#but for now we are stuck thinking about it. Boo hoo poor you.

[twilightarcade]

Would you rather. Make time faster or slower?

Its a constant increase/decrease you cant change it. How much faster/slower would you go?

OH OH!!!!!!!!! WMRMRMEMM!!!!!!!!!!!!??!?!?!!!!!!!!!

OKOK UM. IT DEPENDS ON um the logistics I think. I'm not gonna ask you though so I can jsuf keep talking needlessly. Um. Okok. Logistics. You know like??????? Superhero movies. I'm specifically thinking of megamind let's not lie to ourselves you know megamind. And super whatever his face slows down time for a bit. If it's like that I don't think I'd want to do either really. Slowing down sad would make me a bit sad and speeding up time would kill me instantly (metaphorically and literally I think. Gonna get run over by a car or something) maybe If anything just slow down time.... then I can do things but everything would still be so horribly slow. I could do a lot of stuff thoucg

ermm!! If I was just slowing down like... all biological processes n stuff of the sort,,, like the earth spins slower (days longer) and people last longer (technically the same amount of time but it feels longer because years are relatively (to before) longer) and stuff, slow down time 100%. Never have enough time to do fuck all. Remaining unaffected biologically (and therefore being shitfucked in terms of sleep schedule n such) would be really funny though.

How much well. That really depends. It seems selfish, regardless of much you slow it down, you know? dragging everyone down with me. It's not really dragging them down persay but like..... eventually the novelty would wear out for most people I suppose. Who wants to be 13 any longer than they have to be. I do wonder, though, how many people would like... take the time . slow it down or whatever. Like there's a million storylines out there about extending life n such with characters who choose not to because they've already like... lived and whatever. Basically I wanna know if this is just a me thing or if everyone's content with how time is always running out

I don't think I would want to speed up time unless it's like a.... I remaining unaffected biologically type situation. Literally if I'm just going to die faster what's the point. Don't have enough time as it is. I DO think it would be funny to watch like. Time speed by. Like one of those "character sadly sits as life zooms by them" type things. That would make me really sad though.

[cloroxcasserole]

ESCAPE THE CAVE THE KILLER‼️

I didn’t do that much research for this, but I had a LOT of fun and accidentally included some bunny doll (but Jax immediately died so) and jesteribbons which I don’t ship. Like at all.

Word count: 1633

summary: Caine sends them on an adventure, where they all need to pair up to find their way out of the cave. These end up being Pomni and Gangle, Zooble and kinger, and Jax and Ragatha. Jax picks up a little boulder the size of a big boulder. Bro thinks he can lift

“GOOD MORNING MY LITTLE TIDDLYWINX TURTLETOVS!!”

Zooble, who wasn’t planning on going on today’s adventure, but was reconsidering just to get away from the consequences of whatever that guy was going through, replied “Please never say that ever again.. I feel like a white person when the function lacks cantaloupe.””The disrespect, Zooble.. I feel like I’m an old Victorian woman with the bubonic plague who has to support her own family because her husband died but got burnt at the stake because she knew 1+1”he paused “and my 10 children had it too”

“What the f%@& did I just walk into?” Pomni, who was the last one to arrive in the main room of the circus , felt like Caine saying a whole sentence with no screaming should be outlawed because of how little he did that. “The COMMONWEALTH Pomni!”.” She rubbed in between her eyes in annoyance. “It’s the common area Caine.” “Ah yes, the COMMON ARENA!!” “Oh my god.. just tell us what we’re wasting our time on today.”

“It is not a waste of time pomni!! It’s.. YOUR CHANCE TO BE A BIG SHOT!!!1!!11.. oh wait wrong adventure…” he changed the letters in the previous title to be more accurate “THIS THING!!” As Jax and Ragatha were back from what they was previously doing (Jax threw Ragatha into the digital lake™️) he overheard their exchange “Yeah it does seem lazy.. and a waste of time” (local jester claims “I just said that..”)”So I’m the most right here honestly” (local jester emphasizes “I literally JUST said that”) “Nobody asked York peppermint patty”

“NOW GO ESCAPE THE CAVE THE KILLER SKEDADDLE‼️” Caine exclaimed as he shoved the cast through the portal to the cave the killer (you know those Roblox games like “escape the Jeff the killer”? That except the cave is just a cave. Yes very creative I know)

“Come on guys, Caine’s really trying..” Ragatha tried to improve the morale “and failing, but hey! It’s the thought that counts!”. Jax rolled his eyes (Thank the invention of the wheel) “keyword, failing. How the hell are we gonna find anything, let alone the exit because of how DARK it is down here? No thought was put into this. I rest my case” “Well.. maybe if we split up-“ gangle started quietly, to her detriment Jax was the only one to hear “Aha!! I know, we split up!”. “Jax that was my idea.” “Oh it was? Oh boo-hoo you said something literally everyone in this situation would and I ‘copied’ your oh so original idea? Poor you!” He paused to give her a chance to respond “that’s what I thought. So who’s with who

Pomni threw herself at gangle, because she was the first one she saw, and she’d rather abstract than get stuck with Jax. “I’m with gangle..” Gangle sighed out of relief Jax hadn’t claimed that first. Zooble grabbed the first person they could find, which was kinger, but still better than Jax. “Well looks like you’re with me rags~”he grabbed her hand and started walking off with her “now let’s get way from these losers” (Let’s have a moment of silence for Ragatha guys)

“So! This is a great time to you know, converse, get to know each other and… yeah!” Ragatha didn’t want this to be a boring endeavor where they just walked until they felt like their feet were falling off. “About what?” “Oh you know.. life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” (Local rag doll confesses “talking to him makes me want to fight somebody”)

Meanwhile, pomni and gangle were finally having a moment to talk as well. Except nobody was feeling murderous here. “So.. how are you adjusting? I hope Jax isn’t getting on your nerves too bad.” “Oh I’m.. adjusting fine. And he is.. which is a given. Not sure why you’d ask that” Pomni was actually kind of interested in finding out what gangle was like with the comedy mask, was she scary? Is that why Jax always wanted to break it? “Anyway, how about we talk about something else? We shouldn’t let him have that big an effect on us. That’s what he wants.” Gangle agreed “How about what’s under your hat?” “ I can’t really take this off. Really gets on my nerves. Especially because nobody, not even Ragatha, takes me seriously most of the time.” “Oh.. well I do. You actually seem pretty cool. I would’ve wanted to pair up with you even if the alternative wasn’t… him.” “I don’t really know how to respond but.. thanks?” “Well it’s true! I really do want to get to know you better.”(Jesteribbons CANON potion at 3AM??NOT CLICKBAIT)

(You know the drill. Kinger and Zooble get to make an appearance now. Then we get into what I really made this fic for)

Zooble didn’t really know what to talk about.. to kinger specifically. He was kind of out of it most of the time. Maybe he’d respond if they tried to ask about what kinds of bugs he liked? Ugh, no. Even if that did work as a conversation starter then he’d just scream. Caves echo. They weren’t in rhe mood to hear that right now, but it was kind of boring just walking. “So kinger-“ “Oh hi Zooble! I didn’t see you there!” “Uh.. I was right here but.. what stuff do you like doing? I-“ “Oh I like watching bugs! Did you know that mimicry works as both a repellent for predators and to attract prey? The rosy maple moth uses its bright and unusual pink and yellow antennae and fluff to convince predators that it’s poisonous! Fascinating how life evolves like that!” “Oh boy..”

“Ladies first~”Jax said, picking up an almost cartoonishly large rock to open up a door way. “You’re not gonna drop that on me are you?” She walked through the doorway as he was replying, just to make sure that he wouldn’t. “Who me?” He lowered an arm to wave off her concern,“I’d-“ CRUNCH! BOIOIOIOIOIOINGGG which was a mistake.

Ragatha almost didn’t want to turn around, assuming it was just a prank. She continued walking until she heard him..crying? Weird.. that sure wasn’t on her bingo card for today. It sounded like it was about to evolve into a sob “Rags… I” he paused to take a deep, shaky breath”I could really use your help right about now”

Preparing herself for what she was gonna see, she turned around. She hadn’t prepared herself enough apparently, because she staggered back as she saw that his lower half had been completely crushed by the rock. She KNEW it was bad idea! At least they can’t die here, at least not by normal means, right?

“Are you okay?!?” She exclaimed, she knew damn well he wasn’t okay, but it just kind of slipped out. “Of course, I’m positively dandy! I’M @&$#ING DYING HERE??? OBVIOUSLY I’M..” he paused, still hoping this was a dream“I’M OBVIOUSLY NOT OKAY!” “No.. no you’re not dying you’re gonna be fine! We just need to go get Caine and you’ll.. you’re not gonna die!” She knew that probably wasn’t true, and most people in the circus would probably love that, but despite how rude he’s always been she didn’t want to add insult to injury, that insult being confirmation that he wasn’t going to be okay.

“So…? When ya gonna go get him?” Jax had realized that she was just staring off into space. “Uh 15 minutes!” She actually enjoyed horror movies a lot, which lead her to do quite a bit of research in this area. That’s how she knew he was gonna be gone before then. She didn’t want to be pretending to look for him when that happens, then he would die alone. “Why? That’s.. that’s ugh.. I forgot” “Oh just.. you know?” “No, I really don’t… and I’m startin to think you’re just trying to make me feel better by saying I’m fine. Because you can’t gaslight gatekeep girlboss your way outta this one instead of actually admitting something is wrong for once.”

There was silence. It felt way too long, the only thing that motivated Ragatha to break it was the fact that she was running out of time to tell him. She could just leave, or not talk to him until she couldn’t, but he didn’t deserve that. No one did. “Well.. I just didn’t want you to worry.” She fidgeted with her hands, almost like she was embarrassed to admit it. “Oh doll, you have no idea how much I want to scream right now, so it’d be an understatement to say that I’m worried. My point is, you’re not doing to good of a job. So maybe people will like you more if ya stop being so nice. Just.. being 100%.” She wanted to tell him to never say that again but, he probably would make sure to say it as much as he could bring himself to. She laid down next to him “So.. do you just wanna-“ she paused as she looked over to him, oh god he was crying again “what’s.. what’s wrong specifically?”

He took a second to pause for long enough to respond “Oh F$&@ ..they’re.. they’re gonna be so happy I’m finally gone. They’re gonna forget about me after a f@&#ing week aren’t they?” “What? No Jax.. they’re not gonna be happy about that. This may seem backhanded but.. nobody in this place deserves this. Not even you.”

“..you mean it?”

“Yeah- I do” she pulled him into a hug, which to her surprise he returned.

She didn’t let go until she felt his arms loosen , slowly getting up as she saw them go limp. To confirm he hadn’t just fallen asleep, she reluctantly checked his pulse.

He was gone.

[walks-the-ages]

You said that legends Luke Skywalker is canonically a-spec, so I'd like to see the excerpts. Not in a confrontational "prove it to me" sorta way but a "I'm curious" sorta way.

I don't have the books or ebooks on hand, but it's Barbara Hambly's duology Children of The Jedi / The Planet of Twilight books with Callista.

Yes, I say Duology, not Trilogy, because the piece of shit who wrote the book in the middle of these two is a piece of crap misogynyst dudebro who wrote an entire trilogy about Luke running away from his responsibilites because Leia nagged him too much about babysitting so he went and did a little Overpowered Gary Stu thing of raising an obsidian castle up off the shores of a corscaunt beach and spent weeks just wandering around Vader's old Castle, sitting on the ceiling and Brooding(tm) about how he's so overpowered and meant for more and he's so angsty because he has a greater destiny and he can't connect to normal people and .. yeah. Anyways. Guy who wrote the shitty middle book is also unfortunately very "popular" star wars book author so he has written a lot of the other Legends book and .... It's always very refreshing to see other people rereading then and being horrified at what they thought was amazing writing when they were kids lol.

So yeah, ignore the shitty book in the middle by what might be Kevin J Anderson? My internet isn't cooperating at the moment so that either the authors name or the name of a random unrelated actor but it's something something Anderson. Ignore his book because he tries to retcon everything to make Callista a wilting wallflower who oh so scared of Luke's power and she feels so inadequate next to him and she left out of shame and Luke spends the whole book brooding about "oh I'm so scary and strong in the force I scared poor wittle Callista away boo hoo I am so sad and angsty because I'm so scary and overpowered" and then shitty author man tries to kill Callista off along with his sexist stereotype walking female imperial admiral lady character

and Barbara Hambly took one look at his shitty "sequel" to her book and said "Nope! We are fixing literally all of that and more, what the fuck is wrong with you dude, why the fuck are you treating all of the women this way"

Woops. Rambled a bit. Kevin J Anderson or whatever his name is pisses me off to the extreme, especially because he was allowed to write so many books that butchers the original trilogy characters even more than the "sequel" trilogy did.

anyways , long story short if you want to see Aspec Luke Skywalker, you can read Barbara Hambly's Children of the Jedi and Planet of Twilight, and also whichever book Luke proposes to Mara Jade in.

Because even as a kid I read that book and was absolutely fucking delighted at the hilariously out of left field it was and how platonic it was.

It pretty much boils down to:

Luke and Mara Jade are stuck in a flooding cave or something where they might die.

The conversation pretty much follows as such, from what I can remember reading over 10 years ago so obviously don't quote me:

Luke: "Hey Mara. We're friends, right? "

Mara: " Hmm, I mean, yeah I guess. We interact sometimes, sure. So we're acquaintances. And I'm not trying to kill you anymore so we're not enemies. And I've saved your life a few times so... Yeah. I think we're friends."

Luke, possibly after almost drowning: "Cool, cool, cool. So. Hey....... Do you want to marry me?"

Mara thought about it for a moment. "do you mean you want to get married now as the last thing we do before we die or...?"

Luke: "no, I mean even if we survive this. Do you want to marry me, even if we get out of here alive?"

Mara pondered the question, looking down at Luke where he looked like a pathetic drowned rat. "Sure." She shrugged. "I'll marry you."

Luke: "Awesome! I wasn't sure if you would say 'yes' seeing as we've never ever even in our most private thoughts considered each other as romantic or sexual prospects and we've never dated or expressed interest in each other for the years and years that we've known each other but I just feel like it's meant to be, y'know? And--"

Mara rolled her eyes. "Luke, I already agreed to marry you despite our nonexistent romantic or sexual history together, so just chill. Or don't, I don't need you freezing to death; now that we're engaged you're not allowed to die on me, I'd look awesome in a wedding dress."

And then they survived and announced their engagement to Han and Leia who came to rescue them and were met with confusion ("wait, Leia, did they even ever date!? How did I miss that!?"" / "No, shhh han, just be happy for them.") But they did go on to get married (I think they showed the wedding in one of the comics).

[lovinkiri]

Can you do a fic where you’re Shigarakis s/o and play thing and he’s down about a mission/mistake and you have to hype him up. You’re quirk is shadow/darkness and you have to cheer him up so you’re hyping him up like “you’re a king, you’re a god. You’re the son of AFO, you’re amazing.” And get SPICY. Pls pls thx. You’re amazing

My Pet's Praise

Author's Thoughts: I know this is late but 😩 This is my kinda smut-

Warning: Cursing, Smut, Oral, Handjob, etc.

Being Shigaraki's plaything came with its issues. But it also came with many perks.

Perk? You were practically untouchable. Nobody even thought about fucking with you, and Shigaraki wouldn't let the heroes touch a hair on your head.

Perk? Shigaraki let you get away with almost anything. You were his princess after all.

"Crusty, get your goddamn pet, they're startin' to piss me off."

"Boo hoo, let me play you a song on the world's tiniest violen- Suck it up. Overcooked pizza roll.."

And another perk, you were one of the few people Shigaraki allowed access to his feelings.

It's not often Shigaraki gets too in touch with his feelings. But it happens. Especially when those UA brats find ways to make him look like a fool.

And when it happens too many times, Shigaraki gets stuck in a rut. He feels unworthy. As if All For One chose wrong, as if putting his faith us Shigaraki was a mistake.

That's when you come in.

You sat on Shigaraki's lap, pressing kisses all over his face. "Tomura.." You murmur between kisses, only for him to turn his face away from you in shame.

Sighing, you gently rub at his shoulders. "Hey, look at me.." You cup his face and guide his gaze back to your own gently. And he lets you, feeling too miserable to fight it.

"You're amazing, Tomura.." You'd almost already lost him, watching as he rolled his eyes. But you persisted.

"I'm serious. We may not have them just yet, but if you can't do it, who can? You're a God among them, All For One's heir and practically his son."

And Tomura becomes responsive at that, arms wrapping around your waist and pulling you closer.

