely a fake one, but it was enough to convince a drunk Madison she was genuinely fine. 

As Roxie twirled around in a circle, looking at all these people she really didn’t know, she felt her heart tighten - she just wanted Grayson. Gripping her clutch tightly, she stumbled out of the section and shoved through crowds of people, slapping hands away that tugged on her body. When the cool air of the night hit her face, she realized she had no idea where she was going. Without much thought, she dug her phone out of her bag and pressed the first person in her phone. 

“If you’re asking me to pick you up, you can hang up now.” His voice was gruff and irritated, on the other side, he was gripping his phone tightly- surprised it wasn’t about to break. It felt like he was punching himself in the stomach as he heard her shakily sigh on the other end - he was pissed at her. Grayson went through so many phases of anger with Roxie. One second he was ready to never speak to her again, the next he was wanting to wrap her up in a ball and hold her tightly to him. The rollercoaster of emotions between them was never ending. 

“Gray, please…” She whined, pinching the bridge of her nose between her fingers as she swayed back and forth on the sidewalk. 

“Fuck - fine.” He yelled, hanging up abruptly and making Roxie jump. Grayson was always so loud and explosive, sometimes he scared her - if she was being honest. No, he’d never hit her and he’d never honestly hurt her, but he could very badly if he wanted to. She always wondered how far they could push each other before he snapped. 

Grayson drove like a mad-man to the pin Roxie had sent him with her location. He was absolutely fuming, his knuckles white as he gripped the steering wheel. The audacity of this girl to call him for a ride after she’d been all over fucking Jeff. He couldn’t believe it. As he pulled up to the club, his stomach dropped seeing Roxie leaning up against the side of the building with her arms folded, her head staring down at the ground. God, sometimes she was so oblivious - anyone could drive by and snatch her right now and she’d have no warning. 

“Roxie.” He rolled the window down, his face softening as she whipped her head up to smile widely at him, running over to the car and quickly getting inside. It’s not like she had forgotten that they were pissed at each other, but it was hard to feel two things at once when she was this drunk. Right now she was just excited he was giving her a ride home. She smelled like alcohol and weed, but the vanilla of her perfume was still out shadowing the rest. “Why didn’t you get a ride from Jeff?”

“What?” She snapped at him as she buckled her seatbelt. How the hell did he even know she was with Jeff?

“Madison posted him all up on you on her snap.” He seethed, shoving his phone into her face to watch the video for herself. Roxie scoffed as she watched the overall harmless video that of course Grayson would get mad about. It was like she was his to control and he could do whatever the hell he wanted. 

“So you can literally fuck a different girl each night, but I can’t side hug someone?” Her words were slurred as she yelled, arms folded across her lap as she tossed his phone into the console. “Bullshit.”

“Do you want to fuck someone new every night?” Clenching his jaw and pressing down the gas pedal slightly, his voice was low and raspy. He knew she was going to say no, but part of him wanted her to say yes so he could yell at her - so he could justify what he was doing. He knew she would never do that to him, but if she did, maybe he wouldn’t feel so wrong for doing it to her. 

“No.” Roxie shook her head and rested it against the cool glass window, her lower lip sticking out just slightly. 

Grayson didn’t speak the rest of the drive home, stealing quick glances over at Roxie who was mindlessly scrolling through her phone. Somehow, she looked even better than she did before she left that evening - her makeup was worn off slightly and her rosy cheeks and nose made him smile to himself. When they finally got home, she was having a hard time getting into the house without falling - Grayson jogged over to her and gripped her by the elbow, tugging her inside. 

“Don’t touch me.” She snapped, huffing as he finally got her to her room and pushed her down onto the bed. Grayson was about to respond, but he didn’t - turning on his heel to leave her alone for the night. Roxie wasn’t having it, she just couldn’t. Something about alcohol and Grayson made her blood boil and she wasn’t capable of just dropping it. “When did you become such a piece of shit, hm?”

“Roxie.” Grayson warned, turning around slowly with his arms folded across his chest. He watched with a raised eyebrow as she kicked her stilettos off and started shimmying her tight pants down her legs.

“No - fuck you.” Huffing in frustration as she finally got the pants off, sitting on the edge of her bed in a pair of fishnet stockings and a thong bodysuit. “This -” She pointed up and down at her gorgeous body with raised eyebrows. “Is laid out in the room next to yours every fucking night and you’re choosing to stick your dick in something else - seriously?”

“Don’t start.” He warned her again, eyes raking over her as she stood up, her hands on her hips with dark hair cascading down her side. There wasn’t an ounce of a lie in what she said. Grayson had never seen someone hotter than Roxie in his entire life and he knew he never would. 

“I know no one is fucking you like me.” Her voice was soft as she traced a finger down the white t-shirt on his chest. “I know none of these boring bitches dig into you like I do.” Cocking her head to the side as Grayson’s eyes darkened and he gulped. “What the fuck is your problem, hm? Confidence shot? Worried your dick isn’t good? What is it?”

“Don’t speak to me like that.” He seethed, his eyes squeezing shut as he felt her fingers scratch up under his shirt across his tight abs. God - she was infuriating. 

“Little Dolan scared his little dick can’t do the job anymo-”

Her words were cut short as Grayson gripped her smaller body and threw her back against the bed, a loud yelp leaving her lips as her body slammed onto the mattress. Grayson had shoved her against walls, maybe even choked her a little too hard at times, but he’d never thrown her like this - so hard her neck whipped back so fast she was sure she had whiplash. Grayson felt his stomach drop as he watched her body smack onto the bed like a rag doll. He hadn’t meant to throw her so hard - truly he hadn’t. He wanted to toss her onto the bed so he could crawl onto her, maybe intimidate her a bit so he could have the upper hand. As her hand came up to clutch her neck, she let out a soft whimper. 

“Rox - hey…” He muttered, rushing to the side of the bed to crouch down so he could see her face without her having to sit up. Her eyes were glossy and she looked at him like he was a complete stranger. “I didn’t mea-”

“Get the fuck away from me you sick fuck!” Her voice was loud and cracking as she screamed at him. Face crumpling up in pain as she held her neck tightly. 

Grayson’s eyes widened as he watched tears run down her face. Roxie didn’t cry very much - it was pretty limited to dying dog scenes in movies and the occasional sob story. When it came to Grayson, Roxie held her tears back to release in private - even when she was completely intoxicated. As he watched her sob in front of him, he felt completely helpless. His only defense was to pretend she was crying just to make him feel bad - he knew she wasn’t, but he wasn’t going to acknowledge his mistakes at this point. He was in too deep. 

“Fucking bitch.” He scoffed, pushing himself up off the floor and glancing down at her one more time. She was staring up at him with squinted eyes and black streaks down her face. “I hope you realize how bad you fucked up when you’re not sloppy in the morning.”

Roxie let out a choked sob as Grayson slammed her door shut, the mug full of pencils on her desk slamming to the ground and shattering into pieces. She knew she was drunk, but she wasn’t going to forget what he just did to her.

[rpgsandbox]

I urge you now: do not open this book. Do not read its contents. Walk away, live your simple life, and keep these creatures of darkness in the shadows where they belong.

