#but anyway. gotta hop back to work now. :/ gonna log off for the night

[fridayyy-13th]

siiiiiigh.

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

More than just a game

Warnings: dark elements including noncon and rape, oral, fingering, doxxing, stalking, and other explicit content. 

This is dark!Jake Jensen and explicit. Your media consumption is your own responsibility. Warnings have been given. DO NOT PROCEED if these matters upset you.

Summary: You find a new gaming buddy but he sees you as more than that.

Note: So this is my first Jake Jensen fic and it was lots of fun so let me know what you think and hope you enjoy. :D

Thank you. Love you guys!

As always, if you can, please leave some feedback, like and reblog <3

Special shout-out to @navybrat817​ for helping me with this idea

After too many nights scrolling through subreddits and searching for something to keep you distracted, you decided to bite the hook. Several other redditors agreed to hop on Minecraft and it had been a while since you logged in. You missed the almost relaxing ritual of mining and building.

You joined the chat, quick to hit the little microphone emblem as you listened to the voices in your headset. You learned long ago to keep your mic muted on the servers, especially with strangers. The last time you dared to speak up as a woman in a game chat, your DMs had become so overwhelmed you deleted and started a new account on Discord and changed your ID on Steam.

You were all given your tasks as players called out coordinates and you kept to chopping up the side of a mountain. You mostly worked alone, chatting through text instead of voice chat. As you placed a crafting table in your little mine, another player, JJ-Smooth, popped up and dropped some iron for you. 

He stayed close but you didn’t mind. A lot of players tried to work together the deeper they got and you were used to it. As you uncovered some lava, he dumped water before you could get burned and helped you hack up the obsidian. 

He thanked you on the voice chat but you knew any courtesy in return would earn you the attention of the entire server. So you dropped some gold for him and went on your way.

“I hear a zombie,” he warned.

You turned to hack up the undead before it could get you, only to be shot by a skeleton hidden on the next level. Another appeared and you died before you could hide, the bony villain killed by your ally as you watched your possession scatter over the death screen.

“Hey, I got your stuff,” he said as you loaded back up, “I’ll find you.”

You typed quickly in the chat, ‘sorry, mic busted, give me your coordinates and I’ll come to you.’

You waited as ‘JJ-Smooth is typing…’ appeared at the bottom and finally he sent the numbers. You hopped over the blocky hills and through the forests until you found the mine again. He was just outside and handed over all your tools and ration. He headed back into the mine and you followed him. This time, you began your own path in the opposite direction.

Before you knew it, you’d lost track of time. You sat back as you realised it was only you and JJ on the server. The silence should have tipped you off earlier. He was the host and you felt super awkward for staying so long. You typed that you were logging off for the night and thanked him. 

You hit the keyboard with your knuckle and yawned as you opened the screen, 

“God, it’s late,” you muttered.

“Hello?” he said.

Your eyes rounded as you looked at the mic symbol and the lack of red line made you cringe. You’d hit an extra button without noticing.

“Um, hi, sorry, I just--”

“Mic busted, huh?” he asked.

“No, I--” you didn’t know what to say, “anyways, I should--”

“So, you’re a chick? Is that why you mute?”

“Uh, well, it’s just… easier, sorry, I--” even if you weren’t trying to hide from gamer dudes, you weren’t the best at conversation.

“A gamer girl, nice,” he said and you sighed, “sorry, that sounded weird, didn’t it?”

“Mhmm,” you touched your bottom lip as you cupped your chin, “it’s late, I have to work tomorrow.”

“You comin’ back?” he asked, almost hopeful.

“I don’t know--”

“I won’t tell anyone,” he said abruptly, “promise, lips sealed.”

“I really don’t know if I can do this too much, I usually work early mornings so… yeah,” you said.

“I get it but you know you’re always welcome, hope you don’t mind if I send you an invite now and then. No pressure,” he offered.

“Uh, sure,” you shrugged, “okay, yeah, good night.”

You left the chat quickly and pulled off your headset. Shit.

‘I’m Jake by the way,’ a pm popped up, ‘gg.’

You typed back, ‘gg, it was fun’ and quickly logged out. You sat back and rubbed your eyes. Well, he didn’t seem like a total creep, maybe just a bit awkward but so were you. You shut down for the night and stretched out as you switched off the lamp. You were going to pay for your session in the morning.

🎮

A few nights later you got an invite to the server. You debated it but as it was Friday, you decided to make good use of the PC you’d saved up forever to build. You spawned in the middle of nowhere and built a bed before you found the half-finished settlement. You joined the chat but you must have been early as you were the only one there.

You headed back to the same mine, some work done since the first night, and laid your torches as you ventured into the depths. You jumped in your seat as a voice broke your peace.

“I don’t think anyone else is gonna join,” JJ-Smooth, or Jensen said, “you think maybe you’ll unmute?”

You stopped your mining and stared at the screen. You hovered over the mic button and re-read his name, he was the only other one there. You clicked and gave a strained smile to the screen.

“So, um, what’s the goal tonight?” you asked.

“Get some materials and go back to the settlement, keep building, oh, maybe we could try a portal, you ever gone to the nether?” he said but before you could reply he kept on, “shit, I shouldn’t assume, you seem like an experienced player.”

“Yeah, a few times, but I’m more a casual miner,” you went back to harvesting stone and ore.

“Ah,” he said, and it was silent for a moment, “so, you work again in the morning?”

“Not tomorrow,” you said as you focused on the game, “daycare isn’t open on the weekends.”

“A daycare, huh? That sounds fun, I love kids… not in a weird way but you know, I… urgh, I have a niece,” he said with a nervous chuckle, “nah, that’s cool though, sounds more fun than my gig.”

“Oh?” you turned and kept your axe moving.

“IT. You know, some people would be like ‘hey Jensen, why do you spend all your free time staring at a screen when that’s what you do at work?’” he scoffed, “well, who says I’m not mining there too.”

You wrinkled your forehead and gave a small laugh. He was rambling and it was kinda odd. You were happy for once not to be the strange one.

“But anyway,” he said, “I found lots of diamond over here. If we get some lapis lazuli we can build an enchanting table and get some sick armour.”

“Awesome,” you pressed your fingertips to your lip as you leaned on your elbow, “should try to head back before dark…”

“Hard to tell down here. How about you mine and I’ll keep an eye out for monsters?” he offered.

“Sure,” you agreed as he came onto your screen, “that works.”

🎮

Another week went by and you ventured back into the server a few times but not for very long as late nights did not mix with young children. The next weekend, you joined again on Saturday night and like the last few times it was just you and Jensen. You wondered why no one else was joining when the subreddit was so popular but you didn’t worry about it for long.

You mostly played in silence, Jensen did most of the talking and it was never about anything more than the game or his niece’s last soccer game. That night when you left the game, he kept typing on Discord.

‘I like playing with you,’ his message blipped up.

‘Same, thx.’

‘Really, you’re awesome.’

‘Thx :) Tired, gotta sleep.’

‘Sweet dreams.’

‘Night.’

You changed your status to offline and dragged yourself to bed. You opened your phone as you laid in the dark and went to the subreddit, you scrolled through the builds and screenshots of other people’s catastrophes. 

You came to Jensen’s last invite post from that night but all the comments complained that the world code was incorrect. Hmm, you should tell him next time.

You blackened your cell and plopped it on your night table. You rolled over and buried your face in the pillow, the light still etched into your vision. You fell asleep quickly and woke the next day to another invite from Jensen.

‘How about some Fortnite? If you’re into it?’

‘Srry, can’t, my mom’s expecting me for lunch.’

‘2 bad, maybe later.’

‘Maybe’.

You got ready to go see your mother for your usual Sunday afternoon visit and it went by like any other. When she asked you what you’d been up to, you didn’t mention the gaming, she was never a fan of it. When you got back home, Jensen was messaging you again. You didn’t open the notification and settled in to catch up on some streaming before another week of work.

Monday hit you like a train and you were glad you hadn’t spent the night mining again. If you had, you doubted you’d even be able to open your eyes. You got to the daycare centre and welcomed in the kids. You got them set up for the morning snack then cleaned up as Sandy took them over to the reading circle.

You wiped the tables and then did some painting before you went out for some play time in the yard. As you watched several of the children on the swings, you glanced around. There was a man across the street. You squinted through the chain link as he seemed to be watching but assured yourself it was nothing as he quickly headed for the corner and disappeared.

Inside, the kids were due for quiet time, some napped and those who didn’t, stared at the ceiling and yawned. You could have joined them but knew that wouldn’t be acceptable. The end of the day came and you helped the kids pack up their paintings and their sweaters. You waited in the yard with them as the parents showed up and handed them off one by one.

You waved to Danika as she clung to her mother and your eye was once more drawn beyond the chain link. The same faded grey jacket, the same glasses, and the hat with the frayed brim. It was a better look at the man. Was he looking at you? Why on earth was he hanging around outside a daycare?

“Sandy,” you turned and lowered your voice as she neared, “see that man?”

She peeked over and shrugged, “which one? The guy crossing the street?”

You looked up again and like before, he was walking away casually as if he hadn’t just been staring through the fence. You shook your head and huffed. “Sorry, never mind.”

“Ah, don’t worry about it,” she waved her fingers, “come on, let’s clean up.”

With the kids all sorted out, you went back in and tidied up the last of their mess. You and Sandy were friendly but like with any, you weren’t very talkative. You never really knew what to say but you were never unkind.

You pulled on your jacket and checked your purse for your phone and wallet. You checked the time and turned off the lights. You bid Sandy goodbye as she headed for her SUV and you took your usual route down the sidewalk towards your bus stop. 

You stopped short as the man was there. You were paranoid, he must just be waiting for the same route. You approached and he turned to watch you as you sat on the bench. He smiled and the dread sank deep in your chest. 

His rectangular glasses gave light to his blue eyes and a goatee trimmed his jaw. He was tall and well-built, you could tell even under his comic book tee. He was going to talk to you, another weirdo in the city.

“Hey,” his voice was chillingly familiar, “how was your day?”

You stared at him and blinked cluelessly. You looked around, it was only the two of you. You opened your mouth but you had to be wrong. He said your name and you winced.

“Jensen?” you breathed as you stood and squeezed the strap of your bag, “why? How--?”

“You weren’t answering me, I was worried,” he said, “just making sure you’re okay.”

“What the-- I don’t understand how--” He stepped closer and you backed up against the bench. “Don’t, I’ll scream.”

“Scream? Why? I’m just-- You know me, it’s me, Jensen.”

“You doxxed me?” you snapped, “what the hell?”

“No, I didn’t-- I’m just checking on you--”

“I don’t know you,” you said as your heart began to race, “so please, leave me alone,” you edged away from him, “and don’t message me again.”

You sprinted across the street and as you came up on the curb, you looked back at him. He watched you but didn’t follow. You could tell from there he wasn’t happy but the brim of his cap shadowed most of his face so you couldn’t guess if it was hurt or anger. You quickly spun away and continued down the next street to the nearest stop.

You couldn’t believe he’d just shown up like that. You couldn’t believe he would think that was okay. You couldn’t believe he’d think that much about you.

🎮

You blocked Jensen on Discord and left his world on Minecraft. That night you were shaky and nervous, afraid that he would show up at your apartment. Did he know where you lived? He must if he could figure out where you worked.

You didn’t open Steam that night. You paced your small apartment, jumping at every noise. Sleep didn’t come easily but in shallow spurts that left you even more tired. You watched over your shoulder as you walked to your stop and boarded with one eye on the door.

Work was little better as you found yourself distracted in the room full of toddlers. Sandy asked if you were okay as you kneaded play-do violently. You shook yourself out of your paranoia and assured her you were only short on sleep, not a complete lie.

You took out your phone when you stepped out for a small break. Your mom had called but you would have to get back to her when you had two hours to waste. There was another notification, that one from Discord, a friend request from JJ-NoRematch. It wasn’t hard to guess who it was and you declined it right away.

There were several others from Jensen, too. He followed your Insta, blocked; he followed your mostly empty twitter, blocked; and he even commented on your LinkedIn like a weird. You closed your phone and took a breath before you headed back into the kids, their voices rising in their excitement to go outside.

In the yard, you had another look around, expecting to see him there on the other side of the fence. You were slightly relieved when he wasn’t but still on edge. You joined a game of tag then watched several of the kids line up for the slide. You lost yourself in your job as you told yourself he must have gotten the hint, at least not to bother you irl.

Just like the day before, and every day, you left work and headed for your stop. He wasn’t there either and you sat down and phoned your mom, hanging up as the bus pulled up with a promise to call her again when you were home. At home, you felt almost normal again and checked your notifications; no more follows, no more requests, nothing.

Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday passed in a similar fashion. Each saw your anxieties less than the day before. You even resolved to open Steam and start a new world for yourself. You spent hours mining and almost fell asleep in your chair. When you nearly tipped over, you decided it was time for bed.

You slept better than you had all week and woke up before noon. You wanted to log right back on but you had life to deal with; groceries, cleaning, and of course, making that call to your mother you’d delayed the night before. After all that, you felt accomplished and you decided to treat yourself to take out, a rare divulgence.

You called the local Chinese eatery and waited eagerly for your feast as you turned on a new episode of your current binge. You played on your phone until the battery was low and had enough juice to buzz up the delivery man. You dug for your wallet as you went to the door and unlocked it without looking up.

“How much--” you asked as you opened the door.

Your eyes met a familiar pair, two blue gems behind a pair of narrow glasses. Jensen wore the same cap and held the paper bag of take-out with a smile. You grabbed the door and tried to swing it shut but he was too quick as he slapped a large hand against the peeling paint.

“It’s on me,” he said, “I love spare ribs.”

“What the--” you gasped as you pushed on the door helplessly, “please go away.”

“You’re not answering me,” he said as he stepped closer and forced you back as his body brushed against yours, “you blocked me and I can’t even get a hey, Jensen, how are you?”

“I don’t want you here,” you tried to shove him and he shouldered you away easily, “get out!”

He slammed the door and you flinched. He put the bag down on the corner table and reached back to twist the lock without a look. His eyes roved around your entryway and further into your apartment. He smiled as they stilled and focused on you.

“This place is cute… like you,” he said and you heard a slight hesitation in his voice.

You swallowed and backed away from him. You spun on your heel and ran for your couch. You reached over the back to your phone and unlocked it as the battery icon flashed. You had just enough juice to make the call. You dialed as you turned back to him.

“I’m calling the police so you b-better l-leave,” you warned as your voice and hands shook, “I me--”

He was quick and before you could pull away, he swiped your cell out of your hand. He scoffed and tossed it across the room. It hit the wall and landed screen down on the hardwood. You bit down and pressed yourself to the couch. You stared at him and kicked yourself forward as you tried to slip past him. He caught you and wrestled you back into the front room.

“Why are you doing this?” he asked calmly as you struggled in his grasp, “I’ve been nothing but nice to you.”

“N-no, you’re-- you-- let me go,” you stammered as he angled you around the couch. He pushed you down so you bounced on the cushion. You tried to push yourself up and he pointed his finger in your face and wagged it. 

“No, you stay,” he growled and wiped his other hand on his jeans. He was nervous, even if he was angry.

“Please, why-- what do you want?” you grasped the cushion and hovered at the edge of the couch.

He sighed and sat in the chair. He took his hat off and set it on the table as he ran his fingers through his short hair. 

“Good question,” he said as his jaw squared and his eyes turned to pinpoints, “better one, why did you block me?”

“Are you serious? You-- you--” you struggled to get your words out, your voice even more splintered by your fear, “you doxxed me, you came to-- to my work-- and…”

“I thought we were getting along. I thought you liked me,” he said with a frown, “I really did, you sure acted like it and-- I only wanted to make sure you were safe.”

“But why wouldn’t I be? I--” you shivered and crossed your arms as you withered beneath his gaze, “Jensen, this was only supposed to be online.”

He scoffed and stomped his boot on the floor. He shook his head as he looked to the ceiling and his anger bulged along his temple. He tilted his head and looked at you again.

“You know, for years, I have been a nice guy, I am a nice guy,” he pushed his shoulders to his ears as he threw his hand out, “I’m so patient and caring and you girls, you don’t even give me a second look.”

“Jensen--”

“No, really, I mean look at you, you’re no supermodel and yet it’s the same thing, ‘let’s just be friends’,” he spat, “but I watch guys all the time treat women like shit and they don’t have any trouble at all, they got them hanging off of them and I’m a creep for giving them a compliment or opening the door--”

“I don’t… know you,” you eked out, “you have to understand--”

“I don’t understand,” he stood abruptly, “I’m done trying to understand.”

He pulled his jacket open and slid it down his arms. You watched him sling it over the chair and as he turned back to you, you stood. He caught your shoulders and held you in place. His strength was plain in his grip as he squeezed then slowly moved his hands to cradle your face.

“I just wanna be nice,” he said as he leaned in. You tried to pull away but he moved a hand around the back of your head and forced your lips against his. He poked his tongue inside your mouth roughly as you tried to shove him away. Finally, he parted, his hands still firmly around your head, “wasn’t that nice?”

“Please,” you begged as he ran his thumb over your bottom lip.

His eyes searched your face as you stared back at him in terror. He sighed and dropped his hands back to your shoulders. He pushed you down to the sofa harshly and backed away.

“Fine, I won’t be nice,” he snarled as he took his glasses off and folded them carefully. He put them on the table beside his cap and twined his fingers together, loudly cracking his knuckles.

You blinked at him as your eyes grew glossy. You brought your legs up under you and pressed yourself to the back of the couch. You grasped the upholstery and turned as you launched yourself over to the other side. You stumbled as you landed on your feet and ran for the door.

You were yanked back as he snaked his arms around you and took you off your feet. You kicked out and screamed but it was cut off by his palm as he kept one arm around your middle. You scratched at his hand as he dragged you back to the couch. He pushed you face down onto the cushions and planted his knee in the middle of your back, slipping his hand away as he put enough weight on you to keep your voice suffocated.

“Listen, I know I look like some IT nerd but I’m a lot more than that, now don’t make me hurt you,” he played with your hair as he smiled down at you, “you try that again and I will shut you up and if someone hears you, I can take care of them too.”

You sniffed as tears pricked in your eyes and nodded frantically as it felt as if he would snap your spine. He pushed off of you and you stayed as you were, paralysed with fear. He sat and unlaced his boots one at a time. He looked up as he set them neatly beside the foot of the chair and he bent to catch your eye.

“Well?” he pointed at you and traced the line of your body in the air, “let’s go.”

You stared at him dumbly and he stood to pull his tee over his head. His torso was sculpted perfectly and his chest trimmed with hair that trailed all the way down to his pants. He stepped forward and tugged at the back of your shirt.

“You want me to do it for you, baby?” he purred, “I can help you.”

You swatted him away and sat up. You bent your legs to your chest and hugged them. “Please, I’m scared, just leave me alone--”

His hand rested on his belt and exhaled again. His fingers moved swiftly to unloop the striped belt and unbutton his jeans. He pushed them down, nearly tripping as he stepped out of them. He stood in his boxers, tented with his impatient excitement, and gripped his hips.

“It’s okay, baby, I know you’re shy, I am too,” he neared and you winced as he grabbed your wrist. He tugged on your arm and you resisted until he bent your hand back painfully and you cried out. He tickled your jaw as he looked you in the eye and tutted, “it doesn’t have to be like this, alright?”

You went limp and let him pull your arms apart. Your legs slipped down and your feet dangled above the floor. He got to his knees and pushed between yours. He slowly rolled up the hem of your shirt and bent to kiss your stomach as he bared the flesh. You trembled as he forced your arms up and swooped the fabric over your head. It fluttered through the air and to the floor as he cupped your tits through your bright pink bra.

“Is this so bad?” he asked as he nuzzled your chest and pushed your tits up. 

He glided the straps down your arm and slid your bra lower so that you popped out. He nibbled at your flesh and traced your nipples with his tongue. You sat rigid and let him explore your body, too terrified to move a muscle. He reached around you and struggled with the hooks, frustrated he snapped the clasps and the band came free.

He continued to play with your chest, his fingers crawling up and down your stomach and sides. There was a genuine curiosity to his touch and it sent a chill through you. His fingertips pressed to the top of your pants and he pulled at them as his lips travelled down to your hip.

He tugged on your pants and jerked your entire body. He tore them lower as he pushed you up and you lifted yourself to let him peel away the layer. He added them to the floor and toyed with the elastic of your panties. The little bow in the front drew his attention as he pushed your legs wider and ran his nose along the cotton.

He hummed and rubbed his fingers down your crotch, pushing the fabric to your folds as he teased you through them. You inhaled sharply at the tingle it inspired and he pressed firmer against you, flicking his fingers along your bud as he noticed how it made you squirm.

He gently pulled aside the cotton and you felt his hot breath against you. You pushed on his head before he could delve into you. “Please, don’t--”

“Shhhh,” he threw your hand away from his head and bent over you, “just relax.”

He dragged his tongue along your cunt and lingered around your clit. You clenched as it sent a thrill through you and he moved his lips against you, suckling at you bud as your breaths grew raspy. You pushed yourself against the back of the couch and dug your nails into the cushion.

He slid a finger along your cunt and circled your entrance. He rubbed up and down as he kept his tongue swirling over your clit and you swallowed back as gasp as he poked inside. He felt around and added another finger, stretching you as he carefully pushed them in and out of you in time with his mouth.

He lapped you up and you closed your eyes, desperate to resist the coil winding within you. Your legs tensed against the couch and you tilted your pelvis without thinking. He sped up, the noise of his mouth and your slickness filled the silence. You let out a puff and moaned as you slapped the couch. The waves rolled over your flesh and you came into his mouth with a pathetic mewl.

He stilled his fingers as he lazily teased you with his tongue. He pulled his fingers out and sat back, the heat between your legs cooling in his absence as he licked up your juices. He watched you as he sucked his fingers and stood. Your head lolled and you edged forward on the couch. You tried to stand but he caught you and flung you back.

“We’re not done, baby,” he winked at you as he grasped the top of his boxers, “go on, lay down.”

You murmured your refusal and once more tried to get up. You slipped onto the floor and shakily crawled away as he dropped his boxers to his ankle. He grabbed you before you could get around the side and lifted you easily. He turned you and shoved you down onto your back as he lifted a leg over you.

He straddled you and again his hands roved over your body. You smacked at his fingers weakly but he easily ignored you. He kept one hand moving along your curves as he stroked himself with the other. He groaned and shook as he stroked his dick. Your eyes followed his hand and you gulped, he was thick.

He moved his knees back and pushed them up beneath your thighs as he kept a hand planted on your chest. He ripped your panties down your legs and untangled them from your feet. 

He held you down as he ran his tip along your cunt, wetting himself with your coerced arousal. You groaned and grabbed the arm of the couch above you. You tried to pull away from him.

He pushed against your entrance and you looked at him in shock. You couldn’t stop him. His eyes were set between your legs as he inhaled and slowly eased into you. He gasped as he got his tip inside you and his muscles tensed. He bit his lip as he dove further in and you gasped as he filled you inch by inch.

“Shitttt,” he moaned as he reached his limit and you whined at how full you were, “oh, baby.”

His hand slid from your chest and he gripped your hips as he pulled back and thrust. You exclaimed and he did it again, slowly as he watched himself impale you over and over. You curled your fingers against the couch arm and your feet arch as you pressed your thighs around him. He lifted your pelvis high as he angled his dick even deeper.

“You feel so good,” he rasped, “oh, baby, you’re so good. Ahh-hh-hh,” his voice fizzled as your walls clenched him and you closed your eyes as you felt the heat building. 

He moved his hand along your thigh and stretched it over your pelvis, pushing his thumb to your clit as he kept his pace. He purred as you writhed helplessly against him and you panted through the rising ecstasy.

“Please, please, please…” you chanted, unsure if you were begging him to stop or for more.

He moaned as he sped up and you sucked your lip under your teeth as you neared your peak. You quivered as your orgasm crashed into you and you let out a strangled cry. He snarled and planted his hands beside your head as he leaned over you, his hot breath tickled your face as he pounded into you.

Your legs bent around him as his pelvis rubbed against you and the friction drove you to another climax. You held onto the arm of the couch as he fucked your harder and harder. He kissed you and nibbled at your lip as he groaned and hooked an arm under to hold you close.

“You’re gonna make me cum, baby,” he said against your cheek and you turned your head away from, “ah, here I--”

He spasmed and slammed into you. He took several long thrusts and stilled. He grunted and drew heavy breaths as he rested his weight over you. He grabbed your head and turned your head up as he pressed his forehead to yours. You kept your eyes closed as the flames slowly dwindled.

“Was that so bad?” he stroked your cheek and trailed his finger down to poke between your lips, “No, it’s what you wanted, isn’t it, baby?” he wiggled his hips and you hissed, “yeah, you want me.”

[hyrule-kingdom-updates]

Can we get some spare Launo headcannons for July?

Launo sucked big time at knight school when he first arrived—he didn’t exactly have any background help given no one in his family was a knight either. He was basically assigned the equivalent of “equipment manager” during the first few months. And when he did get proper actions with a broadsword or a bow, Launo struggled with footwork and precision and all the minute details of a duel so he often got his ass handed to him.

But one the top kids in Launo’s class thought he was cool anyways—that was, one Arcadius Hartell. Pretty, rich, ace with sword, bow, spear, and anything sharp, and pretty much had no flaws or weaknesses. Launo at first thought the guy was just pitying him, the kid who has never won a single sparring match and consistently put on training dummy duty (that is reattaching their heads when they got lopped off)

So it came as a bit of a surprise when Arcadius came to ask something from him.

“How do you do that?”

Launo turned from the training dummy he was working on. “S-Sorry, what?”

“The...the thing you do. With the...thing?” Arcadius pointed to the needle and thread Launo was holding as he was reattaching the dummy’s forearm. “How do you do that?”

Launo scrunched his eyebrows in confuzzlement. “This is, uh, well. It’s just sewing I guess. If this guy were real I guess it would be stitching, haha...” He patted the dummy’s wood shoulder playfully as if joking with a pal—the dummy immediately tipped over, Launo coughed and stepped in front of the mess to ignore it. Arcadius nodded thoughtfully.

“So, do you have a special technique or something?”

“I mean, not really, it’s just regular old sewing...”

“But I assume you’ve spent years training on the art.”

“I...uh...I guess? My mom taught me.”

“Oh! So it’s like...an apprenticeship...?”

“...Are you under the impression that sewing is some sacred gift that gets passed down to the worthy or something?”

“.........no....”

The two boys just stood awkwardly for a moment longer, Launo studying Arcadius’ face.

“You don’t even know what sewing is do you?”

“O-Of course I do! It’s the...thing.” He made a sword motion with his fingers, as if wielding a tiny blade. “You stab the stuff and it repairs. With the...” Arcadius squinted as he thought for a moment, “...stool...”

“Spool?”

“Yeah! That! So, look, you’re pretty skilled at everything—“

“I am??” Launo took a step back in shock.

“Yeah! You always fix the equipment, and somehow haul around all those weapons, and make us cool lunches—“

“I don’t know, I made Rubeo vomit last week cause I forgot he hates blueberries...”

Arcadius shook his hands. “N-Not the point. And he sort of deserves it. The fact is you’re obviously leagues ahead of the game—“

“I—Actually I wouldn’t say—“

“—so you just gotta teach me everything you know!” Arcadius pumped a fist and closed his eyes. “How could I ever call myself a knight if I don’t even learn the basics of equipment management! Who will mend the wounded holes in my soldier’s pride if I can’t even fix the tears in my uniform! A mountain’s peak is equivalent to the shallow shore if you have no bearing of the heights you soar.”

Launo blinked. “Are you...okay?”

Arcadius scratched his head. “Aha...sorry. That’s a quote from Aria Nori’s newest volume. Guess I was too into the moment there.”

“Oh! The Zora poet! I’ve read her stuff! I haven’t read her latest volume, but my dad often binds her books—“

“Really?!” Arcadius’ eyes were suddenly star struck. “That’s so cool! This is all the more reason you gotta teach me this stuff.” He waved again at the collapsed training dummy. “Maybe start with the beetle and thread.”

“Needle. D-Do you not know what a needle is?”

Arcadius’ eyes glazed over. “...no...oh my gods that’s not gonna be on the test is it?? I’m so screwed—“

“Nonono it’s not, I’m just...” Launo bit his tongue. Now that he thought about it, he never really saw anyone else in his class do mundane house chore stuff. They were far too busy sharpening swords and bragging about their parents or grandparents or great uncles or cousins that totally were war heroes and high ranking political figures. Sewing could just be a Hateno thing, could it..?

“Can’t you just hire someone to teach you?” Launo started. “I mean, I’m super flattered! Just that, I’m not exactly a master at this, so I’m sure there are adults out there that are more accomplished.”

Arcadius hung his head. “I don’t think my dad would let me...Pretty much everything not sword related he just hires someone to do for me. And he’s super picky about what training I focus on.”

“Well it’s not really official training, it could just be a hobby.”

The boy raised an eyebrow, sounding out the word. “H...Hob...?”

“O-OK, just forget that. H-How about...” Launo didn’t meet his eyes as he absentmindedly kicked the dirt. “Y-You like poetry, right? You can come over to my house and look at my dad’s collection. And when we’re there, I can let my mom...” He scrunched his eyes, trying to nail down the words, “...apprentice you? On the...art, of sewing?”

Arcadius’ eyes were wide enough to reflect the heavens themselves. “R-Really?? You’d do that??”

“I don’t see why not. It’ll be after call and,” Launo’s eyes suddenly sparked, “...You can just tell your dad that you’re training me! Say that you were asked to help your fellow classmates cause you’re already so far ahead from everyone else.”

Which isn’t exactly a lie, Launo thought, bitterly.

“Hmm...” Arcadius tapped his chin, before shrugging. “Might have to tweak the explanation to ‘getting extra credit for top grades by tutoring’ cause I don’t know how he’ll feel about me helping the competition.” He articulated the last word with a mocking, adulting tone. Then he held out a hand. “But I think it sounds like a deal! I’ll give you some pointers, and you introduce me to your mentor.”

“My mom.”

“Yeah, that.”

Launo shook his hand, still a bit timidly, given he now noticed that a few other boys in the training yard were watching the prodigy student interact with the glorified janitor boy.