You smile at him. "Its not that you can't do it. Now just wasn't the right time. I know it's stressful, but you've got this."

Tomura let's out a sigh and slowly nods, placing trust in your words. Though they still don't wipe away the stress. But you know just what to do.

You lift his chin and tilt his head, placing small kisses against his neck.

"Hey.." He finally speaks up. You pause, waiting for him to push you away but he doesn't.

"Let me help.. Please?" Your lips find their way back to his skin. He relaxes against you once more and you take that as a signal to continue.

You mark him up because you know he won't mind, he never does.

And when he starts to whine, when he grinds his hips into yours, you let him. And thats you do for a couple of minutes.

You activate your quirk and the room darkens. The shadows from every corner expand and cover the room.

The only thing visible to the both of you is each other. And seeing the world and the stress disappear into the darkness makes Tomura feel a lot better.

And its then that your hand slides down his chest and stomach, right over his clothed crotch.

He immediately grinds into your palm, craving as much friction as he can get, but it's simply not enough.

"All you have to do is ask.." You whisper against his skin.

And he's hesitant, because he doesn't have to ask. You're his plaything. He could command you if he wanted.

"Just.. Touch me.." It wasn't a request, but it wasn't as confident as his normal tone with you in bed.

You take it though, undoing his pants and tugging them down with his boxers. Pulling his election from their confines, you waste no time stroking him.

"Yes, sir."

Off the bat, your pace is brutal and he chokes on air for a minute. He is unable to breathe, to think, to process before his hips are moving on their own.

You coo at him softly, watching him fuck your fist eagerly. "Fuck, just like that.. So fucking perfect."

His eyes close and he shudders at the praise, craving more of it, more of every. And you deliver.

"So amazing, so thankful for you, Sir." You press the lightest kiss to his lips before whispering against them. "Makes me so proud to be yours, y'make me so happy.."

Eventually, your sliding off his lap and between his thighs. And Tomura, who found his confidence somewhere in the pleasure, removes your hands.

"Shit, open your mouth. Show me your tongue." He demands, fisting his own cock.

You do so immediately, fully exposing your tongue to him. He smacked the head of his cocktail against the wet surface before sliding it into your mouth.

You take what you can and allow him to use your poor throat, tears welling up.

As they pour down your cheek, Shigaraki can't help but feel prideful. What a little mess he's turned you into. The mess waiting between your legs was something he looked forward to.

You were such a good little plaything, always ready to help in his time of need. Offering yourself to him; Mind, body, and soul.

He pulled himself from your mouth, allowing you to breathe.

You took advantage of it, catching your breath. But you took Tomura by surprise with how quickly your tongue found the underside of his cock.

You were so desperate, so wanting. So good for him.

Such a good plaything, good little pet.

So eager to please.

[total-ass]

the amount of misogynoir leshawna received on total drama was ridiculous! for starters she was subjected to many blatantly racist comments from heather. heathers skinny ass couldnt go a SECOND with out making a comment on how disgusting her fake hair was, or how gross her fat was and how “”ghetto”” everything about her was. as a chubby black girl that rewatched tdi in middle school that shot made me uncomfortable as fuck, i genuinely needed to take a break in between episodes. in tdi they barely even gave her any personality traits outside of being “”ghetto”” they basically sidelined her to being the “black best friend” who always always there to fix all of her white friends problems. now on surface that doesn’t sound to bad but if you did some research on the history behind the “black best friend” stereotype you’ll see how this stereotype isn’t as harmless as you think.

one thing we can all agree on is that leshawnas elimination was racially biased. the second leshawna actually stared showing oh i don’t know...real character traits and how capable she was BAM! they take her out cause they hate to see black women winning (which seems to e a common theme in this show hmm 🤔 and no i’m not counting sanders shes a cop and her name reminds me of s*nders s*des) while all of tdis eliminations had little to no thought put into them and barely made sense in regards to the “rules”(bridgettes, lindsays, DJ, duncan, etc.) but leshawnas elimination was was easily one of the most contrived scenes in the show! (and that’s saying something 🤨) and that’s not even getting into all the sexual jokes they made at her expense, from the perverted camera angles focusing on her curves, to all the disgusting comments she received from her team mates.

FUCK TOTAL DRAMA ACT*ON, everyone hates total drama act*on. that season was fucking garbage. a lot of thing pissed me off that season, the ableism, the fatphobia, beths existence, boring as fuck, (i lowkey like lesharold and all but all of harolds comments towards leshawna were...😐) but the worst thing about total drama act*on is once again!! the way leshawna was treated. oh boo hoo she made fun of you guys for being annoying? well you guys are, everyone that season was insufferable at some point. td* came 2 DAYS after tdi, that means leshawna was stuck with those fuckers for an entire summer and had nothing to show for it, she had every right to clown on them i said what i said. and her elimination was also bullshit this season but what else is new?? 😐

in total drama w*rld t*ur she was treated like nothing but a pawn for alejandro (another racist stereotype) to do stereotypical racist spanish stereotype things to her. and her graceful exit was her randomly beating the shit out of heather undoing the little character development that didn’t involve a white boy she had 😐. ngl if leshawna had beaten the shit out of heather in tda for...yknow yelling everything but racial slurs at her, then maybe it would justified for her to to that but no, they had to use it as an opportunity to villainize her for thier piss poor plot.

anyway i want to surgically remove leshawna from this show and put her in a good one. she deserves so much better the what she received, hopefully the black girls in the new seasons are actually treated with dignity. but we all know that’s asking too much from this company 😐

[g-flux1]

Title

Y’know, I kinda feel out of place in the Sonic fan community. I see so many people talking about “X character did Y thing in Z storyline and that’s good/bad/piss-poor storytelling” and I’m sitting over here like “y’know I think the gameplay’s fun”. I’m not trashing on people who enjoy the more lore-centric elements, and I’m not trying to come off as “woe is me, I don’t fit in, boo hoo”, just making an observation. Like, I don’t know enough of the intricacies of game design to place my finite number of fingers on the innumerable reasons why sonic games are fun to me, but they can at least feel that they’re there. Not all sonic games get it right, but when they get it right, by god, they get the gameplay *right*. Story and setting and all that flowery jazz still factors into that, of course, but it’s all second stage to the gameplay for me. Maybe I’m the only one still stuck on it, maybe everyone else just went “okay, we all agree the gameplay is good, now let’s make the characters kiss” years ago, I don’t know. I guess it’s also kinda related to my fascination with how they get games to run, especially the older games, squeezing everything they can out of the genesis, getting anything at all to run on the abomination against god that were the saturn’s internals, adding online and snazzy lighting and transparency and the VMU to the dreamcast. I’ve just always appreciated the concrete experience of a game more, the one I can appreciate and love by myself, rather than the more ephemeral experience of creating stories and lore and worlds to explore, the one that really requires others to fully enjoy. As I was writing this, I realized I could write a lot more about this, and connect this to a lot more broader things in my life, and my general experience online over the years, and who I am as a person, but that’s a rant for another time. Oh, and if you made it this far, I’m probably on track to make a massive improvement on my KoL HC standard record, which is at like 3/580 or something this year. You probably don’t know what that means, but I’d be happy to explain it in excruciating detail if requested. Please ask.

[tanakavox]

A look into the multiverse chapter 8 SAOA

Many thanks to my friend friend @bssaz97 for his work on the reactions. And TheGoldenBoy2188 for the strict for SAOA making writing easy. The next reaction will be a suprise so stay tune.

Amidst the streets of Mantle, Whitley Schnee walked towards a destination while wearing a disguise consisting of a coat, scarf, shaded glasses, and a flat cap. He had a mission and he would not waste this opportunity!

It was not every day that he could simply leave the manor without Father's permission or notice so he needed to be quick but not noticeable. He had waited months for this day to arrive. Whitley had pre-ordered the latest MMO game of his favorite game series a week before the initial release date and had come to pick it up. Having connections in the right places certainly did have its benefits. The only downside was he had to acquire his prize somewhere outside of his father's notice. So what other place to go than Atlas's sister kingdom.

Outside of his notice, a young white haired faunus woman with sheep ears followed close behind him. Fiona Thyme was out picking up some food for the rest of the Happy Huntresses when she noticed an unfamiliar person walking around. She knew almost everyone on this side of Mantle, so a new person popping out of the blue was very suspicious. Normally she would have reported this back to Robyn but upon further inspection she recognized who this person was.

It was the sole son of the worst man on Remnant and the newly appointed heir of the Schnee Dust Company, Whitley Schnee! Why was he here in Mantle?! Fiona determined he was up to no good and decided to follow him. Wherever the SDC goes, trouble usually follows!

Whitley finally arrived at the destination he was seeking… the Post Office! Now all he had to do was open the door, enter the establishment aaaaaand- stare dumbfounded as the inside of this place was a theatre.

"What the-? This isn't the post office. Where am I?!" Whitley shouted at no one in particular.

"Ah-ha! Caught you right where I- Huh? Where the hell? This isn't the post office!" Fiona also dumbfounded.

"Whitley?" Both Weiss and Winter stated in a mix of shock and disbelief at seeing their little brother. Maybe some hostility on Weiss part.

"Weiss? Winter? How-?"

"What the hell is this?!" A loud female voice shouted as four more people arrived out of nowhere. Consisting of two normal sized humans, a bunny faunus and a very large man.

"Coco/Velvet/Fox/Yatsuhashi!" Teams RWBY and JNR said collectively.

"Oh hello everyone! This… is a surprise! When did you get to Vacuo?" Velvet asked the group.

Fiona turned towards the new strangers, "Vacuo? What are you talking about? You're all in Mantle?"

"I'm most certain we're in Vacuo at the time." Yatsu spoke.

"You are in neither at the moment." Ozpin spoke up.

"What the- Teach? Weren't you supposed to be dead?!" Coco confusingly points out.

"I believe an explanation is in order."

*One short but informative explanation later*

"Wait so we were brought here to watch… alternate realities?" Fiona says after she and all the new arrivals had been told everything about the theater.

"We call them viewings but yeah pretty much." Ruby said.

"Hold on, I can understand why all of you were brought here, seeing as you all are huntsmen and huntresses. But that doesn't explain why I'm here." Whitley, having taken off his disguise.

"A great question indeed." Weiss mutters.

"I think I have a theory." Blake stepped forward. "So far now, I've noticed that the people who are here have at least some involvement in the viewings that we have been seeing. Remember that one viewing we saw of Whitley being stuck inside a video game?"

"I was stuck in a video game?"

"Also if you die in the game you die for real." Nora added.

Whitley's eyes widened at the implications.

"Well you're still stuck as far as we know. But apparently you're very good at the game so you might be fine." Jaune clarifies. Slightly feeling guilty that his alternate is the one who traps him there.

"Oh joy, now I'm trapped inside a place against my will in two realities!" Whitley throws his hands in frustration.

"Oh boo hoo! Is the rich boy gonna cry because nothings going his way today?" Fiona says in a mocking tone.

"Oh I'm sure you would know so much about crying and complaining about trivial things, thief." He shot back at Fiona.

"At least I think about the people of Mantle! When was the last time you thought of someone outside of yourself, Schnee!" Fiona retorted.

Winter sensing that this conversation was going nowhere stepped in between her brother and the happy huntress.

"Enough! None of us came here by choice so let's just stop this pointless arguing and move on."

Fiona huffed, "I couldn't agree more." She stomped away from the two siblings and found herself a seat in the theater.

Winter sighed, "It may not be ideal but as long as you are here Whitley, I would just suggest sitting tight and wait until you or all of us are able to leave this place."

"Hmph, very well. Thank you sister, it almost sounds like you care." Whitley took his leave and found a seat that was about four seats away from Weiss's team.

"Isn't there anywhere else you want to sit," Weiss practically hisses.

"Oh but Weiss it's the only seat that's close enough to you." Whitley affirmed.

Weiss groans in frustration, 'Hopefully it's only for one viewing…'

An acoustic guitar plays in the background as a montage of the events of and post-Episode 1 appears on the screen and a narrator began to talk.

" A month had passed since that fateful day. When everyone's world got all twisted, leaving them stranded in a castle in the sky. Since then, 2000 poor souls came to an abrupt and tragic end. Some by bad luck, others by sheer stupidity. I mean, really. Why would you just stand in fire? Anyways, that didn't bother The Kid none. He only cared about one thing, and one thing alone. Himself. 'Cuz in a game of life or death, you either live... or you die."

The scene transitions to Shirou leaning against a wall with an annoyed look on his face.

"What?! Two thousand of the players have died already!" Ruby yelled, tears starting to form in her eyes.

"Not surprising, seeing as many of them looked weak last viewing." Cinder coolly replies.

Many huntsmen and huntresses glared at the red clad woman. She paid them no mind.

"Well thank you very much Narrator, you're doing a wonderful job of explaining the total death count of this video game prison." Whitley commented dryly.

"Oh, WOW. What brilliant insight! It's so deep it loops right back around to being stupid." Shirou snarked.

"The Kid ranted at no one, it slowly dawning just how alone he truly was" Narrator continued..

Whitley's eyes narrowed, "Am I being sassed by the narrator?"

"Maybe you said something to piss them off." Fiona added.

"Wait, what was that?" Shirou asks, shocked.

"He asked the sky, like a preacher to his silent gods."

"What gods? What are you talking about?! It's all bullshit metaphors with you!"

"He cried, not knowing the difference between a simile and a metaphor. The tininess of his brain dwarfed only by the tininess of his di-"

Whitley's eyes narrowed and face twitched at how much of an annoyance this narrator was being.

Weiss was doing her best to conceal her smile but was failing and breathes out a laugh. She was enjoying the exchange that her brother was going through and found it amusing. Her team gave her a side glance while Fiona and a few others laughed at the roast session the young Schnee was being given.

"Narrator off." Shirou commands the system with an annoyed tone.

"YOUCANSILENCEMEBUTYOUCAN'TSILENCETHETRU-" The narrator got cut off.

"Dick."

"Thank gods that's over, that narrator was extremely rude." Whitley sighed thankfully now that the narrator was silenced.

Weiss and Fiona grumbled that their fun was ruined.

Fade into December 2, 2022, on a strategy meeting led by man called Diabel. He gave a big smiled out to the crow

"Hey everyone. Thank you all for coming to our little powwow. Now, I know many of you may be discouraged by the fact that 2000 people have died so far."

" WHAT?!" A player screamed

" 2000 PEOPLE ARE DEAD?!" Another screamed.

"IT HASN'T EVEN BEEN A MONTH YET!"

"OH MY GOD, WE REALLY ARE FUCKED!"

"Pretty much, sucks to be you!" Mercury laughed.

"These are the people that have to survive this game. Honestly what was blondie expecting," Emerald facepalms.

"Hey! Just because they've lost numbers doesn't mean that they have to lose hope!" Ruby glared at the two assassins.

"And I know even more of you are a little down because we haven't even cleared the First Floor yet." Diabel added, trying to keep the smile on his face.

"WE HAVEN'T?!"

"I THOUGHT WE WERE ALMOST DONE...!"

"You were saying." Cinder looked back at Ruby.

"Well…" Ruby trailed off, thinking of a way to defend these players.

Diabel's smile wavered

"Uh, you guys do know there are 100 Floors, right?"

"WHAT?!" A crowd of players yelled.

Diabels sighed a bit.

Ruby, despite her best attempts, also sighed and sat back down.

"Oh jeez, I am just making things worse. Point is, we found the Boss Room!"

The crowd gasps.

"Now, we've formulated a few strategies with some help from the beta testers-"

"BETA TESTERS?!" A voice yells out.

"Oh goddammit!" Diabel groaned argnily

A player named Kibaou jumps in.

Kibaou, what do you want? Diabel looked tired addressing this player.

"Beta testers? They're the reason we're stuck in this game!" Kibaoyu sneered

Many that heard this player's statement and quickly frowned at his blatant accusations towards these 'beta-testers.'

"This guy can't be serious, right?" Coco stated.

Dianel looked at Kibaou flatterausted at the stupidity of the statement he heard

"What?! Do you have any evidence to back that up?"

Kiabrou scoffed at the question. "Pfft! Evidence. I don't need no evidence. Isn't that right, Jesus?" He points to a player named "Jesus"

" It's pronounced "Hey-Zeus", and I don't know you."

"Wow, really selling your reasoning by having no one else to support your claim." Jaune stated while crossing his arms.

"Well, they still should have helped us newbies!" He exclaimed

"If I might interject...:" A deep voice called out.

A big muscular man gets up and comes to the stage.