Opening your eyes to this horrible world, where demons possess dolls, the undead stalk the night, the Devil walks among us, and mummies march from their tombs, is an act of incredible bravery, or perhaps, complete foolishness. Turn away now, before it’s too late…

No? Well, in that case, I introduce you to a little game we can play, called

They Came from Beyond the Grave! is a dramatic, hammy, and horrifying tabletop roleplaying game encompassing the shock, terror, eroticism, and humor of 1970s horror. This game allows you to play with all the magnificent content from the movies of Hammer, Amicus, and Roger Corman, and promises fun and thrills of the horror movie genre!

In They Came from Beyond the Grave! you play humans faced with the horrors of the supernatural. You’ll find yourself pitted against vampires, werewolves, ghosts, and constructed critters, along with demons, slashers, and THE DEVIL HIMSELF. Adventures range from the one-shot exploration of a haunted house, to the multi-era play across the 19th century and 1970s.

They Came from Beyond the Grave! contains a mix of serious threat, unmitigated ham, and nonsensical farce. We never tell you what is amusing and what is not, but we do provide you with the tools to make a seriously fun game incorporating all the elements of 1970s horror movies. This game provides rules for funny quips and amusing cinematics for incorporation in a story, along with dozens of special powers and story devices.

They Came from Beyond the Grave! uses the Storypath System, provided in full in the pages of this book!

This They Came from Beyond the Grave! Kickstarter campaign is designed to enable Onyx Path to create a hardcover rulebook, a print-and-play PDF of Quip and Cinematic cards, and a Director screen to aid play. Exceptional funding may allow us to add Stretch Goals that further develop the setting and add additional materials for play, including more scenarios and additional threats! We also want to get at least one print run into traditional distribution and available for sale at game and hobby stores.

                              Design not final, still in progress.

We want to create an 8.5" x 11" hardcover rulebook with a dynamic cover and full-color interior art. We estimate the book will be more than 200+ pages and will be traditionally printed on high quality paper stock. In addition, we want to create a print-and-play PDF with more than 120 Quip and Cinematic cards to use in-game.

Chapter One: Archetypes - This is where you’ll meet this game’s playable Archetypes. The Dupe, the Hunter, the the Mystic, the Professor, and the Raconteur each occupy different roles popular in the horror movies listed previously.

Chapter Two: Character Creation - If you’ve chosen the Archetype that appeals to you and already have the kernel of a character concept in mind, here’s where you go to flesh that character out in full.

Chapter Three: Skills and Attributes - Your selection of abilities is an important, defining aspect of your character, which is why Skills and Attributes get their own chapter where they’re all detailed for your pleasure.

Chapter Four: System - The Director will want to read this chapter to get a handle on how to run and play They Came from Beyond the Grave! This chapter breaks down the basics of dice rolling all the way through to Complications on actions, Conditions for characters, and scenes involving clue-solving, drama, and death. The players should scan through this chapter after creating characters just to discover the basics.

Chapter Five: Cinematic Powers - Here’s where you’ll find some of the best powers and tools for your horror games. If you’ve ever wanted to insert a missing reel to escape peril, produce copious amounts of blood to fake your own death, score points for coming up with a cutting one-liner at just the right moment, or explode with amazing Stunts when you succeed spectacularly, this is going to be a fun read.

Chapter Six: Monsters - What is a horror movie without a monster? Oh, some of them are human and fragile enough, but this chapter contains everything from Stalking Killers to Dracula, and Possessed Dolls to Abaddon, the Locust King. You’ll find no shortage of enemies to incorporate into stories and base entire plots around right here.

Chapter Seven: The Director’s Chair - All the advice an aspiring Director could need to run a game to hit a certain tone or mood, including a dissection of the different kinds of horror movies you might wish to emulate. This chapter goes into full detail of what a Director should and shouldn’t do to really get that 1970s horror movie feel across.

Chapter Eight: This Horrible World - Maybe this is your first RPG, or perhaps you’re struggling to come up with sets, events, and plots for your game of They Came from Beyond the Grave! Whatever the case, this chapter contains everything you need to start the flow of ideas. Both the 1970s and the 19th century, as they appear in films, are detailed lovingly for your use.

Chapter Nine: Scenarios - Two full scenarios, one involving the machinations of THE DEVIL HIMSELF, another embracing the characters, stories, and mysteries of Edgar Allen Poe’s trove of stories, each ready to run directly from the book.

Appendix One - Here we have the list of Quips present in the Cinematic Powers chapter, but easily locatable near the back of the book. This appendix is especially useful for players lacking a deck of Quip cards.

Appendix Two - Here you’ll find a helpful list of Stunts and Cinematics, stating their names and costs.

They Came from Beyond the Grave! is powered by Onyx Path's Storypath system, and includes all the rules you need to play as a brave (or foolhardy) hero dealing with supernatural threats, including rules for creating characters with a mix of options to customize your Archetype. It also has ready-to-play scenarios, along with information on the cinematic version of the 19th century and 1970s that you can incorporate into your game with a new spooky atmosphere. And, finally, dozens of antagonists, including a chaotic assembly of horrific haunts that create a host of locations and events for players and Directors to explore.

The Storypath system is Onyx Path's rules set designed specifically to allow the sort of rules scaling necessary to seamlessly enable players to play ordinary people as well as mystics and monster hunters.

The basics of the Storypath system should be familiar to anyone who has played many other Onyx Path games of action-adventure or heroic exploits, as it is a 10-sided dice pool system, where in order to resolve an action you basically roll a number of dice equal to the character's Skill + Attribute and must roll an 8 or better a certain number of times in order to succeed in the action.

That is the very basic resolution system, but we expand on that to further enhance how your gaming group can build their stories. Failing to hit your number of successes, or having more successes than your required amount, are built-in options in the rules. Here is a handy graphic that illustrates what we mean:

To further explain the basics of the Storypath system, here is a small PDF download that goes into more detail: SYSTEM PREVIEW PDF.

The primary goal of this Kickstarter campaign is to create the best version of They Came from Beyond the Grave! that is possible. Your support allows us to fund the best production, use the most appropriate components, and possibly even contract more art for the core book. We hope to not only deliver a beautiful book to all of our backers, but also fund at least one print run to be sold through distribution and into book and hobby stores that are so vital to our community.

Beyond that primary goal, we hope to gain additional funding to explore more of the world of They Came from Beyond the Grave!, possibly creating additional content in the form of scenarios, threats, and ready-made characters. The greater our funding for this project, the more resources we are able to explore this thrilling world.

Beyond those campaign-specific goals, we hope to do what our games have always done — open a path to a new world; a setting for our community to build new stories and entwine imaginations. Every person who participates in this campaign is joining with the goal of bringing this game into the world — and like our protagonists, this mission binds us with common purpose. When you back this project, you join our amazing cast of characters as we create our adventure together.

Kickstarter campaign ends: Thu, August 20 2020 7:00 PM BST

Website: Onyx Path Publishing

[gra-sonas]

You have probably already said it, so you can ignore me if you want to but, if you could write s3, what would you like to happen regarding Alex's storyline? What are your wishes? The best case scenario?

If I could write S3, I’d definitely skip the whole Forrest thing. I have nothing against Forrest, I just don’t think it’s necessary for Alex to date someone else to be/get “ready” to be with Michael. Neither do I think it’s necessary for Alex to date someone else until Michael is ready to be with Alex. 