So they both tutored each other: Larc, in the art of knowing what sewing magic was (Larc bringing the most expensive and ornate needle Launo had ever seen, even though Larc claimed he just found it in his father’s closet) and brewing delicious broths (“Wait, you have to stand around this pot for hours and cook this stuff?? I thought you just made soup in a bowl! You know, like how servants take off the silver cover on the tray and the soup is already there?” “We...dont have waiters or anything...so our method of cooking different.”) Meanwhile, Launo was able to make some progress with knight training—keyword, “some.”

“Don’t make your stance so wide.” Arcadius shoved Launo’s back foot with his boot. “Keep your feet closer together, you only want enough distance so that your front foot can hover an inch off the ground while your back foot stays planted. Any further, and you’ll topple too easily.”

Launo adjusted his stance as instructed, and readied the rapier again. He set his jaw. “OK. Come at me!”

Arcadius nodded. He picked up the wooden sword and swung (a bit slowly and wide) at Launo’s side.

Launo immediately shoved his rapier point left to counter his attack, but instead moved with such force and vigor that he practically fell onto Arcadius’ blade.

Arcadius chuckled, dropping the sword and helping Launo up again. “You don’t need to use to much force when you swing. In fact it’s better to work with simple quick movements with any rapier or piercing sword, since the damage is done by the tip, not the weight.”

“S-Sorry...” Launo mumbled as he got up again.

“Don’t be! Oh hey!” Arcadius suddenly went back around towards the pile of weapons and pulled out a claymore. “Actually, maybe a sword like this will work better for you! You won’t have to worry as much about holding back, or being finesse. All the power is in that downward swing—!” Arcadius swung the sword into a nearby log to demonstrate, nearly cutting it asunder.

He offered it to Launo. “And don’t let the size fool you, it’s not actually that heavy. Large weapons still need to let soldiers be quick enough to parry and block attacks.”

Launo turned the claymore around in his hands, studying the blade and handle.

Arcadius gestured to the log. “Well, go on! It’s similar to the grip I taught you with the broadsword, but this time you use your other hand in the bottom to support the weight as it turns on an axis. Try that downward swing I showed you!”

Launo paused for a moment, thinking. Then, he planted his foot down, and swung the claymore down with all his might, aiming for another soon-to-be piece of firewood.

The claymore whistled as it fell, and it cut into the log deep—about halfway. Yet, still not nearly as deep as how Arcadius had done it.

Nonetheless, he was hopping with joy for Launo. “That was awesome!! You did great!!”

He sighed as he left the claymore in the log. “No I didn’t...”

“What are you talking about? That was probably the best blow you’ve done all night!”

“Yeah! And it’s not even a quarter of the damage that you did with your swing!”

“Well, it still took me a while to—“

Launo gestured to the other log. “It’s been how many weeks?? And I’m not even CLOSE to being as good as you, much less being a top student...” He plopped into the dirt and laid himself out like a starfish.

Larc stood over him, confused. “Why would you want to be a top student?”

“BECAUSE I SUCK ASS, DUDE!” Launo held up his arms, exasperated. Larc, on instinct, stepped back and held his hands close to his chest as he fiddled with his thumbs and mumbled an apology. Launo immediately sighed.

“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to sound like I’m mad at you. You’re really great, Link. You’re so nice to me and you’re talented and I’m so grateful, but I’m just...” He shifted in the dirt again. “I don’t think I could ever be like you. I’d even dare to say it’s impossible.”

Larc stilled, playing with his thumbs, before daring to step closer and sit in the dirt beside him.

“Can I tell you a secret, Launo?”

He was quiet, but he nodded a yes.

“I think my brother’s a stronger fighter than me.”

Launo furrowed his eyebrows confused, but he continued.

“He just never takes his knight training seriously, because of my father. But I bet if he really tried, he’d be great at it.”

Ah. So that’s what he meant.

“But I AM trying.” Launo whined. “I guess compared to you it doesn’t seem like much but—!”

“Nono! Sorry that’s not what I meant!” Larc quickly cut in. “I just...” He trailed off.

“...There’s a reason I have to be the best.” Larc finally said. He was looking out into the woods, but Launo felt that he wasn’t really looking at anything in particular, maybe deep in thought. “There’s a reason I can’t settle, I can’t rest. It’s really important that I get this all right. And I guess that makes me admirable to most people but...”

He looked down at Launo, still spread out in the dirt. “I didn’t really choose to be a knight, unlike you. I didn’t actually choose to be the best, and I don’t get why so many people do train to be at the top out of their own violation. It really...sucks ass.” He articulated the last part in Launo’s tone, and they both giggled.

“So...I guess that I’m trying to say here is that...” He thought one his words a moment longer. “I think so many people are afraid of trying new things, because they fear not being the best at it, not being at the top. And I suppose ambition is good but...” He tilted his head and shrugged at Launo. “As someone who’s supposedly at the top, I would say I envy anybody that can make progress that their proud of. You choose to be a knight, and you’re training for it out of your own strength and courage. That’s more than I’ll ever have, so you should probably get off the ground and realize that soon.”

Launo’s eyes widened, a bit unnerved by how uncharacteristically blunt Larc was being.

“In my opinion, anyone that aims to be better than everyone is stupid—maybe that’s just me, but...I would think that if I was you, I’d be proud of any progress I made. If I was more skilled than I was yesterday, that’s really all I would care about. Why would I care about being the top of my class? I would kill to just be satisfied with being a better me.”

There was silence as the boys took in Larc’s words. Then he suddenly stood up. “G-Goddess Hylia, sorry I’ve been talking for so long, I didn’t realize how late it was getting.” He went to collect his things. “You can keep the claymore, I think you’d be great at it, just...”

Larc packed his swords and backpack, before turning back to the flopped out Launo. “...I think you’re really cool, Launo. So don’t tap out for my sake—I’m not the person that matters in your training, am I? So don’t give up for any silly reasons like that.”

Launo perked his head up to meet his gaze. While Arcadius was usually serious and controlled during training at school, Larc always seemed to have genuine excitement about swords when it came to him. The bright smile on his face caused his cheeks to warm and he immediately flipped his head back to hide it.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Launo!” Larc ran off into the night, a cobblestone streets in the distance swallowing his figure.

“See you...” Launo whispered.

He lay in the dirt a moment longer—his mother would probably berated him for the stains again—when he finally got up and looked at the claymore in the log. He walked up to it and observed it further, it was another a sixth of the way deep. He glanced at Larc’s log, which was nearly split in two, and sighed. Then he glanced back at his own work.

“Well, it’s better than when I first started I guess...” Launo mumbled.

No one responded.

The boy let out a huff, and gripped the sword again in his hands.

“But I can do better.”

By the time Launo was 16 he was finally beating his classmates with ease, specializing in longswords, axes, and hammers. And while he definitely still “sucked ass” in things like archery and lance work—to which some boys still teased him for—he found overtime that he no longer cared about what they thought. They had their strengths, and he had his. And to top it off, absolutely no one in the academy could make a lemon cookie like him. So at least he had the best in show for that angle.

Even years later, after certain incidents transpired concerning House Hartell, Launo always welcomed Larc to his house for “training.” Although after a while, it would be hard to still call it that when a large chunk of time is really just spent running their fingers through each other’s hair.

“But we’re friends, right?”

“Yeah.”

And even years after graduating as part of the top ten in his class and working as a knight, some of his old classmates would tease him for being the “rich boy’s lap dog,” Launo would find that he still really didn’t care—after a punch or two was thrown, of course. He found that his new lack of anxiety and concern heavily stemmed from that night, when Larc had told him about his envy for choice and satisfaction. Thinking back at the memory of his handling with a sword and his happy little smile once made Launo blush so hard his father teased him about it for the rest of his life—his mother claimed he went so red he would fit right in with the tomato stew. One of these days, Launo would pay Larc back for the endless teasing he got from his parents. And pay Larc back he would, indeed.

I mean, he already had the ring.

[qvid-pro-qvo]

fuck, marry, kill

aos!leonard mccoy x female!reader, who’s a nurse on the starship enterprise. 

word count: 5885

rating: explicit (workplace sex, at the end, for fun.) 

part one of more than a game, you and me.

A silly game from your academy days gets interrupted, leaving you to think over how you really feel about the great Dr. McCoy. 

“Goddammit, bastard, son of a fucking bitch,” you hissed, shaking your hand after yanking it back from the control panel next to your shower. It had the gall to shock you, one that rippled down your arm and almost made your other hand drop the towel you clung to for decency. Somehow the same steady hands that could wield a pair of hypodermics and a tricorder without thinking about it managed to break every other piece of equipment on the Enterprise.

A year since you got transferred, a year since the last major headache, and you had managed to build up a routine. Waking up to beta shifts until the six-month mark when you transferred to alpha shifts that gave you more to do without the headaches of fighting artificial daylight. Crew physicals and routine exams for viruses carried onboard from earth until all the crew had been cleared. Lunches six hours in, dinner six hours after that, followed by a jog, some yoga, a shower, and then… repeat.

It was a good routine. One that made you friends with other nurses in blue and engineers in red and a few on the captain track who came in more often because of their proximity to the action. You could now say “hello” to Sulu and “good morning” to Chekov and other niceties to a couple other officers. And they’d smile back, and all in all nothing was disrupted. Your routine kept you going.

But now, that routine was stopped in its tracks.

With a little huff, you shook your head. Fortunately for you, your connections through routine hypos and the occasional healing after a scuffle gave you one particularly good friend. One who was very good at fixing up the Enterprise in any state she was in. And because of your clumsiness and tendency to get shocked, that friend was simply a comm unit away. Decency first, of course.

“Y/N to Scotty.”

“Aye, lass, Scotty here.”

A sigh of relief that he wasn’t on break, or worse, sleeping. That’d been a bear you wouldn’t want to disturb more than once. Your fingers tapped away, allowing his voice to fill the room rather than sound tinny coming from the communicator and your hands to hunt for a shirt.

“Yeah, we’ve got a situation. My shower isn’t working?”

“Is that right,” the chief engineer replied, and you could tell by his voice that under the amusement there was distraction. Your problem was not the only one on his plate, then. Or at the very least, not his main focus.

“Yeah, that’s right. Shocked me, as a matter of fact, when I tried to get it going.”

“Mmm.” Make that a lot of distraction.

“Scotty?”

“Yeah, lass?”

“Can you come fix it?”

“Fix what?”

With a soft sigh you pulled your shirt over your head, shaking out your hair before pulling it up into something passable for company.

“My shower, Scott. Y’know, again, the one that shocked me. That’s not turning on. That shower.”

“Shocked you? Well, this is the first I’m hearing about it,” he scoffed, indignant, and your eyes went wide with disbelief before you heard his chuckle.

“Oh, so I’m the entertainment for this evening, then,” you muttered with a scowl, scrounging around for the pants you just had on and the regulation zip-up you could walk around the halls in.

“Of course, Y/L/N,” he retorted. “I was wondering when the next time you’d call was. After all, it’s been, what, almost a week since our last incident with the replicator, hasn’t it been?”

“Two weeks, thank you,” you snapped, the pants snatched off the floor and shaken out with a vengeance. One foot began making its way inside the leg of the pants, the other hopping on the floor. “Monty, please, I just got off shift, I’m tired, and I’m sweaty, and there were three cases of Takarian bronchiolitis that we had to treat with airborne precautions. Never mind next week’s also Christine’s birthday, who I love with all of my heart but the party I got roped into planning for, of fucking – agh!”

“Y/N!”

Bouncing on one leg could only last for so long, of course. Your head thankfully did not contact anything with a hard surface. Your ass, however, got the brunt of the blow, specifically your tailbone.

“Y/N?”

When you groaned, you heard the relief, as well as the stifled laughter.

“Can you just please come fix my shower? I think there’s an analgesic hypo with my name on it back in the med bay.”

-

Of course, you weren’t one to completely bypass the rules. The Enterprise had enough of that in places other than the medical unit, and your chief medical officer, Dr. McCoy, was a stickler for right and wrong and lines that shouldn’t be crossed. So, your hypodermic needle was checked out by Christine, administered by her, and all logged and dated with a note about the situation. And, because your appointment didn’t technically end for another fifteen minutes, there was enough time for a little bit of gossip.

Your type of news always was the kind of shit that got the whole crew talking. The next adventure, who was sleeping with who, the drama that came out of confessions when the ship was falling apart. Anything to work through the monotony. But Christine’s favorite topic was almost always you, much to your chagrin.

“You know I don’t have a love life,” you said with a roll of your eyes, sitting up on the biobed and letting your feet dangle off of the edge. “That hasn’t changed in the three days since you asked me last.”

“I do know you’re at the very least no fun about it,” she responded with an eye roll, fingers tracing over your vitals the bed collected and reported. “There’s hundreds of people on this ship, and you’re telling me that none of them catch your eye? What about the chief engineer?”

Immediately your eyes widened, and you couldn’t help the laugh that left you. “Scotty? No. No, no, we’re just friends, aggressively friends. He keeps me around because I’m the only one who gives him stuff to do during the night shifts. Without me breaking lightbulbs it’d be too dull.”

Of course, her eyebrow crept up in suspicion, but when your gaze held steady, she dropped her eyes, waving a hand like the idea was preposterous anyway.

“All right. So, no Scotty. Any ensigns?”

“No.”

“Lieutenants?”

“No.”

“Cadets?”

“Oh, my god, Christine,” you gasped out with a laugh, jumping off of the biobed, smacking her on the arm.  “Stop it.” Your eyes glanced around the med bay, but just like every beta shift began, it was pretty damn quiet. Not a soul in sight besides the two of you. “There’s no one.”

“Well, you’re no fun,” she sighed, pushing off of the wall to meet you nose to nose. “But there’s gotta be someone who at least catches your eye, right?”

“Chris…”

“Someone on this ship you’d be willing to fuck – “

“No, we’re not – “

“- marry, maybe – “

“Christine, I swear to god – “

“- or kill?”

Again, your eyes darted around, but at that point the game had been called. A throwback to your time in the academy, when your classmates would find the local bars and a booth to heckle each other in. When passersby would be unknowingly subjected to a game based on nothing but good fun, and usually a whole lot of booze.

Simple premise. Three names called out. Each gets a label, and the rounds continue until the players decide they’ve had enough. Called anywhere, at any time, and Christine had thrown the gauntlet.

“You’re on duty,” you pointed out, but you leaned back on the biobed, crossing your arms over your chest.

“And if there’s a patient I’ll tend to them. But you’ve got nowhere to be, and if I have a say we’re finding someone on this ship for you,” she pointed out, before swiping your scans away from the vicinity and joining you on the bed. “Three rounds. I bet you I can do it in three rounds.”

With an eye roll you proceeded to glare at her, but her grin did not budge once, and with a sigh you just nodded.

“Perfect. Why don’t we start with a throwback? Old classmates? Harrison, Twyla, and Betty.”

Your smile crept up on your face, and without a second thought you rattled it off. “Fuck Twyla, marry Harrison, kill Betty. Obviously.” Considering that two of the three weren’t even on the ship, you knew that it was more a warmup than anything. Lots of pretty people at the Starfleet Academy.

“All right. And then… oh, what about the bridge crew?”

“Christine,” you groaned, hand smacking over your face. “We’re in public.”

“There’s no one here, and you can’t chicken out of the second round! Look, we’ll do… Lieutenant Sulu, Lieutenant Uhura, and Ensign Chekov.”

Your jaw clenched. Forget about saying hi to Sulu ever again.

“I would… I would…”

“C’mon. You can say it, Y/N.”

“Fine, fine!” But you couldn’t help your laughter as you shoved Christine’s arm again. “I would… I would fuck Uhura, marry Sulu, and – “

“And kill Chekov? He’s got a baby face! You’re gonna kill him where he stands!”

“Christine, this is not real life,” you reminded her with a hiss, shaking your head before beginning to walk towards the door. “I’m leaving before I end up having to resign.”

“Oh, no! We’ve got one more go.”

“I’m walking. My tailbone doesn’t even hurt anymore. The miracle of modern medicine.”

“Y/N!”

“What?”

“Captain Kirk.”

“No, Christine.”

“Commander Spock.”

“Stop!”

“And Dr. Mccoy!”

“What about me?”

Your heart stopped.

“Nurse Y/L/N, is that right?” Dr. McCoy, the man himself, stated, raising a brow as he moved into the med bay, boxes stacked up in his hand. Christine did the smart thing, moving forward to help the doctor carry them inside, but your feet were cemented to the floor, mouth a little agape, color flooding your cheeks.  

“Y-Yes! Hello, sir, I was just – uh, I was just –“ you stammered, turning to follow them both with your eyes as their load was dropped on one of the biobeds. “Well. I was just leaving, really.”

“She had an appointment,” Christine offered, her best and most polite smile on for your shared boss, who seemed too tired to do more than nod. “And we were just discussing… shifts?”

“Shifts.” Again, Dr. McCoy’s brow raised, and with skilled fingers he reached to slide them along the seam, a hiss sounding out as they opened up, bearing unloaded hypodermics, some bandaging supplies.

“Shifts.” Your voice was weak as you confirmed it, but while his eyes were down Christine gave you a subtle nod, winking even as you scowled at her. “You see, I was just – I was just wondering if I could take the beta shift next week, and… well. That’s a change I need you to sign off on. Dr. M’Benga and dr. Olson didn’t have a preference when I asked them.”

“Uh-huh,” was the gruff response, and as his fingers reached up to scratch at his chin, something like amusement seemed to play in his eyes. Although, thinking about it, you reasoned it was probably just the exhaustion and the lights in the med bay you saw instead. “So, you scheduled an appointment with Christine and my medbay, takin’ up one of the biobeds here, to talk about shift changes?”

“No. No, no, it wasn’t just about that,” you got out, more heat rising to your cheeks, and thankfully your feet were moving backwards, towards the door, as their hands slid into gloves and prepped the new cargo for treatment.

“She… took a spill in her quarters. Needed an analgesic. I did a scan to make sure it wasn’t anything more than a bruised tailbone and then gave her a dose of lidocaine for the area and acetaminophen for the pain.” Of course, Christine could chime in, sounding composed, while you had just managed to regain motor functioning.

“I see,” McCoy responded, and there was a brief moment where you were sure he was gonna call your bluff. You didn’t even remember right away that there was a hypo-stick in the first place, and the lidocaine definitely did not happen, right? But then, something, almost like a smirk washed over his features. They relaxed, and those eyes lit up again, deep and dark and warm. It was like taking a shot of whiskey, the sour leaving behind something that made your breath catch.

“You know you could just say you fell on your ass, Nurse Y/L/N.”

The stories about Dr. McCoy in a nutshell. No southern charm, just a sweet Georgian gut punch. Humor hiding in the comment, of course, but at that point your embarrassment made it taste pretty damn bitter.  

Thankfully, though, the moment was gone. The smirk vanished, the exhaustion seemed to settle over him like a blanket, and his eyes glanced toward you once again before shrugging. “beta shift works for me. Just don’t let it screw with your head too much and find someone who’s willing to trade.”

“That’s… yes. Well - good night, sir,” you got out, biting your lower lip, bowing your head before shooting another glare at Christine. “Good night, Nurse Chapel, and I’ll see you both… when I see you.”

“Good night, Y/N,” Christine called out, and the good doctor managed a hum of acknowledgement, his attention already pulled away from your retreating form. And if there was a second glance at you, it was nothing more than confirmation that the night was back to peace and quiet.

-

“I am never going to recover from this.”

“Mmm,” Scotty ground out, his arm elbow deep into the guts of the Enterprise.

“I mean it, Monty!” You cried out, back flat on your bed, arm thrown across your face but leaving your mouth wide open to complain. “Jesus Christ and now I’ve gotten myself roped into beta shifts, ready to be bored out of my skull for a whole damn week. He thinks I’m an idiot. An idiot and insane!”

“D’you think?” Was the reply, but the lack of attention didn’t bother you one bit. You were barely paying attention.

No, your head was running wild, with the fear that the greatest job you had, the job you were best at, was now at risk because of some dumb game you played with Christine. What if Dr. McCoy had heard all of it? What if he had just walked in because he had heard enough, and then you’d get called into his office, not a smirk in sight, and request your resignation? Could he do that? Off of a conversation?

“Y/N!” Scotty called out, and that’s what finally broke your spiral downward, your body shooting up to a sitting position, looking up to see Scotty staring out of the bathroom at you. Your water was running, you could hear it, and Scott was grinning from ear to ear, some kind of tool tucked behind his ear.

“All fixed,” he crowed with joy, brushing his hands off on his uniform. When he leaned on the doorway, his eyes were gazing around the rest of the place, as if it was just waiting to break on him, too. “computer, shut down the shower. Now, what were you saying, lassie? Somethin’ about our chief medical officer, yes?”

And as Scott smiled at you, no recognition of your crisis in him, you just smiled back, standing up to give him a hug. Even without saying anything, he had the best ideas.

“Nothing, Monty. Thanks for the fix.”

He was hustled out a few moments later, after a playful argument taking bets on what piece of machinery in this poor room would fall apart next (he was a fan of the faulty replicator, but you had a gut feeling it’d be the temperature control). But soon he was out of the room, and you knew that ignoring the whole thing would be the best option.

Except with Christine, ignorance was never an option for bliss. When your padd beeped, and then your communicator, you were forced to answer the message, looking to see a little smiley face emoticon with a message that left your heart falling to the floor.

“Your answer? :)”

Your answer? For the game? After all of that and Christine had the gall? But you could see her smile, even from this far, a smile that made you smirk.

But they were the rules, and so the question was left in your head. What was your answer? What were the options?

You thought about it as you started to get ready for bed, t-shirt set on the counter in the bathroom, hot shower started. Your hair was put up before you stripped, your face splashed with water and a towel as steam began to fill the room.

“Captain Kirk.” No personal experience with him, but you, like everyone on the ship, had seen him around. Had heard the legends. There wasn’t a soul who didn’t seem stricken by the love bug when it came to him, blond hair perfect, smile bright, blue eyes startlingly, well, blue. Friendly, quick, brave. He was the perfect man. But not everyone knew Christine. Christine, who’d had the lovely interaction with Cadet Kirk, at the time, who ended up kicking him out of your shared dorm room after a bad argument gone bad. The air was cleared enough that he managed to get polite smiles from her, but after that captain kirk never had the appeal. He was a playboy. His nature, his right, you supposed. But not for you.

“Commander Spock.” Tall, handsome. But very Vulcan, and very taken. Now, you knew he had to have some kind of sweet side, and there was something, you guessed, about the confidence that his reliance on logic seemed to convey. After all, you’d heard him lecture a few times, and if you were honest that would’ve been when you were most attracted to him – using his knowledge and logic and proud spirit to lead others on the path toward serving the federation. But there was only so far that logic and a lack of emotion could go, and even though you’d heard of outbursts occurring where his emotion made their mark? No. Arguments aplenty.

And who did that leave?

“Dr. McCoy.”

At that point, you still hadn’t entered the shower, and the computer was telling you that the water was about to automatically turn off to preserve the function of the ship’s supply, but your head was no longer in your bedtime ritual, instead thinking about the mysterious Dr. Mccoy, the infamous Dr. McCoy.

The Dr. McCoy that made nurses cry every so often from his outbursts – never violent but fierce, always due to the protectiveness he had for his patients. The Dr. McCoy who was a doctor before he even became a cadet, with enough knowledge to fill a few books. The Dr. McCoy who had smirked at you with those dark and deep eyes, brown and full with some kind of life as he... Well, teased, southern accent lilting just a bit, maybe? That Dr. McCoy? The Dr. McCoy who saved lives and healed and always, always, always fought for more healthcare, for more hypos, for more protections for the nurses who somehow, even in the 24th century, managed to get pushed to the wayside?

When you stepped in the shower, it took a second for your fingers to bang at the control panel, your legs held together, and with a quick setting manipulation the steam quickly cleared, the water’s temperature dropping to ice cold. You were in, and you were out, but by the time you had dressed and brushed your teeth color had crept on your cheeks again.

All you could see were those eyes.

“Fuck.”

-

“Ah, Nurse Y/L/N,” the doctor said, eyes barely looking up from the singed hands of the red-shirt in front of him. “I need dermatological regen started here and a full body scan initiated on the biobed two over.”

Like nothing had even happened. Like your nightmare interaction two weeks ago hadn’t resulted in you unintentionally taking night shifts, resulting in a fucked up circadian rhythm and bags under your eyes, not to mention hours bored out of your skull.

Christine wasn’t here, and for once you were grateful. The last thing you needed was her eyes on you as you maneuvered around the doctor for a new shift while exhaustion lingered in the back of your mind. But it also meant that there was no one to offer a united front. Just you.

“Nurse Y/L/N?”

And you just spent the past minute mulling all of that in your mind. Making yourself look like a dumbass in front of the doc and his patient. The patient hadn’t noticed, staring at his own hands in horror, but Dr. McCoy seemed like he was regretting letting you back on to handle days.

Shit.

“You got it, doc,” you managed with a kind smile at the engineer, whose face you could now see as you walked past him toward the wall. Your hands expertly manipulated to storage system, and with the tricorder kept at your waist you gathered the necessities.

The great thing – you were damn good at what you did. Especially when you could focus on it. Your face was bright, uniform neat (until it wasn’t due to fluids of some kind), and your hands were steady. And no complicated patients came in that day, especially since no away missions were sent out and nothing malfunctioned horribly deep within the ship’s bowels.

And yet, no matter what you did, no matter how competent you showed you were, no matter how many laughs or smiles or even nods from the most stubborn of usual patients? Eyes were on you. Dark, deep eyes. The whole day, no matter where you went, a furrowed brow and focused tailed you, watching your interactions.

All in all, a good day. A great day, even, as you injected your last hypo and the padd reported a normal set of vitals, no reaction to the medication after fifteen minutes.

The shift was over, now. It was a good shift, one that required no personal defense. You gave report to the next nurse, said goodbye to the others on-duty. Your jacket put on, your hair pulled down and back up after the frizz of the day had ruined it. Nothing really to note.

So why did the doctor not let you out of his sight?

The rest of the week, the same routine. The flow you had gotten into on alpha shifts returned, and your week of off nights was left behind in favor of much better mornings. Back on track, the same old, same old. And yet with every shift there was a new weight, those eyes on you. It felt like if he wasn’t tending to a patient, and he wasn’t in his office in the back of the bay, he was watching you. Critical of every injection and admission. You were starting to go a little crazy with it, your mind going a million miles an hour, second guessing the simplest stuff just so you wouldn’t fuck up in front of the CMO.

But after a while, the fear of failure turned into anger.

What right did the doctor have to analyze like that? You were a great nurse! You treated your patients and coworkers fairly, with respect and compassion. What was there to complain about? You knew your shit, and here was McCoy, looking like the Enterprise regretted your assignment there in the first place. By the end of the week, that anger had built up, and once the weekend rolled around, and your two off days in a row loomed, you decided you were done.

“Is there something on my uniform, Dr. McCoy?” You asked, terse as you organized the vaccine cart, the new year meaning new yearly injections to follow up on.

His fingers had been steadily scrolling through files of crew members, but their nimble work paused at your question. His eyes had taken a break from tearing you apart, but now they were focused on you once again.

“Excuse me, Nurse Y/L/N?” He asked, his face looking almost pinched.

“I was just wondering if there was something on my uniform. Or in my teeth, perhaps. Something in my hair, maybe, too.” Your hands kept chugging along, automatically rearranging the colored liquids, but there was a tightness you couldn’t shake, a tension.

“Something in your hair?” The doctor repeated, and at his tone, somewhat amused, you finally turned to face him, your brow raised in a mimic of his.

“Well, there’s gotta be something, considering that you haven’t gone five minutes without staring at me like I’m your least favorite sight in the world. So, what is it? Uniform out of regs? Did I administer a medication wrong? Did a patient complain?”

At that point, the amusement had turned to indignation, maybe even anger. His jaw was clenched, and the padd in his hands had been abandoned on the desk in favor of crossed arms over his chest.

“I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about, nurse,” he ground out, eyes flicking around the med bay. But there was no one to look at. No one to distract or overhear.

You couldn’t help your laugh. “Oh, I think you do,” you snapped, and almost mocking him, your arms crossed as well, a hip cocked, your eyes like daggers. “Ever since I came back on alpha shift, you’ve been doing all you can to catch me in a fuck-up. Well, it’s not happening! I’m damn good at what I do, and no amount of posturing, even from the CMO, would ever change that!”

His scoff was hard, arms uncrossing so a hand could pull through his hair in disbelief. “darlin’,” he said, slowly, as if you were dense, “There’s no posturing going on. Your abilities aren’t being doubted. Hell, I don’t even know your first name. Whatever story you’ve got going on in your head? It’s a story!”

His frustration showed through his accent, a southern drawl that got thicker as his sentences rambled on. But that couldn’t distract you from calling him out on his bullshit, no matter his position.

“I’m not senile,” you huffed, eyes rolling hard, and your steps closer were unconscious, crowding him against the desk he was leaning on now. “And I’m definitely not blind. So, tell me what your problem is with me, so I can go back to focusing on my job, and you can go back to focusing on yours!”

“There’s no damn problem!” His voice was almost a yell now, but you had no fear, and you sure as hell weren’t backing down. “It’s nothing. Hell, there isn’t anything to be nothing.”

And then it clicked, it clicked, as you stared into brown eyes that wavered for a second, that scanned you top to bottom in a split second. A break, a tell, whatever it was, the pieces were put together, and you stood tall, not letting his height on you intimidate.

“You overheard me and Christine, didn’t you?” It was low. “Is that what it is?”

“Overheard.” The clench in his jaw hadn’t loosened, but you watched that brow tick upwards again, his arms uncrossing so his hands could rest on the desk.

“When you walked in on us, last week,” you clarified. “You overheard our game.”

The anger was gone now. Now that everything had slotted into place, you weren’t angry. A little bit embarrassed maybe, but not angry. Frustration felt like it was leaking out of you, but the tension wasn’t gone. The standoff wasn’t broken. And after all of what, you had just yelled at your superior officer.

“Dr. McCoy,” you started, uncrossing your arms, and holding them up to offer a truce. “I apologize. For yelling. That… well, it shouldn’t have been my first move. But. I can explain, if you want me to.”

There was no verbal reply, but his exasperation came through with a huff, and he simply lifted a hand, gesturing for you to go on.

“It’s just a game we’ve played since the academy. It was inappropriate to play while Christine was on shift. I apologize for that as well,” you told him pulling back to glance once more at the sliding doors, which mercifully stayed closed. “It won’t happen again, I promise.”