Velvet taps Yatsu's arm excitedly, "Hey you're in this game too Yatsu! …oh gods you're in this game too."

"So it seems," Yatsu, doing his best to keep a straight face.

Coco lowered her shades along with a confused look. As far as she knew, Velvet was the only one who played video games on their team. Unless...

"And who the hell are you?!"

"I am known by many names.", "Closed eyed demon. The memory easer., "Hooked clawed tiger". But you? You may call me... "Velvet".

"Velvet huh? That's a... pretty masculine name." Kibaoru said adwarkley

"Shouldn't be. It's a woman's name." Velvet replied casually.

"Damn it. I had a feeling but I didn't want to be right." Coco cursed quietly while shaking her head.

"Wait, why would Yatsu have a character named after me? That doesn't- ...Oh ...oh my gods." Velvet's eyes widened at the implications, tears starting to build. That is until she felt a nudge on one of her shoulders. She turned her head and there was Yatsuhashi looking at Velvet with a gaze that said, 'It's not your fault.'

"Kay, I don't know how to talk to you."

"Good. Then you can shut up and listen. Does everyone here have this book in their inventory?"

" Yeah.

" Yes."

"Yup."

"Yeah."

" No... Wait, can I change my answer?"

Velvet/Yatsushi held up a book to show to everyone.

" This book is full of tips and strategies on how to survive this game, put together by the beta testers. Everyone read it, yet some people still died. The beta testers did everything they could."

"Yeah, that means Mace Hair has no reason to blame the beta testers!" Ruby points out.

Many of her friends nodded and Yastu's team smiled at the sound defense his alternate presented.

" Actually, I didn't read it." One player chimed up.

"Yeah, I didn't read it either."

"I skimmed it."

"OH COME ON!" Many members of the audience shouted in agitation.

"What? Didn't ANY of you read it?! It is literally a matter of life and death." Velvet exclaimed

"Well, dude. It's like 80 pages." A player pointed

"2000 people are dead!"

"THEY ARE?!"

"Again. These are the people that have to survive this game." Emerald reiterates.

Brief pause. Shirou looks shocked at their stupidity.

"I am so done with you people." Velvet mutters, walking off the stage.

" What do you mean "you people"?" A player asked a bit offended.

The Faunus in the room narrowed at their eyes at the implications made by that player.

"What do you mean, "you people"?" Fiona asks no one in particular.

Velvet and Kibaou take their seats.

Diabel continued with the meeting. "So, as Mister Hooked clawed tiger was saying, this book has some great strategies, including how to beat the First Boss, Illfang."

He clears his throat and starts reading from the guide.

"So as you enter the Boss Room, he's gonna throw wave after wave of disposable minions at you... and you must answer in kind."...?

"Uh, what?" A player asks, mirroring Diabel confusion.

Many in the audience reacted just as confused. All except Whitley, who had a good feeling where this was going.

Diabel continues

"Send the weaker players first. Good rule of thumb: If a player asks you for gold 2 seconds after meeting you, front lines."

"Ha, serves 'em right!" Kiaboru said with a laugh

"If they hijack conversations to rant about their political views, front lines."Diabel said with a smirk looking at Kiaboru.

Kibaou went pale. "Aw, shit."

"Ha! Serves you right!" Nora laughed.

"If they ask female players for pics of their boobs, front lines."

"OH BULLSHIT!" One player screamed out in rage.

"THAT'S DISCRIMINATION!" Another one howled.

"BOO!"

Many of the women in the theater frown at the way those players reacted. Winter was more than certain that those players were the type that participated in the mentioned acts the speaker spoke on.

Diabel smiles and waves them down. "Now, now, people. I think there are some valid points being made here. Now, it goes on to say when Illfang's health goes into the red, he's going to switch from his axe and buckler to something called a "Talwar". At that point we should initiate a strategy called "The Final Solution" and- I'm just gonna stop reading! Jesus, who wrote this thing?"

Shirou giggles evilly.

"Of course Whitley wrote that book." Weiss sighed.

"Why sister, it sounds like that didn't surprise you in the least." Whitley pretending to act hurt.

"Please. The manipulative tone of the text almost makes one sound too much like you." Weiss bit back.

"Well I suppose you would know." A wide smile on Whitley's face.

Weiss scoffs turning her head away from her traitorous brother.

Team R_BY and Winter watched the exchange and sighed.

"Okay, so the guide's a bust. But it'll be fine. I'll come up with a great plan for us." Diabel smiles at the crowed.

"Like what?"

" Well... we... could... Uh... Uhhhh... I'm open to suggestions."

"Woah, guys, we could- we could, you know, like, group up and-"

"And hit it 'til it DIES!" Another yelled finishing the other player sentence

"Woo, nice!"

"Yeah!"

" High five!"

The two hive five.

"Well. It's something, right?." Velvet does her best to be optimistic.

Many of the more experienced members of the theater shake their heads.

"That's... a good start. But let's hear some other suggestions."

"I'd like to hear more about this "Final Solution"." A player in a german accent piped up.

"Fuck it, group up." said Diabel said tirely.

Shirou slides down the seats towards a girl, named Fiona, who's on her own.

Fiona blinks in surprise, "Oh my gods, that's me! I'm in the game! Hey other me, stay away from the Schnee!"

"You have my condolences." Weiss says to the sheep faunus.

"So, why aren't, uh, you joining anyone's group?" Shirou asked.

"I have my reasons." She said mysterioly

" Is it because you're a girl?"

"No. It's because... I don't know how to play."

"Because you're a girl?"

Many of the females and males who enjoy video games, such as Yang, Ruby, Velvet, Nora,, Jaune, Oscar, Ren, surprisingly Mercury and Emerald, along with Fiona herself, threw questioning glares towards the current heir of the SDC. Weiss and Winter glared at him as well but for other reasons.

Whitley looks around to see all the glares directed towards him. "Why are you all looking at me? I said nothing."

"No!" Fiona snapped. "It's just... I don't know how to open the menu."

"What?" Both Fiona and Whitley asked.

"Jinx!" Nora shouts.

"What?!" Shriou looked at the girl in shock. "But you can't do anything in this game without the menu. How have you survived all month?"

Cut to Fiona holding a piece of bread. She is staring at it intensely. "HOW DO I EAT YOU?!" She screamed at it.

Many laughs were had at the poor girl's predicament, despite some of them doing their best to not do so but could not help themselves.

Fiona slowly sank into her chair, covering her face in shame. Her alternate was the utter definition of a newb player.

Back to the present.

"It's... been a challenge…" She muttered before looking at Shirou. "What about you? Why haven't you join the others?"

"Oh, lots of reasons. Mostly because they're a bunch of mouth-breathing neckbeards who think "LMAO" is how French people laugh."

" Ha ha, that's so Le Mao!" Said one player far away causing to Shirou shudder.

Whitley in the theater also shudders in disgust. If these were the people that he would have been surrounded by inside the game, then he too would have avoided them like a plague.

"Wow. You certainly... speak from the heart."

"Funny, I thought I was speaking from my mouth. But, eh, shows what I know about biology." He said with a smirk.

"No one else wanted you in their group, did they?"

"Shut up! It was mutual!"

"And who would blame me? Have you seen the players of this game? I'm honestly surprised they lived this long."

"You're just saying that 'cause no one wanted a smartass on their team." Fiona smirked.

"I'm sorry, were you speaking Menu Girl?" Whitley nonchalantly retorts.

Fiona's face grew red in embarrassment and agitation. She wanted nothing more than to raise her hand and activate her semblance right now. 'Give me a reason Schnee, I dare you.'

It cuts back to Diabel smiling and clapping his hands.

"Alright, looks like everyone's grouped up. Get plenty of rest tonight, people! We leave at noon!"

A player groans "Noon?"

"That's so early!"

Diabel sighs. "Alright. What about 1 o'clock?"

" Dude, come on!"

" God, fine! We leave at the crack of... 2:30, I guess. Lazy butts…"

"Christ, I'm gonna have to set my alarm."

Everyone in the theater did not have high expectations for these players as they would face their first challenge.

Cuts to December 3, 2022 Floor 1: Illfang's Tower, 7:30pm. Everyone's at the Boss Door and everyone except Diabel is exhausted.

"Okay, so there were a few more stairs than we realized. Apparently real life athletic ability translates into the game. Good to know." Diabel looked out to the sad sight in front of him.

"Oh, god. I can feel my lungs trying to kill me." One player whined.

" Is this sweat?!"

" I peed a little."

" Jesus, this is sad." Diabel said with a grimace.

One player vomits.

"Congrats Jaune, someone else has now become the new Vomit Boy of this viewing!" Yang exclaimed.

Jaune rolled his eyes at her attempt at making him feel better.

"Fuck it. Why don't you all just take a Cheetos and Mountain Dew break, and we'll reconvene in an hour."

1960 Batman-Esque transition with Cheetos and Mountain Dew.

" Dammit, guys! I was kidding! You weren't supposed to actually take an hour!" Dibal said in a rage."God, we've lost so much time. Let's just do this already! You all know the plan!"

Illfang jumps into the center of the room and roars. Kobolds pop in, and an error message pops up on the third one that says "Error: "Sentinel_ " not found."

Ruby and Nora laughed at the mob that got glitched.

"Alright, men!" Diabel began,"Form up and-"

"EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF!" A player screams

The armies converge on each other.

"Are they serious! You can't just go gung-ho in a boss battle!" Jaune exclaimed at the increasingly apparent, dim-witted players.

"What?! No! Goddammit guys!" Diabel begins to bark out orders. "Squad B, quit attacking the Boss and keep the Sentinels off us! C, D, stop attacking from the front! Do you even know what "flank" means?! Squad F, for fuck's sake! Stop playing Bejeweled! *Groans* Squad G, get in there and help A and B!"

"Got it!" Shirou said with a nod rushing in.

"Don't talk back to…" Diabel did a double take."l Holy shit, really?!"

"How is Whitley the most sensible minded player in this game?!" Weiss asked.

"Weiss, have you seen the other players?" Blake asked her in a deadpanned tone.

"...Yes you're right, that's actually too much of an insult." Weiss admits.

Shirou attacks a Sentinel, leaving Fiona to finish it off.

"Okay, Fiona! What you're gonna wanna do here is-"

Fiona lets out a Battle Cry and kills the Sentinel in one hit.

Fiona in the theater perked up at this display, "Oh my- I can fight! Oh thank gods I can fight!"

Shirou eyes widened in shock "Wow, I thought she was hopeless, but her technique is flawless. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she's even better than I-"

"Hey Shirou! I killed the thing and now it says I have XPs! Is that bad? Am I dying?! Fiona cried out to him in fear."

Shirou rolls his eyes"Or... maybe... not."

"Miss Fiona, either your alternate is very lucky or is very out of base with technology. I can't tell which it is." Whitley stated.

"Shut up Schnee, she's trying!" Fiona defends her other self.

Illfang's health drops into the red. He snarls at the players and he tosses his weapons.

"Alright, men! This last part's gonna take careful coordination…" Diabel ran towards Illfang. "which is why I'm just gonna do it myself!"

Diabel charges his weapon art. Illfang draws his Ōdachi.

Ruby's eyes widened, "OH NO!"

Shirou looked and saw the weapon and his eyes widened calling to Diabel. "Oh shit! Diabel, look out! That's not a Talwar! It's an Ōdachi!"

"What's the difference?!" Diabel ask still running towards Illfang.

"Well, a Talwar is of Indian descent while an Ōdachi is Japanese! While both are primarily slashing weapons, the Talwar was favored by cavalrymen, as opposed to an Ōdachi which was mainly used for dick measuring!" As Shirou is talking, Illfang starts jumping off the walls.

" What's your point?!" Diabel asked impaintely.

"Well if you let me finish, I was getting to that! You see…"

Diabel gets hit by Illfang, screaming in pain.

Many of the huntsmen and huntresses in the theater either gasped in fear or looked away at the surely doomed player.

"What's happening? Did I miss something?" Fox called out.

"Oops." Shirou sheepishly said.

Illfang hits Diabel again, sending him flying.

"DIABEL!" Kibaou yelled out.

Illfang pops down in front of Kibaou and roars. A message pops up "Bonus Item: Soiled Pants". Above Kibaou

"Hey, rare drop!' A player said cheerfully.

Mercury laughed at the joke while most of the others were disgusted by the fact that that achievement was unlockable.

Shirou runs over to Diabel and holds him up.

" I was trying to say an Ōdachi's a little bit longer than a Talwar, so it'll have more reach and do a bit more damage."

"And why couldn't you say that first?" Diabel asked weakly

"Yeah you dummy! You almost might've killed him!" Ruby cries out.

Whitley was actually taken aback by that statement. Sure he had moments of pride and arrogance, sometimes he looked down on people but he didn't believe he would ever intentionally kill someone.

" I like to think of myself as a teacher. Anyway, drink this."

Shirou tries to give Diabel a healing potion but he stopped Shirou shaking his head.

"No. It's better this way. I just can't do it anymore. I had such high hopes at first. But now? Our best player is a girl who thinks DPS is some kind of sex thing." Both turned to glance to Fiona.

"I know. It's weird, right?"

Fiona sulked more into her chair.

"You're clearly not like the rest of them. How do you stand it, Shirou? Where do you draw your strength?" Diabel look at Shirou like a sage.

Shirou sigh and drops his wisdom onto him. "I've been playing MMO's a long time, Diabel, and if there's one thing I've learned, it's that lions do not concern himself with the opinions of sheep. Just take that little voice in your head that tells you to be tactful and understanding... and shoot it. Shoot it in the goddamn face."

" You are so wise. If only I'd met you sooner. Perhaps, things would have been different. You must lead them now. Show them this game can be beaten." Diabel let's go of Shirou wrist.

Weiss was taken aback that this man was actually willing to place trust in this alternate of her brother. This stranger who barely even knows him placed the lives of all the players into his hands. Much like how she tried to trust Whitley once… this caused a bitter frown to grow on her face in recollection. Even if this was a different version of him, it was still Whitley in her eyes.

Shirou smiles fondly at Diabel. "Another life... in another time... I think we could have been friends."

"I... doubt it." Diabel gasps out before turning to shattered glass, dying.

" Well fuck you, too!" Shirou said angrily his smile dropping into a frown.

Fiona slips in by Shirou's side and began to lay out a plan.

"Alright, Shirou. Here's what we'll do. One counters his blows to knock him off balance and the other switches in to attack. Rinse. Repeat. Victory."

Shirou looked at her with one eye. "You came up with that, but you can't open a menu."

"Shut up!" Fiona cried out.

Illfang roars and they take off running toward him.

"Alright, so you counter and I'll attack!" Shirou yelled to Fiona.

"What? No, it's my plan! I should attack!" Fiona yelled back.

"Fine, just get ready!"

Shirou makes a battle cry and counters Illfang's attack.

"SWITCH!"

Fiona moves in and gets her cloak destroyed by Illfang before attacking revealing white curly hair and sheep ears.

" See? You almost got yourself killed! I'll attack him!" Shirou yelled again and began to attack Illfang.

"Oh, that was a fluke, and you know it! He's mine!" Fiona yelled back.

Fiona attacks Illfang.

"Oh shit. They're actually giving that boss the work!" Coco called out.

"He's mine!" Shirou yelled.

Shirou blocks Illfang's next attack, but Fiona attacks him before Shirou can do so himself.:

"Mine!" Fiona screams

"NO! HE'S! MIIIIIIIIIIINE!"

Shirou slices Illfang and he explodes. Everyone is stunned. Lame party kazoo sound effect and a banner with the word "CONGRATULATION" appears.

"Yeah!" A player cheer.

This caused almost everyone in the audience to laugh. Despite the dark humor of it all, it was still pretty hilarious.

"What happened? Did they win?" Fox asks

"Oh yes, I'm sorry Fox! They beat the boss and a victory banner came out."

"...heh." Fox chuckled.

Shirou is panting. He gets an item as a reward for defeating the Boss.

"Congratulations!" Velvet said, patting him on the back. "That was even more impressive than that cat that learned to play."

Cut to a player with a cat's head, with another player staring at it.

"Meow."

"Huh what did you know?" Yang replied.

"Oh my god! You guys can see it too?! So I'm not crazy! Isn't that great, Jesus?!" We see things from the players' perceptive, with a giant hallucination of Jesus Christ looming over the crowd.

"That's right, Jeffrey. Now... kill them all." Jesus said, his voice growing darker.

"As you command, my Lord." Jeffrey whispered.

"Somethings very wrong with that guy." Qrow states.

"I honestly agree with you, Branwen… Blegh! That left a horrible taste in my mouth." Winter stated.