Instead I want Alex to spend time with his friends. First and foremost Kyle, bc we’re going to ignore that dumb 2x05 statement they made Alex say for whatever reason and let them have great friendship moments throughout the season.

Then I want friendship scenes between Liz and Alex. Scenes where they actually talk. And if Rosa’s around, I want her to join the conversation.

A new friendship I need like air is Alex and Isobel. Her snark is a perfect match for Alex’s snark. I want them to have coffee dates at the Crashdown and go to Planet 7 to have some fun (not hooking up with anyone, just enjoying being queers in a queer space). Isobel could also be a great mediator between Alex and Michael (without MEDDLING tho). She’d just know enough about both of them to nudge them in the right direction occasionally and encourage them to talk, and ultimately to give a romantic relationship a shot.

Then I want Alex to spend time with Greg. They’ll need time to reconcile and mend their relationship after way too many years apart. A common goal for them would be to get Flint back from the edge of being a Manes man (I still want that redemption arc for Flint *grabby hands*).

I can’t really say anything about Clay, the fourth Manes brother, but I hope he’s a good person and will also reconnect with Alex.

Then there’s Mindy, Alex’s mom. I want her to return to Roswell and I want to know why she left in the first place, what kept her away for so long, and what she knew about Jesse. If possible, I want Alex to get a hug from his mom. ❤️

Finally there’s Alex’s friendship with Michael. More than anything I want them to finally TALK, and have real conversations about them and the past decade. I want them to talk about all the things that hurt, but also about the moments that were good, the moments that made them love each other so much, even a decade mostly apart couldn’t change that.

At some point (roughly halfway through S3) it would be enough with the talking tho. There’s only so much you can talk through over and over, if they want to move on, they have to truly forgive each other. Mutual forgiveness combined with the promise of leaving “their” pain in the past and the commitment to not ever use any of the old pain to hurt each other going forward.

“Could we both stop keeping score” is what Alex wrote in his song to Michael, and once they both feel like they can do that and let the past be the past, I want them to get together. And from there on out I want them to be together, in a committed relationship that won’t be broken up again, not in S3, not at any point after that.

After a decade and 2 seasons of misery, Alex and Michael are owed happiness, domestic bliss, dates, a million kisses, and a dog. And we deserve to see a HAPPY queer couple on screen for a change. Enough with the fake TV drama and queer trauma porn that still way too many writers consider “entertainment”🙄

Anyway, my wishlist got rather long, and it’s unlikely that all of this is going to happen (at least not on the scale I’d like to see it). Apart from that, the show’s not called Malex (big mistake imo :P ), and I want character development for the other characters just as much as I want it for Alex and Michael. 

I want real friendship moments between all of them. I want them to actually work together for a change. They teased a Scooby gang dynamic for S2 and that never happened. Make it happen in S3. Don’t introduce a million new characters (Covid would make that difficult anyway), don’t invite everyone back from S2 (*cough* Steph *cough*) instead focus on the core cast and the supporting characters like Arturo, Sanders, the Manes brothers, Mindy, Michelle, Mimi, and the Evans’.

What I also want is for Liz to be the clear LEAD of the show again. S2 took that away from her and that was not okay. I want ONE big mystery they’re trying to uncover over the course of 13 episodes, and after an entire season of little to no answers and revelations, I want answers in S3. About the aliens, their home planet, the war, the Alighting. I want to know who sabotaged the UFO and made it crash. I want to know more about their powers. At its core, RNM is also a sci fi show, just make use of that and tell us stories about aliens, please?

[inkedsoldier]

Chew the Bullet - Chapter Four

A Modern Warfare series

Casey Vos is a liaison officer for the Dutch Special Forces. She has been stationed in Afghanistan and Syria, but now works everywhere they need her assistance. Specialized in counterterrorism and intelligence, she is unmistakably a great asset for the upcoming Taskforce 1-4-1, under the command of Captain John Price.

A/N: Here it is – the official chapter four of Chew the Bullet. This time we are exploring the relationship between Casey and Price. Please, if you see any errors, let me know so I can fix it. It’s much appreciated. Well, I hope you enjoy! And please leave a note, vote or message with your thoughts! Bravo team out.

Warnings: angst, violence, blood.

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author of this story. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No copyright infringement is intended.

Italics are flashbacks in this chapter.

_____

Words left the captain as he stared into those bright green eyes burning with guilt. His heart fell silent and his mind went in overdrive. How was she still alive? Where has she been? He saw her taking a dive down that cliff – downed by a sniper from the hill behind them. No one would have survived the fall. The cell phone in his pocket started to vibrate. He didn’t want to answer, but he had to. “Sorry, need to take this, but you’re both with me,” he commanded pressing the green button on the screen.

  08:00 AM Scotland Yard, London

Insomnia haunted his night – his mind lit up with all kind of scenarios of Casey’s survival. He had so many questions that he needed answers to. As soon as the alarm went off, he made his way to the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service. It was a long time ago since John Price visited Scotland Yard, but it still looked the same. When he stepped out of the elevator, he spotted Kyle Garrick first. “Sergeant!” he called. “Captain! How are you doing?” Gaz replied. ‘Doing well. You?” Price asked, shaking Kyle’s hand. “I’m fine,” he responded. “Question. Do you know where I can find Vos?” he asked, looking around the floor. “Yeah, I think she is in her office over there,” he pointed. “I saw her arriving earlier. But if she is not there, you will probably find her in the gym, one floor up.” Price thanked the sergeant and walked towards Casey’s office.

 Like a second skin her hair lies over her cheeks. Looking like she just got caught in a sudden storm she lets herself step out of the ring. Hitting and kicking that sack really helps her get all the anger and pain out of her system. Her legs and arms feel numb as she carefully walks towards the water tap to fill up her bottle. It never ceases to amaze her that the muscles that were working so hard only minutes ago, now fight to keep up her weight. She pulls off the wet sticky shirt as the salty drops invade her eyes. The cold air from the open window surrounds the Dutch operator. She froze as she saw herself in the mirror, knuckles going white as she clenched the edge of the sink tightly. Seeing the scar always caused this sudden feeling in her stomach as the flashbacks fill her head. She sighed and averted her gaze from the mirror to the wall next to it.

  May 2017 - Georgia

“Alex! Watch out!” Casey yelled, shoving the operator away out of sight from the sniper. The bullet hit her body with so much power that it jerked her off her feet, down the cliff.

 Footsteps behind Casey take her out of a trance. “Kyle told me I would find you here,” the SAS captain spoke softly, spotting the scar of the exit wound on her back. “Am I interrupting?” Casey turned around making eye contact with Price, “No, was just refilling this,” she said, holding up the still empty bottle. “Hmm, I see,” he chuckled. He really didn’t know how to start the conversation, but he needed answers. “What happened, Case?” he blurted out suddenly. “We looked for you… we couldn’t leave you behind.” She puts on a fake smile to hide the pain. John Price was one of her best friends, but she didn’t want to worry him. She kept her survival under the radar to keep them all save. “I don’t know where to start, John,” she sighs. “One moment I was on the cliff covering Alex… the next I hit the water and struggle to keep my eyes open.” Casey looked away for a second, trying to hide the emotions. Her smile looked lifeless and it hit John like a brick in the face. “They found me and kept me alive…” she told him, her fake smile disappeared quickly. “They?” the Brit asked, as she slowly sits down on the floor of the gym. Price moves next to her and does the same. “Al-Qatala,” the girl replied in a whisper.