“Just a game,” he repeated, and at first you didn’t catch the shift in his tone. Didn’t connect it with the glance toward the doors, or the way he stood from the desk, so that you were almost close enough to brush against him. “Just a game… using the names of your captain, commander, and chief medical officer?”

“Yes,” you said, shaking your head. “I’m sorry for that, as well, that definitely won’t be happening again.”

“A game talkin’ about who you’d rather have in your bed.”

Your eyes shot back to him, color flooding your cheeks.

“I’m… I’m sorry?”

“Well, that’s the game, isn’t it?” He said with a shrug, and as he leaned forward you could feel your breath catch in your throat, looking up into a face you imagined in your own quarters in the dead of night, as you let steaming water hit your skin. His jaw wasn’t clenched anymore, and his voice was a low rumble.

It wasn’t a threat. But it gave you goosebumps all the same, that the bass of his words, and you managed to nod, swallowing even as you kept your chin lifted.

“That’s the game. Is there a problem?”

And God, there was that smirk. Warm like whisky, it made your hands clench, your legs shift as that warmth rushed through you.

“No problem at all,” he hummed, and as he leaned close those lips brushed past your cheek. You could smell his cologne now, spice flooding your nose, the antiseptic of the day fading away. The chill in the air that always seemed to linger was gone, nothing but heat on your mind. Right in your ear you heard him, after a low chuckle that made you want to scream, beg him to get on with it. “I guess I’ve just been wondering what you would’ve answered, had I not… interrupted.”

Lunchtimes were surely coming to an end. Any second a patient could come in, could see the both of you crowded against the desk and know exactly why the whole place felt like an oven. But something possessed you, then, to bring one of your hands to his shoulder, the other to his hip, and lean just as close, almost pushing up on your toes to whisper right back.

“Give you one guess.”

Matches. That’s what that kiss felt like, a box of matches all lighting at once – the spark and the flash and explosion of heat as Dr. McCoy pulled back just enough to press his lips against yours. Nothing gentle, nothing kind, just a ferocity that made you moan against his mouth. His hands, broad and hot, began to roam on your back, settling just enough to pull you ever closer, so that your bodies were flush against each other. Your hand ended up twisted in his hair, the other fisted in his shirt. And just like matches, it was the start of a fire, one that had you both stumbling towards his office, the door sliding behind you with a quiet hiss.

“You were teasing me,” he ground out, directing you between kisses until the back of your thighs were against his desk. His hands gripped you then, around the waist, lifting you so you could sit. “And you didn’t even know it. Your voice over and over in my head, thinking about how it’d sound with my name.”  

“So, you stare at my ass instead of asking me, hmm? What a southern gentleman,” you laughed, and for that you got teeth against your neck, a hand shoving your skirt up. The tips of his fingers seemed to skate over your skin, tickling your inner thigh. But those slow circles never quite got where you wanted, just left burning trails in their wake. “Talk about teasing.”

“At’s what you get for having a smart mouth,” he chuckled, face still against your neck. But soon he was back to kissing you, making your head spin.

“That I know how to use,” you shot back, once again between presses of lips and gasps of air. “I’m – I’m not just a pretty face.”

“Never said you were,” he purred, and this time both hands lifted your skirt high, reaching for the panties that did a poor job of hiding anything. “But why don’t you let me use my mouth first?”

“What an offer.” One you certainly wouldn’t refuse, especially since he looked hungry for it, for you.

There was a brief moment’s hesitation, his finger curled around the elastic and so close to ripping them off. But while his body was begging for it, his pants more than a little tight, his eyes met yours.

“Is that a yes?” He asked, his tongue running along his lips as he got to his knees.

Your gaze didn’t waver, a grin coming over you. “That’s a fucking yes, sir.”

His grin matched yours, sharp and wily as he rid you of your underwear, hands on your knees so he could pull them apart. You were bare to the cool air, and your teeth caught your lower lip as he leaned forward with a hot gasp on your inner thigh.

“Fucking gorgeous.”

The first thing you felt was the swipe of his tongue, a furious push against where you were wettest. A taste, almost, before he licked a line through your folds until his mouth enveloped your clit. You were swollen, desperate for it, and your gasp was thick as fingers once again tangled in his hair. If you said anything, it was a “please,” a “yes,” a “god, right there” as he worked.

He took you apart with his mouth, no hesitation as his tongue worked you over, swirling around your clit as a finger began to tease your entrance. It was with a gasp you came, his hand spreading you open with two fingers inside of you, and when you were able to see straight you saw that grin again, his chin wet, his lips red.

“Holy shit, Doc,” you huffed, your hand falling from his hair to his chin, thumb swiping across the mess and bringing it up to your mouth so you could get a taste of yourself. He did you one better, leaning forward to kiss you again, and the taste of him and you made you smile.

“Leonard.”

“Leonard,” you repeated, and when you pulled back his smile was softer. Almost… vulnerable. “Suits you.”

“Well, I hope so,” he laughed. “It is my name.”

“And it’s my turn,” you pointed out, reaching for his waistband. “I think you should move to the chair.”

[metoo-desu]

Sorry! Wrong Slayer! - 1/?

giyu x reader

Y/n’s Kasugai crow clearly wasn’t the brightest of the bunch. The first time she received her feathered companion right after the Final Selection, he flew into a tree before crashing into the new Demon Slayer’s arms. Not that Y/n minded, he never failed to amuse her especially when the crow flies to her right after completing a mission in the most clumsiest way. Oyakata even offered to replace the bird after Y/n jokingly told him that her messenger seemed to be ‘malfunctioning’. Of course, she kindly declined him, saying that the crow still gets his job done at his own pace that she never fails to make up. 

“So I’ve been traveling west but I see no signs of demons anywhere,” the h/c-haired talked out loud as she weaved through trees in the darkest hours of the night when demons come out and play. She eyed the crow that perched on her shoulders and sighed, “Are you sure we were suppose to come this way, Poya?”

The black bird seemed as he stared off into the distance, second-guessing himself before he ruffled its feathers in realization? 

“South! South-west! You must immediately run South-west!” 

Y/n internally groaned. Of course the bird would give her the wrong direction to her mission, but thank god it wasn’t far off. Turning on her heels, she quickly ran to the right way, hurrying before the demon could make anymore disturbances or find more prey. 

That night, she managed to arrive on time, quickly slaying the demon and going off to the next town over to rest. 

Before she turned herself in for the night, Y/n rested out on the engawa, staring into the night sky and drinking tea. Poya helped himself with the piece of bread she left uneaten. Her e/c eyes narrowed at the bird, finding herself slowly losing her patience for the quite incompetent crow. 

“If you want to keep this job, you have to do it right, y’know? If it were any other Demon Slayer, they would have replaced you the moment you crashed into that tree.” Y/n began scolding the animal, gently poking at his wing. “Luckily for you, I’m nice and I don’t like seeing a helpless and jobless Kasugai crow.”

He hopped several inches away from her. 

Y/n frowned, “I’d hate to admit it, Poya, but you’re beginning to slow me down and time is crucial for this job. I could be a minute late and find myself in the aftermath of a massacre, and it would be all on me if that were to happen. So please, help us both out and do your job properly.”

If her friend, Shinobu, had seen her scolding a crow and begging him to correct its ways, the Insect Pillar would have mock and laugh at her before doing her a favor and replace it. Y/n laughed at the thought and poured more tea into her cup. 

“How about you send a message to Shinobu for me, hm?”

Poya fluttered his feathers and let out a loud caw, showing objection to what she had just suggested, not vey fond of the Insect Pillar that always tried to rid of him somehow.

Y/n threw him a glare, “Well, you’re going to have to anyways. If you don’t send this message, then you can kiss your wings goodbye.” Without giving him a moment, she recited the message she wanted sent to Shinobu. “Now you better get on with it before I go to Oyakata for a replacement.”

Then off Poya went to the sky, cawing or more so crying into the night. 

^ ^ ^ ^ ^

It was one of those rare days for Giyu to not have been assigned a mission as Oyakata thought he had been working too much without having a proper rest. So there he sat, under a tree with nothing else to do but heed his master’s order to rest. The man wasn’t even allowed to train. 

He didn’t pay attention to the people that walked by him in a hurry to do their daily tasks around the Butterfly Estate, completely in his thoughts, deciding whether or not he should go out and eat at his favorite restaurant or to stay and eat whatever the estate prepared. The clumsy flutters of a crow snapped him out of his thoughts, his attention now on the black bird heading straight towards him with no show of slowing down. 

“What kind of cro—“

Giyu watched the crow descend, crash-landing onto the grass and rolling towards the Water Pillar. It twitched in its spot next to the man before hopping back on its feet, the tiny bells that decorated its neck tinkling, the sound familiar as he heard it sometimes when he’d walk around the estate, followed by giggles from a girl. 

The crow spoke, “Message from Y/N to..” Then it stopped, seemingly forgetting who the message was meant for. 

“MESSAGE FROM Y/N!” It announced again, now disregarding the assigned receiver. 

“‘We should get seared salmon when I get back from my mission! Had quite a rough time out here. And do you think you can come up with a toxin to euthanize this stupid crow? Thanks!’”

Giyu stared at the crow with a deadpanned expression. Most of the Kasugai crows have the intellect to understand the meaning behind the messages they are sent to deliver, but this one seemed to have no clue that its very own owner would send it to someone who would gladly listen to the request and brew up a concoction. 

“I believe you were meant to come to Shinobu,” he told the crow. “Tell this Y/n I give her my thanks for helping me figure out what to have for lunch. I will also relay the message in the crow’s stead because of its incapability to find the correct receiver.”

The crow’s beak fell open, shaking under his gaze before gladly flying away. 

^ ^ ^ ^ ^

*Next day*

“I can’t believe you got the wrong slayer!” Y/n exclaimed, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. “Whoever you sent that message to probably thinks I’m a heartless being! Only Shinobu would’ve understood the last sentence!”

The crow was absolutely flustered. 

The h/c-haired stomped her feet on the ground and let out a groan, “You had one job, Poya! And I don’t get it! How is it that you remember every word in a message but fail to remember a mission?”

Y/n composed herself, sitting herself down on a nearby log. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “It’s okay. We’ll have to clear my name since you so obviously told them who I was. I do hope you remember who you went to because I’m sending you back to them.”

She received another caw of objection, but with another threat, Poya would have no choice but to go back. 

^ ^ ^ ^ ^

“That is so funny!” 

Shinobu couldn’t help herself but laugh. Giyu had actually went out of his way to relay the message meant for her. Since she was out on a mission the day the crow came to him, he had to wait the next day when she arrived, right before he had to leave. 

“Is she really going to kill that crow?” He asked, curious but not concerned. 

The Insect Pillar shook her head, “As much as Y/n claims to kill Poya one day, she wouldn’t. That stupid crow causes so much trouble for her yet she still can’t find it in her heart to replace him.” 

“I see.” 

“Yup! So don’t you worry about the crow!”

“I’m not worried about the crow. I think she should get rid of it as well.”

Shinobu agreed and looked up at the sky, calling for her own crow. “Right? Well, I’m gonna go ahead and reply to her as soon as possible. Gotta take up on that lunch offer! Seared salmon happens to be your favorite as well, would you like to joi— ah.”

Giyu had already left before she could even offer him to join the two when Y/n gets back, the man eager to leave the Butterfly Estate and on his way to his assigned mission. 

By sun down, he heard the familiar flutters and bells from a distance, the very same crow returning to him once again. He looked exhausted from the way it flew and then it fell. Rolling his eyes, Giyu walked over to the crow, nudging it with his foot. 

“Poya. You passed the Butterfly Estate if you’re meant for Shinobu.”

“To you,” the crow wheezed. “A message from Y/n.”

‘Sorry! Wrong slayer! I’m also sorry for the inconvenience my crow has given you but I thank you for relaying the message as I’m sure Poya wouldn’t have been able to if given a chance. Don’t think lowly of me if you truly believe I would rid of him because I have no intentions of doing so. It was merely a joke’

The Water Pillar crossed his arms and scoffed. This was quite an interesting situation Poya had gotten him in as he found himself curious about the owner. 

He crouched next to the crow and responded to the message. 

[snarkythewoecrow]

Sorry if this is weirdly specific. Peter’s calorie counting app helps him relax. Tony’s not sure that’s healthy. Not an eating disorder prompt per se - more like Tony catching a troubling pattern early and trying to nip it in the bud.

*TRIGGER WARNING FOR EATING DISORDER*

Read on AO3

Peter checked the back of the crinkly cellophane wrapper, noting the calories. One hundred and fifty in just one of the two cakes in the package. That seemed like a lot for a measly mass-produced coffee cake barely the size of a plum. He started to regret eating it a little, but instead, he pushed the feeling aside, focusing on the numbers and logging them into the app on his phone.

It was a calorie tracking app, and he hadn’t meant to keep it past his initial experiments with his metabolism. Still, the habit he’d formed over those few months logging the data had become something of a comforting ritual. He liked the familiarity of it. It soothed his nerves. The simple process of recording each thing he ate helped calm him.

Today he’d already eaten nearly three thousand calories, and sickly, he realized most of them were from junk. He absently touched his stomach and poked his belly through his shirt. It didn’t feel soft, but that was probably only due to his insane metabolism and extracurricular activities.

Setting the phone down on his desk, he leaned back in his chair and looked out the window. It was still early enough he could go out, so snapping his chair back onto four legs, he hopped up and grabbed his suit from the closet, making quick work of changing. May wouldn’t be home for a few more hours. She’d had switched to the swing shift for the rest of the week, so she was at work until nearly midnight.

It turned out to be a quiet night, but he did stop a bike theft and saved a dog from being run over, so he called it a win. The kid whose dog he’d rescued gave him a Snickers in thanks, and Peter had taken it to a nearby roof to eat.

During his initial experiment where he logged his calories, he’d installed the program into Karen, syncing it to his phone, helping to keep track of the data. It was only supposed to be for six weeks, but that had gone out the window.  Not even Tony knew he was still logging the calories. Honestly, it didn’t seem like a big enough thing to bring up. It seemed relatively harmless, almost like a game. There were a few times he’d challenged himself to go with the bare minimum of calories. It wasn’t like he did it to hurt himself. It had just become addictive in a way.

Sitting on the building's ledge, he twirled the candy bar in his hands and then stopped to examine the nutrition facts. It wasn’t good at all. It had two hundred and fifteen in just one bar. That made his stomach twist funny. It wasn’t the first time lately that he’d hesitated over something’s calorie count.

“Karen, can you bring up my logbook?”

“Sure, Peter.”

His daily and weekly totals showed on the HUD. He cringed at how much he’d already eaten.

“Thanks, Karen. I saw what I needed. You can close it. I think I’m gonna head home. I’m feeling kinda tired now.”

“Of course, Peter. I’ll plot a course.”

Peter dropped down to the street and passed the candy bar off to the first homeless person he saw. He didn’t need to eat. Just making that choice gave him a rush of control, a little thrill. It felt good in a bad way to deny himself.

XXX

After school the next day, Peter was due to go to the tower to visit Tony. They were going to work on integrating the nanotech into his web-shooters. While he sat in the back of the black Audi as Happy maneuvered them in and out of traffic, Peter soothed his frazzled nerves from the day by looking over his app and seeing what he logged.

He’d done better about controlling his choices. He’d cut out most of the junk, other than the school pizza anyway, but he knew he needed some fat for his metabolism to burn. It wasn’t like he was planning to starve himself. He just liked the feeling denying himself gave him. When school and Spider-man had him stressed, this, this was something that he could control.

Happy didn’t say much as he drove, only calling over his shoulder once to see if Peter wanted him to swing by McDonald’s before they got to the tower. Maybe a few weeks ago, even a few days ago, he might have said yes, but today he wasn’t feeling it. He could only think about how many calories it was.

“No, I’m good. I ate at school.”

Happy met his gaze through the mirror, seeming to search his face. “If you’re sure. You used to eat half the menu. What changed?”

Peter shrugged, turning to look out the window. “Nothing, just not hungry.” He glanced back at Happy and tried for a smile. It probably looked forced.

Happy hummed to himself then raised the divider, leaving Peter to his thoughts.

When they got to the tower, Peter waved bye to Happy and then headed to the elevator, asking Friday to take him to whatever floor Tony was on. It turned out to be the workshop.

Music played from somewhere in the workshop, and Tony was bent over his workbench, tools in hand. The volume lowered automatically when Peter entered, making Tony look up.

“Hey, kid, how goes the spidey battle?”

Peter shrugged. “Nothing to report. Things have been okay. May’s working a lot this week, got detention once for falling asleep, but that was totally not my fault.”

Tony rolled his eyes. “Let me guess, Tuesday? I check the reports. You were out until a little after midnight on Monday.”

“Oh, yeah, well, May is working new hours.”

“So, you thought you should ignore your curfew?”

Peter winced. “Yes?”

Tony snorted, shaking his head. “Toss your bag on the chair and get over here. We have work to do.”

They worked together for a few hours until Tony’s stomach made an audible protest, making the man pause. “I think it’s probably time to call it quits for the night and get something to eat.”

Peter froze for a second. “Oh, um, yeah, I’m not really that hungry, though. I’ll be fine.”

“Give me a break, Pete. I’ve seen the data. I know how much you need to eat. I’ll order up some pies, and we can eat upstairs.”

He tried to smile, but he only managed to make the corners of his mouth twitch. “Okay, yeah. Pizza sounds good.”

When the food came, Tony set the pizza boxes on the counter and grabbed them each a plate, plopping two big slices on top of each other on Peter’s.

Following Tony to the living room, they sat on the couch, and Peter started nibbling on his pizza. After the first slice was gone, he paused, setting his plate on his lap to pull out his phone. Not thinking about Tony in the same room, he opened the app and started inputting his meal's data. He was already stressing a little about having two slices on his plate. It was going to be a lot of calories. It was a good thing he hadn’t eaten much before coming over.

Tony’s voice pulled him from his thoughts.

“Isn’t that the metabolic recording app I designed? I thought we were all done with that. Why are you still using it?”

“Huh? Oh, this?” Peter flashed him his phone screen. “Um, yeah. It’s the same program. I was just—I was just doing a little more research to confirm our findings. That’s all. Nothing to worry about.”

“I wasn’t worried about it, but I gotta say, now I’m a little curious as to why you’re lying about it. It’s cute how you think you can pass one by me, Pinocchio.”

Peter’s eyes went wide, and he stared at Tony, unsure what to say. It wasn’t like he was trying to hide anything, but Tony wouldn’t understand either. “I wasn’t—it’s stupid.”

“Stupid is as stupid does,” Tony said, taking a bite of pizza. “No truer words.”

“What? Is that a reference?”

“Heathen. Enough distracting me. What’s up, muchacho?”

Peter fiddled with his phone, and then stuffed it into his hoodie pouch, setting his plate on the coffee table after. Without meeting Tony’s gaze, he cleared his throat and tried to think of a way to explain it.

“It’s really not a big deal. I don’t know why we have to talk about it.”

“You not wanting to talk about it is precisely why we need to, so spill.”

Sighing, Peter bit the bullet and started his stuttered explanation.

“Putting in the numbers, it became sorta like a habit, I guess. It was cool seeing a chart of what I’ve eaten. I know it sounds weird.” Peter chanced a look at Tony. The man had set his pizza down on the coffee table, too. His expression was scrutinizing. “So, um, I kinda set myself goals, you know? Just like can I stay under a certain amount, or other days, I could eat better. I don’t know how it started. But the process, the numbers, they were soothing. They are soothing.” Peter kept his gaze on his hands that were clasped in his lap, unsure what he was hiding from. It wasn’t like what he was doing was that bad. “So, yeah, that’s what’s up. Told you it’s nothing big.”

Tony was quiet for a moment until Peter heard him let out a breath. When he glanced up, Tony was scratching at his chin, his head tilted to the side, eyes sharp and cutting right through Peter.

“Pete, that’s the definition of something big or the start of it. I don’t know a lot about head shrinking, but I’ve seen enough after school specials to know you’re on a slippery slope.”

“It’s not—I’m not anorexic or anything. I swear. It’s just the app. I’m not trying to lose weight. I’m not starving myself. You just watched me eat.”

Tony sighed, scrubbing a hand over his mouth before dropping it. “Kid, I know you might not see it that way, but trust me on this. From the outside, it doesn’t look healthy.”

Peter frowned, trying to think over his actions through a different lens. If this had been someone else, MJ or Ned, Peter would probably be feeling the same way as Tony. Then why didn’t it feel like a big deal for him to do it? Was what he was doing really that dangerous? His brow furrowed in thought.

“It doesn’t feel like it’s that bad. Wouldn’t I know if I had an eating disorder?”

Tony shook his head a little, then shrugged his shoulder, wiggling his hand back and forth like he was weighing options. “You could, or it could just be the start of one. Either way, I think the first step should be getting rid of that app, remove the temptation. Though I think you might need more than that.”

“Like what?” Peter asked, already feeling a little anxious at the idea of losing his app. It was like a security blanket for him. He’d been logging for months. He didn’t want to lose all that data. It was like a journal of his good and bad days, his accomplishments, and his failures. Sometimes he did like looking back and studying the past weeks, seeing where he could have done better. The action itself soothed him. And now he was losing that.

“I don’t know, therapy would be my first guess, and I think your aunt needs to know, so she can keep an eye on things. I don’t know a lot about eating disorders, but I know about addiction, and I think they share some traits.”

Peter sank back into the couch, looking over at Tony with a frown. “Do we have to tell her? It just feels weird. Like it doesn’t feel like this is really a problem. I felt in control like I knew what I was doing. It doesn’t feel dangerous or like an eating disorder. I don’t want to worry her over nothing.”

“I need you to put on your listening ears here, kid. If this were anyone else, would you feel the same? I don’t think you would. I think Spider-Man would feel the same way I do. I’m not worried over nothing, and you shouldn’t just brush this aside. This could be the start of something that could take over your life. I don’t want that for you, Pete.”

Thinking back to MJ and Ned, Peter knew the truth. He knew that for anyone else, he would be concerned.

Sighing, he nodded slowly while twisting his fingers in his lap. “Okay, we can tell her, and I’ll delete the app. As much as I don’t want to believe it, maybe you’re right.”

“Okay, do you want to tell her together?”

Peter licked his lips, pulling his bottom lip between his teeth, chewing on it as he thought. He wasn’t sure he would have the courage to tell her on his own, but if Tony were there, maybe it would be the push he needed. If only he could get over the feeling of shame that was building in him, shame for letting this become a problem in the first place. He thought he was smarter than that. He should have known, should have seen the signs. How could he be so blind?

“Yeah, but can we wait until tomorrow to tell her? I’m not ready tonight.”

“That’s fine. I don’t think you're in immediate danger. If I thought that, this would have gone differently. I think we can take our time and figure out how to tell her. Your hot aunt probably knows a few things about this, given her career path.” Tony raised a brow, waggling a finger a Peter. “Don’t make that face. Didn’t anyone ever tell you your face could get stuck that way?”

“I’m not making a face.”

Tony scoffed. “You looked like your sucking on a Warhead.”

“Ew, I hate those.”

“The youth of today appreciate nothing.” Tony reached over to the coffee table and grabbed his abandoned dinner. Taking a bite of the cold pizza. He waved a hand in the direction of Peter’s remaining slice. “Eat up, kiddo. Cold pizza is the best pizza.”

With a nod, Peter sat forward and grabbed his plate, picking his slice of pizza up with his other hand. With probably too much thought about what he was feeling, he took a bite. He realized as he focused on what he felt that there was a tiny spike of fear, and he knew that wasn’t normal. This was something new in the last few months.

Now that he thought about it, he could remember that little feeling attached to most of his meals, getting more prominent as time went on. His fingers itched to record the calories, and he realized that he did have a problem. Something else inside him was steering his decisions, and he didn’t know how to feel about that. The knowledge hit him hard, making an invisible band tighten around his chest.

He pushed the feelings aside the best he could and focused on eating. He wouldn’t let this beat him. He’d tell May, and he’d do better. Spider-Man, Peter Parker, wouldn’t let this get him down. He’d find a way to fight it, and he was pretty sure he could. He had Tony and May in his corner.

[keelywolfe]

FIC: Can’t Go On, Thinking Nothing’s Wrong

Summary:  Rus’s sparkle is becoming a firecracker, the Fell Brothers still aren’t talking, and Red is a Grand High Poobah. Just another day in Rus’s life since he got knocked up.

Tags: Spicyhoney, Brotherly Relationships, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Pregnancy

Notes: Why does this happen to me? Guess it’s a series now, here we go. 

Just quick, thank you SO much for all your comments everyone. I’m going to reply to them eventually, but I’m having some pain issues right now. I can reply to comments or I can write, and I went with write. So, I SUPER appreciate them and I love them, and I will reply when I can. ^_^

Warning: There is what could possibly be a discussion about miscarriage but nothing like that actually happens.

What Will Be, Will Be

Something To Say, But Nothing Comes

~~*~~

Read it on AO3

or

Read it here!

~~*~~

Not that long ago, Rus would’ve said he knew what tired felt like. Tired was always dogging after him, dragging him down into impromptu naps and through exhausted days while his piddling HP soaked up any rest it could, keeping him afloat.

But the past few weeks had taught him a new definition of the word and the only good thing about it was that this time, no one was griping at him to get his lazy butt out of bed.

Oh, yeah, and there was gonna be a baby eventually, that was nice, too.

Rus had a sneaking suspicion that the tired wasn’t gonna end with the skitten putting in an appearance. Probably learn a new definition of it, though.

Anyway, there was also the added perk that his brother no longer came in to wake him up in the morning for sentry duty. Alphys was a tough chickie, but she had a soft, gooey center for baby Monsters, skitten or otherwise. She immediately put him off work until the baby decided to show up before putting in a demand for some babysitting time. The way things were going, Rus was gonna have to come up with a duty log or something if he ever wanted a chance to hold his own kid.

Behind Rus, the mattress creaked as the bed shifted and, oh, right. That was another change, wasn’t it. For starters, his mattress had been upgraded to a bed frame scavenged from the dump. Not so much for the skitten, but because Edge refused to keep sleeping on the floor, like a no-account vagabond, was how he put it.

Rus sort of thought he should be offended by that, but, eh, the new bed came with perks. Namely, it usually came with an Edge included in the nighttime hours, big and cozy warm, and a helluva lot more cuddly than their previous visits led Rus to believe.

It was just a damn shame that morning came so early when Edge stayed over,

The bed creaked again. “I need to go.”

“mm hmm,” Rus mumbled. He wasn’t ready to commit to actually being awake, but he had enough going for him to be sleepily waiting for what came next. He was not disappointed.

First, a kiss on top of his skull. Very soft, a butterfly’s breath of a touch. Hesitant, not really sure of its welcome, but every morning that it wasn’t rejected upped the odds that tomorrow might bring another one.

Next came the one right over his sternum and this one was more confident, sure. Today Edge added a new layer, murmuring softly, “Be good, baby.”

Yeah, okay, Monsters didn’t exactly get hormones when they were knocked up, but Rus was just about to weep at how precious that was. Better to pretend he somehow didn’t notice. Edge got all flustered and blushy when Rus teased him and as cute as that was, Rus also didn’t want him to stop.

He didn’t want to say that upcoming parenthood was softening Edge up in seriously unexpected ways, but damn if it wasn’t. Hell, he’d pretty much accepted that Edge was giving all he could before with the occasional one-night stand, and that was okay, you know? Rus didn’t take it personal, was what it was. He’d gotten a few glimpses of Underhell...er...Fell, he saw where Edge and Red were coming from and if part of him desperately craved more, then that was his problem because Edge never promised him anything but orgasms.

Turned out that beneath that hard, boney shell Edge had a gooey center of his own and with a little spark to smooth the way, Edge was becoming the best sort of cuddle Monster.

Yeah, Rus could get used to this. He kinda hoped he’d have the chance and it wouldn’t dry up once the kid was here.

The sound of the bedroom door quietly closing was a sign that it was time to go back to sleep and when Rus woke up again, he could see the bright, artificial light coming around the curtains.

His phone buzzed again; that was what woke him up the first time, and Rus groaned loudly, not bothering to look at the text. He already knew who it was from and he also knew they were turning him into a crazy person because they were from a crazy person who was probably already inside the house.

In the end, he looked at it anyway because he couldn’t not look at it. It said exactly the same thing as yesterday. And the day before. And the day before that.

need to get down here and eat

Yeah, Captain Obvious, it was about the time his hunger started warring with the whole tired thing, he didn’t really need a wakeup call. But since he had one, Rus went ahead and gave in, kicking the blankets to the end of the bed and hauling himself upright.

He yanked on his bathrobe over his pajamas, leaving it hanging open as he wandered downstairs. The gargoyle currently slouched on his sofa was getting to be a common sight, too.

“morning,” Red didn’t look up from his phone. “your bro left breakfast for you on the table.”

Even Red’s grouchy mug wasn’t enough to dim his appetite and Rus’s shuffle got a bit of a lift as he headed over to the covered plate. Toast soaked in butter, richly browned sausages, glistening eggs. Even a bowl of oatmeal swimming with a generous amount of honey, with a tall glass of orange juice to wash it down. Twice and then some what he would’ve eaten before and Rus dug in as if it might make a break for it if he looked away.

He piled most of it on a toast slice in a messy sort of sandwich and took a happy bite. Around a mouthful of eggy toast, Rus mumbled, “you know, you don’t need to come over every day.”

Blue and Edge woulda had some words to say about his manners, some more profane than others. Red was his sort of guy and spoke ‘full mouth’ fluently. His pissiness, on the other hand, was more a character flaw than anything Rus did to earn wrath.

“yeah, and you don’t need to tell me what to do but here we are,” Red grumbled. “boss’s gotta patrol. your bro has training. i’m the only one who can hang around.”

“uh huh.” Telling him that Rus didn’t need anyone hanging around probably wasn’t gonna go over well, or it least it wasn’t gonna do much good. Red had assigned himself as the Grand Poobah of Overprotectiveness and Rus was gonna have to roll with it.

Probably wouldn’t be too much longer, anyway. The little spark was growing quickly. Already it had gone from a twinkling to a firecracker, much faster than expected. He’d always had an overabundance of magic and according to Undyne, the souling was happily gorging on it. That was why he was so damned sleepy and right now he’d nod off about anywhere. Which, okay, he did that before but these days Blue only shook his head indulgently and sometimes tucked a blanket around him.