Cut back to Velvet talking to Shirou. The other players are applauding his victory.

"You've led us to victory, Shirou. These men and I will follow you to hell itself. Now... address your people." Velvet is smiling and pushing Shirou to the crowd.

Shirou gets up and smirks. "I always knew this day would come. Ahem. Fellow gamers! We have traveled far and up many stairs to get to this point. Fighting side by side, noobs, and leets, alike. I'd like to take a moment to say that I couldn't have done it without the help of each and every one of you."

"Aw, that's a nice thing to say-" Velvet was cut off when Shirou counties.

"Of course, I'm not a liar, so I'm not gonna say any of that."

"Oh shit."

"I thought as much." Weiss states.

Shirou grins look at the group. "I mean, really. I could've done this whole Boss Fight myself. But to be fair, I guess you did absorb a bit of damage for me, which was nice. You were an adequate meat shield, and no one can ever take that away from you."

"Fuck. Fuck! Shut up! SHUT UP!" Velvet started to say.

"So for those of you who came in late, and that one guy playing Bejeweled back there... shoot for the stars... it'll make it more fun when I kick you back into the dirt."

"You're not better than us!" Kiaboru said.

"Yeah! What makes you think you're so cool?!" Nora shouts to the screen.

Shirou equips the coat he got for beating Illfang and smugly looks at the group."My sweet-ass coat begs to differ."

"Dammit, he's got us there." one player muttered.

Shirou ascends the stairs out of the Boss Room. Fiona follows him and grabs him by the shoulder. "Shirou, wait!"

Those in the audience looked on at Fiona's alternate in hope. Surely she could turn him around after their excellent display of partnership.

"I want half." She said, staring at him blankly.

That hope was quickly squashed, shot at, and finally burned to death via gasoline and cracking a fire dust crystal.

Shirou turns to her confused. " I'm... sorry. What?!"

"I want half the coat. I did half the work, I should get half the coat." Fiona explain and extends her hand for him give it to her.

"No! It's not fabric I can cut! It's just a bunch of 1s and 0s!" Shirou was getting frustrated.

"Fine, then give me the 1s."

" Fuck you! I want the 1s!" He groans and open the menu. "I am not having this argument. I'm disolving this party." Shirou opens his menu and "Di-solves" their party.

"Shirou! If you walk away with my half of the coat, I will make your life a living hell!" Fiona screamed.

"You know what? Fine! I'll give you the damn coat! Just send me a trade request."

"A... what?"

Fiona's eyes widened as she watched from the theater, "No…"

Shirou grins viciously "Oh, it's quite simple really... Just open your menu." Shirou starts laughing maniacally as he walks out the doors as Fiona screams at him:"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" At him.

Outro Plays.

Fiona screams, "I can't believe the nerve of that-! GRAAAAH!"

"Can you please stop screaming! You're going to cause everyone's ears to bleed." Whitley said while using a handkerchief to rub his ears.

Fiona huffed then matched off, going to another place in the theater.

"Well that was interesting. So you all say there's other viewings where we see other worlds besides this one." Coco asked the group.

"Oh yeah, we've seen a couple worlds ourselves, but only a handful I'd say." Yang admits.

"Well as long as we're here, we might as well take time to catch up." Velvet smiled.

"Yeah, this will be great! It's almost like we're back at Beacon, right Weiss? ...Weiss?" Ruby looks beside her but noticed that her partner was not with them anymore.

In another side of the theater, the all three Schnee siblings stand together. Both of the youngest siblings look at Winter who brought them here.

Winter clears her throat, "I understand that there are some… tension between the three of us during this viewing. So I asked you both here so that we may come to terms with our situation."

Weiss scoffs, "Come to terms with him! I highly doubt that."

Whitley crosses his arms, "Yes it does seem like a lost cause Winter."

"Enough! Both of you!" Winter raised her voice causing both of her younger siblings to go rigid. "I'm not expecting you to get along or even apologize to each other at the moment. What I ask is if you two can at least act civil with one another while in the theater?"

Both Weiss and Whitley looked at each other and sneered at each other.

"Why of course I can be civil with Whitley. It is a virtue of a lady to be civil at all times." Weiss said with hidden venom.

"Quite true, but being civil is also a quality an heir of the Schnee family must cultivate as well. So I look forward to spending this immeasurable amount of time with you my sisters." Whitley said with his best presentable smile.

"Yes, how I enjoy us taking this time to reacquaint with each other." Weiss said while one of her eyes was twitching.

"Well then sister, shall we?" Whitley gestured for Weiss to go ahead of him. Almost would have been believable if one did not notice the glint in his eyes and his strained smile.

Winter watched as both Weiss and Whitley walked back to the auditorium where everyone else had remained.

"...This can only end badly."

Hope you enjoyed.

[faecaptainofdreams]

Story time! The start of this story has a bit of a theme song, because i just always think of this: www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyGSe7… Sad and awful as it looks, this actually has a majorly happy ending! Major thank you to my friend Sumi-Sprite for collaging this for me! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- When Walter is 22, he goes on a very dangerous mission with Lance. While they wait for backup (which Lance is willing to accept most of the time now on account of personal growth), the duo storms a chemical lab, where the "final battle" takes place. I don't have a lot of details worked out, but long story short, they succeed in their mission (with several casualties as a result of what comes next), but fire and blow-outs in the lab lead to a very terrifying situation. The men find themselves in a space with only one oxygen mask for emergencies. Lance forces Walter to wear it,  but even after being taught compromise, the latter is very stubborn. As Lance begins to lose consciousness from being stuck inhaling smoke and various chemicals, Walter takes advantage of this. He shoots him in the neck with his own tranquilizer (a familiar scene, no?), and as Lance is passing out, Walter gives him the mask instead. Lance passes out from the tranquilizer, and Walter slowly begins to suffocate until he too, is rendered unconscious. Lance wakes up in the medical bay at the H.T.U.V. Delirious but suddenly remembering the mission, he starts to panic and call out for Walter. Not a few moments later, the younger of them reveals he's in a bed right beside Lance's, groggy with an oxygen mask strapped to his face, an IV in his arm and an EKG hooked up to him, but he's smiling and reaching out for Lance. Lance takes the boy's hand firmly and says "You scared me." Walter answers with "You scared me first...!" He sleepily explains that backup came and rescued them and brought them back to the agency, where they've apparently only been for a short while. In better shape than Walter on account of the latter's sacrifice, Lance gets up and lays beside him, jokingly threatening a "quadruple fire" if he ever does something like that again. Walter very softly smiles and says "I'm not sorry." When Marcy eventually shows up to visit them after hearing the news, she finds them laying there in the bed together and jokingly asks if she's interrupting something. "Nope, just two grown men cuddling after they almost died, nothin' to see here," answers Lance in a similar tone. Marcy informs them that most of their targets were saved and are in custody (some of them being in the hospital), but a few of them died from the fire and chemical blast. Walter is sad to hear it, but accepting of it, and glad that not every life was lost. About an hour or two later, he's stable enough to be off of the oxygen and other attachments. With all the smoke and chemical inhalation, the medical staff advises giving Walter a bronchoscopy to check for potential damage to his lungs. Such a procedure often only requires conscious sedation with a numbing of the nose and throat, but when they get him to the operating room, Walter panics at the thought of being awake while having a scope down his throat; after having nearly suffocated to death just hours ago, the thought of being awake and the fear of suffocating again is too much to bear (even though he would be fine). So instead, they decide to give him a general anesthesia and put him under for the procedure. It's just safer for everyone this way. When it's over and he's beginning to wake from the anesthesia, Walter is wheeled back to his room on the bed, and is happy to see Marcy and Lance waiting for him. But anesthesia is a funny thing, and as he's wheeled in, he's singing the Disclaimer Song in a very loopy fashion. Once settled, he chooses not to finish the song. This conversation ensues: ------- "Lance: You're not gonna finish the song? Walter: *mildly sassy* Ffffhhh, youknooww... I sing...ALLLL the tiiime, anndiiiffinishh all of them, anndd it'ssfuunn, buut... Whyy issitt aalwaayys me...? Why'd's WalterrBeckkett onlyy siing??? YOUU finishth'sonng... Lance: *"well shit" face* Wow, all right then, I'll finish the song. ♫Don't try this at home, if you do, you might--♫ Ey, aren't you gonna sing? Walter: ...Mmm givinng youaheadd starrtt..." ------- He joins in eventually. There is a lot of talking about various things, and lots of Marcy and Lance laughing to themselves at the rambling and singing. Oh yes, more singing. Lots of singing. Lance records some of the rambling, including an entire conversation that begins with Walter casually asking if they'll have to "take his lungs out." After being told no, that he's perfectly fine, he says it would be hard to breathe without lungs, and then regales his company with the thought of the lungs being replaced with balloons. Specifically, the left one would be blue, and the right one would be red. Why? He doesn't know, it's not his call, apparently. At the thought of them popping if he took too deep a breath, a laughing fit on Walter's part ensues. A little while later, this conversation happens: --- "Walter: Whenn I'mmbetterr, 'm gonna drriiveyou'round in the e-tron... Lance: You wanna drive me around? Walter: Yeaaah... Ohh, waait... Imight craash... Lance: Naaahhh, i think it'd be worth the risk. You can drive the car. Walter: Buutt youuloove that carr... Lance: Yeah, well... I love you more. Walter: Hmm..... Whaat...? Lance: *softly* I said I love you, Walter." --- Lance has told him this before, but in his drugged up state, the blatant expression of love swiftly turns the tide of the mood from funny to pitiful. Walter bursts into tears and tells Lance he loves him, too. And Marcy. And Killian, and Joy, and Lovey and Jeff and Crazy Eyes, and Terrance even though he ignores him, and August (OC) and Ramsey (OC [sorta]) and Shannon (OC) and that he thinks it's mean that people nickname Joy "Joyless," all while bawling his poor eyes out. Endeared, Marcy and Lance try to calm him down. But Walter reveals that he hasn't forgotten his conversation with Lance when they first woke up in that room together. He says he's sorry for scaring Lance, that he just didn't want him to die because he "doesn't want to be alone again," but that he understands Lance has the same fear and he just couldn't win. Somewhere in the rambling mess of emotions, he mentions fear of Lance "dying like his mother." Basically, every subconscious or pushed-down negative thought and feeling he's had since the mission comes blubbering out in a heap of drunken tears and sadness. Seeing how very real his distress is, his company is quick to try and ease his mind and offer him comfort. Walter asks if Lance really is going to fire him again, to which Lance says no. He then asks if Lance is mad at him, which earns another "no." Lance says no one is mad at him, that he just needs to close his eyes and try to take a nap. After a few minutes of quietly crying to himself with his eyes closed, Walter comes to a terrifying conclusion... What if he never stops crying?! Of course, Lance almost bursts out laughing, but a death glare from Marcy forces him to keep it to himself, lest he risk further upsetting Walter. It may sound ridiculous, but for someone who's been anesthetized, every feeling is very real. Marcy comforts him, tells him no, he's not going to cry forever. It's not long before the tears slow down. They don't stop, but they slow down. [fun fact: crying is reported in 40% of patients who wake from anesthesia, be it for a presented reason or for no reason at all. Very little is known about why this occurs, though it's suspected that the stress and fear from whatever they had to be put out for manifests itself in that drugged-up state. This is referred to as "the boo-hoos."] But it's late, and Marcy must go home. She and Lance talk off to the side, and the lady gives her man a kiss to remember her by for the evening.~ After Marcy's departure, Lance decides that after everything they've been through and with how upset Walter's been, he will sleep in the bed with him. He reclines him, crawls in, and holds him tight until morning. Walter wakes up around 1 in the morning, mildly confused, but Lance tells him to go back to sleep. Happy that Lance stayed with him and choosing not to question this unexpected all-night cuddling party, he submits without a word. By morning, everything is fine, and the anesthesia has worn off. Before the lad can even put his clothes on, Lance just HAS to show him the video he took of him while he was all loopy. Walter is embarrassed and cringes through it, but also laughs at some parts. It's a happy ending. "Okay but for real, don't ever do that again."        "No promises." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------- This movie is something else. Lance, Walter and Killian have all experienced trauma and loss, but in different ways. Walter and Killian are the extremes; one copes with loss through love, wanting desperately to let people in and let others know they aren't alone. Killian has no way to cope, and expresses his pain through hatred and a desperate longing to make the one who hurt him feel what he's felt, and then end it all in his own death. Lance is right in the middle. He has acquaintances, he talks to people, he cares, but he holds everyone at arm's length. He pretends everything is fine, he acts cold and aloof, "too cool" for playing on a team or working with others. But really, it's a fear of letting others in, because life could take it all away again. He still bears a lot of empathy, but also exercises carelessness on criminals. He and Killian are not so different, but with Walter's help, both men learn to open up (we can see Killian's expression for redemption in his final scene in the movie, we know he was a little touched that Walter saved him. Also consider, Killian didn't know Walter survived that fall at the time). So now that they're partners and each have someone in their lives to love -- multiple people now, in fact, it means feeling desperation to keep them close. It means taking a bigger risk, it means work. After everything they've been through, no, Lance is not ashamed to hug and hold and love on his little nerdy white gay son. He's not afraid of intimacy anymore, no matter the form. He'll take what he can get, because tomorrow is never a promise. Would you die for the ones you love...?

[musicalhqsgossip]

                                     BLAST002: PARTY RECAP EDITION 2.0

looks like this party sure was a cautionary tale ! over the weekend, some were feeling oh-so pretty ( and gay ) while others were falling totally stupid in love… something’s coming, and it’ll have you seeing stars ! eat a cracker and stop by to read the latest scoop on CADY AND MARIA’S PARTY ! if you’re fearless, look beneath the cut for all the drama that happened tonight, tonight…

first off, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our lovely ladies, CADY and MARIA ! we heard that the homeschooled jungle freak got w a y too tipsy  and made out with little LES… we wonder what her “ boyfriend “ thought about that… or does he not really care ? perhaps JD still has a bit of VERONICA stuck on his mind. either way, we don’t trust the guy. jd and cady might have made up and locked lips once again… but how long will that last ?

and lets talk about our other birthday girl. seems like MARIA finally got the nerve to ask out her not so secret crush TONY – and with her brother and ex-crush breathing down her neck. do we think it’ll last, though ? those lovebirds wouldn’t know the concept of “ taking it slow “ even if it smacked ‘em right in the face ! though we couldn’t help but have our eyes fixed on TONY and VIVIENNE… what is going on there ? are we delusional, or do those two get along really well ? should MARIA and WES be aware of that little dynamic ?

now we are still on the subject of birthday gals –  what about the soon to be celebrated WENDY BIRD ? just because it wasn’t her party, didn’t mean she had to ditch – and to get high with no one than CLAUDE, no less. talking about a bad influence… a little birdie told me he recited poetry to her, too. how romantic. i wonder whether RIFF ever talks to her like that… 

and talking about the fearless jets leader. showing up to help out little miss sunshine ELLE who was once again crying over WESLEY and VIVIENNE kissing which resulted in yet another argument between the two lawyers… and all over that same boy. again. boo-hoo, tough life much ? maybe next time she should bring bruiser – i am sure that little guy could get a taste for her ex’s ankles… or perhaps she could have wood another guy into taking her home. RIFF took his high as a kite bird, but TONY or JACK might be easily convinced. 

but let’s move on to something more exciting: give it up for our favorite lesbian, WEDNESDAY, finally coming out and proud at last – just in time for the end of pride month ! i mean literally… can i give that hottie a hand ? we are proud of you, boo boo.