  June 2017 - Al-Qatala hideout, near the Russian border

When Casey came to, she was greeted by darkness. Where am I? Is this hell? Am I dead? All these kind of questions flooded her mind in an instant. She pulled herself off the cold ground, but pain shot through her body. She dropped down against the floor again as darkness surrounded her once more.

 “What?!” The captain was in total shock about that statement. “I woke up in a dark cell. Had no clue on what day it was. How long I had been out. All my gear was gone and I was wrapped in bloody bandages,” Casey told as she concentrated on the ground in front of her.

  June 2017 - Al-Qatala hideout, near the Russian border

She jolted awake when cold liquid was thrown over her. She gasped for air. Two hands lift her up and began dragging her out of the cell. They tied her up to a chair in the room at the end of the hallway. The cold air hit her hard, only wearing some boxer shorts and an oversized black shirt that was unknown to her. All her gear was gone, but the immense pain was still there. “Welcome,” a thick foreign voice said. “Glad you finally decided to join us.” When she looked up she came face to face with one of the Wolf’s apprentices. “Where the fuck am I?” Casey yelled. “Uh-uh. I’m the one who is asking the questions here,” the man said. “You can make this easy for yourself. Just answer my questions, and you might walk out of here. What information does your team have on us?” he started. The Dutch lieutenant glared at the Al-Qatala soldier, “I’m not telling you shit! I’m dead either way. I know your kind.” A fist connected with her face, sending the chair backwards. She got trained to handle situations like this, but this was on another level – reality hits hard. “I’m going to ask you one… more… time. What information do you have on us?” he yelled, spit leaving his mouth. “Well, I know you probably have a small dick!” she stated.

 The SAS captain’s face fell fast. In an instant his skin became greyed, his mouth hung with lips slight parted and his eyes were as wide as they could stretch. He could see the pain in her eyes.

 A fake laugh spread on the man’s face as he turns to one of his accomplices. Another fist makes contact with her face. This time the chair smashes with the back onto the ground. Even downed, the soldier keeps punching and kicking the life out of Casey. It felt like he kept going for hours. The floor was cold and wet – the pain never ending. Her face was bruised, swollen and bloody. Blood running down from her forehead and eyebrow. One of the men pulled her up again when the soldier’s energy was drained from attacking his prisoner. They exited the room and left her back in the darkness.

 “They were able to keep me there for eight months. I survived eight months of torture, but I’m still not sure how or why…” she looked at the soldier next to her. Different thoughts clouded her mind.

  August 2017 -  Al-Qatala hideout, near the Russian border

One morning she was awoken by one of the men. As she took in her surroundings, she spotted a large table in the centre of the room. The leader that questioned many times before entered the room with an evil smirk on his smug face. “Let’s try this again, shall we?” The girl scoffed, “Fuck off!!” The two men behind the man come up to her and lift her on the ice cold table. They tie her arms and legs to the piece of furniture and put a smelly cloth on her face. “So… is this the thanks I get for patching you up?” the Al-Qatala fighter spoke in her ear. “Get the fuck away from me!” she yelled once again in the hopes that somebody would hear her. But of course nobody came. The water came down on her face and breathing became impossible. She tried, but the flow kept coming. Once the bucket was empty, the whole routine would start over. Question after question, all unanswered. She stayed strong. She would never spill any information given to her. The coughing and gasping burnt her lungs. When they finally stopped, she was unable to stop shaking from the cold. Draining all the energy she once had. “You know we can go on like this for days. Weeks. Even months,” the man spoke before leaving her all alone.

 “I was lucky I guess, that angry locals stormed the camp and burned it down,” Casey continued, tears now filling her eyes. Her shoulders hunched together like she was trying to disappear inside herself. The walls that hold her up, making her strong… collapse. She pressed her head against the wall, trying to stop the tears that roll down her cheeks. John wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close, gently rubbing her arm. Casey sunk into the warmth of his side, appreciative of the gesture. “They told me you were all dead… blown to pieces…” she mumbled against his shoulder. “I wished so many times that I would close my eyes and never open them again…”

  December 2017 – 25 clicks from the camp

With the small amount of energy she had left, Casey made her way through the woods. It was ancient. Trees were thick and old, roots twisted on the ground. Once it might have been filled with bird-song and animals that roamed. But is was now past its former glory. The earth was dense and occasionally a streak of light would touch the ground beneath her feet. After walking for a few hours it became hard to make out the details of the area surrounding her. Her skin went ashen and she stumbled forward before she fell. Barely breathing she lay in the dirt as still as a corpse.

 The words to continue telling all that happened left her. She stared into Price’s blue eyes, waiting for him to say something. His silence was somehow comforting and spoke for itself, it was peaceful. And no matter what would happen, he was still here for her. Casey was like a daughter to him and words couldn’t describe how much he cared for the girl. He mourned when they couldn’t find her back in Georgia. They scanned the whole area for her body, but no trace could be found. “A local farmer found me and brought me to the nearest hospital, where I woke up a few days after,” she said. “I managed to contact my commanding officer and Kate.”

 John was at loss for words, “K-Kate knew you were alive?” Casey tried to stand up again, “Yes. I contacted her and we decided to keep my survival under the radar. On my request. The moment I heard you were all safe and sound, I had to protect that. I couldn’t risk any of you,” she finished, sticking out her right hand so the soldier could get back on his feet. The beatings, touches and horrible words left her with visible and invisible scars. “So… now I got a question for you.. What’s with the beard?” Casey chuckled, trying to lighten up the mood. “I almost didn’t recognise you yesterday.”

Masterlist

Tag list: @imahardcase​ @yvessaintrogers​ 

[thistreasurehunter]

JJ/Pope Shippers... This is the COMING SOON post

More below the cut.

Warning: includes mature adult content.

Disclaimer: All characters discussed are aged 18+. (My work is not ‘canon-compliant’, in that I do not to reference any of the events of season 1 which would specifically time-stamp any of these fics. That way, I can age all the characters up a few years/set it a couple of years in the future.)  

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

Firstly, thank you to everyone who sent prompts, suggestions and requests to me over the last few days – I ended up getting a much bigger response to this than I ever expected! I’ve had a lot of fun reading through these and starting to think up how I’m going to deliver them to you. (And, yes, if anyone is wondering, I have set up a spreadsheet to keep track of them all! #nerd) So, I wanted to put together a post outlining my plans, along with a bit of a teaser as to what will be coming soon.

So, I’ve decided to split my work into a few separate series:

After the Rain – I will be continuing with the main chronological series, however, I have also decided to set up two additional, parallel series that occur within this universe (but at different points in time): Before the Storm (prequel) and After the Rain: Lightning Flashes of the Future (set several years in the future). Fics within these parallel series might not occur chronologically and will just be a collection of moments from the different points in JJ and Pope’s relationship.

What If… – this will be a collection of stand-alone one-shots set in a variety of different AUs.

Gumdrops and Allsorts – this will be a collection of stand-alone one-shots set within versions of the OBX universe, but these will not be compliant with After the Rain, Before the Storm or Lightning Flashes and do not fit anywhere within those timelines.