For some reason he was feeling a little more energized today, so after he dumped his plate in the sink, then went back to rinse it off so he didn’t get ‘The Lecture, Now In Stereo’, Rus went upstairs and put on actual clothes instead of standing by his previous declaration that pajamas were good for all occasions.

That was enough of a program change to get Red to look up from his Candy Crush or whatever the hell he was engrossed in. “what are you doing?”

“going for a walk.” Rus told him as he stepped into his untied shoes. Then, more grudgingly, “you coming?”

The answer was obviously some version of yes, but the expected bitching and moaning didn't come. Red only hopped up and put on his shoes, double-knotting the laces before he went over and did the same to Rus’s sneakers, ignoring his exasperated sigh.

Red didn’t ask before practically leaping in front of Rus to make sure he was first out the door. He looked around like he was expecting a sneak attack from the garage or maybe an ambush from the Librarby, books lunging out with nefarious deeds already written on their pages.

When neither of those scenarios manifested, Red seemed to decide it was safe enough for a stroll. Rus pushed past him impatiently and headed for Waterfall.

“your bro is out in the woods,” Red puffed out, jogging to catch up with Rus’s long legs.

“yep. which is why i’m taking a walk in waterfall. got a problem with that?” Because if he did, Rus’s easygoing attitude was about to bypass the lighthouse and crash into the rocks.

Red only shrugged. “nah. some exercise is good for the kidlet.”

“Kidlet?” Rus made a face, “i was gonna stick with skitten.”

Red stopped in his tracks, horror flitting over his expression, “skitten?”

“yeah, you know. skeleton kitten. a skitten.”

Red scrubbed a hand over his face and shook his head as he started trudging after Rus again. “i tried to tell the boss something was wrong with you.”

“i bet you did.” Rus said agreeably. “i mean, there are, so many things. probably hard to pick one.” It was true. He had a list.

But if Red was gonna drag that out of the shadows and into the light of day, Rus would like to point out that whatever was wrong with him wasn’t as bad as what was currently wrong with the Fell brothers. Didn’t take a genius to notice that as soon as Edge came back to Underswap from patrol or training, Red took off, usually with a grunt for Rus or Blue, but always without a word to Edge. It was like as soon as Red passed the little souling torch over to his brother, Red was out.

Rus was starting to feel like the ball in the Underground’s most boring game of ping pong.

Of course, it was really their business, not Rus’s at all. Like he was up to giving any advice about relationships, considering he and Edge hadn’t even gotten around to slapping a label on theirs? Right. He should stay out of it and let them work it out.

Except, Rus didn’t give two hurty squirty shits about that because it was really starting to get on his nerves. Edge was supposed to show up here and spend his time looking all adorable about upcoming parenthood, possibly (hopefully) tossing a promising look at Rus from time to time. He was not supposed to be moping around soulbruised because his brother was a dick. Which, okay, Red was always a dick, but he could be less of one.

Around the path, the snowdrifts began to trail away, the air around them slowly warming as it shifted to a gentle trickle of constant rain. A change of scenery called for a change of conversation, and fuck it, Rus was up for a challenge. “so, you ever gonna stop being pissy with edge?”

“no.”

Well, at least Red wasn’t going to pretend everything was a-ho k-ho. “it’s because of the kid, isn’t it.”

Okay, yeah, he probably deserved that particular derisive snort.

The damp was starting to creep in through his shoes, making them squeak against his bony feet. “you aren’t pissy with me,” Rus pointed out. “why? takes two to jitterbug, yeah?”

“yeah, but he’s not supposed to be the stupid one.”

It took a second for that to click. “…hey!”

Rus reached out and gave Red a shove, cause he might as well enjoy it while Red wouldn’t push him back. “seriously, though, he’s really upset about it, i can tell, you should--”

“stay in your lane, honey bun.” The words were gently said, but the warning in it was clear.

Welp, he’d tried. Mark that notch on the board and maybe tomorrow would be a better day.

“kinda hard right now, feel like i’m swerving all over the place.” Up ahead was one of the larger pools of water and Rus stopped at the edge and sat on the damp ground. After a fierce struggle with Red’s knots, he pulled off his shoes and rolled up his pant legs, scooting up to dip his feet into the cool water.

Next to him, Red did the same thing, tucking his socks deeply into his sneakers before sitting next to Rus. Their height difference wasn’t quite as obvious sitting down since Rus lost the advantage of his gangly legs.

Rus gave Red’s foot a nudge under the water with his toes and asked slyly, “how are you gonna protect me from the cave ninjas in your bare feet?”

Because he was a shit, Red scowled deeply and started to stand. Rus grabbed his arm to keep him still.

“stay put, you pine cone. we both know you could probably murder someone while you were bareass. Not that you’re gonna need to, thanks.”

“be a hell of a last sight before ya dusted, though.”

“thanks, i was looking for a good excuse to bleach my mind.”

The cool water felt good, soothing. His joints were a little achy lately, especially in his feet. From the magic drain, according to Undyne. Thinking of...“i’m supposed to see undyne tomorrow for another checkup. she wants to measure the souling, see if she can give me a guess-tament on when it’ll descend.”

Red grunted, noncommittal. Rude. Rus was trying to give him a heads up on the agenda for tomorrow. Chances were Edge would want to tag along, but if he couldn’t, he didn’t want Red grumbling about having to take a trip to hotland. Though he probably wouldn’t anyway, Red was being weird about all of this, everything, and Rus didn’t much want to guess at why.

But the silence was drawing out and at last, Rus went ahead and asked the question that'd been bugging him most. “do you want to see it?”

“see what?”

“my tits,” Rus said exasperatedly. “the souling, what else?”

Because for all his protectiveness, Red was the only person who knew that hadn’t asked for a quick peek. Not that Rus minded; he was perfectly happy to show off his little spark and now that it was bigger, it was starting to look like an actual soul, not a little blob of light. Edge was practically trying to commune with it on a daily basis, cuddling up close so he could stare through Rus’s rib cage or pressing his skull against Rus’s sternum and listening to its quick-quick little throb, barely audible over the pulse of his own soul.

Red seemed to be giving the question a lot more consideration than Rus thought should be necessary for a quick glimpse at a souling. The legs of his shorts were too close to the water and they were getting soaked, made worse when he kicked his feet and sent a little wave to splash back at them.

At last, Red gave a little shrug and said, “nah.”

Hm. Rus didn’t press, lifting a foot out of the water and watched the trickles fall from his boney metatarsals. Not far away were a few echo flowers, their words unintelligible, but their glow lighting the walls with an almost eerie blue.

Rus was about to suggest they head back to see if lunch miraculously appeared while they were gone when Red asked, low, “can you feel it yet?”

“feel it?” Rus asked dubiously. He rubbed his fingertips over his sternum, right above where his soul hovered with his own little echo circling around it. “maybe? sometimes it does feel warmer in there--”

“no,” Red shook his head and his words were tight, grated out, “when it gets close to descending, you should kinda feel it. it’s a full soul right next to your own, ain’t it? but not like soul joining, there’s no real thoughts or anything. just emotions. like...like getting touched with happiness.”

“not yet,” Rus said softly. His voice reverberated faintly, and he wondered if the echo flowers would claim it. “must be too small still.”

Red nodded jerkily and fell silent.

There was a fuckton of questions springing up around that, but Rus didn’t ask any of them. They sat there a while longer together, and if the silence wasn't exactly comfortable, it wasn’t bad, either. Eventually, Rus flopped back to lay in the cool grass, still paddling softly with his feet. The water dripping down into his sockets was weird but not unpleasant. He didn’t remember falling asleep, didn’t know how he got back home to be lying on their sofa, and he definitely didn’t want to know how he ended up in fresh, dry clothes.

What he did know was that Edge was in the living room with him, still pulling off his boots, and Red was nowhere to be seen.

“you look tired,” Rus said. Which, was the truth, but he winced a little belatedly at having said it like that. He was always a little off his game when he woke up and lately, that seemed like always.

Edge replied, curtly. “Today was...difficult.”

He didn’t elaborate and Rus didn’t ask.

“well, hey, come lay down until dinner is ready.” The sounds coming from the kitchen were a pretty good sign that Blue was already in there, whipping up something delicious. And when it looked like Edge was going to argue, because of course he would think he needed to toss on a chef’s hat after an already long day, Rus said lightly. “undyne was just telling me that frequent proximity of the other soulsharer is good for the little firecracker.”

Sure, that was a blatant lie, but Rus thought it was for a good cause. Edge faltered, his eye lights straying to the kitchen, but in the end, it was too much of a good thing to resist. Edge settled down next to him, moving immediately and unashamedly into Rus’s personal space, already prepared to start trying to commune with their little spark. Talking to it, humming little songs, even summoning his own soul so that he could offer a taste of the emotions bubbling in him and yeah, that overflowing love wasn’t for Rus, but feeling it so close to his soul brought tears to his sockets, maybe someday...maybe…?

Almost, Rus thought he might have felt something, a tiny, sweet little echo of emotion, but he couldn’t be sure.

Soon, it’d be soon. He hoped. Rus was really looking forward to getting touched with a little happiness.

tbc

Read Next Chapter

[madamslayyy]

Log Cabin And A Brewing Fire Part V (Trevante Rhodes x Reader)

Pairing: Nebraska Williams (Trevante Rhodes) x Reader

A/N: Heading in a little bit of a diff direction with this story. Let me know what y’all think.

~*~

You woke up alone to the smell of breakfast coming from downstairs. You knew Nebraska was already downstairs cooking like he did most mornings. You really were going to have to come up with a way to thank him for going through the trouble every morning.

You hopped in the shower and let the warm water fully wake you up. Today was Halloween and it was going to be a busy one. The museum you worked at was going to be open until midnight for its annual Haunted Museum Walk event it held every year. You were gonna be a mummy in the Egyptian Exhibit.

You didn’t bother putting on your business clothes just yet as you got out the shower and decided to just put on a big clean T-Shirt instead. Nebraska had seen you in pajamas plenty of times so a big T-Shirt wasn’t really anything scandalous for breakfast.

As you entered the kitchen you noticed he was making French Toast, the smell of cinnamon flooding the room.

“Good Morning,” you chirped, wading over to the cupboard to grab a glass.

“Morning,” he smirked, still concentrating on not burning the French Toast.

“How’d you sleep last night?” You said, hopping on the counter next to him while you sipped your orange juice.

“Uh...,” he glanced at you then back down at what he was doing, “pretty good. Just as good as any other night.” He smiled a little confused.

“Fantastic. Just checking in on you.” You smiled.

“Well since you’re here, can you hand me two plates,” he smiled back, nodding to the cupboard next to your head. You reached overhead to get it, careful not to drop the plates and send them shattering to the floor. When you turned back around you noticed Nebraska staring down at where your shirt had risen up to reveal your tummy’s pooch.

“Thanks,” he said taking the plates and averting his eyes but it was too late. You’d seen him and felt insecure now. Weight had always been sort of a tricky subject for you and one you always wanted to avoid at all costs.

“So, tonight’s Halloween. Know what you’re dressing up as?” You said hoping to change the subject as you hopped down off the counter.

“Uh, I don’t really do all that,”Nebraska chuckled awkwardly, setting the two plates loaded with French Toasts down on the table. It looked delicious but suddenly you weren’t feeling very hungry.

“Ohh... well if you don’t have plans for tonight, you should definitely stop by the Museum. They do this Haunted thing for Halloween and it’s pretty cool for first time viewers in my biased opinion of course,” you chuckled, nibbling at the French Toast.

“Actually... I’ve gotta help Tonya tonight,” he said hesitantly. You blinked as there was a lengthy silence that said everything you were clearly thing.

“Oh....,”

“It’s just.... she’s got the two young boys and they wanna go trick or treating but she doesn’t necessarily feel safe going alone so y’know....” he trailed off and suddenly you felt really stupid. Like you’d been missing this obvious thing the whole time and only now saw the picture as a whole.

“Oh, you don’t have to explain yourself to me, you’re grown,” you laughed hoping to lighten up the tension in the room. It did, even if only a little bit.

“Whew, these were so good but I can’t eat another bite,” you said standing up to go throw away the rest of your breakfast and get ready for work.

“Um.... Y/N, I’ve noticed something and I know it’s not my place but... you don’t really eat a lot...” Nebraska trailed off. You paused again. What on earth was he asking? Was this because he saw your stomach earlier? Because this was a question you’d heard your whole life: “how are you still big if you don’t eat?” Or “if you want to get smaller, just stop eating.” Not only had you struggled with food, but you struggled with an eating disorder as well and this was a conversation you simply weren’t trying to have.

“Okay,” you said quietly, moving to throw away the food as quickly as possible. The last thing you needed was a lecture from him this morning.

“I just was wondering... if it’s healthy... to eat so little, I ju-“

“I’m fine. Thanks.”you snapped, cutting him off. You then immediately headed for your room, locking yourself in as you sank to the floor. So he thought you were unhealthy now? You couldn’t say you were surprised, everyone thought girls with curves were “unhealthy” or “killing themselves”. Hell, he was an army man, they thrived off fitness so of course he’d have an opinion on your “lazy civilian physique.”

You felt the tears well up but you forced them down. You were a grown ass woman. The time of breaking down every time someone called you fat was over. You got up, brushed it off and continued to get ready for work, refusing to let this situation get to you for even another second.

~*~

“Everything alright, Braska?” Tonya asked, intertwining her arm with his as they walked side by side, watching her sons drag their enormous bags of candy ahead of them.

“Yeah everything’s fine,” He said distractedly.

“Oh come in now, you know me better than that!” He didn’t. “You know I’m not gonna just take no for an answer, tell me what’s up.” Nebraska sighed but she really wasn’t going to stop until he talked so he decided to just go ahead and tell her.

“I made Y/N upset this morning and it’s been weighing on my mind,” He sighed, looking straight ahead. Weighing on his mind, however, was the understatement of the year. It’d been driving him crazy all day. He knew he always had a tendency to be too hard on himself, something he tried to cope with every day, but upsetting the one person in this entire town whose opinion he valued? The guilt had been literally eating him alive.

You had every right to be mad at him though. He never knew when to shut up, and it often left him wishing he hadn’t spoke at all. And then there was the counter incident this morning. She’d caught him staring at her, which he tried to quit doing but you never made it easy in that department either. You were easily the most beautiful woman, inside and out, he’d ever had the honor of keeping company. You were always so chipper and bright, with a smile that seemed to mimic the sun and a warm overall presence that gravitated everything towards it. As hard as he’d tried to distance himself from you, he couldn’t deny it pulled him in too.

“Upset her how?” Tonya asked, that smile of hers she always wore faltering. She didn’t like to talk about Y/N much and he had a pretty good idea of why.

“I just said something stupid that I shouldn’t have. And now she’s... mad at me,” he grimaced. The two of them were approaching her front door and she unwound her arm from his to open the front door. Her two boys bounded through the house, nearly bouncing of the walls with energy.

“Candy in the table boys, you know I have to inspect it!” Tonya yelled followed by the grumbling of her sons.

“Go wash up for bed, I’ll be there in a minute.”

“C’mon mom it’s Halloween, can’t we watch a scary movie?!” The oldest, Tyler, whined. He was only about 6 years old so Nebraska doubted she would say yes.

“No. Now go.”

“It’s not even a school night! Mom pleaseeee,” he pleaded.

“..... fine. But only one,” the two boys erupted once again with excitement at her caving.

“Still go wash up. Pjs on!” She yelled as they bounded up the stairs. She then sunk into a chair at the kitchen table and rubbed her tired eyes.

“They’re going to be up for week after this,” she sighed, dumping the candy bags on the table. Nebraska sat in the seat next to her and began helping her inspect.

He glanced at the time on his phone and saw it was nearing 11. You were probably home now, in bed fast asleep. And he couldn’t think of anywhere else he’d rather be than right there besides you.

~*~

You were exhausted as you finally trudged up the stairs. It was almost 1 a.m. and you were just getting home from the museum. You opened the door to your room to find it empty but you weren’t surprised. You hadn’t seen Nebraska’s motorcycle outside when you pulled up so you assumed he wasn’t here.

You flopped down on you bed and just sank into the sheets. He was probably off busting Tonya’s cheeks wide open and you were just going to have to deal with it. Whatever bond you’d seemed to have deluded in your mind was completely onesided and you really need a strong kick or reality to remind you of that. The two of you weren’t friends, lovers, anything really beyond roommates. He was here to deal with some shit (that he still had yet to tell you about) and you had to learn to back off.

And so with that thought you fell asleep, missing your human furnace your body had gotten so accustomed to.

~*~

The next morning you woke up alone, again except this time there was no smell of breakfast in the air. You probably needed to skip breakfast anyway, that’s what you usually did before you’d gotten so settled in Nebraska cooking breakfast.

Today was Saturday so since you didn’t have work you decided to go on a hike. You hopped out the shower and immediately got dressed. Just as you were heading out the front door, Nebraska was coming in, the two of you nearly colliding into each other.

“Woah, my bad,” Nebraska said, backing out to allow you to exit the door.

“It’s okay, I wasn’t paying attention,” you said sliding past him. Don’t ask him where he’s been. Don’t ask him where he’s been. Don’t ask him where he’s been.

“Are you um... are you just getting in?” You asked, turning back around to face him.

“Oh uh, yeah, it was pretty late last night so I crashed at Tonya’s.” He said scratching the back of his head. Great, now you’ve made it awkward being nosy. You didn’t know really what to say at this point so you decided to just turn around and continue towards your hike.

“Wait... one second Y/N,” he said reaching out for your arm. You turned around to face him, the height difference between you two causing you to crane your neck up to see him.

“Um, about yesterday. I really didn’t mean to offend you. It wasn’t my place and I apologize if I overstepped my place as a guest-

“Nebraska you don’t have t-

“I want to. It wasn’t right. I didn’t mean to upset you.” You could tell his face was burning with sincerity but you just wanted to move on from the subject altogether.

“Thank you. For that. But it’s all water under the bridge now.” You said and there was silence between the two of you once again. And it wasn’t exactly comfortable so you decided to proceed with your hike, walking away from him.

Nebraska wanted to call you back but was unsure of what to say next so he simply headed upstairs to shower and start his day.

~*~

Taglist: @chaneajoyyy @queen-of-the-jabari @queennanayaa @clydevevo @queennanayaa @chaneajoyyy @killmongerthiskoochie @theunsweetenedtruth @blackgirloneshots @blmforeal @erikkillmongerstan @jozigrrl @quietstorm-73 @sailorsenshi420 @wakandamama @mxearth @chefjessypooh @macfizzle @chasingsunlight @dameshaemonique @rubiesandravens @raysunshine78 @melaninmarvel l @melanisticroyalty @softnani @vibranium-soul @itstaliaduh @cinki-the-black-goddess @thehomierobbstark @darkangelchronicles @bartierbakarimobisson @doublesidedscoobysnacks @blackpinup22 @tchokemedaddy @clydevevo @amirra88 @labelletemps @wawakanda-btch @supersizemeplz @purple-apricots @musicloveand-pride

[verdigrisprowl]

Mar 25 Dancitron Movie Night - Christopher Robin

While Winnie the Pooh played sweetly in the background, Soundwave and Swoop did their level best to beat the ever-loving shit out of each other.

It was a hell of a movie night.

Specs Yesterday at 7:40 PM ((FUCK but I hate rabbit rn)) Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 7:40 PM (( oh worm Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 7:40 PM ((Believe me, me too.)) Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 7:41 PM ((HEY JUST SO YALL KNOW:)) Specs Yesterday at 7:42 PM ((me: enters correct password rabbit: your password is incorrect! me: rechecks and re-enters password rabbit: your password is incorrect! me: resets password and then enters new password rabbit: your password is incorrect!)) Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 7:42 PM ((when you use asterisks * or underscores _ around a word, it auto-converts into formatting, like this or this. and if you copy/paste text from discord to somewhere else, it doesn't save the formatting OR the original symbols)) ((as your friendly neighborhood chat log keeper, it'd make my job a lot easier if y'all used something other than asterisks to indicate actions while we're in discord, so i don't have to manually go back and insert asterisks every where y'all used them.)) Specs Yesterday at 7:43 PM (( :thumbsup: )) Soundwave (Slenderwave) pinned a message to this channel. See all the pins. Yesterday at 7:43 PM Soundwave (Slenderwave) pinned a message to this channel. See all the pins. Yesterday at 7:43 PM Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 7:43 PM ((thanks!)) Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 7:43 PM (( how about we all use prose and "dialogue" ??? Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 7:44 PM ((agreed)) Soundwave (Slenderwave) pinned a message to this channel. See all the pins. Yesterday at 7:44 PM Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 7:44 PM Soundwave's ready to go tonight. He's got the sweetest movie he could possibly find, and he knows that that's the case because Zori's the one who recommended it. Anything from Zori has to be the softest, most adorable thing to watch ever. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 7:44 PM ((........................ jesus fuck)) ((i just tried to copy/paste the text that you dropped in rabbit, just to see)) ((and it copy/pasted the name & time just fine)) Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 7:45 PM ((WHAT)) Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 7:45 PM ((YEAH)) Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 7:45 PM ((it doesn't for me!!!!)) Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 7:45 PM ((in that case it's the modifications i made to the extension last time apparently)) ((which means it'll probably still do the OTHER thing that made it annoying, only allowing copy/paste of a small handful of messages at a time. so it's probably still better to be in here.)) Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 7:46 PM ((yep)) Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 7:46 PM ((might be yeah)) Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 7:46 PM ((we can experiment with it another time though)) Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 7:47 PM ((Trying to think of what to do to denote action. Might just do lazy prose and quotes idk Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 7:47 PM ((also we're gonna start around 8:10)) Specs Yesterday at 7:48 PM ((what was the maximum amount of messages that it would copy, or was it a word-length thing?)) Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 7:48 PM ((one screen's worth)) Specs Yesterday at 7:48 PM ((gotcha o7)) Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 7:48 PM ((little enough to make it annoying)) Chaoit Yesterday at 7:48 PM ((oh joy)) Windchill Yesterday at 7:48 PM (( I thought prose and quotes was a lot easier to write in anyway, might just be me being a weirdo though. )) (( ...actually that's probably because it forces everyone to slow down and makes it easier for chronic multitaskers like me to keep up with chat, so that's probably it. NEVER MIND. )) Specs Yesterday at 7:50 PM (( /me pats chill )) Windchill Yesterday at 7:51 PM (( Today we learned that I am actively creating my own problems as usual lol. )) Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 7:51 PM Prowl shows up for the first time in a few weeks; but almost immediately sits and focuses on the screen. And its... not very enthralling nature scenery. Fascinating. Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 7:52 PM (( OOPS i took the remote Windchill Yesterday at 7:52 PM (( You're FIRED. )) Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 7:52 PM (( :fire: :fire: :fire: Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 7:52 PM ((I, Tarantulas, am now leader of dancitron)) Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 7:53 PM Soundwave immediately twists to greet and ping Prowl. Usually they don't get much time before everyone rolls in. [[Good evening.]] Bee Yesterday at 7:53 PM (( quick, dance off with BOTH Soundwave and Blaster )) Chaoit Yesterday at 7:53 PM ((NEVER)) Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 7:53 PM He nods vaguely. "Evening." Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 7:54 PM (( oh man wow i forgot i have hair dye in my hair, GOTTA GO RINSE. tarantulas will be l8 Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 7:54 PM ((when tarantulas shows up, he's orange)) Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 7:54 PM (( i mean my hair is like orange pink i think so........ Chaoit Yesterday at 7:54 PM ((that'd be a sight Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 7:54 PM ((lucky guess! Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 7:55 PM [[You seem rather... intent, tonight.]] ((i see a new person! hello new person!)) MOTHMAN GF Yesterday at 7:56 PM Scoots in. Windchill Yesterday at 7:56 PM (( OH SHIT. )) Chaoit Yesterday at 7:56 PM ((annnd gimme a sec Windchill Yesterday at 7:56 PM (( Tormentor. )) Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 7:57 PM Ah, and there's the other company, right on schedule. One day he really must have a Prowl-only showing just for them. Then they won't need to worry about packing everything in before the others arrive. [[Perceptor, is it?]] He nods toward the thing on the mech's shoulder. Not many of that going around. Lieu Yesterday at 7:57 PM (( Figured I'd bring the sociable one for once)) Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 7:57 PM "Hm? No, just—preoccupied. For the last couple of weeks." Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 7:57 PM Swoop flies a few laps around Dancitron before eventually living up to his name by swooping down. He transforms at the last possible moment so he can sliiiiiiide through the door. This Dinobot is all grins. Lieu Yesterday at 7:57 PM (( Promise not to punch Windchill! )) Chaoit Yesterday at 7:58 PM ((KIWI 20%wurmple Yesterday at 7:58 PM Swerve wanders in and drops into the closest seat. MOTHMAN GF Yesterday at 7:58 PM //sorry my WiFi is crapping out and won’t send the reply to slendey :sob: 20%wurmple Yesterday at 7:58 PM Slowly. And carefully, with his arms out feeling things so he doesn't walk into them. Windchill Yesterday at 7:58 PM (( Hmmm it's neutral ground so he'll settle for glaring across the room at all times. Might as well go post-fight on this. )) Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 7:58 PM ((that's all right, just repost it and if it shows  up twice nbd)) Lieu Yesterday at 7:59 PM (( Si si)) Specs Yesterday at 7:59 PM The dragon comes in with her cartful of treats- and something else! It's a very, very sizable box. Looks like you could fit a xenomorph queen in there without too much trouble, in fact. A very large label says "FOR BUZZSAW" on it. The glut of pterodactyl-shaped gummis in the treat cart are perhaps a way to assure the other sibling that she was not forgotten either. MOTHMAN GF Yesterday at 7:59 PM Perceptor has no idea who this mech is. “It is! I’m a little new to the multiverse so I thought I’d just... jump right into it.” Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 7:59 PM "Bird?" Swoop scampers around, head going this way and that. "Bird!" Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:00 PM [[Understandable.]] Curious head tilt. [[Is there - anything he can help you with?]] And Soundwave will bob his helm at Swerve, Swoop - nice job there - and the dragon. 20%wurmple Yesterday at 8:00 PM //ugh, come ON chrome just load rabbit already u useless lump Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 8:00 PM Has arrived and--makes a beeline toward Swerve instead of going to the usual spot. "Are you all right?" 20%wurmple Yesterday at 8:00 PM "Nnnno. My visor's on the fritz. Should be fixed soon." MOTHMAN GF Yesterday at 8:00 PM "Ah, no for now I think I'm gathering some good data on it by observation. However, I will definitely ask if there's anything I'd like more information on." Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 8:01 PM "Do you require assistance?" Specs Yesterday at 8:01 PM The dragon bobs her head and churrs right back at Soundwave. She's honestly not sure where to put Buzzsaw's box, so she's just kind of scooted it towards the stairs for now. That's good enough, right? Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 8:01 PM "Perceptor. Hello." A nod in his direction. "You've worked out multiversal travel?" Bee Yesterday at 8:01 PM Bee saunters in with a few packs of rust sticks. He places them on the bar, then makes his way to an empty spot. He doesn't know too many bots this time around, so he gives a little awkward wave. "Hi everyone." 20%wurmple Yesterday at 8:01 PM "I might, not sure." MOTHMAN GF Yesterday at 8:01 PM "Somewhat! Mostly catching rides from other people until we can manage a safe way to travel through other verses." Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 8:01 PM Swoop hops on top of the bar. "Bird?" Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 8:02 PM Will offer an arm out for him to latch onto then. There's a joke here about the blind leading the blind, but Prowl's not funny enough to make it. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:02 PM }}Is it here? Is it here!?{{ Buzzsaw's going to circle the dragon like a vulture.

Soundwave had actually meant that question for Prowl, but it serves rather well for Perceptor too; he offers Perceptor a polite nod of agreement. He'll answer what he can without putting too many things at risk. [[There's no Bird tonight, Swoop.]] [[Welcome, Bumblebee. Thank you for the contribution.]] 20%wurmple Yesterday at 8:02 PM He appreciates thr gesture enough to pat Prowl. "Thanks." Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 8:03 PM "Why?" He shuffles onto the very edge of the bar, holding on with his toes. "Me Swoop want to show her something! Video! Kehehhehehh! It good." Lieu Yesterday at 8:03 PM Tormentor hasn't been to any of these Multiverse gatherings before, and they're quite a sight. He only knows the fly-guy who spit on him and everyone else he recognizes are Autobots. He'll try to avoid them so as not to spur any multi-dimensional arguing. Windchill Yesterday at 8:03 PM Rebel trots in, nearly dragging Windchill by his giant hand in her excitement. The latter looks worse for wear, and is definitely too lazy to walk any faster despite Rebel's attempts at dragging him in. Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 8:03 PM Nods and they can both make their way to a nearby table together then. Chaoit Yesterday at 8:04 PM And he's made his way in. Still perpetually tired, but looks a bit more relived this time. "Hey, not late, am I?" Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 8:04 PM Prowl thought Soundwave's question was for him until Perceptor answered it; so he ends up answering with a vague shrug, so he can play it off like he's shrugging at nothing in particular in case it really wasn't for him. Windchill Yesterday at 8:04 PM Rebel points at the screen, practically bouncing in place once she's got her lazy bum of a dad through the door. "Earth!" Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 8:05 PM Rebel's shout drew his attention. Swoop's head snapped from Soundwave to her in an instant. "REBEL!" Specs Yesterday at 8:05 PM "It's here!" Oh thank the Goddess, Buzzsaw isn't off doing something, she can just drop this off with him. "Some assembly required, I'm afraid- I don't doubt you can figure that part out on your own, but there's a manual packed in there in case you have to ask other people to help you with the assembly part."

Sorry, Buzzsaw, but while the box has wheels for her to shove it around, she's only the size of a fox. She will not be helping you take it upstairs. It's heavy enough just to push around! 20%wurmple Yesterday at 8:06 PM Swerve jerks in surprise when his fiddling finally fixes his stupid visor, blinking. "Huh. Okay, that fixed it. Thanks Prowl." Windchill Yesterday at 8:06 PM "Swoop!" She drops Windchill's hand to scamper over, but Swoop is up to high for a hug so she bounces in place some more. Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 8:07 PM Pulls her arm away as quickly and politely as she can. "You're welcome." Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 8:07 PM Swoop launches himself off the bar and onto Rebel without hesitation. "H!" Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:07 PM [[Because she is busy. Leave a copy of the video for her and she will see it later.]] Soundwave's busy watching everyone come in - oh, there's another one he doesn't recognize; expanding crowd tonight - and recording where they're all going so he knows who is seated where in the event something terrible happens. A fire, or what have you.