CLAUDE got his flirt on with MAUREEN ( who on her turn got a bit flirty with TONY ), again, but after her k i l l e r karaoke performance, our favorite minx went home with MORITZ. did CLAUDE really just let a good one go ? maybe her new boy-toy will impress with his “ talents “ for a bit longer !

moving on to the next topic: the NEWSIES. it looks our newspaper squad stuck together too, with SARAH helping a drunken KAT and SPOT trying yet again to win DAVEY over ! a wholesome crew, you say ? you just wait… there is more. and it’s juicy.

rumor has it that KAT got some loose lips on her, going off and telling JACK that their relationship was never gonna work ( are we surprised ). but it seems that our lil’ JACKIE BOY doesn’t go down without a fight ( again, are we surprised ) and took that passion to kiss the hell outta her ! our baby reporter is gonna have a hard time trying to hide her feelings now. game, set… 

and since we mentioned JACK – seems like the guy got his flirt on again. KAT might have to put in some real effort if she doesn’t want to lose her shot… i noticed a certain BETTY RIZZO getting his interest. our birthday girl CADY seemed to not mind his presence either – i heard that by the end of the night, he was pouring the alcohol straight from the bottle. 

also MINA didn’t seem to mind being left behind: she still got down on the dance floor with MELCHIOR, as if their hookup totally didn’t matter ! or did we completely mistake MINA kissing MARK there… not sure about y’all, but we better see that girl tie him down before he goes running back to AMBER.

talking about our little princess AMBER. i witnessed with my own eyes how she got buzzed and tipsy all too fast and ended up trading kisses with a few exes ! JESSE sure didn’t seem to mind – even though he came with MINA but went off to flirt with ANNA A halfway through the night. that boy sure did not take it easy… maybe these gals were not quite royal enough for his liking. might there be something growing there, ANNA A ? love, at last ?  

and what about ANNABETH. the not-so-little thing must not have known what hit her – poor PERCY and LYDIA attempted a little flirting, but to no avail. will that girl ever get her nose out of her damn book and see the romance right in front of her ? luckily, ANNABETH has seemingly found a new friend in ANNA B. bad bitches have to stick together, am i right ? EVELYN could have been a nice addition to that, but her stone cold type of bitch got in the way again… are we the only one wondering why ETHAN keeps trying with her ? or was that not him talking her up again ? that’s what we thought…

but lets get back to love triangles… how is it that PEDRO keeps getting trapped in the middle of those ? while totally u s i n g GABRIELLA to get over his little birdie ( have a type much, pete ? ), mister ex-boyfriend TROY sure wasn’t too happy about it… you can bet on that ! we spied with our little eye how he was getting drunk early on in the night with no other than JUDAH and boy, did he end up losing his cool at his ex-girlfriend. think GABRIELLA will want him back now ? if they aren’t feeling a headache coming up, i sure am…

speaking of couples that seem to be in trouble: who could have seen the JUDAH and LINK hook-up coming ? sure, we could spot the passion from a mile away – and we could hear them arguing from even further ! but hey – unexpected or not, who really minds two hot boys getting it going… you’re right, not us.

and what is up with MEG and JAMIE WELLERSTEIN… people have reported the brunette to be quite flirtatious that night. and with JAMIE, out of all people ? did not think we would ever say that, but that is a dynamic we will be keeping our eyes on…

a party also would not be a party if there wasn’t some major “ drama “, right ? let us begin with our big bad shark leader BERNARDO – first a confrontation with his little sister’s lover-to-be ex-jet TONY only to go through yet another break-up with ANITA. quite the eventful night for you, huh, nardo… remind us, how many times have ANITA and BERNARDO broken up by now ? is anyone still keeping count ? and what about PEDRO and THERESA ? seems like our little fairy is throwing tantrums again… getting cozy with PEDRO, kissing JOHN, only to get jealous at PEDRO again… what’s up with that, THERESA ? indecisive much ? no wonder WENDY and her suddenly get along – these two aren’t all that different after all. 

talking about JOHN – one darling boy sure did have a great night, huh ? dancing with THERESA after all, flirting with ALIZ, kissing CHINO… not to shabby for a guy who is locked up behind his desk most of the time. you go, dude ! though ALIZ didn’t only get her flirt on with john: the party-planner slash club-owner did not only strike a business deal with LILY, she seemed to get quite cosy with HERO once again. what is going on there ? and are we the only ones who noticed HERO juggling not only aliz but also MEG ? we knew he was an athlete, but not that he’s a player ( see what we did there ? ).

to end on a high note ( literally ), are we the only ones kind of excited by RYAN EVANS’ marvelous appearance – solo and all. sure head bitch SHARPAY will be on cloud nine. and what about that a d o r a b l e reunion between ILSE and her friends – talking about wholesome reunions, right ? guess it wasn’t all bad news that night !

[brittle-bone-gabe]

Bitter Cold

Summary: Richie just wants to cuddle; Eddie is feeling especially playful.   Pairings: Adult Reddie (Richie x Eddie) Read on Ao3: Here 

Chicago wasn’t a stranger to heavy snow falls, in fact, it normally started snowing in the middle of November. Richie Tozier has spent many winters alone in Chicago in his apartment, but now it was his first winter with his boyfriend Eddie in their small house. Since Eddie moved in, there were blankets. Every. Fuckin’. Where. At least three blankets scattered around the living room, and a mountain of blankets in their bedroom. His excuse was that he got way too cold in the winter and the blankets were a necessity, also that apparently Chicago was a lot colder during the winter months than New York. Richie couldn’t help but roll his eyes whenever his boyfriend went on a rant about how the cold affects the human body negatively. Something something... weaker immune systems... something something... reduced blood flow. Who knows, Richie stopped listening when he couldn’t catch up with his fast speech patterns, especially since he had just woken up when he started his ramblings. 

Richie came home from the store, he had to shovel his driveway first before he was able to get out. It was almost 20 degrees outside, but Richie was only wearing his leather jacket, no gloves, no boots, but a thin hat that Eddie insisted he’d wear before leaving. Well, he would prefer if Richie actually dressed appropriately for the weather, but Richie claimed that: “it didn’t look cool,” which made Eddie want to smack him. “I mean, you can’t catch a cold from simply not bundling up, but when you get cold, your sinuses get dry and that makes bacteria hang on, making it easier for you to get sick,” Eddie had explained to his boyfriend as he was following him around the house as he was preparing to go to the store. In the end, Richie went out and Eddie stayed home since he didn’t want to get too cold, even though Richie offered to warm the car up for him. 

Without thinking, Richie entered the house without taking off his shoes, so he wandered into the kitchen with handfuls of plastic bags while tracking in a bunch of snow with him. To be fair, he was exhausted, not sleeping too well anymore and wasn’t thinking when he plopped the bags on the counter. He had no idea what was going on with him, but he was always exhausted during the day, like he could pass out wherever he was, but the moment he goes to bed with Eddie he was wide awake. When confiding in Eddie about this, he had suggested that it was just seasonal depression, it was normal and a lot of people had it this time of year when the weather was starting to change. No... no, no. He was Richie Trashmouth, he doesn’t get seasonal depression. It felt silly, but when Eddie mentioned that he also had seasonal depression it did make Richie feel a little better about it.

“You’re home!” Eddie said happily, walking into the kitchen. 

Richie gave him a small smile with a nod, suddenly feeling exhausted again. “I’m home,” he said. 

Eddie wrapped his arms around Richie’s neck, bringing him in for a hug. Richie hugged him tight, bringing him in close, closing his eyes as he could feel himself melting into Eddie. The small wave of sadness he had entering the house vanished once he heard Eddie. The hug? Completely turned his mood around. 

“You feelin’ okay?” Eddie asked once they pulled away from the hug, still holding on as they looked into each others eyes. 

“Sleepy,” Richie admitted. He smiled when Eddie reached up, pressing a slightly cold hand to his face. 

“This’ll pass, I promise.” He pecked his lips before moving around him He stopped dead in his tracks, a twisted look on his face. He let out a loud yelp, confusing the hell out of Richie. 

“What’s the mat-”

Eddie looked down at the floor then to Richie’s feet, seeing he was still wearing his snow covered shoes. “You fucker!” He shouted, “my socks are wet!” 

Richie was confused still for a moment, but then a huge smile was plastered on his face before letting out a laugh. Eddie had stepped in melted snow. That. Was. Priceless. He pressed two fingers to his lips, watching and listening Eddie rant about how he fuckin’ hated having wet socks, that it was worse than death, in fact, he would rather fuckin’ die than have wet goddamn socks. 

“Babe, you good?” Richie couldn’t help but ask, laughing even harder when Eddie threw him a death glare. 

Eddie flipped him off with both hands. “I hate you. I hate you so fuckin’ much, you absolute douche bag.”

“Oh, I think you just gave me some new material,” Richie said half-jokingly as he pulled out his phone, writing something down in the Notes App.  

“I will fucking blast you on Twitter if you use this in your stupid shows, I swear to god!” 

“Oooh noooo,” Richie started sarcastically, holding either side of his face, “blast me on Twiiiiter? Where eeeeverybody knooows you’re my boyfriend?! Pleaaase, don’t do thaaat.” Eddie reached down, pulling off his socks before throwing them at his boyfriend, who yelped loudly, moving back so the dirty, wet socks wouldn’t touch him. “Why are you like this?!” 

“Why am I like this?! Why did you track snow through the house!” 

Richie slumped where he was standing, trying to get back on Eddie’s good side. “Because I’m tiiiiiired,” he said dramatically, “we should cuddle on the couch with your overbearing amount of blankets.” 

“Hey... they’re not overbearing. They’re needed.” Richie rolled his eyes. “They are! I have poor circulation!”

“Because you’re old?” 

“You’re older than me!”

“By a year! ...Are you joining me or not?” Richie asked, standing in the doorway to the living room, looking back at Eddie who had his arms folded across his chest. “C’mon, Edward.” 

Eddie tilted his head to the side, glaring at Richie, who had another smile on his face. He hated it whenever someone called him Edward. It reminded him of when his mom would call him that when she was especially angry with him. It was rare when she would call him that, but once, when he was 14 he sneaked out of the house in the middle of the night to meet up with the Losers, where they drank all night, the majority of them got drunk for the first time that night. When he loudly tried sneaking back into the house he got caught by his mother, being called Edward when his mother smelled the cheap alcohol on him that Beverly Marsh had managed to sneak out of her dad’s dresser drawer. He was grounded for almost a month with little contact with the outside world besides going to school. However, when Richie called him that in a playful way he didn’t mind too much, in fact, he thought it was kinda funny. 

“What did you call me?” 

“Ed...” he trailed off, trying to read his boyfriends face, “...Edward.” As soon as the word left his mouth, he had to sprint out of the kitchen as Eddie began to chase after him. 

Richie plopped on the couch, laying across it as he grabbed one of the blankets, covering himself with it. Eddie moved on the other side of the couch, laying down so his legs were laying across Richie. This reminded them of the time when they fought over the hammock. The time. They always fought over that damn hammock, and every time one or the other would climb in it, trying to force the other out of it. Eddie always would lightly kick Richie in the face when it was his turn to try to knock him out of it, making sure that his glasses fell off each time. 

“Why don’t you just say you want to cuddle me, Eds,” 13-year-old Richie had mocked Eddie when the smaller boy was trying to force himself in the hammock while Richie was trying to read a comic book. 

Eddie’s face had turned red, backing off quickly. “I don’t want that, dipshit,” he defended himself, folding his arms across his chest, “just move. It’s my turn.” 

“I just got here!”

Eddie rolled his eyes, looking at the watch on his wrist. “You’ve been using it for almost twenty minutes!” 

“Boo-hoo! Nobody else is here to back you up! Time is fake.” He straightened out his comic book dramatically, readjusting his glasses, preparing to pretend to ignore Eddie who looked grumpy. 

Eddie grabbed Richie’s comic, throwing it over his shoulder as he tried grabbing his arms so he could pull him off. They started slapping each others hands away. In the scuffle, they ended up accidentally holding hands. They looked away, faces red, but not letting go of their hands. Eddie had backed off first, grabbing the comic that he threw, holding it out to Richie who took it. 

“Just...” Richie started, his face still red, “I’ll... read it to you if you want... We can share the hammock.” 

Eddie’s head jerked up, looking at Richie trying to see if there was any indication that he was messing with him. “Really?” Richie nodded, scooting over a little so Eddie could squeeze in next to him. 

He was hesitant, but climbed in next to the taller boy, scooting in next to him so he could see the comic that he was holding up. Long story short; Eddie ended up falling asleep while Richie was reading to him, not long after that did he manage to fall asleep too. 

“Stop kicking me!” Richie yelled from under the blanket that was still covering his face.

“Don’t call me Edward!” 

“I’m sorry, Eduardo. ...OW!” Richie yelped when Eddie managed to kick his glasses off his face, getting lost in the blanket. 

“Fuck off!” Eddie grabbed the other end of the blanket, pulling it up over his chest. “This is as close to cuddling as you’re gonna get, asshole.” He had folded his arms underneath the blanket. 

Richie raised his eyebrows, tilting his head to the side with a shrug. “I’m still under a blanket with you, so... win-win?” Eddie’s face turned a bright shade of red. “Have I mentioned how-” Richie stopped mid-sentence when Eddie stuck his feet underneath his shirt, his cold feet pressing on his chest. “STOP! STOP! YOUR FEET ARE COLD!” Richie shouted, squirming where he was laying. 

“Oh... I wonder why, Richard.” 

“Stop, stop, stop!” Eddie moved his feet, “I get the point!” They looked at each other for a moment, staring each other down, waiting for someone to do something fucking stupid. “Just a fair warning, Kaspbrak, if you do that again I will fuckin’ tickle your feet.” 

“I will leave your unfunny ass.” 

“Yeah, I’m so unfunny, right? That’s the reason you ask me to make you laugh to cheer you up? Because I’m... so unfunny?” Eddie dove for under his shirt again, pressing his freezing cold feet on his stomach. “Quit touching me! Your feet are cold!” He grabbed Eddie’s ankles, reaching under the blanket having no mercy when tickling him. 

“St-stop!” Eddie said in between laughs, squirming and kicking to get free. “I’m sorry! I’ll stop! I’ll stop!” 

“No you won’t! You say that just to get my guard down!” 

“Richie! Richie! I’m gonna have an asthma attack! Stop!” 

He let go of Eddie, going underneath the blanket, crawling up until he was in between Eddie’s legs. Both of their faces turned extremely red as Richie was holding himself up by his palms that were placed on either side of Eddie’s head. They stared into each others eyes for a moment, until Eddie wrapped his arms around Richie’s neck, bringing him down until their lips met. In the heat of the moment both men took the time to help each other take their shirts off, throwing it across the room as they continued to make out on the couch. Richie had his hands on Eddie’s shoulders, holding him tight against him the best he could. The cold air that managed to slip its way into the house made both men shiver, but their body heat was keeping them from freezing. 

Richie had pulled away, leaning down, nipping Eddie’s neck and shoulder, smiling as the man underneath him started squirming. He absolutely loved when Richie did that. It was rare when he did, but by god he felt like he was over the moon.

Richie pulled away, looking into Eddie’s brown eyes, seeing how needy he was getting. 

“Okay, I’m gonna take a nap,” Richie said suddenly, confusing Eddie. 

“You- wh-... what?” Eddie stammered as Richie let out a yawn, obviously trying to hide a smile. “You are such a fuckin’ prick!” 

“Night night, Eds.” Richie plopped down on Eddie, who let out an oof at the sudden weight on him. “I did tell you to get your cold feet off me,” he pointed out, eyes closed but that same goofy smile on his face as his ear was pressed against Eddie’s chest. He reached up, tracing the stupid tattoo he had gotten when they were drunk one night in Vegas that was plaster on the center of his chest. 

Eddie readjusted so he was more comfortable laying on the couch, one hand on Richie’s bare back, his other hand stroking his hair. “I hate you,” he said lovingly. 

“I hate you too, Eds.” 

Since they were both suffering from seasonal depression, cuddling like this was nice. They both needed it. Another thing; normally Eddie was the little spoon, having it switched up actually felt great. He wanted to make Richie feel good, especially since he hasn’t been feeling his best lately and wanted to help. He kept planting small kisses across Richie’s forehead until he knew he finally fell asleep. Eddie grabbed another blanket that was on the floor in front of the couch, wrapping it around them before falling asleep himself. 

[hitchell-mope]

(Third film. After “The Phoenix”. In Audrey’s bedroom she’s explaining what she knows to the vks)

Audrey:...and the last time I saw him he was getting out his violin. I’m sorry I can’t be of more help

Mal: no, thank you Audrey. I um I figured it’d be something like that

Harriet: you don’t wanna be doin that during a crisis

Uma: ahem notaeuphemism, notaeuphemism

Harriet: ohhhh

Harry: tch sounds like one though

Mal: alright. Both of you. Not a peep out of either of you two crackpots for the rest of the millennium

Uma: eh, sounds fair.

Mal: are you doing ok. Chad going crazy, it must be horrible for you

Evie: oh who cares. She’s probably the cause of it

Mal: Evie shut up

Audrey: she’s right. It’s my fault. If I hadn’t left I

Mal: what happened

Audrey: after what happened to you guys on the bridge. We went back to his room. He forbade me to see you guys or be friends with you any more. I tried to leave and then he grabbed my wrist and tried to get me to stay

Mal: I’m gonna kill him. I’m gonna rip him apart limb from limb

Audrey: I read him the riot act. And I left. It’s my fault. If I’d stayed I could’ve stopped him

Mal: if you stayed. Then we’d be fighting you right now. And it not your fault. Chad’s problems are Chad’s problems. Not yours or anyone else’s

Jay: oh my god

Mal: what?