Without giving too much away, here’s a bit of a teaser about what to expect from each of these:

Before the Storm – pining, longing, appreciation from afar and (presumed) unrequited feelings;

After the Rain – blow jobs, fingering, rimming, anal, cuddling and coming out ~I invite you to come with me as we take these boys on a journey of self-discovery and sexual awakening~;

Lightning Flashes – service-top!JJ, jealousy, getting possessive and pet names;

What if… – Soulmate AU, ABO AU and Sugar-daddy AU; and

Gumdrops and Allsorts – the one where they’re childhood friends to lovers, the one where friends-with-benefits meets fake-dating, the one with the dry humping, the one with the circle jerk, the one where JJ confesses his feelings and Pope doesn’t return them (at first), the one where JJ accidentally walks in on Pope during *alone time* and the one with the loud sex.

(Disclaimer: I’m in the really early stages of planning these out in my head, so I reserve the right to tweak these and play around with them. I just wanted to give you a bit of a flavour of what to expect.)

I’m going to do my best to keep these organised in my Master List, but I also just wanted to flag that I’m on AO3 (and it’s much easier to organise things over there), just in case you’d prefer to read on that platform. My username is the same as here: thistreasurehunter. Link here.

So what’s next...?

In terms of what I’ll be working on next – quite a few of the ideas above received multiple votes, but there ended up being four that really stood out in terms of number of requests. The most requested scenario, however - *drum-roll please* - was………. JJ giving Pope his first blow job. (I think this was influenced largely by that legendary line from the show when they’re at the movie screening.) So that’s what’s going to be coming up next in the After the Rain series.

One more thing... 

Also, I’m not sure whether this would be of interest to anyone, but I’ll put it out there anyway, just in case. I realise my fic posts are kind of boring looking. I wouldn’t know where to start with making any kind of visual media to accompany them, but I know there are a loads of really talented and creative people out there who can make really great visual things. So… I was wondering if anyone would be interested in making any images, edits, gifs, mood-boards, etc. to be included in any of my future fic posts? I hope it goes without saying, but full credit would be given, obviously! I’m very open minded, so the scope really is open-ended here. So, yeah, just thought I’d suggest it. Inbox me if you have questions or any thoughts/ideas on this. No worries if no-one’s interested though, it was just an idea.

And finally...

Although I’m not going to be taking any new Requests until I’ve worked my way further though the above, I just want to end by saying that my inbox is always open. I really love getting your messages! So, yeah, come and whisper in my ear… Come to me with your questions, reactions, fluffy/sexy imagines, headcanons, dirty thoughts, fantasy confessions (my favourite! the no-judgement confessional of thistreasurehunter is OPEN!), tumblr tips, random observations, or just about anything else you might want to leave there. This is, and will always be, a safe space. I’m here, and I’m listening. 💙

[kaistarus]

Clickbait(YouTuberAU)--Chapter7

Pairings: kiribaku, tododeku

Words: 5,006

Summary: A lot of great things came with being a big name YouTuber, but along with those perks were some serious drawbacks. One of the biggest being your lack of personal privacy.

Due to just one video, Kirishima's least well-kept secret has become a viral sensation, and now he has to deal with the repercussions from both the YouTube community and the public. Hopefully, those he's dragging down with him won't mind...

Notes: I love these idiots so much:) this chapter made my soul happy lmao

Ready the whole thing here

Kirishima tapped his foot repeatedly against his bedroom’s carpeted floor while aggressively brushing his teeth. All his laundry was haphazardly strewn across his room in hopes of making an outfit decision easier. But in actuality, it left him staring at a zebra-striped tank top for twenty minutes confused why he owned it in the first place. The only progress made had been kicking his winter apparel into the far corner of his room to be dealt with who knew when and increasing his dental hygiene to a level his mom would finally be proud of. In other words, nothing that benefitted his date with Bakugou.

Kirishima groaned exaggeratedly and left to find the others in the main area of the house. He had wanted to at least try getting ready on his own, but reluctantly accepted he was too out of practice. And Bakugou was no baby step back into the dating scene, so he couldn’t afford any embarrassing mistakes.

Mina sat comfortably at the kitchen island, swinging her feet and leaning heavily on the granite countertop while watching her laptop screen. She paid no attention to the scene behind her of Kaminari struggling to decorate a Christmas tree while Sero stood next to him with the camcorder, filming his efforts with an entertained smirked. Kirishima took one glance at Kaminari tangled in colored Christmas lights and decided it wasn’t worth asking.

“I need help,” Kirishima said through a mouthful of mint toothpaste. Mina gave him a disgusted look and Kirishima rolled his eyes, going to the kitchen’s sink to spit and rinse out his mouth before continuing, “help me.”

“Pre-date panic?”

“He’s been panicking since last night,” Sero said, angling the camera in their direction. “He did three loads of laundry this morning.”

“I didn’t have anything to wear.”

“I didn’t know you went through three loads of outfits on one date,” Kaminari said, throwing the string of lights onto the ground once released from their constriction. “I must have a different definition of hiking.”

Kirishima glowered at Kaminari. “What are you even doing?”

“Setting up for a skit?” Kaminari said. He popped open one of several cardboard boxes marked ‘don’t open till x-mas’ and started pulling out cases of ornaments. “Some of us are lonely and still have jobs to do.”

“But our Christmas tree?”

“It will probably be fine.”

Kirishima wanted to argue, but he knew it could be worse. He would never recover from the morning Kaminari filled the living room walls with borderline sexual fanart of himself. It was a whole otherworldly type of pain— he actually felt his eyes burn and his mind start rotting. Just thinking about it sent a shiver down his spine.

“Are you almost done? We still need to get supplies for my video.” Mina turned to Kirishima with a mischievous smile. “I’m giving me and Kaminari beards. I saw it in a dream, so I must make it a reality.”

“If someone helped me it would go a lot faster.”

Sero just waved the camcorder at him as his excuse. Kirishima and Mina both shrugged in response.

“I could do a lot of things, but that’s not one of them,” Mina said. She flipped her laptop closed and gave Kirishima an elevator glance. “Alright, first we need to change your outfit.” She said, pointing to his pajama shirt. “Then we need to get food in you because I know you’ve been starving yourself from nerves.”

“Obviously, we have to change my shirt. That was my whole issue.” He said, ignoring her latter comment. She raised a dainty eyebrow to show that it didn’t go unnoticed which sucked. If he threw up during the date that was on her.

“C’mon,” Mina hopped off the stool and gestured towards his bedroom. “You have much to learn in so little time.”

“Five hours is little time?”

She shot him a teasing look over her shoulder. “So much to learn.”

He trailed after her and was surprised at how quickly she went to work once they were in his room. She kicked items off to the side, picking up various shirts to hold up to his chest before tossing them over her shoulder without a care for where they landed and continued the process without letting Kirishima in on the system. He didn’t bother asking and let her take control of the situation. He was too busy stressing about the cocky smirk that wandered into his mind whenever he stopped actively distracting himself.

Out of nowhere, Mina chucked a long-sleeve at his face. He peeled off the red shirt and held it at a distance to discover it was his favorite Crimson Riot shirt he’d bought in college. “This?”