}}I shall take it upstairs at once! Here, move.{{ Buzzsaw will get his feelers around that and hoist it up like it's nothing. It doesn't weigh as much as a helicopter, after all. ((WE START IN TWO MINUTES and honestly i can't think of too many warnings if any off the top of my head because it's Christopher Robin. a nod to WWII happening, some insensitivity on the part of some board members near the end.)) Lieu Yesterday at 8:08 PM Tormentor can try to promise no fires. Windchill Yesterday at 8:09 PM This causes Rebel to windmill her arms in a futile attempt at staying upright, and for Windchill to squawk. Here he was going to sit down quietly, and already you two are causing a ruckus! 20%wurmple Yesterday at 8:09 PM //oooh i watched this in theaters it's good Lieu Yesterday at 8:09 PM Tormentor, however, will not promise there won't be any smoking Windchill Yesterday at 8:09 PM (( I watched the first half last night but got pulled away so that works out pretty well lololol. )) Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:10 PM [[You there - over to the right.]] He's thinking to Tormentor. [[Name and faction for the record, please.]]

As for that shrug... he doesn't know what to make of it, so he'll send Prowl an acknowledgment ping. All things in time, he supposes. Specs Yesterday at 8:10 PM The dragon watches in awe and admiration- after moving her furry butt out of Buzzsaw's way, of course. She's the luckiest dragon alive. She gets to watch all these amazing minicons and Soundwave do the coolest things she could think of. And the price of admission is making snacks.

Speaking of the snacks, she should probably get those unpacked before Swoop takes it into his head to sit in the cart like the world's stickiest nest. Hatchlings do that sort of thing. Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 8:11 PM Swoop is in absolute stitches already. He's not afraid of the floor. Either she finds a way to support him or they both eat dirt. He's here either way. (Although his wings reflexively move to balance things.) Bee Yesterday at 8:11 PM Bee's apertures go as wide as he can. He knows exactly which movie this is. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:12 PM Soundwave motions for Ravage to lend the dragon a feeler while nobody's asking for snacks. There will be a spot open for her when she's ready to settle down and sit. Windchill Yesterday at 8:12 PM Nope. She lands on her butt, but (heh,) her cackling is enough to ease Windchill off of intervening. Close one. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:12 PM Hm. Looks like Bumblebee's interested in this one. Lieu Yesterday at 8:12 PM .... It's not everyday one hears the voice in your head so clearly. Tormentor was certain he had heard the last of it ages ago. "Ummm, sure, Decepticon Commander Tormentor of Tyrest." 20%wurmple Yesterday at 8:12 PM Swerve pings Percy to come join him. MOTHMAN GF Yesterday at 8:12 PM Blinks! And comes over to sit next to Swerve. He knows this mech. They spoke once, he thinks. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 8:13 PM There's singing animals. Prowl watches them suspiciously. Are any of them... dogs. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:13 PM What a name. Soundwave wondered if they ever lived up to it. Not every mech did. Bloodrage flipped to pacifism early in the war. [[Tyrest. City or mech?]] 20%wurmple Yesterday at 8:13 PM "Hey Percy!" He doesn't think any are dogs, but the Eeyore one has four legs and it's gray so maybe a wolf? Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 8:13 PM This Eeyore looks like a dog. Bee Yesterday at 8:14 PM He sends off a ping to Soundwave, only containing the :sob: emoji. Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 8:14 PM With a minimal amount of twisting and wiggling, Swoop manages to end up sitting on Rebel's chest. He's light-weight but also scrawny enough to be pokey. How comfortable this is is debatable. But he's certainly looking pleased with himself. "Uncle?" MOTHMAN GF Yesterday at 8:14 PM "Hi Swerve! I haven't seen you in awhile." Bee Yesterday at 8:14 PM "...So. The real question here is who is more of a Tigger: Swoop or Swerve?" 20%wurmple Yesterday at 8:14 PM "What?" Lieu Yesterday at 8:15 PM "Heh, I get that a lot: city. Never met the mech in my life." And Tormentor indeed has lived up to his name. All too well in his corner of the universe. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:15 PM [[A what?]] And what is this emoji? He thought Bee was interested, not sad. A ping of a single question mark back. Windchill Yesterday at 8:15 PM "Huh?" Rebel blinks, looking confused as all hell. "I have two uncles!" Bee Yesterday at 8:15 PM "The one who bounces a lot. That's Tigger. Who acts more like him?" Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:15 PM Soundwave looks to Prowl. He's looking rather suspicious of an innocent gathering of fuzzy Earth beasts. Expecting them to go wild and eat the human, is he? 20%wurmple Yesterday at 8:15 PM "Swoop." Bee Yesterday at 8:15 PM "I think Prowl might be Owl." Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 8:16 PM "NO no, keheheh. Uncle means---" He looks towards his name. "What?" Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 8:16 PM "Huh?" He heard his name. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:16 PM [[Understood, Tormenter. Thank you. Note that this is a neutral zone; if you can keep to that, you are welcome to enjoy your stay.]] 20%wurmple Yesterday at 8:16 PM "Nothing Swoop." Bee Yesterday at 8:17 PM Make no mistake, he's very interested in this movie. There's something a little melancholy about it that gets to him. Probably because it reminds him of Raf. :: It's like watching a friend grow up. You'll see. :: Windchill Yesterday at 8:17 PM Windchill snorts and sits down, only just now noticing Tormentor. Fantastic. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:17 PM [[And he supposes Swoop is more like Tigger. Swerve has been nothing but composed and responsible.]] Chaoit Yesterday at 8:17 PM And he's going to sit down, somewhere. Not sure where, but a free seat. To watch whatever's on the screen. Specs Yesterday at 8:18 PM The dragon takes her spot now that snacks are unloaded, and bites her tongue on any comments noting that Swoop is also the only Swoop. It it unwise to tempt the universe, and the thought of Multi-Swoop Drifting is to horrifying to comprehend. Lieu Yesterday at 8:18 PM "Given the mecha here, I figured as much." Tormentor taps at his head, "Don't you worry, Sub-conscious, we're not going to fight tonight." Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 8:18 PM Swoop remains firmly seated on Rebel's chest while this discussion goes on. "Wonderful thing about tiggers, kehehheh!" Okay, there might be a little bounce in his 'firm" seat. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:18 PM [[A sweet sentiment.]] And one he's suspicious of, after what Bee said. He'll nod to Blaster and keep himself glued to the screen. More or less. He's still very curious about this Owl creature just mentioned in comparison to Prowl. Is he a logical one? Soundwave huffs in amusement. Subconscious. He likes that. Windchill Yesterday at 8:20 PM Windchill squints as aggressively as a squint can be squinted, but offers no comment. Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 8:20 PM Tarantulas isn't too l8! In he comes, then halts near the back, immediately wary of how terribly many people there are here tonight, several of which he hasn't met. Give him a moment to scope things out before sneaking to a seat. Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 8:20 PM Swoop waves at Tarantulas from his seat on another poor soul's chest. Just a normal movie night. Windchill Yesterday at 8:20 PM "Swoop!" Rebel tries to push him off. "I can't see movie from down here!" Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 8:21 PM Prowl quietly leans against Soundwave. Windchill Yesterday at 8:21 PM She kicks her legs, in case it helps. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:21 PM Oh? Oh, that's nice. He'll lean back. Unexpected and nice. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 8:21 PM He has not yet noticed... the spide. Lieu Yesterday at 8:21 PM Tormentor can't help but glance up. He feels a squint but he's pretty sure Lieutenant isn't here so who-- Oh, it's the Spittaker 9000 Chaoit Yesterday at 8:21 PM Oh. Uniforms. That's not a good sign. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:21 PM [[Oh. He knows where this human is going. He did research since the movie about the Wondrous Woman.]] Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 8:21 PM "Oh!" He giggles and rolls off her with more pizzazz than entirely necessary. The tigger comment might explain the need to handspring back into a standing position. Lieu Yesterday at 8:22 PM No round 2 tonight, but Tormentor just stares back at Windchill. He sees you there. Chaoit Yesterday at 8:22 PM NOPE Windchill Yesterday at 8:22 PM Squint intensifies. Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 8:22 PM ((All these squinting comments go well with your icon lol)) 20%wurmple Yesterday at 8:22 PM Why do they have a room for cloaks? Chaoit Yesterday at 8:22 PM He's not liking this part of the movie at all Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 8:22 PM Accepts the visual feed finally, a little surprised that Soundwave still offered it considering the state of things between them. Just in time for war flashback. Lieu Yesterday at 8:22 PM EVEN MORE SQUINTING

...but it's behind a visor so it's useless Windchill Yesterday at 8:23 PM He still can't get the smell of burning paint out of his seams, and it's all your fault Tormentor. (( Lol. )) Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:23 PM He's angry, not a poor host. Hmph. [[...He takes it by the state of the growth over the door that the Christopher Robin human has not returned yet.]] Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 8:24 PM He could have left it up to her alternate to provide visuals. Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 8:24 PM Now that Swoop is standing up, he's got a much better view of the room. In particular, a certain someone who isn't looking this way.... Unsuspecting prey, if you will. He grins. Lieu Yesterday at 8:24 PM And he nearly blew up his own arm because of you! That's YouR FAULT Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:24 PM [[For him to have grown that tall, he has been away... at least five years.]] He's confident of that much. Human age is wiggly, but he's sure he's got that. Windchill Yesterday at 8:24 PM Rebel gets up and shakes herself, then reaches for Swoop's dinosaur hand to drag him along, too. That was a direct consequence of pulling on his wings! Lieu Yesterday at 8:24 PM ((Oh damn it's Mycroft from Sherlock!)) Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 8:25 PM "That human has never worked a day of manual labor in his life." Lieu Yesterday at 8:25 PM ((Love him)) Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:25 PM [[That much is obvious.]] Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 8:25 PM "They very effectively made him very quickly dislikable." Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 8:26 PM Swoop squawks. Your ruined his bird of prey stare, Rebel! But he lets her drag him along towards the seats. After all, that means they walk right behind the sofa a certain communication's bot is lounging on. At the last possible second, Swoop pulls away from Rebel and throws himself at Soundwave, reaching around to try to touch his mouth. Or, more specifically, a tooth! Windchill Yesterday at 8:26 PM Rebel, in her great and newly forged wisdom, dives out of the way before she can get dragged into whatever hell is about to be unleashed. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:26 PM [[Yes. It's very clear that he knows nothing about the actual reality of the business he is hea--]] THERE ARE FINGERS COMING FROM AROUND HIS HEAD FOR HIS MOUTH. And now there are not. Because there are no fingers. Not until he spits them out on the floor, anyway. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 8:27 PM Prowl lurches upright at the sudden movement. "What the hell is—?!" Chaoit Yesterday at 8:27 PM "What a nasty human." Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:27 PM Soundwave is already standing up and turning around. He knows whose those were. [[OUTSIDE.]] Chaoit Yesterday at 8:27 PM !!!! Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 8:28 PM What a LOVELY time for Tarantulas to try and actually sit down near Prowl and Soundwave! He's leaping back to the shadows again before he gets dragged into anything. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 8:28 PM His first instinct is to bridge out the person who lunged. He tries to open a bridge under Swoop. No bridge opens. What in the. Lieu Yesterday at 8:28 PM "And in typical Cybertronian fashion, Neutral Zone doesn't even last a night." Windchill Yesterday at 8:28 PM And Windchill's on his feet, scooping up his wiggly adopted spawn before she can be blamed for anything. If she gets bridged, at least he goes too. He's a little paranoid, okay? Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 8:29 PM Swoop's optics go wide and bright. It takes a moment for the pain to register in his birdy brain. The shrill noise he lets out isn't entirely upset. His wings are fanned out and his stance widens as he looks from his missing digits to Soundwave. "You Soundwave wanna GO? Kehehhehh!" 20%wurmple Yesterday at 8:29 PM Swerve's sighing into his hands as he realizes what just happened. Swoop, no. Bee Yesterday at 8:29 PM Bee munches on some rust sticks, more attentive to the chaos in the room rather than the movie. He offers his snack to whoever's closest. Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 8:30 PM Flinches at the sound of Soundwave chomping down on Swoop's fingers and the shrill noise that follows, hand going instinctively to a subspace pocket for a weapon--oh, it's Swoop. Will let Soundwave deal with that. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 8:30 PM "Sw— Sound—" Are those fingers. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:30 PM The bridge is off. The bridge is nonresponsive, because he was running something extra on it while everyone is upstairs and in no expected need of it. At least not THIS early.

[[YOU are going. OUT.]] He'll snatch at Swoop's front with intent to drag the big bird out by force if need be. Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 8:30 PM First it was Smokescreen losing digits, now Swoop? Hmmph. At least Tarantulas won't have to fix Swoop's, he's got Ratchet and Wheeljack. Chaoit Yesterday at 8:30 PM Swoop. Swoop, no. Blaster's just going to sigh and bury his face in his hands. Specs Yesterday at 8:30 PM The dragon is going to curl up into a little puffball until the chaos dies down. The smaller she is, the less change of being squished, yes? MOTHMAN GF Yesterday at 8:30 PM "What the--" Perceptor looked away for about two seconds and there's chaos. Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 8:30 PM He's in spider form climbing up the wall away from the action. He outie. Bee Yesterday at 8:31 PM And Bee's downed the first box of rust sticks. Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 8:31 PM Swoop stands his ground and bats Soundwave's arm away. "Make me!" Windchill Yesterday at 8:31 PM "Swoop—" Windchill is cut off by a boot to the face. That's what he gets for holding Rebel upside-down. Lieu Yesterday at 8:32 PM Tormentor can't help but chuckle at Swoop's loss of a digit and stubbornness. Now THIS is the kind of thing he's into watching. Chaoit Yesterday at 8:33 PM Okay, he's going to stand and move away from the two. This may get messy. Bee Yesterday at 8:34 PM "How the frag-- ?" Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:34 PM Yes, Prowl, those are fingers. Neatly clipped off near the palm. Bleeding all over his nice, clean floor.

And this. This is IT. He has had. Enough. Of this. Dinobot. Soundwave's going to grab and wrap his ankles with both feelers, completely ignoring the energon dripping down his chin or the scene this is causing.  He is going to drag Swoop outside and teach him manners if it KILLS him.

They're marching to the door. He doesn't care what Swoop claws on the way. 20%wurmple Yesterday at 8:35 PM What a waste of good honey. Lieu Yesterday at 8:35 PM :popcorn: Chaoit Yesterday at 8:35 PM Oh dear. This isn't good. Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 8:35 PM "Are y--" doesn't bothering asking the question as Soundwave marches by hauling Swoop along with him. Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 8:35 PM Swoop squawks indigently. This isn't a sweet walk up to a fight. He's scrambling and scratching grooves in the floor as he goes. A chair might be coming out with him. Everyone else should watch their ankles as he goes by. Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 8:35 PM See? This is why Tarantulas isn't interfering. He told Swoop people didn't always want to give him his way. The dinobot hopefully would listen to Soundwave more effectively than he had Tarantulas. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:35 PM @P: [[He will be back.]] Bee Yesterday at 8:36 PM ............. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 8:36 PM Prowl immediately follows after. "Soundwave—!" And there goes his ankle under Swoop's claw. He trips and falls. Bee Yesterday at 8:36 PM "Well. That escalated quickly." MOTHMAN GF Yesterday at 8:36 PM "......well then." Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:36 PM FLING out goes Swoop once he gets to the red glass doors. It's unceremonious and harsh and that's the way we're doing things tonight.

@P: [[Are you all right?]] 20%wurmple Yesterday at 8:36 PM Swerve leans over to offer a hand up. Windchill Yesterday at 8:36 PM Windchill rights his wiggly giggly spawn, setting her in a chair. Swoop's on his own for this one. Maybe he'll learn something. Maybe not. Specs Yesterday at 8:36 PM Actually, you know what? Tarantulas had the right idea. She's flying as high up as she can and clinging to something up there. Goddess save her from the pterodactyl. Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 8:36 PM Does definitely stand and move to help her alternate up from the floor. "Are you all right?" Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 8:37 PM OH NO. Ok, Tarantulas is coming back down to rescue his dear Prowl, basically the only thing to get him off the ceiling. Specs Yesterday at 8:37 PM Swapsies! Spide down, dragon up. Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 8:37 PM "Prowl! Soundwave will be fine, let him - let him be." He's pulling Prowl back, away from the mess. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 8:38 PM "Yeah, f—" He's got TWO hands being offered. He looks between them indecisively. "... Fine." He takes his alternate's, gets up, and heads for the d— When did Tarantulas get here? Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 8:38 PM Joke's on Soundwave. Airborne is how Swoop likes things. He transforms so he can turn that fling into an arc, curving back Soundwave's way at increasing speeds. The pteranodon's battle cry can be heard for some distance as he transforms and rockets towards Soundwave. Windchill Yesterday at 8:38 PM That's when Rebel spots the blood and fingers, and gapes. She's never (knowingly,) seen detached body parts before! Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:38 PM Ravage, who is not concerned for his Boss in the least - why should he be, given Soundwave's former standing? - sits watching Christopher Robin, munching out of a bowl of tinsel fish. =Poor bear.= Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 8:38 PM ((u can keep those fingers rebel :wink: )) Windchill Yesterday at 8:39 PM (( Sure, just make it weird. )) Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 8:39 PM ((when has this not been weird)) Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 8:39 PM (( if she doesn't take them, tara will (( what a nice snack Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 8:39 PM ((y'all fight for them)) Windchill Yesterday at 8:39 PM (( It's Windchill the cannibal you'll have to fight, not Rebel. )) (( ...They can share. )) Chaoit Yesterday at 8:40 PM "....should someone get a medic?" 20%wurmple Yesterday at 8:40 PM //keep being distracted and swerve'll throw them away Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 8:40 PM Will follow the Captain outside if he's not been distracted by Tarantulas. Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 8:40 PM He BETTER be distracted by Tarantulas. Lieu Yesterday at 8:40 PM Tormentor is a little disappointed how fast everything ended. Movie is still going but the real entertainment is all gone now. Windchill Yesterday at 8:40 PM Windchill's staring at the fingers too, though it was more the smell that alerted him than anything. Hmm. Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 8:41 PM (( hi stressed, i'm pooh Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 8:41 PM "Someone can call Frenzy if they'd like, Blaster." Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 8:41 PM He has, briefly, been distracted. But not for long. "... I can't." He hurries outside. Windchill Yesterday at 8:42 PM His head bobs low like that of the predatory bird that he is. Hmm. Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 8:42 PM Aaaand Tarantulas scrambles after Prowl, perpetually positioning himself between Prowl and the action. Windchill can have those fingers. Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 8:43 PM Follows at a slightly less hurried pace. Out we all go then, I guess. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 8:43 PM "Tarantulas, let me—!" Huff. He's stopping just outside the door anyway, to survey the fight. 20%wurmple Yesterday at 8:43 PM Pooh. Windchill Yesterday at 8:43 PM Bob, bob, bob, some very serious calculations are happening here. He always was terrible at math. Chaoit Yesterday at 8:43 PM "Ah, well, I meant for later, after the two were done outside." Specs Yesterday at 8:44 PM The dragon flies down and, bafflingly, acquires the fingers for herself. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:44 PM Soundwave is taken aback for a moment by the sight of Swoop rocketing back toward Dancitron - he wouldn't be THAT stupid, would he? - but he's a Dinobot. Yes. Yes, he would be.

He hurries the rest of the way and crouches. Swoop can come to tackle him if he wants. There's a surprise waiting should he do so. Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 8:44 PM No one is staying to block the door, so anyone can easily come watch the action happening outside. Windchill Yesterday at 8:44 PM Well, that settles that. Bee Yesterday at 8:44 PM "I don't know about you guys, but I relate so much to that bear." Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:44 PM =Unfortunate for you.= Windchill Yesterday at 8:45 PM Rebel swings her feet and watches the film. It doesn't even occur to her to be concerned for Swoop's health in general. Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 8:45 PM BETTER GET THAT SURPRISE READY, because Swoop is going full speed ahead into Soundwave, talons first. Bee Yesterday at 8:45 PM Time to record the madness. Specs Yesterday at 8:45 PM Benefits of having her own bridge- the dragon has disappeared with the fingers. She'll be back, eventually. Windchill Yesterday at 8:45 PM "Ravage. You still got that mop behind the counter?" Windchill can either clean up the mess the proper way, or with his tongue. Your choice. MOTHMAN GF Yesterday at 8:45 PM Percy is just gonna... watch the movie. He thinks. Chaoit Yesterday at 8:46 PM Oh dear. 20%wurmple Yesterday at 8:46 PM I love this bear. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:46 PM Those talons are about to clutch a set of Soundwave's own. Namely, the ones already sparking with electricity.

Ravage doesn't  even look at the fingers, surprisingly. He already ate today. He just chucks the mop toward Windchill with his feeler tail. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 8:47 PM ... Without bridges, there's nothing Prowl can do to de-escalate the situation. He shouldn't get involved. The best thing he can do now is crowd control. Chaoit Yesterday at 8:47 PM Should he help? He has his way of travel, but...exact coordinate and all. Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 8:47 PM Electricity might hurt. (Does hurt. It does hurt.) But it doesn't stop Swoop's momentum. Soundwave is going into a shrieking heap with this Dinobot whether he likes it or not. Specs Yesterday at 8:47 PM There's no fingers left! The dragon has stolen them for her own purposes. Bee Yesterday at 8:47 PM Pings Prowl. :: Anything we can do to help? :: :: This is...getting a little ridiculous. :: Windchill Yesterday at 8:48 PM He does manage to snatch the mop out of the air, demonstrating a smidgen of hand-optic coordination for once, and gets to work. Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 8:48 PM Nothing Prowl has on her would classify as de-escalation tools either, especially with the nearby bridge access down. The rockets on her shoulders most definitely would only make things worse. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 8:48 PM So he turns to the other people standing outside. "Nobody is getting any closer, nobody is getting involved! I don't want to see anybody more than five feet outside the door." Specs Yesterday at 8:49 PM ((actually, I'm gonna have to AFK for a bit- Naughty Girl will not stop biting me)) Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:49 PM A shrieking heap is fine. He's been in plenty of shrieking heaps before. Pull the back spines in, roll, and reach for the beak with one hand. Gotta try to keep it shut this close up. Specs Yesterday at 8:49 PM ((which means she needs something)) Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:49 PM ((naughty naughty girl! stop that)) Windchill Yesterday at 8:49 PM (( Precious baby needs attention! )) Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 8:50 PM Tarantulas has both hands on V-Prowl's shoulders, gripping a bit tighter than he needs to. He's hissing nervously. "Come back in. Come. Back. In. It's not your JOB to police mechs here, it's not your jurisdiction. Soundwave will be FINE." Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 8:50 PM Prowl shakes Tarantulas's hands off. "I know he will. Anyone who tries to get involve WON'T be, I'm staying out here as long as all of them are." Bee Yesterday at 8:51 PM (( OH MY GOD that was the first time I heard "That was one of my briefer naps." AND I'M DYING XDDDD )) Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:51 PM ((heheheh)) ((pooh has such wonderful lines)) 20%wurmple Yesterday at 8:51 PM "It's probably safer for them to come inside." Bee Yesterday at 8:51 PM And he immediately sits down. No need to face Prowl's wrath if he can avoid it. 20%wurmple Yesterday at 8:51 PM //he does i loe this movie Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 8:51 PM Soundwave might have the leverage to keep Swoop's beak closed, but he can't keep it air tight. Swoop makes a bit of a show of inhaling before exhaling fire. It might not be able to go out in front of him, but it's going to go somewhere. Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 8:51 PM "It's Soundwave's jurisdiction. The best thing any of us can do is ensure they won't get too close to the building. Which I'm sure Soundwave is already going to do." Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 8:52 PM "I know it's safer f—" He leans in the door, "Everyone's outside NOW, I'm not going to shove them back in." Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 8:53 PM ((i do love the briefer naps line so much Windchill Yesterday at 8:53 PM Well, it's not perfect (cleaning is far from Windchill's area of expertise, he's so much better at the opposite,) but the floor is better. Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 8:54 PM Rrrgh. Well, the best Tarantulas can do right now is keep the blasters still hidden in his frame at the ready, regardless of anything else. Chaoit Yesterday at 8:54 PM Oh. Look. Fire. "Are you sure we shouldn't help?" Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 8:55 PM "Yes." Windchill Yesterday at 8:55 PM (( I'm so confused right now. Is EVERYONE outside because I missed that part if so lol. )) Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:56 PM How lucky he is that he has next to no feeling in the shielding arm presently getting toasted. It leaves him free to focus his attention on other things. Like moving to one knee and, if he can manage it, slicing up one of those flapping wings with a flattened hand turned blade. Keep Swoop on the ground. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 8:56 PM "The more people get in there, the more people are going to be injured." 20%wurmple Yesterday at 8:56 PM //swerve's inside //i think percy too MOTHMAN GF Yesterday at 8:56 PM //ya Windchill Yesterday at 8:56 PM (( I assumed everyone that was not actively fighting or supporting had stayed in. )) Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 8:56 PM ((it was a hyperbolic "everyone")) Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:56 PM =Oh, good. He enters.= Chaoit Yesterday at 8:57 PM "Right...okay..." still inside, just watching. Windchill Yesterday at 8:57 PM (( Okay thank you. )) Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 8:57 PM That said, he's resisting the urge to jump in in defense of Soundwave himself. Y'know. Protector instincts. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:58 PM If Soundwave had anything on his mind other than a) not dying, and b) keeping OTHER people from dying during a potential Dinobot rampage, he would appreciate it. 20%wurmple Yesterday at 8:58 PM He's wisely moving further from the door and pulling Percy along, just to be safe. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 8:58 PM He'll channel the urge into watching the fight and making sure nobody else tries to get in on it. MOTHMAN GF Yesterday at 8:59 PM Yep. He will allow himself to be Lead Along. Bee Yesterday at 8:59 PM Oh no, he remembers this part. He hugs a pillow to his chassis and very intently watches the screen. Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 8:59 PM Swoop's optics go wide and he lets out an actual enraged howl. We were having such a good time, Soundwave. Why did you turn a game into an actual fight? Wing slices are a party fowl at best. Swoop's playful edge just turns into animal fury. He might not have much weight, but he has lots of length with his wingspan to get leverage in an wild, frantic thrashing. Chaoit Yesterday at 8:59 PM ((OUCH)) Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 8:59 PM Monitors the fight with her visor and doors up as high as they'll go on her back. If nothing else, she'll know exactly when calling in a real medic is necessary. Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 8:59 PM Tarantulas, for one, does not appreciate V-Prowl's selfless instincts. He's keeping eight VERY close eyes on him, and as much physical contact as he can get away with. Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 9:00 PM Which might be about now. Welp. Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 9:00 PM EXCUSE YOU. Tarantulas is a real medic. Kind of. Bee Yesterday at 9:00 PM (( I'm out after this scene, i'm falling asleep & lowkey dying. But I'm 100000% catching up on this Swoop v Soundwave omg )) Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 9:00 PM ((see you next time hopefully <3)) Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 9:00 PM ((A battle like four years in the making)) Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 9:00 PM ((Night, bee-mun! Windchill Yesterday at 9:00 PM (( o7 )) Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 9:00 PM ((night!)) Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 9:00 PM (( nini! 20%wurmple Yesterday at 9:00 PM //nini Bee Yesterday at 9:01 PM (( g'night! Thanks for hosting Soundwave! )) Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 9:01 PM (( christopher robin is SO rude oh my god. you're hurting this poor childe bear's feelings 20%wurmple Yesterday at 9:01 PM //let pooh live Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 9:02 PM Now Prowl is the one grabbing Tarantulas's shoulder. He's holding himself back. He and his alternate have apparently the same thought at the same time, because he turns to her and asks, "Can you contact local medical services?" Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 9:02 PM Soundwave can't quite see what he's doing with one wing smacking him about the head when it's not smacking against the ground; he hisses as a solid blow cracks his visor across the side and leaves a portion missing. It forces him to let go and wipe shards away from his optic, giving Swoop a free moment. =What a noise this Heffalump has.= Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 9:03 PM ((you ARE the heffalump, christopher. it's you.)) 20%wurmple Yesterday at 9:03 PM //lmao Windchill Yesterday at 9:03 PM Hmm. How inappropriate would it be if he sucked the energon out of the mop? Would it taste of leftover floor cleaner? Best not. Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 9:03 PM Swoop knows how to capitalize on a split second in a fight. He shoves Soundwave with all his dino-might to get enough wiggle room to transform. He comes into his robot mode all screams and claws. Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 9:04 PM Nods. Makes that call to Praxus now. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 9:04 PM Good. Swoop's bipedal and angry. This just got simpler. He'll let himself be shoved a couple of paces to buy himself time to think, then... stand and wait. Come on, then, Swoop. Come tire yourself out. Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 9:06 PM "Leave local medical services out of this! This is - both of them have medics on their side and Primus forbid either of them face any OTHER consequences for this." Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 9:07 PM "No one in Praxus can charge them with anything." Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 9:07 PM Prowl's gaze is fixed on the battle, optics twitching minutely to follow the motions. "There's—this is outside any other jurisdiction, they're not going to have other consequences." Specs Yesterday at 9:07 PM (('m back! she was out of food)) Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 9:08 PM "Well then, PERSONAL consequences. Something like that. We don't need anyone else involved." He's still hissing nervously. Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 9:09 PM And Prowl isn't calling the main Praxian medical services anyway. Just the one medic in Praxus she knows Soundwave won't turn away and Swoop might actually listen to if he's not booted back to his own universe before they arrive. Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 9:11 PM Swoop is hardly going to pass up a still target to wail on. The Dinobot is wild eyed and pushing himself to hit as fast and hard as he can. Even if all he's doing is taking chips out of Soundwave's heated up arms, he'll take it. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 9:13 PM He mumbles something dismissive about the personal consequences. He squeezes Tarantulas's shoulder harder. Soundwave's a gladiator, it's okay, it's fine. Chaoit Yesterday at 9:15 PM "Are you sure we shouldn't intervene?" Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 9:15 PM "I've done the math. Any one of us would make it worse." Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 9:15 PM "Agreed." Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 9:15 PM Quite frankly Tarantulas thinks it's silly that Prowl or anyone else would be worried about Soundwave of all mechs against Swoop the toddler, even if the toddler is a Dinobot - but he'll do his best to reassure Prowl anyhow. Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 9:16 PM ((tara don't be a butt. swoop is a super cereal warrior ok)) Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 9:16 PM Soundwave's getting attacked and isn't attacking back, Prowl's going to be nervous even if all the calculations are in Soundwave's favor. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 9:16 PM Chips, dents, some sparking as wires get compressed or split. It's all good. It means just about nothing, though one thumb hurts a bit where the flame got to it. He'll take the first few hits he has to take while he learns Swoop's patterns and favored motions, and what signals in his mind equal which upcoming attacks.