Jay: he wants her

Mal: huh?

Jay: he wants to be king. And he never forgave you for Ben dumping Audrey because she was being a swot to you. He’s like an equally pathetic and creepy version of harry. Psychotically devoted to who he thinks is the perfect woman

Mal: holy shit

Evie: well then we know hey we have to do.

Mal: no

Evie (blatantly ignoring her sister): we give her to chad. They both burn to death. We’re home free

Uma: I can’t believe I’m saying this but it could work

Mal: no it couldn’t. Because. A. Chad’s power mad. B. Even it could work then we’d still have a homicidal dark fairy on our hands.

Uma: shit you’re right. Ah well only one thing to do

Hadie: what’s that?

Uma: rifle through her shit while she’s in a depressive episode

(She starts doing just that. Pulling out books from shelves, tearing down clothes from the wardrobe, until she finds something of interest)

Audrey: um excuse me. That’s my diary

Uma: I know. That’s why I’m reading it.

Audrey: yeah but it’s really old. From a time in my life I’m not exactly proud of so if

Uma (reading and ignoring her please): “Eighth of March. They’re here. Poor Benny boo is too nice to see it but I know the truth. They want my throne. That little purple skidmark, the magic mop head, Mouthoff and that spindly freckle faced...” Woah, and you still wanna protect her after all this?

Evie: she’s Mal’s friend. Not ours. And even then. It’s only because Mal feels guilty

Uma (rifling through the pages): lets see now it’s gotta be somewhere here. Oh yeah. “Eighth of April. I can’t believe it. He dumped me. All because I was reading that stuck up little handbag the riot act. She’s got to have used a love potion because there’s no way in hell Ben would dump me for sowing one so poor and ugly. At least I’ve got chad as a fallback. That little witch has gotten too comfortable. It might be time to shake things up as it were”. So how’d ya do it?

Mal: do what?

Uma: trap lil beasty boy. Cause there’s no way in hell he jumped you willingly

Mal: why the fuck would I spell Ben? Who the fuck do you think I am? You?

Harry: what’s that supposed mean?

Jay: it means you hypnotised Ben before the cotillion last year. Or have you forgotten about that?

Harry: cut me some slack alright? Sometimes I can’t remember what happened yesterday. Which for me in fact it was actually. See as I lost a year of me life

Carlos: oh boo fricking hoo dickbrain

Uma: oh look there’s more. “Tenth of June. I’m an idiot. A pink frilly stupid idiot. I was completely wrong about Mal and the others. She saved my life. I tried to kill her and she saved my life. How could I be so stupid. They had no choice but they chose to save me when they could have let me burn. I have to make things right. It’s the only way”. Damn Ophelia. When do you jump into the lake?

Audrey: it’s um ahem that’s the last diary entry. I didn’t feel like making another one.

Uma: then you wouldn’t mind if it do this

(She frisbees the dusty into the empty fireplace and sets it alight. Audrey runs up to stop her but is held fast by the hook sisters)

Audrey: please, please. They’re my mother’s diaries. It was a for my fourteen birtday

Uma: oh yeah? Well do you know what I got for my fourteenth birthday? A triple unpaid shift at the restaurant where I work for a roof over my head.

Mal: Uma! Leave her alone

Jay: yeah she’s ignorant. She doesn’t know what it’s like over there. And she can’t be held accountable for what Adam did

Uma: you all can (she grabs Audrey by the throat) now. What do you suggest we do with her highness?

Cj: how about we make sure her incessant prattling is stopped forever more?

Harry: ooh good choice.

Harriet: but how do we silence her?

Uma: hmmmmm...OOH! I know. Harry your pocket watch please

(He hands her the watch and she throws it into the mirror above the mantlepiece through which it disappears)

Uma: see ya feckers

Mal: NO WAIT NO!

(Uma freezes the other Vks with magic, chucks Audrey through the mirror, sending her falling through the blackness and teleports her and the hooks to the same place. This is when “this is Halloween” happens. After the song. Carlos blurs for a second and the spell ends)

Carlos: of course. Now what to do first. Hmmmmm. Right! Gil. C’mon buddy. Wakey wakey

(He double taps Gil and the shoulder and the blonde starts moving again)

Gil: owww. We have to save her don’t we?

Carlos: unfortunately. Yes

Gil: shit.

Carlos: tally ho my friend

(They both jump into the mirror and land in a watch)

Gil: where are we?

Carlos: a pocket watch. Your ex’s pocket watch I believe judging by how it’s kaput

Gil: oh yeah. Yah um. James kept smashing it so he stopped asking me to fix it after the fifth time it was thrown at his head

Carlos: that explains so much yet absolves absolutely nothing

Gil: stands to reason

(Audrey’s muffled screams can be heard from their right)

Carlos: this way?

Gil: yep

(They head off in a northern direction and sure enough they’re Audrey. Bound to a clockwork chair. Mouth gaffes with tape. Carlos almost releases her but Uma steps out of the darkness followed by the hooks)

Uma: I wouldn’t do that if I were you

Carlos: really? You wouldn’t do this if you were me? Well if I were you then I wouldn’t kidnap the friend of the future queen

Harry: back off you son of a bitch

Carlos: kill me and we both go down you skinny ass rooster brain

Doug: oh my god they got you too

(Everyone turns around to see Doug standing there looking downright haunted)

Carlos: Doug what are you doing here

Doug: mirrors are connected.

Carlos: right. Wanna help us free Audrey from the grim grinning ghosts?

Doug: eh sure why not. I’ve got nothing better to do until the spells broken.

Gil: yay. The normies are back in business. Shame Lon-Lon isn’t here though

Doug: who calls ya normies?

Gil: you had nightmares. Lots of them

Doug: those ice packs were from you?

Gil: yeah. When people have nightmares they get incredibly heated.

Carlos: this is true. Jay ices his hands when I have nightmares

Harry: hey, dipshit! Are we gonna talk or are we gonna obligate you?

Doug: it’s obliterate dickless. Not obligate

Harry: I don’t care

Audrey: *muffled sounds of protests*

Doug: yeah we’re not on you right now

Carlos: lemme talk to Uma. C’mon captain

(They walk a little way away from the others)

Uma: what?

Carlos: you don’t wanna do this

Uma: oh? Why not?

Carlos: because it interferes with your plans Uma. No matter how many times you say to the contrary. We know you. 9 times out of ten your need to one up and hurt Mal outweigh your desire to help the island. But I’m telling you. Let your altruism win out instead of your sadism. Not killing Audrey might not be fun. Believe. Jay Evie and I have fantasised about it many a time. But right here right now. Your best bet is to let bygones be bygones. Capiche?

Uma: no. Still gonna killer her

Carlos: I thought you’d say that

(This is when “I will not bow” happens. After the song Harry hurls the debris at Carlos who explodes it into to dust)

Carlos: so you really do have magic. I thought Evie siphoned it off?

Doug: it’s the “mother hauling a car off her child” reaction. Uma was in danger and Harry reacted instinctively

Carlos (sarcastically): perfect

Harry: and now, I’m gonna finish what I started in the alleyway

(His eyes glow blood red and he charges at Carlos. Who just peruses a few buttons on his wrist so a force fiend forms in front of him knocking the pirate off course. Harry roars in anger and his hair ignites in blood red flame. Gil punches him in the face and his hair goes out)

Carlos (utterly disgusted): oh. My. God.

(The brown is Harris hair has burned away to black)

Carlos: what the fuck. Is-is that natural or is it the ember?

Harry: you what?

Harriet: your hair. It’s black again.

Harry: no my hairs brown

Cj: no brother dear. Your hair is black. Again. Like it hasn’t been since you asked Uma to lather it in boot polish when you were six

Harry (absolutely traumatised): no! NO IT AINT

Doug: yes. Yes it is.

(He uses the selfie function on his phone camera as a mirror. Harry takes one look and screams in melancholy and assumes the foetal position)

Carlos: what the fuck

Cj (long suffering sigh): you see, my siblings hair is naturally black. Harriet is our fathers favourite. Harry is not. So Harry asked Uma to dye his hat brown when he was six. And hasn’t looked back since.

Carlos: and you

Cj: I’m a natural blonde. I’m Gil’s cousin. His mother’s the middle bimbette. My mother is the youngest bimbette.

Carlos: we would not be out of place in Storybrooke.

Doug and Gil: nope

Carlos: so! Here’s what we’re gonna do. Uma, you and the tweedle twits are gonna come with me back to the home side. Gil, I can count on you to untie miss priss?

Gil (cheerfully): Roger! Doug, you can come back with us

Carlos and Doug: no, absolutely not

Doug: I need need to stay here in the mirror world until my body wakes up. If I go through with you guys I’ll die.

Carlos: your body and mind are safe. You might need to hide. If you stay here. Evie will most certainly kill Audrey

(Audrey screams in protest)

Carlos: oh we all know she’ll blame you. She hates you enough as it is already. And if...fucks sake I can’t take you seriously looking like that (he rips the tape off her mouth ignoring her screams of pain) that’s much better. If she sees Doug in the Moore she will blame you and she will kill you

Audrey (conceding): that’s fair

Carlos: now. Let’s see, how am I going to do this. Oh! I know!

(He uses his exosuit to shove the girls through the mirror, not noticing Harry using his own magic to root Doug to the spot. Gil hoists up both Harry and Audrey and, together with Carlos jumps back to the real world. Once there Carlos makes Uma reverse the spell which she does without complaint)

Uma: you of course realise you are incredibly dangerous to people with that exosuit?

Carlos: That was the idea. Gil could you put Audrey on the bed please

Mal: what happened?

Carlos: oh the usual. Uma let her instincts get in the way of logical thinking.

Mal: of course

Evie: Doug? Doug! Oh my god. Doug wait right there

Carlos: shield Audrey

Mal: what

Carlos: trust me on this mom. This not going to end well

Harry (aside to Uma): watch this

(He uses magic to bring Doug, who’s futilely trying to get away, closer to the glass)

Evie (climbing up on the mantelpiece and tapping on the glass): Doug. Honey I’m here. What..what’s wrong? Why can’t I get through? Let me through. Let me through. Dammit let me through. Let me go to him for fucks sake let me through. (She starts banging on the glass with her fists) LET ME THROUGH. LEMME THROUGH. LET ME GO TO HIM LET ME THROUGH! PLEASE (her eyes start glowing and the mirror starts to crack) LET ME THROUGH LET ME THROUGH! (She starts sobbing). LET ME THROUGH. LET ME GO TO HIM. PLEAE

Carlos: jay get her, now!

(Jay lifts her up by the waist, still screaming and crying, and pulls her away from the mirror. Doings hands remain on the glass where hers were)

Evie (still crying): why can’t I why can’t why can’t I go to him? It should be easy I have magic Uma’s not that much more powerful than me I should be able to get through why can’t I get through? (She stops crying, jay lets her go and her voice evens out) you. You did this. He’s doing this because of you. It’s all YOUR FAULT

(She launches at Audrey intent on scratching the princesses eyes out but Jay and Gil grab her just in time)

Evie: LET ME KILL HER

Mal: no!

Evie: IF SHE DIES HE’LL STOP

Mal: but Maleficent won’t. Do you really want to take that chance?

Evie (extremely reluctantly): n...no

Mal: ok then. Put her down guys. And just where the hell are you going?

Uma (hand on the door handle): I can’t stay here. I. I just can’t. (Harry makes his way to her). And nobody! Nobody. Nobody, follow me

Harriet: you heard her Har. Stay here

(Uma leaves the room. She magically deadbolts and soundproofs the door and then sinks to the floor crying her eyes out. That is until she senses someone approaching her)

Uma (thickly): go away. There’s an attack on this dump. People are dropping like bats. Find a nice soft spot to collapse if you know what’s good for you

Adam: I know there’s an attack on the school dear. I’m part of it you see. Don’t bother getting up. This will be over quickly. I just wanted to tell you that what’s about to happen is entirely deserved.

Uma: you’re him aren’t you? Beast

Adam: THAT’S NOT MY... (he takes a deep breath). That’s not my name. My name is Adam

Uma: yeah don’t care. To us you’re the beast. The bastard boogeyman who damned to the island

Adam: like I said it was deserved

Uma (scoffing): huh! Deserved? Really? You really think what you did to us was deserved? How fucking delusional can you get?

Adam: no more delusional than you thinking that I can be stoppped.

Uma: what did she offer you?

Adam: my kingdom back. And your kind flung back to the scrap heap where you all belong.

Uma: not if I have anything to do about it

Adam (scoffing): what can you do. You’re a child who’s oh so very far from home. And I’m a man with years of experience.

Uma: you’re a crackpot, corrupt politician. And I have magic that you cannot even begin to comprehend

Adam: is that so?

Uma: damn straight. I can tear you apart without even touching you.

Adam: care to put that to the test?

Uma: your move. Five paces?

Adam: of course

(They move to opposite sides of the corridor. This is when “calling all the monsters” happens. After the song Adam slashes off one of her tentacles and she falls to the ground screaming in pain. While all this is going on Harry is desperately trying to open the door)

Hadie: Harry it’s no use. She’s deadbolted it. It won’t be lifted until she chooses to.

Harry: there has to be a way. Use me as a battering ram

Carlos: nobody here wants to touch you

Harry: have you got any right ideas?

Jay: it’s bright ideas. And we don’t want you to be happy so why would we help you

(At the mantlepiece Evie’s got an idea)

Mal: there’s no guarantee that’d work Evie

Evie: I have to do something. I can’t just leave him there. He shouldn’t be alone. Please if blood or, or family mean anything to you then help me make sure he’s not alone.

Mal: I’m doing this for Doug and Doug only. Let’s see here (she flips through the spell book) damn. What you want to do counts as love. Sorry.

Hadie: what’s counts as love

Mal: Evie wants to send part of her consciousness into the mirror to keep Doug company. But her love for him is the driving factor. And Maleficent ripped out and burned the last one hundred pages of the book contains love spells because real feelings need to be there for it to work and according to her I’m not worthy of love.

Cj: she’s a smart lady

(Mal clicks her fingers, CJ’s leg snaps in two and she collapses in pain)

Hadie: restoration spell?

Mal: at the coronation. It didn’t work.

Hadie: May I?

Mal: go ahead.

(Hadie takes the book, flips it and mutters a spell in Ancient Greek. The book glows bright steely grey then returns to normal. He opens the book and the pages are restored)

Evie (pulling him into a bear hug): thank you thank you thank you

Mal: you’re gonna have to do it. The spell is incredibly painful. It says here part of you has to be physically ripped out for it to work. And our friendship is tenuous at best. So it’s best if you do it. Audrey get in the crawl space. Jay shield Gil. Carlos c’mere. The blowback could be dangerous to mortals

Cj: pardon me for asking but what of my siblings and I?

Mal: I don’t care about you

Evie: if this doesn’t work?

Hadie: then Doug will remain asleep until Maleficent is defeated

Evie (voice breaking): then dont fuck it up. Please

Hadie (chuckling sadly): I promise I’ll try not to. Ready

Evie: do it

(He takes the ember, puts it in the middle of her forehead and starts chanting in Ancient Greek. Evie starts to glow bright blue. Then she starts screaming in pain. Blue light shoots out of her hands and face. Harriet gets thrown into the wall followed by Cj. Harry, still trying to wrest the door open, gets thrown into a large Ming vase. Jay, Mal, Carlos, Hadie, Evie and Gil stay standing. Celia remains on the bed. The light stops. Evie nearly collapses but Hadie catches her)

Jay: wow. Is that?

Evie: he’s what I see yeah

(A ghostly version of Doug’s standing in front of them. He’s dressed like a vk. Everything about him from skinn to clothes to eyes is completely blue all over and glowing)

Evie: go through the mirror. Go to Doug. Be whatever he needs you to be. I’ll be fine. Just go to Doug. Now.

(Ghostly Doug turns to smoke and floats through the mirror. His form changes to Evie in her coronation dress. The front of her loosely braided and pinned back. Real Doug looks completely shocked)

Evie: oh! Ohhhh dear. This isn’t what you wanted. Do you want me in jeans? I can wear jeans if you’d prefer. Or is the hair not right. I know! It’s the shoes. Haha. Wrong shoes

(Doug pulls her into a hug which she returns relievedly)

Doug: you look perfect. You always do. But how

Evie: magic. I’m not really her. I’m just part of her consciousness.

Doug: of course.

Evie: do you really like the dress?