“It’s the most authentically you shirt I could find,” Mina said. She kicked more clothes around the floor before mumbling, “now pants.”

Kirishima was taken back. He guessed the point of dating was authenticity. He tightened his fist around the cotton fabric and focused on the faded logo across the center. He wondered how long it would take Bakugou after truly knowing him to realize that Kirishima wasn’t worth his time.

A pair of athletic shorts slapped him in the face, and he ripped them off. “Mina!”

“Stop being self-deprecating and help me find socks.” She raised her eyebrows at him challengingly. Kirishima sighed. He sunk down to the floor to rummage around the mess of clothes they’d created, attempting to remember where the sock pile had originally formed. A few feet away Mina pulled out a pair excitedly from under a few sweatshirts and waved them in the air.

Kirishima chuckled at Mina’s antics. He could do this. He just had to remember that even if everything went wrong and Bakugou completely hated him, he would still have this. Mina would still come over every day doing things like putting fake beards on them, Kaminari would still be putting Christmas trees up nowhere near the holidays, and Sero would still be encouraging the chaos and recording their memories. He just had to try and remember that he would still have his friends no matter how today turned out.

He threw a shirt at Mina after expertly blocking her own clothing toss and they began a full-on war. He laughed while burying her with piles of his now questionably clean laundry.

Yeah, he thought. He’d be okay.

~*~*~*~

He changed his mind. He was absolutely not going to be okay.

Kirishima tugged at his athletic shorts nervously. He hadn’t been able to settle since he’d seated himself in the passenger side of Mina’s car and the squirming only got worse the closer they got to Brush Canyon Trails. It had been easier for him to push back the reality of his situation until Mina had started the engine and it hit him full force that he was actually going on a date with Katsuki Bakugou.

He was going to throw up the toaster waffles Mina shoved down his throat.

“This is a bad idea,” Kirishima said, adjusting a white bandana over his spiked hair. “We should turn around.”

“Eijirou. You would never forgive yourself if you stood that boy up.” Mina said, making a sharp right turn. Kirishima’s stomach sunk as the dusty trails came closer to view. She was right, of course, living with that regret would be infinitely worse than anything Bakugou could throw at him. Kirishima let out a pathetic whine and sunk deeper into the leather seat.

Mina whipped into the entrance of the trails and parked somewhere that probably wasn’t legal. Kirishima let his eyes skim over the people mulling around the popular park’s entryway. Brush Canyon trails were the best hiking paths in LA, having various levels of difficulty winding through the brush and what greenery the mountain could provide; however, the view of the city and Hollywood sign also made it a popular tourist attraction. A family of five unloaded too many supplies from their van for Kirishima to believe they were locals, a girl in workout apparel stretched her legs while her German Shepard laid beside her bored, and a pair of teenage boys in too little clothing for the chilly weather checked over their cameras. When he first came to LA he felt awkward recording in public, but now he didn’t even think twice when there were vloggers on every street corner.

Among them he spotted Bakugou, sitting casually on a flattened rock and scrolling on his phone. He was dressed perfect for overcast weather—sweatshirt, athletic pants, nothing fancy—but Kirishima’s heart still skyrocketed when his mind registered who he was staring at. Part of him thought Bakugou wouldn’t show up.

Fuck. This was actually happening, wasn’t it?

“Do you think he’s been waiting a while? Should we have left earlier?”

“Ei, we are ten minutes early. You are more than fine.” Mina clapped her hands together and met his eyes with excitement. “Are you ready?”

He wasn’t. He’d spent all night imagining every possible scenario, and still seeing Bakugou actually sitting there sent his nerves in a frenzy. “I don’t know if I can do this Mina.”

“You can.” Mina grabbed his hands and gave them a gentle squeeze. “Ei, you are the greatest human I know. You might not believe it in here,” she poked his forehead, “but you are way out of that boy’s league.”

Kirishima nodded halfheartedly. He looked back at Bakugou and tensed when they made direct eye contact. Kirishima gave a small wave through the window and received a finger gun in response. Mina started snickering as Bakugou looked at his hand confused before quickly hiding it behind his back and changing his gaze to his sneakers.

“You’ll be fine. If anything goes wrong just text me and I’ll be here.” Mina said while nudging him out. Kirishima took a deep breath once completely out of the car waving goodbye to Mina as she pulled out of her parking spot. Kirishima was officially on his own. He could do this.

“Hey,” Kirishima called out and he willed his heart to calm down. He hadn’t even been here a full minute and if it kept that up he’d pass out halfway through their date.

Bakugou nodded in acknowledgment but had his eyes locked on Mina’s retreating car. “You could’ve told me you needed a ride.”

“Oh, I mean… Mina was on her way to get beards and hair-dye anyway. So, it wasn’t a big deal.”

Bakugou cocked his head to the side, mulling the statement over. “Do I want to know?”

“Probably not.”

“Perfect,” Bakugou stood and slung a USC drawstring that had been resting beside the rock onto his back. Kirishima thought it was pretty extra to bring a whole bag for a water bottle but didn’t want to insult him this early on. Bakugou gestured towards one of the trails and Kirishima gladly let Bakugou take the lead for their hike. “So, is there a fucking method to your guys’ madness or what?”

Kirishima scrunched his nose as he thought. “Maybe? I just try to make it fun.” Kirishima kicked a large rock that lay in his path. “Last week I turned our swimming pool into a ball pit just because I could.”

“You’re something else,” Bakugou said with a thoughtful expression.

“Thank you!” Kirishima chose to take that as a compliment, following it with, “so, are you all packed for New Orleans?”

“I know the routine. I’ll pack my shit when I get home.”

Kirishima found it interesting how easily Bakugou moved through the paths, confidently passing other locals as if he owned these trails. Kirishima had no issues with Bakugou navigating the way, it meant he could take more time to admire the view—both LA and the ash-blonde beside him.

“You’re almost done for this season, right?”

Bakugou nodded. “A few more.”

“What do you do on off-seasons?” Kirishima asked. He never entertained the idea of taking even a week off. In four years of uploading twice a week, Kirishima had only missed once. He uploaded the day after too, so it honestly barely counted.

“Prepare for the next fucking season,” Bakugou side-eyed him. “We might be adding some new shit.”

Kirishima straightened and faced him more properly. “New? Like what?”

Bakugou hesitated. “I’m not supposed to…” He glanced around as if making sure no one was in hearing distance. “It’s kind of my own segment. Not ghost bull shit.”

“That’s awesome!”

“Yeah. I’m actually kind of—”

“Excuse me,” a pair of teens stood in front of them. The taller teen had her long hair held back with a baseball cap and behind her hid the younger boy, barely peeking out around her shoulder. “Are you RedRiot?” The girl asked.

Kirishima’s eyes widened. “Yeah.”

The shorter teen stepped out and his face blossomed into a wide grin. “You’re my favorite YouTuber.” He tugged onto the girl’s t-shirt. “I told you it was him.”

She swatted his hand away. “He watches you every day. It’s kind of annoying having your theme in my head all the time, no offense.”

“None taken.” Kirishima got recognized a decent amount, but no matter how often it happened it never felt real “What’s your name?”

“Damien,” he said, bouncing on the balls of his feet. “My favorite vlog was when you painted Chargebolt’s car to look like a giant croc.”