Keep it coming, Dinobot. He's not done yet. He's had far, far worse than this. Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 9:17 PM (( tara is the buttiest butt Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 9:18 PM The lack of noticeable pushback was somewhat enjoyable at first. But all this dancing around is getting annoying. None of these hits are really painful. Soundwave needs to do something if Swoop is going to get in there to get some real maiming going. "You. Soundwave." He snarls. "FIGHT!" Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 9:19 PM Suddenly Tarantulas chitters to himself, apparently amused. "Swoop got his wish though. He DID get to touch Soundwave's teeth, for the briefest second." Windchill Yesterday at 9:20 PM Windchill is going to finish dealing with the mop, put it back where it belongs, and consider making an escape before Rebel has to see something he'd rather she didn't. The problem is getting out the door. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 9:20 PM "Was—was THAT what he was doing?!" He hadn't even noticed how this started. Just a lunge and then missing fingers. He supposes that WOULD explain things. Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 9:21 PM More chittering. "Yes, yes. Trivial, isn't it? I'm actually quite glad though." Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 9:21 PM Swoop gets his wish, though not quite the way he wants. Soundwave continues to dance this way and that, a spin here and a sharp push using Swoop's own swings to redirect or unbalance him there as he slowly guides Swoop toward more uneven territory. This is HIS home. He knows the terrain above and below ground so well he could travel it blind. And he's willing to bet his life on Swoop, noted AERIAL battler, being too angry to notice much about the metal beneath his clawed feet. Three or four hits make it to his chest instead of his arms. Whether it's an accident, a lure, or Soundwave tiring out is up in the air. Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 9:23 PM Prowl keeps her calculations of the fight's outcome to herself, pulling up what she knows of the surrounding area and trying to predict how this might end as quickly as she can. "That certainly explains why Swoop lost his fingers." Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 9:26 PM Raised in the dirt and built for the air, Swoop had very limited experiences fighting on a metal surface. The difference seemed negligible to the tiny part of his bird brain that was aware of anything other than the feeling of his claws on Soundwave and the burning energy in his own fuel lines. Swoop's optics narrow and grin widens when he manages to get at Soundwave's chest a few times. Adults get tired so easily. With a feral shriek, Swoop throws everything he's got at the communications mech. He's going to rip him to fucking shreds. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 9:26 PM =Tigger is disgraceful. Unworthy of cat status.= Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 9:27 PM ((ravage shhhh Windchill Yesterday at 9:29 PM Windchill sidles towards the door and peeks his owlish head out to check on his not-child. Has anyone died, yet? Chaoit Yesterday at 9:31 PM Blaster's about ready to call his medics at this rate. Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 9:33 PM Not necessary. Prowl's fairly certain she knows how this is going to end and currently has Praxus on standby. No sense making the old medic come all the way down here for nothing, after all. Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 9:33 PM (( r u on the lemonade m8 Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 9:36 PM The surface Swoop moves to has been worn mostly smooth by countless pedes belonging to countless mechs visiting the club over half a decade. There's nothing to grip when losing one's footing but a sliding, shining curve. Soundwave takes another short series of blows, positioning them with care as he makes one last turn...

He snatches Swoop's ankles out from beneath the weedy Dinobot with one feeler and jumps forward as Swoop falls. One foot lands square on the middle of Swoop's back. The other feeler wraps itself around Swoop's neck and squeezes, leaving him unable to flail well in any direction without hurting himself.

Each hand quickly seizes a wing. The tattered one, he pulls back sharply, counting on the stretch to aggravate its wounds. The other twists round almost to snapping clean off.

[[You. Will. YIELD.]] Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 9:37 PM "Ah." Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 9:37 PM He squeezes Tarantulas tighter again. Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 9:39 PM ...Suddenly Tarantulas isn't feeling so great about the situation. Yes, he figured Soundwave would have everything under control soon enough, but... he's finding himself surprising concerned about Swoop. Is he feeling protective? What? Of course not. He's wrapping a few limbs around Prowl as well and squeezing, definitely for Prowl's benefit. 20%wurmple Yesterday at 9:40 PM //that's what happens when u start momming dinobots tara Windchill Yesterday at 9:40 PM Chill's ruined wings flick anxiously; better to keep Rebel inside for now, after all. Still, there's nothing keeping him inside, not really. Rebel can be left with the movie for a few minutes, so long as he keeps an ear out for Tormentor. Right? Right. Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 9:42 PM Swoop's frame moves fast - faster than his mind sometimes - but the unfamiliar terrain and preexisting damage send him crashing down. Any one of these moves independently wouldn't be enough to fell a Dinobot.

But once he's down, Soundwave is on top of him and a tearing pain is shooting down his wing and along is spine. Swoop thrashes and damages himself further. It's instinct.

His body freezes stiff. Energon's dripping down his wing and he's clawing at the ground, optics darting around. Is there something he can do? Can he get away?

Yield? All that gets is a snarl. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 9:44 PM The feeler around Swoop's neck shocks him. Light - less than before - but a warning. He will go higher next time. He can. Swoop knows that from earlier. Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 9:45 PM Swoop inhales sharply. Ouch.

What can he...

How does...

...

Swoop goes completely slack. His hand taps the hard ground twice. Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 9:47 PM (( ey ey, DO y'all have a medic lined up btw? Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 9:47 PM ((No. Is Tara game? Lol.)) Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 9:47 PM (( omfg..... yes i'm sure he would be (( give him an outlet for his protectiveness Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 9:48 PM ((I was gonna volunteer Ratchet, but Tara's much closer. Windchill Yesterday at 9:48 PM (( Windchill has Arms if they're needed to contain/hold wild dinobots. )) Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 9:48 PM ((Swoop would pick Ratchet if given the choice because Ratchet. But he's not in an arguing mood right now. He'll go with whoever.)) Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 9:49 PM Good. That is what he wanted.

[[Now. He expects you to abide by the rules you and your brothers have set up as far as how you behave toward those who have beaten you. He will not replace Grimlock, but he expects you to treat him with respect.]]

[[You may go home and think about your defeat. He will allow you to return, but you will listen to what he tells you, when he tells you, or he will not be afraid to shame you in front of a crowd again and ban you permanently - and he will see to it that many more witness the fight next time. Ask anyone you trust how far and wide a Soundwave can send video footage if you doubt his word.]]

Soundwave keeps the hold three seconds longer just to stick the point in, then lets go. And offers Swoop a hand up. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 9:50 PM Prowl doesn't relax until Soundwave lets go. And then only partially. Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 9:51 PM Tarantulas is battling something, and it's starting to show in his frame. Prowl might be relaxing a smidge, but Tarantulas grips again.

@SW: ::Can I intervene and tend to Swoop?:: Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 9:52 PM @T: [[If he wants it.]] Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 9:52 PM Swoop listens quietly. He doesn't need to nod. Soundwave knows he agrees. This is how the Dinobots roll after all.

When Soundwave lets him go, Swoop stays in place on the ground until he's offered a hand. The littlest Dinobot takes it without a word, getting up and looking quite subdued. His optics glance from Soundwave to the ground and his shoulders have a hunch to them.

He's not sure what to do, so he stays put. Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 9:54 PM @SW: [[Do you require medical attention? I have Ratchet on hold.]] Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 9:54 PM @SW: ::Keep an optic on him, I'm coming.::

Outwardly he doesn't give a sign before he's off down toward the mess, transforming into spider mode to aid with speed. He'll slow once he's close and keep wary around Swoop. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 9:54 PM Prowl's still not entirely sure the fight isn't going to break out again. There's always that three percent chance that— "Tarantulas!" Oh, and after TARANTULAS was telling PROWL not to get involved— Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 9:55 PM "What does he think he's doing?" Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 9:55 PM "I don't kn— Tarantulas, what do you think you're doing!" Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 9:56 PM [[Do what you need to do to care for yourself and go home, Swoop.]]

Soundwave slowly walks back toward both Prowls, Tarantulas, and the building full of guests it annoyed him he had not been able to spend time with tonight. He'll head inside, favoring the toasted arm, and bow to the lot.

[[His apologies - particularly to the newcomers. This has been an unusual night. We will not have such a disturbance next week; of that, you can be sure. Neutral zone rules are still in effect. No one needs fear a similar event unless they pose a serious threat to another during their visit.]] Chaoit Yesterday at 9:56 PM "Are you okay?" Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 9:56 PM [[And it should be noted that this is the first - preferably, the only.]] Windchill Yesterday at 9:57 PM Windchill moves away from the door so he's not blocking Soundwave, and flicks his wings again. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 9:57 PM He gives Tarantulas and Swoop an exasperated look, calls to Tarantulas, "Yell if he attacks," and stalks in with Soundwave. "How bad's your arm?" Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 9:57 PM Swoop's head bobbles in agreement. He looks down at his hand. The missing fingers were certainly not improved by repeatedly hitting against another person. Swoop licks some of the energon off. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 9:57 PM [[He will return to normal function in a few days. He hopes the film was entertaining in the meantime?]]

@SCP: [[No. Frenzy will tend to him. Ratchet has been.... tired, lately.]] Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 9:57 PM Ping ping to V-Prowl - ::I'm - no need to worry yourself, I'm simply snatching Swoop up. I'll - err, be in touch.:: Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 9:58 PM @T «Keep me updated. Let me know when you go home, please.» To make sure that Swoop didn't rip his head off in a burst of frustration. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 9:58 PM Turning to amica Prowl, now. [[He does not know. He cannot feel it very well.]] Pause. [[That is normal, by the way. Still: it moves. He doubts he will need to replace it.]] Repair it? Yes. Very yes. 20%wurmple Yesterday at 9:59 PM [snags an emoty cube off the bar and slides a cube of specialty energon hed been hoarding in subspace in Soundwave's general direction] You prooobably need a drink buddy. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 9:59 PM He nods stiffly. "... What about the rest of you?" The arm looked worst, but... Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 9:59 PM To Swoop: "Don't LICK yourself, you imbecile. Come here." And now there's a spider on him, ready to use web to restrain if need be. "You're coming with me, whether you like it or not." Windchill Yesterday at 10:00 PM Now that the movie's over Rebel bounds back out of her seat to grab her dad's hand, still bouncing around (maybe Tigger inspired, maybe not,) but raring to go to any place where there's not so much sitting. Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 10:00 PM Swoop cocks his head at Tarantulas. But he doesn't argue. Just toddles over and gives the spider an expectant look that said what now? Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 10:01 PM A thin smile cuts across Soundwave's face. It looks particularly ghastly with the dried energon coming from it. He wiggles a feeler up beneath his chest armor, only struggling for room where Swoop dented it. [[He is not as wide as he lets himself look. Mostly armor damage.]]

And you know what? He's going to take that energon from Swerve and give it a solid look. [[...Yes. Tonight, he thinks he will have one. A small one.]] A victory celebration, like the old days. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 10:02 PM Prowl thought Soundwave doesn't like drinking. THAT kicks his concern back up. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 10:02 PM [[...Windchill, feel free to take something expensive from the bar tonight before you leave. He has not repaid your efforts to control Swoop as well as he should have.]] Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 10:02 PM What now? Getting carefully manhandled by a massive spider is what's happening now, Swoop. As soon as he has the pteranodon securely on his back, Tarantulas is bridging off to the Tor with him in tow. Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 10:03 PM Swoop makes absolutely no attempt to stop this. Unless bleeding on Tarantulas counts as an attempt to deter him. But probably not. Off we go! Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 10:04 PM He doesn't. But he has not had a fight that ferocious in a while, and a quarter ration will not do much to him. That's what he meant by small. Windchill Yesterday at 10:04 PM Sorry, Chill was a little distracted with indecision and Rebel's bouncing around and jabbering about the movie. He looks up, confused, and frowns.

"That's okay. Floor's clean, dragon took the fingers." Sure, nobody did anything about the chair Swoop dragged out, but it was a start. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 10:04 PM Prowl's still worrying. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 10:04 PM ((one (1) whole shot)) Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 10:04 PM ((an shot)) Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 10:05 PM [[Oh, the dragon - where is she? Not harmed in the rush to get out, he hopes...]] He's not worried about the fingers. He figured SOMEONE would scavenge them. Windchill Yesterday at 10:05 PM (( God you're reminding me of my verbal typo today. )) (( I only drink weed and miskey. )) Chaoit Yesterday at 10:05 PM Well, everything looks like it has been settled. Blaster's just...going to leave now. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 10:05 PM ((also public stream wrappin up at 10:30 for the record - and lol miskey)) Specs Yesterday at 10:05 PM The dragon never came back after absconding with the fingers. Probably safest that way. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 10:05 PM Soundwave will ping Blaster as he leaves. A better time next time, mech. [[Ah. Yes, probably.]] Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 10:05 PM (( omg isnt that, uhh, a spoonerism? Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 10:06 PM @SW: [[Of course.]] Tired hardly describes it, but it's a polite fiction everyone seems content to believe, so Prowl lets it be. She's relieved, if only because she knew Ratchet would have insisted on coming out her if it had been more serious, regardless of what other medics might have been in the area. Swoop can be left in Tarantulas' care and Prowl can finally go back inside, lingering in the doorway trying to decide if she shouldn't just head back to Praxus anyway. Windchill Yesterday at 10:06 PM A wise move on any dragon's part, to be certain. Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 10:06 PM (( DINGERS Specs Yesterday at 10:06 PM ((OH SHIT DINGERS)) MOTHMAN GF Yesterday at 10:06 PM Welllll this was certainly eventful. It's about time for Perceptor to uhhhh scoot on out. Specs Yesterday at 10:06 PM ((feexed)) Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 10:06 PM (( ive cemented the dingers in the chatlong even if you edit, muahah Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 10:06 PM ((i SWEAR it's not usually like this lmao)) 20%wurmple Yesterday at 10:06 PM Swerve slides off his chair. "I'll take Percy home. Don't want him getting lost." Specs Yesterday at 10:07 PM ((yes, you have, which is why I edited once I noticed)) Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 10:07 PM ((much more ridiculous and chatty)) Windchill Yesterday at 10:07 PM (( Yes it is. I only drink mead and whiskey but I don't need to in order to mess that up lol. )) MOTHMAN GF Yesterday at 10:07 PM "Thank you Swerve!" Specs Yesterday at 10:07 PM ((otherwise I would have had to keep it :C )) Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 10:07 PM [[Goodnight, Perceptor. Do come back.]] MOTHMAN GF Yesterday at 10:07 PM He waves as he heads out. 20%wurmple Yesterday at 10:07 PM "Sure thing. Night everyone, night Soundwave. Hopefully that lesson sticks." Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 10:07 PM [[Goodnight, Swerve. He hopes so as well.]] Windchill Yesterday at 10:07 PM Windchill shrugged. He's not picking up any dead organic smells, so she's probably fine. 20%wurmple Yesterday at 10:08 PM A wave and off he goes. Specs Yesterday at 10:09 PM ((I'm signing off for the night before I pass out)) Windchill Yesterday at 10:09 PM (( o7 good night! )) Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 10:09 PM ((goodnight and i hope next week is more enjoyable / broadly fun)) Specs Yesterday at 10:09 PM ((ilu all, sorry that dragon bailed due to IRL cat + hoarding instinct that demands she keeps fingers)) Windchill Yesterday at 10:10 PM (( She deserved them most out of anyone who might have snatched them. )) Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 10:10 PM (( seconded Specs Yesterday at 10:10 PM (( :black_heart: )) Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 10:10 PM ((night night)) Windchill Yesterday at 10:10 PM (( 'Sides, it saved everyone from having to witness what happens when someone else does, so. )) Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 10:10 PM ((lmao)) Caniko Yesterday at 10:11 PM ((totally missed movie night, sorry)) Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 10:11 PM Soundwave moves to accept a bunt from Ravage, who keeps papping the counter for his attention. Yes, yes, he's fine. You knew he'd be fine. Don't be silly.

And now he's going to plop into a seat and roll the tiny, tiny glass between two fingers of his better hand. ((oh nooooo. next time!!)) Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 10:12 PM Prowl is sitting with Soundwave and—sort of just radiating worry in his direction. "Where's Frenzy?" Windchill Yesterday at 10:13 PM "We're going to go, and check on Swoop later." The last bit was more for Rebel's benefit than anything, but it really was getting late and past Windchill's bedtime. This kind of stress just isn't good for him. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 10:13 PM [[All right. He hopes the mech's wing is not too damaged. Goodnight, Windchill, Rebel.]] He can feel the worry. It's... soothing. To be worried about after a fight, instead of paraded and then put back in a cell. Still, he'd like not to have to do this again.

[[Upstairs.]] And more privately: @P: [[He told Frenzy to wait until the others have gone.]] Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 10:14 PM @VProwl: [[Goodnight, Captain.]] Going to dodge out without bothering to come fully back inside the building. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 10:14 PM @P «Evening, alternate.» Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 10:14 PM Soundwave will send a ping to his own timeline's Prowl. He still is mad at her about That Reveal, but she was ready to call Praxus, and that is something worth being thankful for. Windchill Yesterday at 10:15 PM Rebel waves back at the room as they head out, then at a distant Swoop once they're outside. Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 10:16 PM ((is the plan everyone leaving the server again?)) Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 10:16 PM ((ye for cleanup purposes)) Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 10:16 PM That gives Prowl a moment's paused before she drops down into vehicle mode. She pings back just before taking off toward Praxus. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 10:17 PM ((sometimes i do stuff during the week to tinker and i don't want people to be getting weird boops)) Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 10:17 PM ((Cool! I can't wait to get this up on tumblr.)) ((gg)) Windchill Yesterday at 10:17 PM (( Also means that people who don't attend a given night aren't getting hit with it either, so it makes sense. )) Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 10:17 PM ((ye)) Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 10:17 PM (( i thought that said EGG instead of gg (( smh@myself Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 10:17 PM ((lololol)) ((l8r)) Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 10:18 PM ((egg stands for extremely good game)) Windchill Yesterday at 10:18 PM (( o7 )) Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 10:19 PM (( l8r allig8or (( i'm off to bed too, tarantulas has swoop in his clutches now and will follow up accordingly! Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 10:19 PM ((gotcha! bye those goin!)) Windchill Yesterday at 10:20 PM (( Big fat mess to clean up lolololol good job Swoop. )) Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 10:20 PM Can Soundwave lean into Prowl? He'd like to lean into Prowl. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 10:20 PM He can, but in exchange Prowl is gently taking Soundwave's arm and examining the damage up close. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 10:23 PM Soundwave will let him, mostly because a) he figures it will soothe Prowl's worries a smidge if he at least gets to know for sure what's happened to it, and b) it's nice, being fretted over and checked on like that.

Oh so gently, in a way that notes appreciation but also reassurance: [[They were designed for the purpose of taking hits.]] Pause. [[He is surprised he didn't get more flame damage. Too angry, he supposes.]] And here comes Frenzy to park himself on the opposite side of the couch and get inspecting on that chest armor. He'll keep out of the way as much as possible. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 10:25 PM A jerky nod. "I suppose." He scoots away when Frenzy arrives, giving him more room to work. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 10:26 PM He's disappointed when Prowl moves away, but it makes some sense. [[You fell. Were you hurt, yourself...?]] Trying to lean over Frenzy to see Prowl's legs. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 10:26 PM I'm a hologram. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 10:29 PM Soundwave sits up and blinks the one optic that is peeking out of the broken visor. [[Oh. Yes, you are.]] Then he smiles, amused at himself. [[He tends to forget that, doesn't he.]]

[[He is glad for that. He did not want you hurt.]] Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 10:32 PM "Hm." Soundwave used to be unable to see Prowl's light frame as anything BUT a hologram. In any other situation, he'd be delighted at the change. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 10:33 PM [[...Is something wrong?]]

\YEAH, YOU KEEP MOVIN'. HOLD STILL.\

[[Not that. To you.]] A nod to Prowl. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 10:35 PM "Wh—? Yes! Obviously?!" He gestures at Soundwave's nearest battle damage. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 10:44 PM Soundwave looks down at it like he's only just seeing it for the first time and tilts his head. What's all the fuss about? [[He's had worse; you've seen that yourself. Besides, he can hardly feel most of it, and it is nothing Frenzy cannot finish repairing by tomorrow night. Swoop merely hit dead surfaces designed to be shields and armor with plenty of denting space beneath it - and not as hard as his brothers. They would have required a different approach. ]]

[[He promises you do not need to worry so, though he appreciates that you are. Your protectiveness is one of many things he values about you.]] Closer lean? ...It abruptly occurs to him that he has not scrubbed the energon off his mouth. He'll just. Stretch a feeler toward the bar for a rag and some cleanser so he can do that. Yes. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 10:46 PM The lean isn't returned. "It wasn't a fight that you should have had in the first place. YOU'RE damaged and HE'S mangled, and ALL of it would have been avoidable if—" HUFF. No. He's cutting himself off there. Change direction. "Why was the bridge off." Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 10:52 PM Oh. He's - there's an element of being in trouble to this, isn't there? That's another matter altogether. Oops.

Prowl rarely changes the subject of upset arguing like that, though. Soundwave quickly gets the idea it might be better not to mention that it'll be the only fight he'll have to have.

[[The bridge is off because he is finishing some final programming adjustments for a complex new modification and needed to be able to install them without interruptions. He had intended it to be finished before the usual time range in which it tends to be needed. Swoop changed those plans.]] [[He was not expecting a sneak attack on his mouth.]] As may be worked out by the fact that he severed Swoop's fingers and is presently scrubbing energon off his face while he thinks. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 10:55 PM Prowl's mouth tightens at the mention of Swoop, but he stays focused on the bridge. "What adjustments? Just an upgrade, or new functionality?" Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 10:56 PM Okay. Okay, don't mention Swoop at all. He can take that hint. He will take it and clutch it and not step on it again. He's in enough hot water tonight.

[[A little of both. He had been hoping to surprise you.]] Vent. So much for that. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 10:58 PM "Well. I was very surprised." Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 11:02 PM [[Not quite the way he wanted it to go.]]

Leans against the couch and eyes the tiny ration of highgrade. He doesn't know what to do with it now. This feels less like a victory than it did earlier.

[[Though he thinks you would still be stunned out of your plating if you could see the work yourself. And useful, too. He is not as skilled a mathematician; much of his programming and physical upgrading has relied on trial and error. He is not even certain these WILL prove to be the final adjustments.]] And a small huff. [[He's already thought that about this project thrice before.]] Ravage rumbles something unintelligible but in the vicinity of deeply displeased. Yes, he can attest to that. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 11:08 PM "... So you could use help with it." Well, it was math. And if it would get the space bridge back on faster... "What calculations do you need?" Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 11:14 PM [[He could.]] Soundwave had felt his tanks twinge when he'd admitted to hacking at the idea with a machete instead of a laser scalpel; tugging on Prowl's arm and outright requesting assistance was out of the question. Roundabout all the way. [[Do you remember the time you used multiple bridges to pinpoint a mech's location in another timeline?]] Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 11:16 PM "Of course. You're trying to make a program that does the same thing?" Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 11:25 PM [[....Not exactly.]] How to explain it without giving the whole game away? [[He has managed to update it to the point of being able to do the necessary calculations without any extra bridges by using a highly specialized process he - by using something he knows how to do. But he is having trouble forcing it to combine that AND the order to move the actual bridge a specific number of meters to one side. As of earlier tonight, it was unable to reliably adjust the position to the right point, let alone a safe side. You have less trouble with tracking the movements of celestial bodies than he does. He was wondering if that might be what keeps interfering - and whether he has got it right this time.]] Prowl made an effort to determine Unicron's path, once. Soundwave's kind of convinced this would be child's play for him. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 11:29 PM "... Hm." Well, Soundwave's very obvious efforts to try NOT to give the whole game away weren't going to give Prowl much to work with by way of figuring out what the problem was. He's getting the distinct impression that Soundwave doesn't want his help, even now that the "surprise" is ruined.

"Well. If you decide you want help, you know where I am." Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 11:29 PM [[What? No, he - he already decided that.]] Oh, ouch. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 11:30 PM "Oh." Prowl grimaces. Good job there, Prowl. Well done. "You're not telling me what you're doing. You want me to help without knowing what end result I'm supposed to be aiming for?" Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 11:34 PM ...Well, it sounded silly when Prowl put it like THAT.

[[It is supposed to - to be capable of identifying and opening a bridge to any given location almost as soon as communications contact is established.]]

=NOT OVERHEAD.=

[[Yes. But not overhead. Which is what it has been doing, when it isn't sending him Primus-knows-where for reasons he can't fathom. It won't be good for rescue work if it decides twenty-five meters from Dancitron is on the planet Vulcan.]] Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 11:36 PM Oh, now he's got Prowl's attention. "Communications contact. I assume you mean comms? Does it require the recipient to respond to pings, the way I did it? Or does it work through another mechanism? ... And can people who AREN'T telepathic use that method?" Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 11:42 PM [[Yes. Audio comms, at the moment. There is a bug of moderate size in the verbal comm protocols he has yet to fully remove.]] Hand wave. One step at a time. If he can work out one, he can use that to fix the other. Probably. [[The caller and the one creating the bridge must have sent and received one ping each - a hello and a response, let us say; the work is done after that. He is... REASONABLY certain non-telepaths will be able to use it. He is trying to design it that way.]] =For now, even telepaths cannot.= A rough chuckle.

[[Be helpful or be quiet.]] Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 11:43 PM Prowl opens his mouth, shuts his mouth, and frowns. "... Aren't audio comms and verbal comms the same thing?" Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 11:43 PM [[Written communications. Excuse him.]] Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 11:45 PM "Ah. Right. Okay." He nods, considering it. "... And you're having trouble making the endpoint show up where it should. You've tried anchoring it to a relative point from the comm unit being targeted rather than an absolute point in space?" Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 11:50 PM [[Not at first. It has gotten better since he made that adjustment, but not perfect.]] Something to do with how the comm unit itself is pinpointed, perhaps. He doesn't quite know. He'll have plenty of charts and diagrams on how it works if Prowl wants to take a look at them at some point.

[[We sent Laserbeak on three trips to Earth this weekend. The fourth did not go as planned.]] That may be why she isn't here tonight. Shh. [[She says that its moon is not a terrible place to be, though.]] Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 11:53 PM Prowl huffed. "If you're getting results that erratic, it sounds like some error in the calculations rather than a flaw in the methodology itself. It might just be a couple of misplaced digits. Can I see?" Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 11:56 PM [[Yes. But you cannot tell anyone what you see. Or where you will be. ... Except the Constructicons. He knows they will know everything. But if he finds them down there, they will not like what happens.]]

[[He hopes you are not claustrophobic. There is not much room to move in the basement.]]

He'll open a bridge for them to get into. A safe one, because it's the same coordinates he always uses, not calculated by comm. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 11:59 PM "So, standard operating procedure."

Oh, NOW bridges are back on. "I can shrink if need be." He heads through the bridge down into the basement. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 11:59 PM Well, yes. He did say they were supposed to have finished by now. And off they go.

[caiotlyn]

Home for the Holidays

Title: Home for the Holidays

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Reader

Words: 1462

Warnings: mentions of parental death, slight angst

A/N: Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, my lovely readers! Here’s a fluffy little Christmas fic for y’all. Hope you’re all having a wonderful holiday, and if not, feel free to message me or send me an ask and we can hang out! :D

This fic takes place pre-season one, so Sam‘s just left for college, and Dean’s on his own.

Also, this is my first time using a tag list, so I’m sorry if I tagged you on something you didn’t want to read or if you just didn’t want to be tagged in general. Just send a me a message and let me know you want off!

Feel free to check out the rest of my masterlist!!

~~~

The dingy bar smelled strongly of smoke and alcohol, but Dean needed a drink, and that was all he could focus on.

He huffed as he sat on the barstool and gruffly asked for a beer. The bartender  gave Dean his drink and hurried off to help the next customer. Dean took a swig from the bottle, not really caring that the drink tasted funny.

He had been somewhat emotionless these past few days; for once he’d be spending Christmas alone. Sure, he never celebrated much when Sam and their dad were around, but at least he wasn’t holed up in some random flyover state getting drunk off bottom shelf liquor.

“Is that Dean Winchester I see sitting alone on Christmas Eve?”

Dean spun quickly, recognizing the person’s voice almost immediately.

“Y/N?” The girl jokingly curtsied, and the two laughed. “You’ve gotta be kidding me!” Dean hopped off the barstool to pick the girl up and spin her around. “How long has it been? Three years?”

“I think we’re coming up on four now, but who’s counting?” Goodness, that smile on her still seemed to melt Dean’s heart, even after all these years. “What’ve you been up to? Where’s your old man?”

“He’s, ah, occupied at the moment. I actually don’t know where he is right now. I split off from ‘im a while ago.”

“Oh… well that’s too bad. Last time I saw John he got so drunk that he started telling me stories about your toddler days,” Y/N said with a chuckle.

Dean jabbed a finger at her chest playfully. “I’ll have you know that I was an adorable child.”

“You keep sayin’ it, and I just might believe it.”

“So,” Y/N started as she took a seat at the bar, Dean joining her. “What’re you doing in a crappy bar on Christmas Eve, anyway?

"Sam’s in California, Dad’s who knows where, and I’m here–not much to it.”

"Well, if you’re up for it, I’m getting some friends together, and we’re gonna be celebrating the holidays up at our cabin. Why don’t you join us?” Y/N smiled warmly. “It’d be a great time to catch up. From what I’ve heard, you and your dad have been all over the place.”

Dean didn’t have to think twice about his answer. “I’d love to.”

~~~

Y/N’s cabin wasn’t anything special. It was a typical log cabin in the woods. Snow covered the entire property, and white string lights trimmed the roof. Frost covered the windows, but Dean could see the warm glow of light and the numerous silhouettes of the people inside.

Immediately entering the cabin, the smell of apple pie and honey-glazed ham hit Dean’s nose. His eyes drifted to the living room where a group of people were talking over beer, and a fireplace crackled in the corner.

Dean felt a bit out of place–like he was intruding on an exclusive family event.

Y/N seemed to notice Dean’s uneasiness and took his elbow and led him to the kitchen.