Doug: yes. It’s Evie’s favourite so its my favourite

Evie: you’re incredibly sweet did you know that?

Doug: no.

Evie: why not?

Doug: because nobody’s ever said that to me before

Evie: well you are. Sweet brave kind and

Doug: I’m sorry. I tried to protect the twins and I’m sorry. Maleficent got to them. I failed.

Evie: what Maleficent and chad do isn’t your fault.

Doug: I—

Evie: she knows. Trust me. She knows

Doug: it’s really difficult to say

Evie: I know. That’s what makes it important

Doug (chuckling): so uh. What do we do now?

Evie: we wait. We wait until we win.

Doug: and until then.

Evie: we could

Doug: no.

Evie: damn. Worth a try

Doug: always.

Evie: how about a dance. You can practice here and wow Evie later

Doug: sounds good to me

Evie: you lead?

Doug: I’ve offered to let Evie lead but she always insists on letting me lead

Evie: she’s a smart girl

Doug: yes. Yes she is. May I have this dance

Evie: yes sir you may

(This is when “come what may” happens. As this happens Uma’s pained screams undo the soundproofing spell she put on the door alerting everyone else to her predicament)

[lamptracker]

FIC: Annabelle’s Homework

So... have I been largely ignoring the ol’ inbox today? Yep. 

But it’s because I’ve been working on an actual fic!! (*gasps, clutches pearls*)

Anyway, you guys know how much I adore Alec Benjamin, yes? When I heard this song, I knew it had Peter Parker written all over it.

So without further adieu:

FIC: Annabelle’s Homework

Summary: Peter is so in love with Annabelle Stephens, he thinks nothing of doing her homework for her. The reader is upset by this. Mostly because Annabelle isn’t in love with Peter... she is.

Tagged: @flokidottir-imagines-br @babyplutoszx2 @musiclover1263 @judemoos  @drxgxnslxyer @hollanderheart @thequeensardine @ive-got-some-lies-to-tell @captainbuckyy @xxtomxo @deleteidentity

**

(y/n) did not hate many people. Hate was a waste of time and energy, as far as she was concerned. So many of the world’s problems revolve around hate, and she did not want to contribute to that negative energy.

That being said, (y/n) hated Annabelle Stephens.

Not just hated, if we’re being honest. She fucking hated Annabelle Stephens with every fiber of her being.

Annabelle was the head cheerleader at Midtown. She had straight blonde hair that hung just past her shoulders; sparkling blue eyes; a smattering of freckles across her perfectly straight nose.

Too bad that nose was permanently stuck in the air.

Annabelle thinks she’s better than you. She’s beautiful and she knows it, using this to her advantage. She’s not the smartest - makes one wonder how she got into Midtown in the first place (*coughcoughsizabledonationfromherparentscoughcough*). She is shrewd and manipulative, she knows which boys are in love with her and uses them to do her homework for her.

Her latest victim: Peter Parker.

Which, for (y/n), is incredibly frustrating. Because Peter is in love with Annabelle, but Annabelle isn’t in love with Peter.

(y/n) is.

**

“Again?” (y/n) groaned, her head falling back onto her pillow. She was hosting their friend group’s weekly study session. Ned insisted on calling them the Study Buddies, which (y/n) loved; Michelle thought this was a stupid name. Peter didn’t care, as long as he got to hang out with his friends and get to pig out on junk food while they worked.

“Yeah, again.” Peter shot a cursory glance over the work, then carefully wrote a name in the upper right-hand corner: Annabelle Stephens. 

“Why, though?” (y/n) asked.  

“Because, God, (y/n). Annabelle is so pretty. And she’s really nice, for a cheerleader-”

“Bullshit,” (y/n) said, doing that thing where she tried to mask the word with a cough.

“And maybe she likes me too. If I do her homework for her a few times, maybe… you know, maybe she’ll go out with me sometime.”

“Every night for the last two and a half weeks is a few times?” (Y/n) rolled her eyes. “You’re fooling yourself, Peter. She doesn’t like you, she likes your brain. She’s just using you so she doesn’t have to do any actual work.”

“What do you care, anyway?” Peter barked angrily.

(y/n) sighed deeply. “I don’t, I guess. I just hate seeing my friends get hurt, that’s all. I know that this is the path she’s leading you down, and I don’t want to see you go through it.”

Peter narrowed his eyes. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’re jealous.”

“Jealous? Of who, Annabelle?” (y/n) scoffed. “Yeah, right. Because I totally want to be scraping by at a school I’m only at because of Daddy’s money. Because I totally want my life to revolve around how popular I am. Because-”

“Tell Ned and Michelle I’ll call them later.” Peter gathered up his books, stuffed them into his backpack, and marched toward the door. “As for you… I think it’s better if we don’t talk for a few days.”

(y/n) sprang from her seat, suddenly remorseful. “No, Peter, look. I’m sorry, okay? I-I went too far, I know that. I just-”

Peter shook his head. “I don’t want to hear it right now. See you tomorrow.” He left, slamming the door behind himself.

(y/n) stood in the middle of her bedroom, stunned. “The real reason I’m upset,” she said quietly, “is because I’m in love with you.”

“Hey, where’d Pete get off to in such a hurry?” Ned asked, moments later; Michelle walked in behind him.

“We had a fight,” (Y/n) sighed. “He’s been doing Annabelle Stephens’ homework.”

Ned’s jaw dropped; Michelle just rolled her eyes and muttered, “great, now it’s Peter. I thought he was smarter than that.”

“What do you mean, now it’s Peter?”

“This is sort of her modus operandi, you know.” Michelle sighed, pulling her Latin textbook out of her backpack. “She hooks her claws into some poor dumbass, gets him to do her homework for her for a few weeks, then she kicks him to the curb and finds some new sucker. Never pegged Parker to be that guy, though.”

“Do the teachers know about this?”

“I suspect they do.” Michelle pulled out some index cards, opened her textbook, and began writing. “Don’t ask me why nobody said anything to the principal, though.”

“Oh, I know.” Ned pulled a package of Twizzlers out of his backpack; he offered one to (y/n), who took it. “He said without definite proof he couldn’t do anything.”

“But,” (y/n) said, “now he’s mad at me and said to tell you he’d call you guys later.”

“Had to drive him away, huh?” Ned shook his head. “I was really hoping he’d help me with Physics.”

“Thanks for not picking sides, Ned.” (y/n) reached over and grabbed a handful of Twizzlers.

“I’m not picking sides, I’m just having a hard time with…”

(y/n) tossed a Twizzler at Ned. “I’m teasing. Now come on, let’s get to work.”

They started to get to work on their respective assignments, but suddenly Michelle’s head popped up.

“You in love with him or something?” She asked.

Ned scoffed rather loudly. “Uh, no. That’s stupid, why-”

“Not you, nincompoop. (y/n).”

(y/n) raised her eyebrows. “What? Why?”

“Because you care an awful lot about whether or not Peter does Annabelle’s homework for her.”

“Peter’s my friend,” (y/n) insisted, although her voice faltered a bit. “And I don’t want to see my friends get hurt.”

“Really.” It wasn’t a question, it was a statement. Michelle was good at doing that, as a means of getting people to talk.

“Yes, really.”

Michelle raised one eyebrow - just one - and (y/n) felt her resolve crumbling.

“Oh, fine. Yes, I’m in love with Peter Parker. Okay?” “How long?”

“Why does that matter?”

Michelle raised the other eyebrow.

(y/n) sighed. “Two years.”

“And do you know why Peter’s in love with Annabelle Stephens?”

“Because he’s a moron?”

“Because he was in love with you for the last year and a half, but he finally decided you didn’t see him that way. So… he moved on.”

(y/n) felt like she’d just been punched in the gut. Repeatedly. By the Hulk.

“Peter’s in love with me?” she asked quietly, voice barely above a whisper.

“Was.” Michelle scribbled something onto the flashcards she was making for herself. “Who the hell knows, might be present tense too. You never know with him.”

“Why didn’t he say anything?”

“Why didn’t you?” Michelle finally looked up from her textbook. 

“I asked you first,” (y/n) replied, voice now full-on shaking.

Michelle rolled her eyes. “It’s so cliche, you know? It’s the same tired excuse everyone involved in the friends-to-lovers trope uses. Oh, ooh, we’ve been friends for so long, what if they don’t feel the same? Then we’ll just magically stop being friends… boo-fricken-hoo. If you’re truly friends, you’ll talk it out. Might be awkward for a while afterward, but a true friendship can survive all that.”

“You’re tall enough without that soapbox,” Ned called from his corner, mouth full of Twizzlers.

“I like it up here.” Michelle tossed a pillow at him; it bounced off of his face and he tried very hard not to choke on his snack. “So why didn’t you say anything?”

(y/n) groaned loudly. “The same tired excuse.”

“Well, now he’s not talking to you because neither one of you would grow a pair and talk about it. Think about that, (y/n). If you’d said something, he’d be with you and not on Annabelle Stephens’ hook.”

The thing (y/n) liked best about Michelle was also the thing she liked the least: She did not sugar-coat anything. She preferred to be blunt, get straight to the point.

And boy… she sure made hers.

She was right: If only (y/n) had said something, anything, Peter wouldn’t be slaving away doing homework for a pretty but vapid girl who surely wouldn’t appreciate his efforts. He might be there, in (y/n)’s bedroom, laughing at something Ned had said or arguing with Michelle about whatever point Nietzche was trying to make. He might be smiling shyly at her, slight freckles standing out against his pink-tinged cheeks. He might be holding her hand in the hallways, wrapping his arm around her shoulders at lunch, stealing a quick kiss between classes.

But, both of them were too chicken to say anything, so now she’s miserable and Peter’s doing someone else’s homework.

“You okay?” Ned asked quietly.

(y/n) shook her head. “Uh, yeah, I will be. Now, what did I do with that Trigonometry worksheet?”

**

It had been a week since (y/n) and Peter’s argument. He’d managed to avoid her the entire time. He volunteered in the library over lunch so they wouldn’t have to sit together. He sat in the back of the classroom in the one class they shared (Spanish), making sure to get there just before the beginning bell rang and slipping out while the end bell sounded.  

He didn’t even attempt to come to Michelle’s for Study Buddies.

(y/n) was resigned to the fact that their friendship was, for all intents and purposes, over.

But then, on what would have been the 22nd straight day Peter did Annabelle’s homework, something happened.

(y/n) and Michelle had gone to the library over lunch, to get in some extra research for their American History project. (y/n) was in one of the aisles looking for a book, when she overheard Peter and Annabelle talking.

“Thanks for the Geography homework, Petey,” Annabelle said, voice sickeningly-sweet. 

(y/n) could have thrown up right then and there. If there was one name Peter hated being called, even more than Penis Parker, it was Petey. But, since it’s Annabelle, he’d probably let it slide.

“Yeah, anytime,” Peter replied. “Hey, um… I was wondering. You know, Homecoming is coming up and I was wondering…”

“Oh, Petey. Do you really think I like you like that? You’re smart and everything, but you’re too much of a dork. I mean, think of what that would look like for me! Besides, I was just going to tell you that I don’t need you anymore. Brad Davis is doing my homework now.”

“But… I thought you...you know, liked me.”

“You thought wrong. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go find Brad.” (y/n) heard a few footsteps. “Oh, and Petey? Delete my number.”

(y/n) stood frozen in the aisle for a few moments. She was right: Annabelle was using him. She was sure Peter was devastated; did Annabelle really have to be such a bitch about it?

She didn’t know what to do. Should she go comfort him? Should she just give him space? 

Then, she remembered what Michelle had said about “growing a pair” and… grew a pair.

Taking a deep breath, she walked to the end of the aisle, rounding the corner to the one Peter was standing in.

“Peter?” she said softly.

“(y/n), hey.” Peter tried to sound casual. But his voice faltered slightly and his big brown eyes were glassy and red-rimmed. “Um, you were right, you know?”

“About what?”

“Annabelle. She was just using me, she didn’t like me at all.” Peter quickly wiped away a tear that was threatening to spill down his cheek. “Look, I’m sorry I snapped at you last week. I should’ve seen this coming a mile away, but I was too stupid to-”

“Peter, I like you.”

Peter stopped his rambling, eyes growing wide. “You… you what?”

“I like you, Peter. And I have, for a long time. But I never said anything because… what did Michelle call it…”

“That same tired excuse and something about the friends-to-lovers trope?”

“Yeah. That. And I only got mad last week because I like you and I didn’t want to see you get hurt. I should have said something sooner, if I had she never would have done this to you and you wouldn’t be mad at me and-”

Peter suddenly leaned over, softly pecking her lips and effectively ending her rambling.

“That was… you… um, kissed me,” (Y/n) said, as she mentally kicked herself in the crotch. That was the best she could come up with?!

“I really like you too, (y/n),” Peter replied. “I should have listened to you, yeah. But I should have said something sooner too. But maybe we can forget about that, and… and I could take you to Homecoming?”

“Can I take you out for a cup of coffee first?”

Peter smiled, that blush creeping over his cheeks; (y/n) thought he’d never looked more adorable. “Yeah, I-I think I’d really like that. You doing anything after school?”

“Nothing,” (y/n) said, “except for going on a coffee date with a cute boy.”

Peter laughed quietly. “Yeah, that. Hey, can we kiss again?”

“Of course.”

**

“Guys!” The next day, Ned practically flew to their usual table in the lunchroom, nearly knocking over a gaggle of hapless freshman girls in the process. “Guys, did you hear about… wait, what?”

The what he was referring to was Peter and (y/n), seated next to each other; when he’d run up to the table Peter’s arm was around (y/n)’s shoulders and he was kissing her cheek.

“Oh, yeah.” (y/n) smiled up at him. “Peter and I made up -”

“Obviously.” Ned rolled his eyes.

“And we’re dating now,” Peter added. “We finally talked about it. Anyway, what’s up?”

Ned started giggling uncontrollably. “I’m so happy for you guys! That is great! Michelle and I were wondering if you’d ever-”

“Ned,” (y/n) said, exasperated. “What were you going to tell us?”

“Hey, guys,” Michelle said casually, sliding in across from Peter and (y/n). “Oh, good, you two got over yourselves. Anyway, did you guys hear about Annabelle Stephens?”

“I was just getting ready to tell them!” Ned exclaimed.

(y/n) furrowed her brow. “What about Annabelle?”

“Well, apparently she was trying to get Brad Davis to do her homework for her. She asked him, you know, like she usually does.” Michelle, who barely ever cracked a smile, was practically overrun with glee at this point. “But Brad was recording her, went straight to the principal. She’s been kicked off the cheerleading squad and she’s suspended indefinitely. School board’s going to vote on expulsion at next week’s board meeting.”

Peter’s eyes grew wide. “Did she-”

“Wouldn’t give up who was doing her work for her. Guess she has some sort of moral compass after all.” Michelle shrugged as she bit into the sandwich she’d brought from home. “I don’t think they’d get into trouble, though. But still, probably a good chance this is that last we’ve seen of Annabelle Stephens.”

“I certainly hope so,” (y/n) said, tucking into her bean burrito. 

Although, she thought to herself, if it weren’t for Annabelle… maybe Peter and I would’ve never gotten together.

“Who knew,” Peter whispered in her ear, “that we’re together because of an argument about Annabelle.”

“It’s like you read my mind, Pete.” (y/n) laughed as she grabbed her can of soda. “Let’s make a toast. “To Annabelle Stephens, the cause of and solution to all of our problems.”

“Here, here,” Peter replied as he clinked his can against hers, ignoring the odd looks Ned and Michelle were giving them.

“Those two are such dorks,” Michelle grumbled.

“Yeah, they’re perfect for each other,” Ned added.

[wheremytwinwatches]

[Where My Twin Watches]: Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood Episode 9

Hey, no narrator explaining the Alchemy basics this time, just straight into the intro song? Last time, the Elrics broke into the Fifth Lab, encountered two Soul Armors, and Pudgy the Jerk made Al wonder about his free will. Here’s hoping that we fix these worries this episode.