Kirishima smirked proudly and he heard Bakugou snort behind him. That was a great video, and Kaminari only stopped talking to him for three days. Worth it.

“Are you that guy from the ghost hunting channel?” The girl pointed a finger at Bakugou, and he stiffened.

“I’m not a ghost hunter.”

“Whatever. Hey, we have to get going.” She pulled her phone out of her pocket. “Can he get a picture with you?”

Kirishima opened his mouth slightly, but the teen had already saddled up next to him. He had no issues taking pictures with his subscribers—if it wasn’t for them he wouldn’t be living out his dreams. He just felt the situation a little awkward given his current circumstance. The two were quick to scurry off after their photo, waving their goodbyes which Kirishima mirrored. He found Bakugou smirking at him amused rather than annoyed.

“Does that happen a lot?” Bakugou asked, continuing the hike as easy as they’d stopped.

“Uh, more often lately.” Kirishima adjusted his bandana uncomfortably. “I would give anything to meet every single person that watches my channel but…” Kirishima wrinkled his nose as he searched for words. “Sometimes I wish I could go out without being recognized.” He waved his hands frantically. “That sounds ungrateful. I love them and I didn’t mean—"

“No,” Bakugou quirked his lips into a small smile. “It’s not selfish to want to feel normal sometimes.”

Kirishima sighed in relief. He enjoyed seeing this side of Bakugou—soft and relaxed. The Bakugou that didn’t have a crease between his brow or a sneer to his lips. Of course, every version of Bakugou was fantastic, but this one felt uniquely special. Like it was reserved for specific moments and people and Kirishima got to be one of them.

“That’s why I don’t have any verified social media,” Bakugou added smugly. “I don’t have to constantly put on an act for subscribers.”

A record scratch sounded in Kirishima’s mind. “Verified what?”

“Social media?” Bakugou rolled his eyes. “You honestly thought that I could be in this dumb ass community and not have some sort of social media account.”

“I guess not… Can I have it?”

“No.”

Kirishima’s jaw went slack. “You can’t do that.”

“Who says?” Bakugou smirked challengingly and Kirishima cursed every god that made him so fucking attractive because it made it really hard arguing with him.

“Me.” Kirishima crossed his arms. “I at least want a hint.”

“I follow you.”

Kirishima whined. He had millions of followers on Twitter, so that was the most garbage hint Bakugou could possibly give him. “That’s not fair.”

“Not my fault you’re mister hotshot YouTuber.” Bakugou snorted. The grin he wore told Kirishima he was having too much fun with this. “Another mile up there’s a resting spot. We should stop there.”

Kirishima grunted in agreeance. “Fine. But just so you know. I can only assume you’re Twitter is a fan account dedicated to me, and that’s why you won’t let me see it.” Bakugou’s cheeks tinted red and Kirishima perked up. “Holy shit. Is it?”

“What the fuck? No. Fuck off.”

“I don’t know. That blush is pretty telling. You can just admit it. This is a safe place Bakugou. No one will judge—”

Bakugou shoved his hand in Kirishima’s face and he laughed as he was half-heartedly pushed a few steps back. Bakugou jogged ahead to get away from Kirishima’s teasing but paused after a good distance. Kirishima felt a pleasing flutter pass through his gut when Bakugou glanced back at him uncertainly as if worried Kirishima had actually taken offense or something. He sent him the most reassuring smile he could and hurried to catch up to Bakugou’s side, and once he reached him the pleasant feeling lingered. Kirishima felt it the entire hike upward as they bantered over nonsensical topics, and that warmth lasted long after they reached the clearing Bakugou had mentioned.

The resting point was on a ledge that overlooked Los Angeles. There were several wooden benches near the metal fence blocking people from accidentally stumbling over the rocky mountainside. Kirishima ran straight over to the rusty railing while Bakugou hung back to use one of the water stations—fountains heightened for both people and pets. No matter how many times Kirishima saw Los Angeles he felt like he was seeing it for the first time. There would be a new graffiti painted somewhere he’d been thousands of times or a new store popped up out of nowhere. The people changed the city as fast as they came.

He felt pride that he could call this place his home.

“It’s amazing, huh?” Kirishima said wistfully when he heard Bakugou approaching.

Bakugou leaned against the railing beside him and shrugged. “It’s alright. The mountains are cool. Ocean’s close.”

“We’re so lucky.” Kirishima’s grip on the metal tightened. “If I could tell middle school me that I’d end up here. He’d lose his shit.”

“Middle school me would be pissed,” Bakugou said humorously. Kirishima raised an eyebrow at the surprise response but Bakugou waved it off. “I was an asshole kid. This wasn’t really my game plan.”

“Game plan?”

“Good grades. College. Job.” Bakugou shrugged his bag off his shoulder and wandered to the cleanest bench. “It took a lot of convincing to get me out of that mindset.”

“What changed your mind?”

Bakugou eyed him carefully and hesitated before saying, “someone said some shit that resonated with me, I guess.”

“Well, they must be pretty awesome if they were able to do all that.” Kirishima plopped down beside Bakugou and watched him dig around in the drawstring bag. He was impatient to see what Bakugou had been carrying around the whole time.

“He’s okay.”

Bakugou pulled out two plastic containers—one red and one orange—and handed the red box to Kirishima. He took it with a confused half-smile and gently popped the lid off, hyperaware of Bakugou’s watchful gaze. Kirishima’s jaw dropped at the rows of onigiri inside.

“Did you make these?” Kirishima asked. They looked nicer than anything he’d ordered from any take-out restaurant.

“So, what if I did?” Bakugou asked. He scrunched his nose and took a large bite of the snack in his own container, avoiding Kirishima’s fond smile.

Kirishima’s chest felt overwhelmingly full at the implications of Bakugou spending time making these for him. He took a moment to just sit with that feeling before carefully biting into his treat and slowly savoring its taste. Unsurprisingly Bakugou was perfect at everything he did. He stole a glance back at Bakugou, and his now calm expression while he picked at his food.

Bakugou looked, for lack of a better word, beautiful being haloed by the slowly setting sun. His hair was a soft peach from the sun’s orange hues and his tanned skin practically glowed. For the first time, Kirishima was able to appreciate his barely visible freckles dotting the bridge of his nose and the fullness of his eyelashes. He could try to hide it behind scowls all he wanted, but Bakugou was a pretty boy through and through. Bakugou leaned against the bench at ease, yet still, his presence dominated the space around them. Kirishima felt honored knowing he was granted access to this private view.

“What are you looking at?”

Kirishima reeled himself back to reality. He met Bakugou’s red-tinted eyes filled with confusion. Kirishima’s brain lagged too many steps behind his mouth when, without permission, he blurted out. “You.” Kirishima followed up with a quick apology when Bakugou went slack jaw.

“It’s fucking whatever,” Bakugou said. Kirishima started berating himself for ruining what could have been a perfect first date when Bakugou continued, “this is going well, right?”

“What?”

“Like the thing that we’re,” Bakugou gestured between the two of them. Kirishima’s eyebrows shot up when he understood.

“The date?” Kirishima asked. Bakugou nodded his head a few times. “I’m having a good time… are you… having a good time?”

“It’s pretty above average.”

“Then, yeah. I’d say it’s going well.” Kirishima grinned dopily as he shoved another bite of onigiri in his mouth, swinging his legs beneath him. He caught Bakugou grinning in his peripheral and his heart soared.