There, a woman with long, braided hair and a puffer vest was taking a pie out of the oven while a bald man with a lumberjack-esque beard was chopping carrots.

“Rebecca, Quentin!” Y/N called, holding her arms out for a hug.

“Oh, it’s so good to see you, doll,” Rebecca said as she returned Y/N’s embrace.

“How’s it going, Y/N/N?” Quentin asked.

“I mean, you haven’t managed to burn down the cabin yet, so I’d say pretty good.”

Quentin threw a piece of carrot in her direction and mumbled a “shut up.”

“Guys, this is my friend, Dean.”

Rebecca and Quentin both said a cheery “hi,” and Dean was put a bit at ease. Y/N excused herself and Dean from the kitchen, eager to show him around.

“Come with me for a second,” Y/N said.

She led Dean down the hall past the living room and into a bedroom, closing the door softly behind them. Dean looked around the room, taking in all of the details with interest. He assumed this was Y/N’s room based on the photo garland above the bed. One specific photo caught Dean’s eye. It was a polaroid photo that Y/N had taken of the two of them the last Christmas they saw each other.

Dean gifted Y/N an instant camera that Christmas, and she couldn’t stop taking photos all day; Dean had to stop her so she wouldn’t run out of film too quickly.

This photo in particular was taken by Sam. It was the Christmas before he left for college. Y/N and Dean were both sat on the floor in front of their puny little tree. They were wearing matching Christmas sweaters that Sam had gotten them and had their arms around each other, laughing with wide grins and rosy cheeks.

Dean remembered loathing the holidays, but as soon as Y/N showed up, everything was instantly better.

Dean’s mind then drifted to the years when Y/N first came into his life. They were both tweens who were cooped up at Bobby’s at the same, and they’d been almost inseparable. John finally picked Dean and Sam up after a few months on his own, but by then Y/N was already long gone, out on the road with her own father.

They ran into each other a few years later, both seventeen and getting ready to start their adult lives. They were both at Bobby’s again, this time for completely different reasons. Y/N’s father had died while hunting a djinn, and Dean was just stopping by for supplies. He saw her huddled in the corner of one of the guest bedrooms, and his heart nearly broke. She wasn’t crying or anything–her face wasn’t even red.

She just looked numb. Empty. Broken.

Dean knew because she looked the exact same way he did when Mary died.

He slowly entered the room, and as soon as he sat on the bed, Y/N wrapped her arms around him and sobbed into his chest. They spent the night in each other’s arms, and Bobby didn’t seem to mind one bit.

After that night, Dean promised himself that he would never see Y/N like that ever again.

The Christmas that was captured in the photo was the first one where Y/N was actually herself.

Now here they were: celebrating the holidays together in a cozy cabin and finally catching up after so many years.

Y/N laid down on one side of the bed and patted the spot next to her. “Don’t be shy, Winchester. We’ve done this before.”

Dean slowly climbed in next to her, and she snuggled into his side. They laid there for a few minutes without talking, simply enjoying the other’s closeness.

“Uh, not that I really mind, but why’d you bring me in here?” Dean asked, breaking the silence.

Y/N sighed and shrugged her shoulders. “Just wanted to be near you is all.”

“You’ve still got feelings for me, don’t ya, Y/N/N,” Dean teased.

“Shut up,” Y/N replied, shoving his shoulder.

“So what if I did,” Y/N said after a few minutes.

Dean leaned his head back to look at her face and found that she was completely serious. His heart did a flip, and a wide smile broke out of his face. “Well I’d say that I still have feelings for you, too.”

Y/N peered up at him and smiled. Without thinking, Dean leaned in and kissed her, cupping her face with one hand. For a moment she didn’t respond, and Dean was getting ready to pull away when she winded her fingers in his hair. The beer on his tongue mingled with her peppermint chapstick. A feeling of warmth bubbled up in Dean’s chest, his sense of longing now fulfilled. He and Y/N fit together seamlessly, like the kiss was meant to be.

A soft knock at the door abruptly ended the moment.

“Food’s ready!” the voice on the other side called.

“Be there in a second!” Y/N replied.

She turned back to Dean and groaned into his chest, and he chuckled at her annoyance.

“C'mon,” he said. “Let’s go get some of that delicious pie.”

“You and your freaking pie.”

The atmosphere in the main part of the cabin was one of comfort and happiness. The food was great, and the people were more than eager to welcome Dean into their little family.

Although he barely knew anyone, he had Y/N by his side, and that was good enough.