Yeah. This was going great.

It didn’t take them long to finish the rest of their food and begin their descent down the mountain. Once they noticed the sun had begun setting, they agreed it was best to head back since the park closed at dusk. Kirishima was reluctant for their time together to end but was having an easy time distracting himself with Bakugou’s current state.

“So obviously I just wanted to go home, but fucking Deku decided that it would be a genius idea to just hop the fence when we hadn’t gotten legal permission to be on the fucking premises.” Bakugou threw his hands in the air. Kirishima’d learned quickly that Bakugou played up a bad boy image, but was actually a goodie two shoes, “and Todoroki comes in like the lovestruck dipshit he is and boosts him over. No one is listening to me, like always, and now Deku has a broken leg and is stuck on illegal grounds. And we’re all fucked. And I had to fix it.”

“Dude, what the hell.” Kirishima tried containing his laughter to speak. “You should record this stuff. Do behind the scenes or something.”

“I just said it was all illegal, were you even listening?” Bakugou nudged him with his shoulder and Kirishima chuckled, pushing back. He thought back to the mention of Bakugou’s roommate and wondered if that was a bad date conversation.

“Hey, speaking of Todoroki…” Kirishima drummed his thighs uncertainly before deciding, fuck it. “Why does he hate me?”

Bakugou’s pace slowed and his face contorted. “He doesn’t hate you, he just... hates change?” Bakugou frowned to himself. “It’s not my place to talk about things, but his family was kinda fucked.” Bakugou turned to him and shrugged. “He acted the same around Deku at first if that helps.”

It didn’t. Kirishima was left with more questions than answers but felt like it was an inappropriate time to delve into the topic. For now, Kirishima could work with the idea that Todoroki would one day warm up to him like he did Midoriya.

Except without the lovey-dovey part obviously.

Their walk down the mountain was much faster than the hike upward, and they reached Bakugou’s car faster than Kirishima wanted. For how nervous he had been he was even more disappointed that their time together would be ending. He reached for his phone to begin texting Mina that he would need to get picked up soon.

“I’ll give you a ride home,” Bakugou said. He unlocked his older-looking car from a distance and didn’t bother waiting for Kirishima’s response.

“Are you sure?” Kirishima stumbled over his words. “I can just text Mina and—”

“Don’t be stupid I can drive you home.”

Kirishima’s heart had never leaped so high at being called stupid. The door creaked when Kirishima opened it and his first thought was how insanely clean the interior of the car was. Compared to the fast-food wrappers that littered Kaminari’s dashboard and the empty Starbucks cups that filled Mina’s flooring, Kirishima forgot what the interior of a car even looked like. He was able to step in without throwing items in the backseat and it was an enlightening experience for him.

He realized once they were confined, he had miscalculated how different that would feel compared to the spaciousness hiking provided. Kirishima became hyperaware of everything: Bakugou’s breathing, the rhythm of fingers tapping against the steering wheel, his squirming in the seat as he drove, and every time he reached for the radio the hairs on Kirishima’s arms rose. The air had shifted to something not quite awkward, but not comfortable enough that Kirishima didn’t feel like he shouldn’t be trying to break the silence somehow. Especially since they were already halfway to his house without speaking.

“So, that was fun,” Kirishima said. “I mean, I had fun. Did you… have fun?”

Bakugou raised a confused eyebrow and, not taking his eyes off the road, nodded his head. Kirishima gave him a thumbs up. “Awesome!”

He quickly tucked his hand to his hip and looked at himself angrily in the window’s reflection. He did not just give Bakugou a thumbs up… what the hell was that? He should have just let them drive in silence. Kirishima wanted to smack his forehead against the window but controlled himself to stop from looking even more like an idiot.

Minutes later Bakugou pulled into Kirishima’s driveway, and they glanced at each other awkwardly.

“So…” Bakugou started, his tapping on the wheel increasing. “We should do that again then?”

Relief spread through Kirishima and he nodded in agreeance. An uncontrollable grin spreading across his face.

“Cool.” Bakugou bit his lip and looked anywhere that wasn’t Kirishima. “I’m not really great at this shit, but I feel like we… I don’t know… vibed?” He ran an anxious hand through his hair. “Shit. That sounded dumb, but you know what I meant. I don’t hate spending time with you? That sucked too, I don’t know how to—stop looking at me like that.”

Kirishima’s heart felt overwhelmingly full against his chest and he gazed softly at Bakugou. He couldn’t push down the fond smile resting softly on his lips if he wanted to. “Like what?”

“Like… I don’t know… like you fucking—”

“Like I like you?” Kirishima asked. He didn’t bother fighting off the stupid side of his brain from running rampant. Not when Bakugou was blushing a soft red and pushing his lips to pout like that. “I’m not sure I can Bakugou.”

“That’s so fucking lame.” Bakugou countered.

“Probably, but you’re the one asking me on a second date so what does that say about—”

“Can I kiss you?”

Kirishima froze. Bakugou’s cheeks and tips of his ears could now rival Kirishima’s hair and from his deer-in-headlights look, he was about as surprised as Kirishima from the question that popped out of him. “Fuck. Sorry, I shouldn’t have—that was weird. Just pretend I didn’t—”

Kirishima cupped Bakugou’s cheek tenderly and Bakugou snapped his mouth shut. Kirishima tried not to overthink what he was about to do, losing himself in the specks of red in Bakugou’s gaze now filled with something akin to hope, stirring a fire in the pit of his stomach. Bakugou’s eyes flickered downward to Kirishima’s lips and he moved without thinking, pulling Bakugou the final distance.

He’d admit the kiss itself wasn’t great, they hadn’t exactly hit their mark on the first go and even with his hand guiding Bakugou they managed to bump noses, but the moment was perfect. Kirishima felt consumed by the firewood scent he would forever connect to Bakugou. Bakugou’s hand clutched tightly against the fabric of his shirt and gave it a whole new reason for being his favorite apparel. And when he felt Bakugou start to smile against his lips, Kirishima knew that if he could remain in this moment for the rest of his life he would. Pulling away from Bakugou was one of the hardest decisions he’d ever made.

They rested their foreheads together for a brief second like there was a magnetic pull that made it too difficult to separate immediately before Bakugou leaned away. Kirishima whined internally at the space between them.

“So,” Bakugou said, a genuine smile creating dimples on his cheeks and filling Kirishima with pride. “I get to see you again then?”

“I’d like that, yeah.”

Bakugou nodded.

Kirishima stepped out of that car with disappointment at having to say goodbye and giddiness that he’d see him again both swimming around his stomach. He waved goodbye as Bakugou drove away with a dopey grin plastered onto his face that would remain well into the next day. Kirishima took a deep breath, placed his hands on his cheeks and smushed them together as he giggled to himself.

He had gone on a date with Bakugou. He would be going on more dates with Bakugou. He had kissed Bakugou.

He would get to kiss Bakugou more.

Kirishima smushed his cheeks harder as the thoughts swirled around his mind. He closed his eyes to better feel the cold nip at his exposed skin, the wind flow through his hair, and his heart threaten to burst from his chest. He wanted to memorize these feelings. To truly live in this moment.

This was rare for him. He never wanted to let it go.