Dean might not be seeing his family for quite some time, but with Y/N, it was like he was already home.

~~~

Mrs. Whozeewhatsis Tags (+ a few others that I think might enjoy this):

@mrswhozeewhatsis @thinkwritexpress-official @itsemmyb @ezauraemmaline @matteson-crazed @charliesbackbitches @crzcorgi @ellen-reincarnated1967 @gryffindorable713 @deerlululucy @walkingencyclopediaoffandom @growleytria @thegleegeneration @samtomydeanwinchester @supermoonpanda @sis-tafics @amaranthinecastiel @becs-bunker @meganwinchester1999 @kittenofdoomage @samanddeanwinchester67 @ferferelli @iridianuniverse @the-morning-star-falls @strange-inhumanity-blog @ackleslaugh @fangirling-instead-of-working @eyes-of-a-disney-princess @kayteonline @spnsimpleman @faith-in-dean @mamaimpala @winchesterfiesta @sleep-silent-angel @thing-you-do-with-that-thing @gadreelsforbiddenfruit @trenchcoats-and-bees @curliesallovertheplace @jencharlan @not-so-natural-spn  @thebunkerismyhome @feelmyroarrrr @beachy2014 @fandom-book-nerd @tia58 @sams-little-toy @deansleather @faegal04 @sunriserose1023 @saving-things-hunting-family @winchesterswoonathon @jotink78 @lucifer-in-leather @i-dont-know-how-to-write @everyday-supernatural-af @notnaturalanahi @howmanytuesdaysdidyouhave @supernatural-jackles @babypieandwhiskey @avasmommy224 @chelsea-winchester @spn-fan-girl-173 @besslincoln-bruh @shelovesallthethings @girl-with-a-fandom-fettish @revwinchester @deanwinchesterforpromqueen @quiddy-writes @hexparker @atwistoffate @evilskank-inthemegacoven @there-must-be-a-lock @percussiongirl2017 @ilostmyshoe-79 @luci-in-trenchcoats

[kbtbb-soryu]

Revenge ~ Chapter 1

Kishi had gone to sleep and I was alone in the living room. After a while I decided to lie down on the sofa and try to get some rest. I had class tomorrow, after all. But my mind was racing and I couldn’t relax. It’s not my current situation that made my mind race, though. It was the reason I was in this situation. Who kidnapped me, and why? I sighed and looked up at the ceiling with my arm resting over my forehead. First, I had to figure out who was responsible for this. With this thought in mind, I eventually fell asleep.

“…Hey… up.” I heard a voice nearby. Brother…? “How long you gonna sleep for, anyway? Wake up!” I slowly opened my eyes and saw Kishi’s face right in front of mine. For a moment I had forgotten the events of yesterday and bolted upright. “So you’re finally awake… What are you so surprised about?” he asked nonchalantly. I sighed.

“You startled me. And get out of my damn bubble.”

“Didn’t seem to stop you from sleepin’ like a log a few minutes ago. Guess you got no problem sleepin’ like that in a strange man’s room, eh? You’re braver than I thought. Or that just shows how much of a kid you are.” Kishi smiled and lit a cigarette.

“Or I just know how to think further than the length of my nose… If you wanted to do something to me, you’d have done it already,” I retorted. I looked up at the clock. There was still some time before my first class would start, but I wanted to get out of here pronto. “I’m going to school,” I declared.

“Huh? School?” he asked, surprised.  

“I’m a University student. I have class.”

“You’re thinking about going to school in a situation like this?” He exhaled a puff of smoke with an exasperated look on his face. I grabbed his collar and pulled his face dangerously close to mine.

“Listen, pal. I happen to be working towards a goal. Regardless of the situation, I’d like to get back to it.” I let him go and ran my hand through my hair.

“The hell was a university student doing up for auction? Never heard of such a thing.”

“You want the long version or the short version?”

“Whichever.”

“For the past few days I’ve been feeling like I’ve been followed, so yesterday…” I told him about how someone snuck up behind me and knocked me out with chloroform and how I woke up on the stage of the auction hall.

“Ahhh, what a pain in the ass. Why do I gotta babysit this little brat, anyway?” He sluggishly threw himself down on the sofa and flicked cigarette ashes into the ashtray on the table.

I rolled my eyes at him. “Right, because I’m here because I want to be,” I retorted sarcastically as I got up and left.

“Hey,” he called after me.

“What?”

“Just don’t run away. You can go to class every day from here.”

“Didn’t you just say I was a pain?” I asked exasperatedly.

“That’s a whole ‘nother issue. But I got the others to think about. Regular people like you aren’t supposed to know about the auction. So I can’t just let you go like nothin’ happened.” 

Regular. I couldn’t help snorting at that word. There was nothing regular or normal about me. Nothing. Kishi stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray and cast a sharp glare at me. Even though my back was turned, I could feel it.

“Yeah, whatever.” I looked away from him. “I’m sure if I ran, they’d track me down in no time, anyway.”

He chuckled. “Guess you have some brains after all, for a kid.”

“It’s called sensibility.” I cast a glance at him over my shoulder.

“Also, don’t run your mouth.”

“I got it, I got it. Are you done?”

“One more thing. Gotta give this to ya.” I turned around and Kishi tossed something at me.

“What’s this?”

“An elevator key card. The penthouse elevator won’t work without that card. Here’s the penthouse pager. If it buzzes, you better hop, skip and jump your way up here.” I looked at the pager in his hand with an annoyed expression.

“No.”

“You gotta plan to pay back that $20 mil I shelled out?”

“Do I look that gullible to you? I never asked you to do that. But if you still want to control me, then by all means… I’d love to see you try.” And with that statement I left.

 It probably goes without saying that I was uneasy going to campus. I was on edge. I jumped at every sound I heard; every movement that entered my field of vision.

“Jamie!” someone called out to me as soon as I got to campus. It was Yukino. She was three years younger than me. I was her tutor. She was the reason I knew who Soryu was; other than the fact that he was affiliated with us, that is. She was his little sister. She held something out to me. It was my bag and a folder. I must have dropped it by my car last night when I was kidnapped. “You’re lucky I was the one who found it.”

“You look like you know something,” I stated nonchalantly.

“When I found it last night, I got really worried. So I asked my brother to look into the situation for me and he told me what happened. Most of it anyway. I guess you were kidnapped?” she lowered her voice.

“Yeah. I still don’t know who did it, though.”

“Well my brother knows who you are now. Ask him for last night’s catalogue. It should show who put you up for… y’know.”

I nodded and we started walking to class together.

 After class that day, I was going to stay behind and work in the library until they kicked me out, but Yukino dragged me off somewhere.

“Of all the places, you had to bring me here?” Yukino had brought me to the casino in the same hotel I found myself at last night. The Tres Spades.

“It’s not that bad.” She dragged me off to the ballroom. “There’s going to be a party here tonight.”

“Do I look like I’m in the mood for a party?”

“No, but passing through the ballroom is a shortcut to the hotel’s bar.”

“Now you’re talking.” We made our way through the ballroom as a bunch of rich guests started filing in. All of a sudden there was a loud scream and Yukino and I stopped short.

“You son of a bitch! I’ll kill you!!” A man was waving a knife in the air near the entrance.

“What the hell?” I mumbled. The other guests started screaming and running towards the exit in a panic.

“Jamie…” Yukino clung to my arm.

“Why the hell are you clinging to me?” I asked her in a low voice.

She didn’t answer as she wrapped her hands tightly around my forearm. I had to admit, she was cute. 

“My my, what a commotion.” The flashy guy from last night suddenly showed up. I learned his name was Baba. “Did you sleep well last night, pretty lady?” I cocked my eyebrow at him in irritation.

“Just ignore him. Everything they go on about is to get reactions out of unsuspecting victims. You’ll tire yourself out if you respond to them,” Yukino retorted. 

I took her advice and ignored the idiot. Just then another idiot, namely Blondie – or rather, Ota Kisaki – showed up as well.

“Hm? Oh, are you done with class?” he asked. I ignored him as well.

“Hey, Ota. It’s unusual for you to get to the party so early,” Baba said.

“Yeah, but I’m glad I did tonight. I guess things do get interesting from time to time. Right, Eisuke?”

“It’s a way to stave boredom,” Eisuke, the arrogant narcissist from yesterday, said. “But this idiot’s going to ruin the Mad Hatter’s Party.” 

My body started shaking more and more. I had completely reached my limit. There are people in danger here and these men are acting like it’s just another day at the office.

“Jamie?” Yukino asked worriedly, looking up at me.

“That’s it!” I pushed her off me and impulsively walked up to the knife-wielding maniac. “Hey! Pick on someone your own size. Moron.” I provoked him, turning his attention away from the guests and onto me.

“Jamie!” Yukino grabbed my arm as the man charged at me. “You can’t make a scene here! Get back!” She pulled me backwards.

“…That’s enough.” Suddenly, Kishi showed up and pinned the guy’s arms behind his back. He cried out in pain. “This is what ya get for makin’ more work for me!” The guy’s knife clattered to the floor and his shoulders slumped in resignation.

“Good going, Jame. You should be a cop,” Yukino said, half teasingly as she patted my shoulder.

“No, thanks,” I replied, annoyed. 

  To be continued…

Like before reblogging please

Previous Chapter                                                                               Next Chapter

[tamarinfrog]

Heya! just wanted to give you an update on the story!

thesinfulsquidchild submitted:

((I realize that the grammar was…not as good. so, with proof reading, I’ll show you what I got so far. let me know what you think!))

In the year that my father died, the inkopolis extension came. the new shopping centers came with odd fashions to pick. the city took the glory, but gave us The Wolf-fish. My dad left me an apple crate of classic books. he loved horror stories and quoted them in the hospital bed. “they came looking for the Zapfish, and died in tragic places”. on his last day, he sat up suddenly and stared bug-eyed to the train station. with the rusted tracks and abandoned ticket booth. he turned to my mom. “this house is haunted…” he said, and passed from the complications due to his injuries.

This is what my mother told me, and why I never met him. She also told me I was hatched in the morning of this day, and father was off to work at the time. I am probably more tragic than a Shakespeare story, if you ask me. I mean…gotta be real with you. I have some weird secret that I want no one to know of. if they did, God knows what will come of it. Keep in mind, my father was of the Octarian race. Meaning, well…I think you might have a clue on what went on. That is another reason why mother is more sour than a lemon-flavored sour patch squid towards other inklings.  But anyway, lets focus on where I am. At the bus stop that leads to Puffer Springs. all the lights where on, but no one else was here. except for a janitor. “well this is great.” I thought to myself. “I mean, I didn’t expect a party or anything. But, I figured someone would be here.” I stood there quiet for a bit, looking around. I sighed. “Welcome home, Angelo”. I murmured to myself. I grew a small smile as I imagined the shock and joy my mother and step-father would get once they saw me at the doorstep. I looked around the station, and gazed at a mural for the city on the wall.  “wow. when did they put this up?” I commented. “Puffer Springs has never looked so…falsely advertised”. the more I looked around, the more I saw some…questionable things. like this payphone-stand-thing on the wall. Geez, must be such a relief to payphone companies that Puffer Springs barely if ever gets any cell reception. It’d be cool to call my parents from here, but some jackass took the time to rip it out from the wall. who the hell steals a phone anyway? nonetheless, I paced around a bit. behind the reception desk was a T.V up on the wall. on it was playing Guppy and Marco. A show full of dad jokes and very bland humor for my standards. they talked about the economy and other political stuff I have no interest in. then, I looked at the janitor working on the door. I approached him. “Excuse me, but where is Everybody?” I asked. “it’s 10:45. it’s closed.” the Urchin plainly replied. “not a lot of squids get off the last bus to Puffer Springs these days. just you.”. huh. to the point. I decided to egg this on. “so…are you the janitor or something?” I asked again. “looks that way.” he replied again in the same tone. “Well, what do you do exactly?” “I fix this door.” “is that it?” “nope.” he finished as he kept drilling. I was already sick of this small talk. ‘least it was not as bland as Guppy and Marco. “c-can I squeeze past you?” I requested. “nope. Just broke the damn thing.” the janitor replied. “when do you think it might be done?”. “right after you bring me a Fiascola from the machine.” I was little appalled on this proposed deal. “Am I paying for this?” I questioned. “I always rig it when I’m on my night-shift” the urchin stated. I was now in on this. “nice. free as in…free” “free as in no one else is here to say otherwise” the urchin mused. I walked over to the soda machine, looking at the flavors. I assumed he wanted the original, so I pressed the red button. as I heard the jingle from the machine and the clunk of the can, I noticed they had lime fiasco option on it. Jesus, what a waste. back on track, I grabbed the can and went back to the janitor. “here you go, one free-ass-cola” I offered as the janitor took it fro my hand. he cracked the top, took a swig from it and plainly stated “Yummers”. the Janitor was now the one asking the Questions. “so, what’s a fella like you doing here?” took me a moment, but I answered “I live here. well, lived here.” “huh. that’s strange.” the Urchin replied. “when do you think the door is done?” I asked once more. “now.” he said. “goodbye.”. the janitor left the station with the fixed door closing behind him. the lights turned off, and I stood in awkward silence from that whole situation. “uh, bye.” I said sheepishly. this has been the most anticlimactic situation I’ve ever been in. I took a deep breath to calm myself, then walked out of the bus stop.  When I stepped into the navy blue night, I saw no one else. not even the janitor. “well, I’m outside of town” I thought. “mom and dad are nowhere to be found…so dark and cold out here. Guess I’m walking, Alone.” my mind was racing with thoughts. y'know, the bus station might be the newest thing in Puffer Springs. I guess the got state funding or something like that. I suppose it makes a decent first or last impression if it was not the abandoned gear factory in the distance. good gravy, think they’ll get rid of it when hell freezes over. As I start to make my way to my house, I hear the horn of the train go off in the distance. now that I think of it, I missed that sound quite a bit. I remember hearing it in bed, at my old house back in OctoVally. especially in the winter time, when all the leaves are down. I soon got to the entrance to the woods. guess I’m going to hike through them. afterall, through the woods is home, my bed, and my…negligent parents. so, off the woods I go. there is some dank nature here, and garbage. and up front, was a few logs. I do recall this place being called “Saw-Mill park.” I climb up the pile of logs, and balance my way to the edge of one of them. being the playful Inkling I am, I jumped on it like a diving board only for the log to break from it’s point, causing me to fall and hit the ground on the other side of the river. the logs avalanched a bit before returning to stillness. “Oh my god.” I thought. “that was dangerous. man…I could’ve died. that was amazing!”. I chuckled as I sat up. “not gonna die in a place like this.” I said to myself as I dusted off my hoodie. I hiked up the pile of logs, this time reaching another part of the woods. I climbed up and walked again. Soon I reached to the abandoned playground surrounded by a chain-link fence. everything looked grim and rusty. there was a ship-like structure with a tower on it, and a few logs. I haven’t been here in like, 9 or 10 years. I could tell that no one else has, either. now it’s just a place weird animals eat and have babies in. I climb up to the ship, and played with the steering wheel. “Ahoy!” I giggled to myself. I think at the time they we’re going for some weird boat-castle. I donno, something like that. there was no ladder,  no way to get to the other side of the fence. and I can’t just jump over it. Then, I had an idea. it was bad, but it was the best I got. a Good Bad idea, if you will. I hopped on the logs, onto a tree branch, sort of climbing my way to the top. man, it’s been almost two years seance I’ve been to Puffer Springs. things were getting jumbled, so I made a little doodle in my journal. getting back to my “plan”, I saw a powerline, so I jumped and balanced on the cable, making my way above the fence. I tried to land on my feet when I lept off the wire, instead I landed on my chest with a tump and a loud “oof!” escaping my mouth.. hey, coulda been worse.  that’s when I saw a cinnamon red Octoling in a police outfit. rather chubby, and clearly a woman. “Hello, Angelo. it’s been a while.” that’s when I know it was my father’s sister. as I call her, Aunt Mall Cop. we never really hung out much, but it was enough that I could recognize her. “H-hey! what are you doing out here? nothing better to do?” I stuttered. “well, I was just making my rounds until I saw you in the very off limits playground.” she stated, looking unimpressed. “so?” I said back, glaring at her. Auntie sighed. “Get in the car Angelo.” she grunted in annoyance.  “no.” I snapped. “you wanna spend your first night in jail?” she remarked. “…no.” was my response. so, I got in the car, and she drove me to the neighborhood. a litte insight on me and my Aunt, she and I have it…not-so-good. I’ve had a good history of being quite the delinquent back in the day, and she was the one to catch me most of the time. but hey, at least she didn’t make me spend any time in the slammer. or worse. Auntie dropped me off at the house. yup, this is the right address. this is the house that mother moved in when she got with my step-dad. I twisted the knob, surprisingly it was unlocked. I stepped inside to the familiar living room with the sent of pine wood. of course, there was my dad, Ryan. he short marigold tentahair, was very pale, and had a lot of freckles on his face. I walked closer to him, as he was ominous to my persistence. “Hey, remember me?” I quickly announced, breaking the silence with an axe. in response my dad jumped in shock with an “AAAAGHHH! Angelo! ya gave me a heart attack!” in his New-Jersey accent. “good!” I chuckled. “what are you doin-” he cut himself off, thinking to himself.  “ooooooohhh…” he said as it came together. “Angelo, buddy. I though you was commin’ home next day.” he remarked. “well, you thought wrong!” I replied. we stared at each other for a bit. “s-so uh…” he started off awkwardly, “how did yis end up here, ey?” I answered with “I hiked through the woods untill I got caught by…ugh, Aunt Mall Cop. she drove me here…” I crossed my arms. “oh, so Molly drove you here, ey? did you say hi to her?” I just shook my head in response. “I’ll be heading to bed.” I stated. “a'right kiddo. good to hear that voice a'yis.” Ryan chuckled.

((I hope you like it!))

Tammy’s comments: Sorry for late reply. It’s always hard to find time for long fan fics. *cough* Anyway! This seems like an interesting story so far.

[survivor-islands-of-adventure]

EPISODE 11

So I really pushed for it and it happened, Madison is officially gone and that’s one less person I gotta suck up to. But now mark is pissed at me. WHY WOULD WE VOTE KAREN OFF. She does not have a strong game, she’s floundering, she’s a prefect goat to take to the end. But whatever! Be as mad as you want. I was trying to help us both. But you just wanna be a big MAN BABY because I’m not letting you run this game. Remember how I said I wanted to run this and take no prisoners- well it’s now in full fuckin swing. I’ll do anything to get to the end. Even if that means cutting off mark, my number one ally. I’m actually super upset because I feel like he won’t be my friend anymore and wow I need to stop rambling whatever goodnight goodbye Goodluck 

I did a confessional before i got a strike lmaoooo I won immunity bitches time for revenge in Madison’s name. I’d love to just take out Tracey’s boring ass this round but there’s bigger threats in the game and unfortunately she’s not a threat to anyone or anything ever so let’s hope we can actually flush stoners idol this round and take out dan or drew 

I didn't win immunity but i beat Drew the legend's score so im really happy about that. Tonight's plan is to tell people we're voting dan but actually vote drew, so I'm hoping it's seamless and not a fucking trainwreck like it has been. We're also trying to get Chris to use his idol. Lastly, im not sure i trust charlie atm. Mark wants her in on the Drew vote but im nervous that she might spill. 

mark brought up a good point, but pat could potentially play the sapphire idol this round or the next for a big move, and with the way the game is going, one of these two tribals is probably the time to play it to try and swing some momentum back in his favor while also making a big move to add to his resume. just ideas™ in my head

Another fucking mess vote. Will I vote Drew? Maybe. Will I vote Chelsea? Maybe. Am I getting blindsided? Maybe. Idk it just feels weird. I feel like people are talking a lot but not a lot at the same time. Like we’re all beating around the bush. Let’s hop to it ladies. I’ll proabbly turn on Drew this week, I hope that doesn’t effect anything with Stoner in this game or the other game I’m in with him.

I'm writing another log because I'm so nervous for tonight once again. Idk why but I'm skeptical about Pippa being included in our voting information because I think she is secretly spying for Chris. The other night I told Pippa that I might vote Chris and not even a minute later, he messages me saying "I heard I'm getting votes against me." Coincidence? Idk. I want to be able to network and work with people but I don't know who to trust. Pat and Mark are pretty cool, but even Sammy I'm a little bit worried about. On the same night with the Pippa situation, I got a message from Chris telling me that Sammy asked him if he would vote me. So, now I'm not sure if Chris was just baiting me to start a fight, or if Sammy might also be working with Chris. Fuck. 

This round is a mess but honestly, I’m like so here for it. I’m lowkey hoping Pat hits the bricks bc I told Drew he’s getting all the votes. I can’t wait to get voted out hahahahahaha. That would be so fucking funny. Everyone thinks Chris has the idol, but Drew does :~)

so this round has been very boring. Everyone is being predictable and sticking with their comfort.  However I really want to switch things up and stop giving Tracey stoner and Chris so much power. Tracey just keeps coming to me to get information and it's low-key annoying cause like obvs I know she is working w Chris and Drew.  Like she could be making power moves but she has not worked w me once and keeps like not going w anything I tell her. lmao whatever.

I feel like I have my little baby hands in every honey pot in this game. I’m the swing vote but I’m also deciding who it swings on. I’m letting Mark and drew think they’re picking who the vote is, but I’m whispering in their ears ehehhehe. Hopefully drew goes home tonight and stoner uses his idol

So uhhhhh last tribal was iconic skdndkndkdnd it actually worked and I'm still here ??????? Anyway nothing new has really happened so yeah :/ but um the others are flushing chris' idol and me drew and Chris are voting for Sammy. Also I need to keep an eye on dan because he still seems like a flip flopped skcjfkfnfj

CONFESSIONAL: This week is supposed to go smoothly. My alliance of sammy chelsea and mark is going well. I trust them a lot. With my alliance members getting voted out its easier for them to want to vote for me in the end. I miss madison but we have to keep moving forward to eliiminate drew, chris and tracey. i CANNOT STAND THEM. especially tracey. if she takes me out i will actually cry. No matter what happens atlast i have majority. and it seeeeeeems like people are noticing me and I realllllyyyy like that. Like if they keep going for chelsea and mark Its going to be amazing. This is literally how I won my BB game so I think this is a good way to get myself into the same position

OKAY SO SOMEHOW the concept of voting out madison actually worked?? Charlotte's interest in playing both sides was so incredible and useful in the last minute. Rip Ricky btw, i hope by the time this comes out, things are better for him. So the challenge was firedragon, which means i lost right the fuck away. So once again, a brilliant idol play was necessary. I'm bitter af that it couldn't be Chelsea ...but sammy probably was the better call. But now i'm stuck, F8, no idol, very little hope. It's nearing the end of the road but honestly making it this far is a triumph in itself.

SAMMY IS VOTED OUT

I’m shook. This is my third individual immunity win. My target is definitely growing but I still feel like I’m playing a reasonable game. I would love for Pat to use his Sapphire idol this week bc I would be safe regardless, but honestly Drew is the easy vote. The only thing that sucks is that he knows Pat has the Sapphire idol and if I flip, he could easily tell Pat or others about me telling him. I could do some damage control this week and tell Pat that Drew asked me if Pat had won the power and I said idk. And act like drew knew where everyone competed and it’s wideled down to Pat possibly having it. That’s a little risky but if it comes out that Drew told Pat I told him about the idol, it could save me and I can easily back pedal and say that Drew has a lucky guess. But at the same time, why would Drew lie if he was going out the door hnnnnn. It’s best if Pat doesn’t feel safe this week/thinks it’s gonna go to rocks. I think I could push a tie narrative by throwing Charlotte under the bus, but we’ll see. Regardless I’m going to the f7 and hopefully I have a solid group of 4 and maybe an idol of my own up my sleeve. 

Okay I literally forgot that prevotes are due tonight; not being in an alliance chat this round made things weird, but iIve been working with Pat, Dan, Mark, and Charlotte to find the idol this entire time. I'm gonna be voting Chris, Tracey, or Drew, but I guess I should be talking to people about that and not idol clues lmfao.

Trying to fucking explain to Pat how his own Sapphire idol works is like trying to explain not being racist to my Uncle Bill. It’s just not....happening. 

So!!!!!! Another tribal another person gone whew it sucka that it had to be sammy bc I actually wanted to work with him a bit but I gotta do what I gotta do to stay in the game. We had touchy subjects this round and I got most annoying which I'm sure I got bc I snapped in the tribe chat that one time JSJDJDJDJ and who doesn't deserve to still be here which is like ????? I get it!!! Y'all wanted me out for so long but you can't your way bc I'm smarter but w/e!!!! They can stay hatin ! I think I got most likely to get to the end and win or lose idk but I like my odds tbh rkdjdofnfk so this round will prob end being split 4-4 which is exciting bc it means we'll prob be going to rocks !!!! I'm nervous about being rocked out but hey at least it'll be exciting lol. I'm hoping after this round or next round to get dan out tho, he's playing a superb game and it'd be a great move to take him out t b h

Eek I really hope drew finally goes home! Glad I won funniest tbh! Haha! I’ll make a longer confessional later! I’ll prob be sent home tonight oh whale

I LOST THE CHALLENGE I DON'T HAVE AN IDOL This should spell death for me. It really should. it probably still will. But I have three people willing to vote with me, two willing to pull a rock for me. So far, at least. A lot of shit changes when the revote is upon us. There's also Pat's sapphire idol to think about. I'm honestly not expecting to make it through this round but if I do, there are only four rounds left to go. Four rounds, it's not that much. We're trying to vote Pat because making me and Pat both safe was the best way to keep Dan on board with the plan. That and the fact that he won immunity and wouldn't pull a rock. Also I got biggest threat and needs to go next. These whores really know how to flatter a bitch.

IM FINALLY VOTING TRACEY OUT.. too bad shes not actually going home bc Pat has the reward from the dark week. He started getting nervous with his name apparently going around this vote and only charlotte or dan would need to flip to cause rocks/send pat home. So Pat is safe with his idol but it cancels votes for the top 2 vote getters. So we had to maneuver the votes so Tracey is actually the second vote getter and Drew is the 3rd so Drew goes home. Me Dan Pat and Chelsea searched every name in survivor history on the blog for the clues to the idol, and then searched those numbers. We dont have it yet but should soon. Touchy subjects was interesting. Apparently i really am perceived to be running this game, not sure how that happened. But hopefully if i get to the end after "running the game"  since merge thatll make up the lack of social game i have compared to some of the people left in the game.

[ghostsinthewoods]

Chapter 8: The Mines

Mae hadn't slept well the night before. She'd been asleep for the usual ten hours, sure, but she didn't feel rested. Germ's words had been stuck in her brain. She'd tried to dismiss what he said about seeing someone at the mines, but she couldn't. Everything was swimming around in her head.

When Mae woke up from her dream about a sky filled with trees and a party filled with noise, she had already decided on going to the mines. She wasn't going to be able to sleep properly until she saw this guy herself.

Mae hurried on downstairs without logging onto messenger. Bea, Gregg, and Angus were all probably at work, so there was no point in using it to say where she was going. Besides, Mae was just heading out to take a look. They didn't need to worry.

When Mae got down to the bottom floor, she decided it would still be best to go and talk to her mom. Mae turned the corner and walked past the stairs, into the kitchen where Candy Borowski was sitting.

She wasn't reading one of her books this evening. It was a newspaper. Mae's mom had been reading newspapers a lot more lately. Mae could guess why. She was probably hoping to find some news about Aunt Molly.

It hurt to think about that, though.

"Morning, mom," Mae said as she hopped up onto the kitchen counter.

Mae's mom looked up from her paper and gave her daughter a warm smile. "Good morning, movie star," she said. "How did things go last night?"

Mae didn't know how to answer that. They hadn't done a whole lot of movie-making, after all. Mostly, they'd just wandered around in the woods and confronted the weight of their past sins.

"Kinda slow," Mae said after thinking about it a bit. "Got kinda weird after. We saw Germ with a torch in the woods."

"A… torch?" Mae's mom repeated. She barely knew who Germ was, but Mae got the feeling that even she was starting to get a good picture of Germ's weirdness. "Like, a literal torch?"

"Yup," Mae said. "The kind you use to chase Frankensteins."

"That can't be safe," Candy mused. "What if the fire spread? You could burn the whole forest down."

"Well, they'd have more space for parking lots," Mae joked.

That got a laugh out of her mom. Good. A laughing mom cheered Mae up most of the time, and this was one of those times. Her work done, Mae leaped down from the counter.

"Well, I'm heading out," Mae said. "Got some stuff I wanna check out."

"Check out, eh?" Mae's mom asked curiously. "Ooh, is this good news? How's the job hunt going?"

Oh, God. The job hunt. Mae had promised her mom she'd start looking for a job. She'd completely forgotten after everything with the Dream Casey had started up. All in all, Mae had applied to maybe two places in, like, a month, and she'd been turned down by both of them.

"Still waiting to hear back," Mae said quickly. "But, y'know, fingers crossed."

"Fingers crossed," Mae's mom repeated. "Okay, bye-bye, sweetie."

Mae let out a quiet little sigh of relief as she turned to exit the kitchen. She felt guilty about lying to her mom, but she didn't want to let her down, either. Of course, Mae felt like the longer she went without finding a job, the more she was letting her mom down.

It wasn't easy, though. Mae's work experience didn't exactly inspire confidence. Not to mention, most of the business-owners in town knew her as the girl from the softball incident. Either that, or the girl who'd once tried to climb the flagpole outside of the school.

She wound up getting stuck on top of that flag pole for nearly six hours. The fire department had to come in to get her down, but she ended up just falling off of the pole and landing on Tim Whitley.

Oh, yeah. That was another person Mae needed to make amends to.

Mae had completely lost her train of thought by the time she made it to the front door.

Mae had more or less made a beeline towards the old basketball courts that sat on the edge of the woods. She didn't stop to say hi to anyone, which was a bit weird for a social butterfly like herself. Mostly, Mae just didn't want to worry anyone, or let anyone see her acting strange.

It was just one guy, right? Mae probably didn't need help. No need for her friends to get all scared and protective and stuff. Probably.

Of course, once Mae made it out to the Food Donkey parking lots, she realized she'd forgotten one little detail: Germ. The little guy seemed to always be hanging out in the parking lot, and today was no exception. There he was, right in front of her.

He'd already seen her, so there was no way Mae could just, like, walk past him. Or maybe she could? It'd be rude, but Germ probably wouldn't mind. Germ was kind of a rude dude himself.

Whatever. Mae decided the best thing would be to just wave as she passed him by.

So she did just that. Mae gave Germ a friendly smile and lifted her hand as she walked past him.

"Hey," Germ said. Then, he immediately began following Mae.

It took Mae a few feet to realize he was tagging along. She stopped, turning around and looking at Germ. He had the same, Germy expression on his face. Mae had seen Germ smile, but it seemed like even when he was happy, Jeremy Warton defaulted to a blank, mysterious stare.

"Were you following me?" Mae asked slowly. Obvious question. If he was just walking home, he wouldn't be directly behind Mae. He'd be off to her right, to walk past the stairs and the basketball court. As it was, he was poised to walk up the stairs along with her.

"Yeah," Germ said. "You going to the mines?"

God dammit. Was Germ psychic or something? "Yeah…" Mae said slowly. "I'm just gonna check it out. See if I see the weird dude you saw."

"I mean, he didn't look all that weird," Germ said. "He just looked like a normal dude. Except he was staring at the mines. For, like, a long time."

"Yeah, see? That's weird." Mae said. "Nobody should stare at mines except for, like… miners."

"I mean, I can show you where I saw him," Germ said. "You probably shouldn't be out there alone anyway. You look bad."

He was probably right. Mae's head was throbbing, and her whole body felt tired. It was a repeat of last November, alright. Maybe not as bad, but definitely not good. Still, Mae didn't exactly like him pointing it out. Stupid, concerned Germ.

"I'm fine," Mae mumbled. "I'm good. You don't have to follow me, Germ."

"Okay," Germ said. "I'm still going to, though."

"I appreciate your honesty," Mae said. She sighed, too tired to argue this any further. "Fine. Adventure time with Germ. Let's go. You'll see what you missed out on last year."

The gang had filled Germ in on what had happened to them a few days after the incident in the mine. He'd thrown dynamite into a well for them, so it was the least they could do. It was difficult to tell how much of the story Germ believed, but he at least took their story seriously. Seriously enough to stake out the mine fairly regularly, it seemed.

Mae continued to march her way up the stairs that connected to the old basketball court, Germ in tow. Mae didn't know if this place had ever really been used for basketball. Mostly, it was just a place for the local skater kids and Gregg to hang out.

Well, Gregg had tried to be a skater kid. Tried and failed. Repeatedly.

It wasn't much of a basketball court now, though. There were no basketball… towers. Is that what you called them? Mae was going to call them that from now on.

"Hey, Germ," Mae said. "What do you call the… things you use to play basketball? Like, the big sticks with the baskets on them."

"Hoops," Germ said.

"What? The whole thing is called a hoop?" Mae asked. "But, like, the only hoopy part is the baskety thing. Why is the whole thing called a hoop?"

"It's the rules," Germ said simply. "You gotta call it a hoop."

Okay, this was all just making Mae more upset. Basketball was stupid.

Woods, woods, woods. Mae felt like a significant portion of her life in Possum Springs was spent in the woods. The woods were where the parties were held, and where teens got up to their nonsense. Even these woods, which were supposed to be off-limits, had seen their fair share of teenage malarkey.

Walking this path made Mae nervous. Her last few experiences in these woods weren't exactly good. She'd been shot at, for one. That was kinda bad. The second time, someone else had gotten shot, but they kind of had it coming.

Hmm. Mae hoped nobody got shot at this time.

"Hey, Germ," Mae said, "you live close by, right?"

"Sorta," Germ said. "Kinda. I don't tell anyone where I live."

Mae nodded. "Yeah, I think Gregg mentioned that once. Is your family, like, really embarrassing?"

Germ shook his head. He was walking side-by-side with Mae now. That was kind of nice. Mae liked hanging out with someone she was taller than. Hopefully, Germ wouldn't grow any more in his life.

"I like to keep my home life and social life seperate," Germ said. "I mean, I almost invited you over to dinner once."

That caught Mae off-guard. That was mostly because the idea of eating dinner at Germ's house was so mysterious. For some reason, Mae pictured Germ's family as, like, a clan of trickster wizards. That was probably wrong, huh?

"It was last year, when you were going through your stuff," Germ explained. "I thought you deserved a chance to, you know, chill. I decided against it, though. I was nervous about you meeting my gramma."

"The spooky one?" Mae asked.

"The only one," Mae said. "But, yeah, she's real spooky. I was worried she'd scare you off. She's kinda weird."

"My granddad was kinda weird," Mae said. "He kept a tooth in a safe."

"That's some secret society shit right there," Germ said.

The trees were beginning to clear away as they grew closer and closer to the mines. They were nearing the old mining equipment now. It was a graveyard for the things that had built up Possum Springs. It was so weird to think of what this place must have been like, and what the town must have been like, back when the mine was running. Back when the town wasn't dying.

Those guys in the mine said that what they were doing was keeping the town alive. Mae had given a lot of thought to what they'd said, but it didn't add up to her. Lots of bad things had happened since they'd started feeding that… thing. Businesses had closed, streets had flooded, people had died or gotten run over by runaway parade floats…

Had their sacrifices even done anything? Somehow, the idea that Casey died for no reason hurt even more than the idea that he died for some crappy old guys' retirement plan. Not like the reason mattered, really. But Mae wanted Casey's death to mean something, at least.

"Pretty amazing to be something, at least."

"Hey, Mae?"

Germ's voice brought Mae back to reality. Germ was staring at her. Was that concern in his expression, or just confusion? How long had Mae been standing there among the old machines and carts?

"Sorry," Mae muttered. "I spaced out there."

"Do you wanna take a few minutes?" Germ asked.

Mae appreciated that Germ hadn't suggested turning around entirely. With the way Mae's head felt, a rest sounded good. She promptly fell into a sitting position on the old, dusty ground. Germ joined her, his hands in his lap.

"I been up here before," Germ said. "Back when I was a senior."

Mae nodded. She hadn't been in Possum Springs then, of course. She probably spent Germ's graduation day sleeping in her room, trying not to cry. College had been garbage.

"Did you see anything weird?" Mae asked. Germ shook his head.

"Nah, it was a party. Tim Whitley was in town and wanted to do a, like, homecoming thing. Me, Casey, and Gregg went."

Mae chuckled. "Wow, you went to a college party in high school? I'm kinda jealous."

"It wasn't a lot of fun," Germ said. "It was cold and windy, and Casey spent all night making out with some girl. He almost didn't come home."

"Yeah, that sounds like Casey," Mae mused. "He was big on smooching, and being smooched. He was, like, the first one of us to actually get kissed."

Germ nodded slowly. Mae wasn't sure what that meant, exactly, but whatever.

"I've only kissed, like, two people," Mae said. She paused, and then decided to be honest. "Well, one-and-a-half. I don't think Cole counts that much. What about you?"

"I like skating," Germ said. "I don't have a lot of interest in, like, kissing. It's kinda dumb."

Mae considered Germ's view on things. Looking at him, she wondered if it was even possible for him to kiss someone. His beak was kind of… out there. Yeah. Probably poke someone's eye out. Then again, it was kinda round. Maybe it'd mostly just get in the way of things?

Wait, why was Mae thinking so much about kissing Germ? This was stupid.

"I mean, I might be interested if I really liked someone," Germ said. "But mostly I think I'd just want to, like, play video games and skateboard with them."

"Those are good relationship goals," Mae said. "I'd want to wrestle with them. Then live with them on a farm in Iowa."

"Iowa's big and empty," Germ said. "Good place for a farm."

"Yeah, I don't know why I wanna live with them on a farm," Mae said. "I've never really even been on a farm. Ever since I was a kid, though, I've wanted to, like, spend my life on a farm with… whoever. And have two cats, and a dog, and howl at the moon with them."

Things got quiet for a bit. It was nice out. The sun was in the sky, and the weather was pleasantly warm. Mae would probably switch to short sleeves sooner or later. Maybe. Eh. Changing clothes was a hassle.

Mae stood up and stretched out. Her head did feel a little bit clearer after resting. Germ stood up as well, and without a word, they were walking again. It wasn't much further until they reached the cliff overlooking the mine. Hopefully this time, they wouldn't see a bunch of dudes getting ready to kill someone.

Mae didn't like the silence, but she couldn't really think of what to say. Germ was kind of hard to start a conversation with. Back in January, she'd tried talking to him about getting some dynamite, and he'd started talking about the time he got a concussion.

Thankfully, they only had to walk for a few minutes. Soon, Mae and Germ were standing on the rocky cliff that Mae had stood on less than a year ago. Looking down at the mine, Mae half expected to see a gathering of hooded figures again. But no.

Nothing but rocks, and a thing that used to be a thing.

"Last time I saw him, he was down there," Germ said, and pointed to the spot in front of the mine's sealed entrance. Lots of rocks were poking out of the entrance's wooden frame. Jeez. That cave-in had really done a number on the mine, huh?

"Did he, like, notice you?" Mae asked.

Germ shook his head. "Nah, I'm pretty quiet. People don't notice when I'm watching them."

Mae took a minute to fully register what Germ had just said. "Wait, Germ, you don't, like, stalk people, do you?"

Germ opened his mouth to speak, but another, deeper voice interrupted him. It came from directly behind them, on the trail that lead into the woods.

"The hell are you kids doing out here?"

Mae let out a little scream. She couldn't help herself. She noticed that even Germ looked a bit surprised. Slowly, Mae turned, and found herself looking at a tall, middle-aged man dressed all in flannel, eyeing both of them suspiciously. He looked familiar, but Mae couldn't quite place it.

Possum Springs was a small town, so it'd make sense that Mae had seen him before. He was probably someone's dad.

Lots of people's dads were probably out in the woods.

Apparently, Mae wasn't the only one who recognized someone. The man squinted a bit at Mae, clearly trying to place her face. Mae fidgeted a bit, nervous as the man studied her.

"Wait, Mae? Mae Borowski?" The man said.

"Uh, no." Mae said quickly. "No, I'm… June. June Muddy."

The man's harsh, distrustful expression dissolved into a friendly smile. "Yeah, you're Mae, alright," he said. "The hell are you doing out here, Borowski? This place is supposed to be off-limits."

The man's eyes darted to Germ, whose nervousness had been replaced by the same blank expression. The stranger looked back at Mae, his eyebrow raised. "This isn't really a good place for a date. All these old rocks are death traps."

Yeah, Mae knew that better than most people.

"We aren't here on a date," Mae said.

"That somehow makes being out here even weirder," the man pointed out.

"I was gonna show Mae a dead buck I found," Germ said. His tone was completely natural and unchanged. Mae was surprised. She hadn't pegged Germ for a good liar. She wondered if Germ was constantly lying all the time, and no one realized it.

The man winced a bit, clearly grossed out. "Had it been shot?" He asked.

"Nope. Just dead."

"What's a dead buck doing up by the mines?" The man asked. "Deer usually don't come out here. Something about the place spooks 'em."

Mae could understand that. She had some firsthand spook experience with the mines. Deer were probably, like, super smart, and knew all about cults and stuff. But they weren't smart enough to avoid getting shot by hunters. Heh. Stupid deer.

God, though, who was this guy? He was weirding Mae out. She knew she'd seen him before.

"So, like, speaking of why people are at the mines…" Mae said, "Why are you at the mines?"

The man's smile seemed to falter a bit. He tried to hide it, but there was no mistaking that look. Mae often got that look when she asked people questions that she apparently shouldn't ask. Seemed like this was an off-limits topic.

"I come up here every now and then," the man said. "I worked up here for a while after I graduated from school. I started coming up here after they closed it down. Just, you know, to look around."

The man's attention seemed to shift beyond Mae and Germ, to the mine's entrance down below the cliff. Mae didn't like how focused he was on it. It was like he was trying to look through the rocks and stone.

"Looks like there was a cave-in sometime last year," the man muttered, his voice slow and thoughtful. "Probably some bootleggers messing around's what caused it. Hope no one was in there when it happened."

Oh god. Oh god. Mae felt a chill pass over her whole body. Did he know? Was he one of them? With the way he said it, Mae didn't know if he was just stating a fact… or accusing her. Even if he was a member of the cult, though, he couldn't know that Mae and her friends had caused the cave-in. Right?

Mae tried to say something to brush all of this off, but she couldn't find her words. She was speechless. That didn't happen often. Thankfully, Germ spoke up and saved her the trouble.

"Probably wasn't no one down there," he said. "I mean, most people avoid the mines."

Germ was certainly playing it cool. Well, as cool as he usually played it. Still, it was easy for him to stay calm. He hadn't almost died in a hole and communed with an eldritch horror. At least, as far as Mae knew, he hadn't done those things.

The man seemed to consider Germ's words, and then nodded. "Yeah, yeah," he said. "You're probably right there. I guess I'm worrying over nothing." The man gave a smile that was all teeth. It freaked Mae out a little.

"Well," the man said, "I'll leave you two alone to look for your deer. Say hello to your dad for me, Mae."

Was this one of her dad's old work friends? Mae only knew a few of them. She hadn't seen any of them since she was, like, eight. Mae doubted she'd really recognize any of them like she recognized this guy.

"Sure," Mae said. Her fear that this man was one of the cultists was about on par with her shame at not knowing who he was. "It was weird seeing you again, mister… you."

Well, that pretty much let the cat out of the bag. When he realized Mae had no idea who he was, a look of confusion appeared on his face. Also, he looked a little hurt? Mae might have just been imagining that, though. She might have been imagining a lot of things.

The man didn't correct her, however. He just gave her a brief nod, and turned to walk off the way he came. Mae watched him walk off until he was out of earshot, and then tilted her head to whisper to Germ.

"Dude," She said. "Was that the guy you saw?"

"I dunno," Germ said. "Maybe. Sure. I only saw him from behind. I mean, he seemed weird enough."

"Yeah, he definitely did," Mae said.

Mae watched the man shrink down smaller and smaller as he walked into the distance. Eventually, he disappeared on the horizon as he walked down the hill and out of Mae's sight. It wasn't until Mae was certain that he wasn't coming back that she let loose the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

The walk back into town was quiet and uneventful. Mae was still trying to wrap her head around the things the man had said. There was no way he didn't know about people dying in the cave-in, right? That was how it seemed, at least. But did he know Mae had been involved? If he did, how did he know?

The gang needed to know about this. When Mae got home, she could contact them on messenger. Let them know what had happened. For now, Mae just wanted to get home. If she and Germ hurried, Mae would make it in time for dinner.

Mae had expected Germ to part ways by the time they reached the old basketball court, but he continued to follow her well into town. That was a little odd. Mae didn't mind too much, though. It was nice to have some company.

They stopped once they reached the Snack Falcon, and Mae turned to say her goodbyes to Germ.

"Hey, so, like," Mae said, "thanks for hanging with me today. It was good to have you around."

Mae thought she detected the faintest hint of a smile on Germ's face. She might have been imagining it, though. "No problem," he said. "I had fun."

That was surprising. "Did you?" Mae asked.

"Eh," Germ said, shrugging slightly. "I mean, it was a weird bad time, but it was cool to spend time with you. We should hang out more."

"I check in on you, like, every day, dude," Mae pointed out. That was true. She'd started thinking of the Food Donkey's parking lot as Germ's lair. Could parking lots be a lair? Did a lair have to have, like, walls and stuff?

Whatever.

"Yeah, I guess," Germ said. "I mean, it'd be cool to do something sometime."

"What, like skateboarding?" Mae asked. "I don't skateboard. Casey tried to teach me once, but I couldn't figure out how to turn." That had been embarrassing. A bunch of cool skater kids had watched her eat it. Still, she hadn't been as bad as Gregg.

Germ was quiet. He seemed to be thinking of something to say, but couldn't decide on anything. Mae was used to Germ just blurting stuff out most of the time. Him apparently not knowing what to say was weird.

"No," he said. "I mean, I'd kind of like to be better friends. Gregg's gonna be moving soon. It'd be cool to have someone to do something with."

Mae felt a feeling that she didn't have words for. On the one hand, what Germ was saying made her sad. Gregg moving away was, like, bittersweet. But, on the other hand, Mae got what Germ was saying. She really did.

If Gregg was going to be gone, maybe something could be made with the stuff he'd left behind.

'Left behind' didn't feel like the right word for it, but the sentiment felt right.

"I get you," Mae said. A smile slowly crept onto her face. "But if we're gonna hang out more, I've gotta ask you something. Tell me, Jeremy: what's your opinion on crimes?"

[jackblankhsh]

Giftmas 2017

For those who celebrate Giftmas, no child intends to fall asleep on Christmas Eve.  It happens without warning like getting punched in the dark, leaving you somehow angry with yourself not the Sandman who knocked you out.  One moment wide awake ears absorbing every sound for a sign of Santa, blink, and it’s morning.  Presents are under the tree, the only sign of any gift giving ninja, a half eaten cookie.  

Although, growing up, that unfinished cookie always made me suspicious.  I used to wonder what kind of fat man doesn't finish a cookie.  And being inclined the way I am, I sometimes worried Santa hated the treats I left for him.  That explained why one precious item, wanted above all others, never arrived.  I could imagine him taking a bite, his face contorting in disgust, and deciding then and there, "Fuck this kid." Back up chimney he flew, taking with him whatever I wanted most that year.  

But then one Giftmas something happened that changed my entire understanding of the holiday forever.  

In my annual fashion, I went to bed with the full of intention of staying awake, at the very least long enough to hear reindeer hooves on the roof.  I passed part of the time staring out my bedroom window.  Through frosted panes I observed a group of carolers strolling down the street, and my neighbor running outside to catch them.  

I heard him say, "Thank you for coming by, but none of you know how to sing.  So please just get away from my house."  

As they mercilessly beat him into the ground while singing "O Holy Night," I couldn't help noticing they gave new meaning to certain lyrics:  

"Fall on your knees!

O hear the angel's voices!"

I heard my Dad chuckling downstairs then calling for my Mom, "Honey you gotta see this.  Ziggy's gettin' his ass handed to him."  

Ziggy's wife came running out of the house.  A pot in one hand, she tossed ladlefuls of steaming hot cocoa at carolers.  The singers scattered, driven off by burning streams of molten chocolate.  Before the bloodthirsty wassailers could regroup she and Ziggy hurried back inside.  

In the aftermath of that altercation the silence that soon descended became particularly boring.  I reclined on the bed.  Staring at the ceiling I wondered why Santa preferred to work in such unnecessary secrecy.  He didn't want children to see him delivering gifts, yet every kid, inclined to Christmas or not, is aware Santa brings the presents.  It occurred to me there must be something about himself he didn't want people to witness, perhaps a deformed eye that frightened children, or maybe he smelled terrible -- flying at the speed required to make it around the world in one night, if a flying reindeer pooped or peed that probably flew right back all over Santa.  

Amidst these and other speculations I felt my eyelids growing heavy.  Resisting as much as I could I failed to fight off slumber.  However, sleep would not reign all night.

I can't entirely recall my dreams that evening, though one moment remains distinct.  I remember a chocolate cat and a gingerbread dog helping me climb a sugar-plum tree near the Lollypop Sea.  Almost to the top a lightning bolt blew the tree to pieces sending all three of us crashing to the ground.  

I saw the gingerbread dog broken open on hard candy stones, his peppermint innards spilled out all over; the chocolate cat, half melted by the lightning shook an angry paw at the sky screaming, “What hath God wrought?”

Thunder boomed over head, the sound loud enough to blow me back into the waking world.  I bolted upright, throwing myself out of bed.  I’ve woken up in worse ways since, but at the time, it was not pleasant.

Groaning in pain, I could still hear a dying echo of thunder.  That's when it dawned on me:  the sound originated in reality.  

Pounding steps hurried through the hall.  Someone shot passed my bedroom.  

I heard my Dad shouting as he ran downstairs, "What’s going on?"

Mom answered, "It's a mess that's what it is."

A frantic exchange ensued, both parents talking at once. Their heated dialogue congealed into an incomprehensible slurry.  Not knowing exactly what they said didn't change the tone of the conversation, I could tell something terrible must've happened.

When Mom shouted, "Well what was I supposed to do?"

The dialogue stopped.  

Cautiously I crept out of bed, sneaking downstairs to see the cause of the commotion.  I found my parents standing by the Christmas tree.  Mom shaking her head in disappointment, Dad staring, frowning at a body lying near the fireplace.  A snowy white beard wreathed what remained of its head the rest splattered across the mantle like a gruesome Jackson Pollok.  One of the feet still twitched, jiggling the belly, and jingling the buckle on a black leather boot.  My eye drifted from the corpse back towards my parents, specifically the shotgun at Mom's feet.  

Dad said, "What.  Happened?"

Mom replied, "I was going to the bathroom.  I heard someone downstairs, and thought, 'It's a burglar.'  So because waking you is like resurrecting the dead, I got the shotgun; but when I got down here I didn't see anyone, or anything except that."  She pointed at a gigantic sack in one corner.  She continued, "I went to look at it. Then I heard a floorboard creek. Turning around there's a lumbering bear-man coming out of the dark going, 'Ho, ho, ho.’ Like that explains a goddamn thing.  Wearing all red -- I thought he was covered in blood, so I shot him.  Twice."

Dad nodded in understanding.

Mom said, “Maybe if you weren’t in a vodka coma…”

“This is not the time for that conversation.”

“When’s it going to be the time?”

A thud came from the roof.  Snatching up the shotgun Dad went to the front door.  On his way he spotted me on the stairs.  

He said, "Don't go near the dead guy.  Got it?"

I nodded vigorously.  

He said, "Good.  Now be quiet," and he went outside.  A moment later he came back looking perplexed, and uncomfortably delighted like someone who just discovered there are dildos based on dragon dicks.  He said, "Ahhhh-okay.  There are reindeer... on the roof."  Mom opened her mouth to say something, but he held up a hand, “I repeat, ‘There are reindeer... on the roof.’"

Mom went outside.  Not wanting to miss this, I followed her.  Sure enough, up on the house top, eight tiny reindeer hitched to a sleigh.

Looking at me Mom said, "What are you doing outside without a jacket?  Get back in the house before you freeze to death."

I trudged back inside.  I didn't feel like I needed a jacket.  Though it must be said, knowing your Mom has killed someone implies a greater legitimacy to such observations -- if anybody knows death, it’s her.  After getting a jacket I went back out in time to see Dad position a ladder next to the house.  

"What are you doing?" Mom asked.  

Dad said, "Hoping this is just a meth fueled prank."

He went up the ladder.  Mom scanned the block to see if any neighbors might be observing us. Dad went quickly up, and soon quickly descended.

"Okay," he said, "I tried to pet a reindeer to keep it calm -- I didn't want to get knocked off the roof.  Anyway, it hopped away from me, and hovered in the air."

"So they're real flying reindeer," I said with unrestrained joy.

Without looking at me Dad said, "Son, this is a really messed up situation.  I'm gonna need you to be quiet, while your Mom and I figure this out."

"What's to figure out?" Mom said, "We should call the police."

Dad shook his head, "Honey, believe me, we cannot become the family that killed Santa.  That's just not gonna end well for us."  

Truer words have rarely been spoken.  Even the implication of killing a beloved holiday icon is too risky.  The previous Easter Eugene MacAndrews ran over a rabbit with his lawn mower, and by unfortunate coincidence the local kiddie egg hunt didn’t occur.  Later that night a mob in bunny masks burned down the MacAndrews’ home.  

So my parents swiftly conceived a plan.  Then we spoke not a word, going straight to work. Mom went up on the roof to make the reindeer dash away, dash away all.  Meanwhile, Dad dealt with Father Christmas’ corpse.  He rolled Pere Noel up in a tarp from the garage.  It took considerable effort, but acting with little care Dad dragged and stuffed St. Nick in the trunk of the car.  

Mom came into the garage carrying a short whip. In disgust she said, "There's a whip in the sleigh.  What kind of a person whips a defenseless animal?"

Dad asked, "Did you use it?"

"No!  I fed them bits of apple then tossed a handful in the air, and they went off after them.  They seemed very hungry.  I'm starting to think he was not a good person."

“It’s entirely possible,” Dad said.  Closing the trunk he added, “We’ll never really know.”

He got Santa's toy sack from the living room, jammed it in the back seat then we piled in the car, and drove off.  For some reason, not yet clear to me, my parents insisted I come with.  We stopped at a gas station to fill a can with gasoline.  Afterwards, Dad took us to an abandoned mall on the edge of town. There he and Mom hoisted the dripping tarp into a dumpster.  

While Dad poured gasoline inside the bin, Mom knocked on the car window.  She gestured for me to come out.  Still unsure why they needed me I reluctantly exited the car.  When I neared the dumpster Dad got down on one knee.  

Placing a hand on my shoulder he said, "Son, you're only six, so I don't expect you to fully get this, but in order to equally share the blame we all have to take part."  He handed me a box of matches, "You'll understand when you're older."

"I'm not supposed to play with matches," I said.

Mom said, "This one time it's okay."

Doing my best to pretend like I didn't know how, I lit a match.  As I cupped the tiny flame in my hands Dad picked me up.  He held me over the dumpster, and I dropped it in.  

For a minute we watched the fire bloom, observing this macabre Yule log because, as Mom insisted, we needed to be sure the body burned.  We watched the crackling fire gradually turn green, and spit Christmasy sparks into the sky, a faint aroma of peppermint permeating the air.  Then we went home, stopping briefly to deposit the sack in a drop-box for toy donations.  

The next morning I went downstairs expecting to find nothing under the tree.  However, I discovered a small stack of gifts.  Seeing me shocked, my parents chuckled.

Dad said, “Those are from your Mom and me.”

“There’s always been something from us,” Mom said.

I couldn’t believe my good fortune.  What a glorious Giftmas miracle:  Santa dead, and kids still get gifts.  Then I realized something:  parents gave presents as well, but Santa got all the credit.  It didn’t seem right.  But it also made me wonder what would the world really be missing without Santa in it?  Presents still end up underneath the tree.  They just haven’t been delivered by some magical package handler.  I know.  My mom shot him, and I watched his corpse burn.  It seemed to me the world would get on just fine without Santa Claus.