Episode 09 - “Created Feelings” Annoyed Ed is Annoyed, scowling in his hospital bed. Ross and Brosh try to stay positive, but have to admit to Ed that the Lab’s kinda gone the same way as the library. And Ed can’t even get properly mad about that, he’s so beat up. So close to finding out the truth… Wait, what are you two apologizing for? If anything Ed’s the one who should be apologizing for running- OH! Ed done just got slapped by Ross, who’s calling him a selfish child, who doesn’t have to do everything by himself. Thanks for knocking some sense into the boy, Ross! Ross and Brosh maintain their professional demeanor (did they rehearse this earlier, their performance is spot on), right up until Ed admits he had it coming and they collapse in relief. Oh hey, explanation that SA’s are equivalent to major, like you guys said. Ed lets them know they don’t have to act so professional around him. Um, but maybe a bit more professional than that? Where’s Al in all this? He got his lecture earlier (and Brosh was the attempted slapper). And speaking of lectures… Uh oh. Ed’s gotta call Winry, tell her that his arm’s busted already. Immediately she remembers that loose screw. Whoops! Still ticked off that Ed got in another fight, but she recovers quickly and makes plans to head for Central. [Brosh]: “Aw, was that your girlfriend?” [Ed]: “My girlfriend? No way!” Yeah, just keep telling yourself that, buddy. Brosh wheels Ed back to the room since Ed’s busted up his stomach injury again, idly trying to talk girls with Annoyed Ed. Oh hey, there’s Al! Whatcha doing in the dark, buddy? Ugh, Al’s still brooding over what Pudgy said. And in a moment of cosmic irony, some kid’s robot toy walks right into him. Seeing an example of what we know he used to be, and what Pudgy said that he is… Damn it. I don’t wanna consider it. But do we know for sure that Pudgy’s wrong? I mean, we saw kid-Alphonse up until he was consumed in the Human Transmutation. And we’ve seen other examples of Soul Armor with Pompous and Pudgy. But do we know for sure that there was continuation of consciousness? You have to admit, it’s possible that Soul Armors create an impression of a person, formulate an identity based on the thoughts of the binder. Al’s thinking of his little brother when he does the binding, and the resulting suit of armor acts like his brother used to. The executioners think about the murderers that they are hanging, and that carries over to the new guards. We haven’t even had a non-Armor perspective of Al, even. I just can’t discount the possibility. At the train station, Winry’s complaining about the seats, wondering how Ed and Al can take so many trips. Looking around the West Exit, she should see someone she recogni- oh hey Armstrong! That was easy enough. But she’s still looking around? Uh oh. She doesn’t understand why the Elric Brothers aren’t there as well. Now Winry’s freaking out at the hospital, staring at the heavily-bandaged Ed even as he snarks that she’ll probably charge him an express service fee. To which she says she won’t charge anything, she didn’t do a good enough job last time? Woof. While she mopes, the others look pointedly at Ed, who starts frantically insisting it’s not her fault. Winry realizes that Ed never noticed the missing screw, really thinks that it’s all his fault. So she’s off the hook! What a relief, now she can treat him like normal! Cue her setting out express fee, chiding him for not drinking his milk, Ed whining that he doesn’t wanna, The Mighty Armstrong being VERY DISPLEASED with Ed’s attitude - yay, we’re back to happy times! But Al was looking through the door, just closed it and walked away. Boo, give me back my happy times! As Winry works on the arm, Ed talks about how Al’s been acting odd lately (Winry takes the opportunity to sneak the missing screw into the repairs). Al’s back in the Shadowed Hallway, looking into a mirror, shattering a mirror with barely any effort.

Repairs are done, Ed’s thanking Winry for the work- Sudden Civilian-dress!Hughes! [Hughes]: “Yo, Ed, my boy! Is it true that you brought a pretty blonde girl into your room to service you?” [Ed]: “*faceplant* She’s my automail mechanic that’s all! Nothing more!” [Hughes]: “Oh… I see. You’ve seduced your mechanic, have you?” Oh jeez. Hope you’re good at dodging, Hughes. I’m pretty sure Winry has a wrench with your name on it. Or rather he’ll just enthusiastically shake her hand. And Ed can’t just tell him to go do his work, he pushed it all off to poor Sheska. But good news, Ed and Al shouldn’t have to be under guard too much longer!... Winry is not to pleased to hear about this “bodyguard” business. Did you seriously not explain how your arm got obliterated before? Nope, he didn’t tell her then, and his stubborn attitude means all he’ll say now is that it “doesn’t concern her”. Jeez, Ed. You don’t make it easy to be your friend. Winry packs up and says that she’ll see him tomorrow, she’s got to find someplace to stay for the night. Oh hey, a new houseguest for Hughes! Brace yourself for photo-albums, Winry. Actually, forget photo albums! How about a whole birthday party for Elicia! (Dang, should have seen this episode yesterday). Congrats on three years! Oh my Leto, the whole “I’m two….. No, I’m three!” is stupidly adorable. NO WAIT even the Narrator just chuckled when doing the halfway “Fullmetal Alchemist” cards! Hurk!

Later that night, Winry’s talking about how she’s known the Elric Brothers for a long time, they’re like her brothers (well, maybe Al. NO I WILL NOT LET THIS SHIP GO). But they don’t talk to her, even when it’s clear things are bothering them. Hughes talks about how guys try to talk through actions rather than words, try not to burden others with their pain. But when a time comes that they do ask for help, Hughes knows that Winry will be there for them. As they finish talking, we get a sweet scene of some little boys asking to play with Elicia… and then arguing about who she wants to play with. Aw, quite the heartbreaker alre- Hughes put the gun down! Quieter actions Hughes, quieter actions! Next morning, Winry’s saying her goodbyes even as the family extend their hospitality. Elicia even huuuuuuurk nope nope too cute, clutching Winry’s sleeve. Hughes remarks that they could be sisters- [Elicia]: “Sissy! Be safe, ok? And come back and visit me real soon!”

At the hospital, Ed is shocked... to encounter milk with his food again. Al tries getting him to drink it, saying that he has “a living body that needs nourishment” (still thinking about Pudgy). Ed just offhandedly remarks that he won’t do it if he doesn’t want to, that he has grown some even if others, like Hughes and Winry who are arriving, keep calling him pipsqueak. [Ed]: “I wish I was like you, Al. You’ve got such a big body now.” [Al]: ”It’s not like I asked for this body, brother!” Oh jeez. It’s coming to a head. Ed starts apologizing, saying that he’ll get Al back in his real body soon. But Al’s not having any of it, yelling that Ed always says that, that he can’t believe anything when he’s stuck in this body, that memories are just scraps of information that can be made up as easily as anything else. Al thinks he knows now what Ed was afraid to tell him. That Al’s soul and memories are artificial constructions that Ed created. Ed slams his hands on the table. Then asks if Al’s finished talking. Then quietly gets up and walks out of the room. Al… Ed… WINRY! Hoo boy, Winry is pissed, smacking Al around with her wrench. I mean, Al did just accuse her, Granny, and Ed of lying to him. Oh. But she’s not upset about that. She’s upset because she knows what Ed was going to say: That he wanted to ask Al if he blames him for what happened to his body. Flashback to injured Ed at the Rockbell’s crying that Al lost his body, it’s all his fault. Al can’t eat, sleep, feel… how could he forgive the one who was supposed to protect him? Granny insists that Al doesn’t feel that way, that if Ed just asks he’ll know the truth. But Ed’s too afraid. Winry keeps striking Al, crying that even as Ed harbored those doubts, Al came and accused him of creating a fake brother just to control. And Winry ask who could do something like that, risk their life to create a fake brother. … That depends, Winry. To create a puppet? No one. To try and bring back what was lost, even if was ‘fake’? … moving on. For now, Winry orders Al to go after his brother. Up on the roof, Ed’s leaning on the railing, Al standing in the doorway. He goes to speak, but Ed cuts him off. [Ed]: “You know somethin', Al… We haven’t had a good fight in a while. I’m starting to get flabby.” The slippers come off. Ed charges, kicking and punching even as Al tells him to stop, that his wounds aren’t healed enough for a spar. Then, sheet to the face! While Al’s blinded, Ed knocks him down, declaring that he’s won. Hey, this would be the first match he’s ever beaten Al in, right? Even though Al argues that it wasn’t a fair fight. Heh. Ed reminisces on how they’ve fought since they were little, over some very stupid things. Like who got the top and bottom bunks? Um excuse you, who gets the top bunk is not stupid thank you very much. And don’t get me started on candy or toys. I’ve had to defend my stuff against a twin and a little brother, that is srus bizness!

[Al]: “We even fought over which one of us would marry Winry someday.” [Ed, panicked]: “What?! I don’t remember that one!” [Al]: “I won the fight… but she shot me down.” [Ed, nonchalant]: “Oh… did she?” Ed challenges Al to discount all those memories as lies, or his determination to regain his body. They’re in this together, remember? They’ll make themselves stronger, faster and better until they get their bodies back. Even if it means they have to drink the dreaded milk. *shudder* As the brothers fist-bump, Hughes and Winry look on from the doorway. (Please, please tell me she heard about their previous fights). Winry remarks that one doesn’t have to always hear something out loud, but it is helpful sometimes. Now, to put Ed back to bed and get some proper rest! [Strong Winds]? Heat-wave desert with a white flag? Oh hey, it’s Scar! [Scar]: “My brother…” Wait. What? Scar has a brother? Oh good grief. First we get the Slicer brothers, now we learn that Scar has/had a brother too?! I swear, and I thought RWBY was bad with sisters. Well anyways, not just his brother, Scar mentions his Master too, saying they’re all gone. Aftermath of the genocide? Sudden intruder! Hey, it’s Smiley/Kimblee, that guy who’s in jail now. He identifies himself as a State Alchemist send to exterminate the sector. He Transmutes from circles drawn on his hands- Scar wakes up, bandaged and under a blanket. A small red-eyed boy cheerfully notes he’s awake, and an older white-haired man tells Scar that he’s in a slum outside East City. Guessing they’re all Ishvalan? Little Kid says that Scar shouldn’t move, they found him floating in the sewers badly injured. Remembering his fight with the Goths, Scar asks if he still has his right arm and oh my gosh are you serious? We’ve already got the brother parallels, you really gonna make him lose an arm to be a more blatant counterpart to Ed? Oh, nevermind, he’s still got it. Lots of tattoos… gift from his family? Post-credits! [Narrator]: “A good friend became a comrade in arms, and over time his presence was taken for granted.” ...wait, what? “Although the future they once dreamed of became bleaker than they had ever imagined, this good friend was always there by his side, where he belonged.” Show. Show, no. NO. Stop implying what I think you’re implying! “Next time, on Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood-” OH SWEET LETO NO NO NO THAT WAS LUST’S SILHOUETTE NO NO NO Episode 10 - “Separate Destinations” “A friend whose presence comes as naturally as breathing can never be replaced.” NNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[vicisse]

on the darkling

listen. i totally understand the mixed opinions on this guy. i’ve pretty much resigned myself the fact that my opinion is and should be mixed. the darkling is the kind of character that is equal parts despicable and almost relatable—relatable and not redeemable. 

the man is a walking contradiction, and so is my opinion of him: i love to hate him, and i hate to love him. 

this post is meant to take a crack at the utter enigma that is the darkling and really break down his character. 

“The Darkling is a manipulative person, so why do so many people like him?”

i can’t speak on behalf of the whole fandom, but for me personality, i like TD in the sense that he is a complex character. does that mean i excuse the atrocious things he did? absolutely not. he is still an abject and detestable character. but i can still analyze and delve into the intricacies and reasoning behind his actions and find it interesting. 

(and besides, from a purely leisure-based perspective, TD is an entertaining character! i mean, he’s awful, but he’s also awfully petty. for a supposedly intelligent character with a vast amount of experience, he sure gets tripped up on the words and actions of a mousy teenage girl.)

some people, though, like to reduce TD to the bad boy/asshole who goes “soft” after meeting the girl of his dreams. not only does that trope grate on my nerves, it is also a far cry from the actual dynamics at work. 

not only has leigh commented on how she wanted to subvert the trope that a female love interest can make a bad man better (in regards to the relationship between alina and TD, at least), but she has also made it clear that TD would not change for alina. 

for all the times he reveals a little bit of truth to alina... well? it’s just that. a little bit of truth. it’s really another manipulative tactic: lies mixed with a little bit of truth, a classic TD move. he knows that alina is lonely and preys on that loneliness, talking on and on about how she isn’t like her friends, how none of them will ever understand her the way he can. 

“I’ve seen what you truly are,” said the Darkling, “and I’ve never turned away. I never will. Can he say the same?”

another reason why TD is fascinating to me is because he is so good at what he does that he manages to manipulate readers, too. they think he’s good for alina, or that alina will change him, that she was stupid for turning down a chance to step into power. 

(i beg to differ, though that is a whole other meta—on alina. this is about TD.)

TD is a compelling character because his very existence elicits so many questions: 

Why is he so obsessed with Alina? Does he actually feel anything for her? If he wants her so badly, why doesn’t he stop his quest for world domination and have a little more compassion for humanity?

Why did he make the Fold?

Why is he—well—Like That?

let’s go backwards, starting with Why is he Like That? well, the answer is easily: Baghra. 

her parenting is questionable, to say the least. i don’t doubt that she loves her son and genuinely wants the best for him, but “the best” gets warped with the times. in the early years, “the best” meant heeding her lessons, accumulating fear and power so no one could hurt them—hurt him. 

it isn’t until after the whole shadow fold debacle that baghra’s all “maybe the best is seeing my son come home,” because the monster who was peeling away strips of his humanity year after year is no longer her son. i mean, TD spent a good part of his formative years learning at her knee, truly heeding her words:

“I taught him that he had no equal, that he was destined to bow before no man. I wanted him to be hard, to be strong. I taught him the lesson my mother and father taught me: to rely on no one. That love—fragile and fickle and raw—was nothing compared to power.”

at the time, the latter certainly holds true. TD scarcely made friends, as baghra also warned him to be wary of touch (they’re amplifiers, after all), which is a pretty big part of socializing and human interaction. what does he need love for?

in order to make a difference, make the impact he desired, TD would have to climb a lot of rungs to step into a position powerful enough to commit to reality the dream he’s carried: to make a safe haven for grisha. 

but now his dreams have since been warped by time. 

it’s hard to fathom just how long TD has lived because we don’t know how long he’s been around. still, factoring time into the equation is helpful when it comes to understanding TD’s motivation. 

anger is certainly a huge motivator, and something that only festers on and grows with time, twining itself with resentment and bitterness and underneath it all: loneliness. anger, directed at a world that spurned him and people like him. anger, at a world that always, always took from him—because he must have loved someone at some point. he tells alina, 

“I have lived a long life, rich in grief. My tears are long since spent. If I still felt as you do, if I ached as you do, I could not have borne this eternity.”

and the loneliness, the burden of immortality, the curse of it. to watch the people you love taken by a world that spurned grisha, or worse: to watch them live long enough to die of old age while you remained unblemished by time, to repeat that cycle over and over again and bear the brunt of loneliness each and every time. 

“But wait,” you might be thinking, “doesn’t he have his mom?”

well, yeah. there is baghra, but... you have to understand: she’s the one who taught him to be that way. she was the one who taught him to rely on nothing and no one but himself. and also? who would want to spend eternity with a cold and distant mother? 

“Boo hoo, poor immortal character is stuck being lonely. Is that supposed to excuse the horrors he committed? I get lonely, too, but you don’t see me annihilating a whole town.”

no, not at all! this is just providing a reason behind it, not excusing it. understanding does not equal tolerance. TD is despicable, true, but i’m just pointing out:

a life in isolation + immortal life + grand ambition to change the world = disaster

it isn’t enough just to be grisha; TD is also an amplifier, so he was hunted by other grisha. that isolating existence combined with the long stretch of time he can live is already enough to strip you of what little humanity you have. add on the fact that TD once dreamed of changing the world, to make a safe haven for people like him, grisha, and the fact that baghra essentially raised him to rely on power and believe that the world is his birthright... yeah. disaster. 

of course, the real disaster here is TD, but apparently, disaster spur more disasters because he also made the shadow fold. so, Why did he make the Fold? honestly, it confuses me, too. 

see, when alina asks that, baghra tells her that the fold is no accident, which leads me, the reader, to believe that TD planned on splitting ravka in two in order to sanction fold crossings, which would get the king to rely on his second army, his grisha. buuut, leigh has also said in a couple Q&As that the fold was merzost gone wrong... to be honest, it’s probably both?

like yes, TD tried his hand at merzost and failed on a scale of epic proportions, but leave it to him to figure out a way around his mess. like sure, he wasn’t able to make his own amplifier (though why he would need more amplifiers when he is himself is an amplifier is beyond me), but he probably figures, hey, i can use this, and does. which brings me to the last stretch of questions:

Why is he so obsessed with Alina? Does he actually feel anything for her? If he wants her so badly, why doesn’t he stop his quest for world domination and have a little more compassion for humanity?

he’s obsessed with alina because she’s literally his answer. to everything. 

if he wants to cross the fold? alina. if he takes over ravka for many centuries and the people start to protest? alina, the revered sun saint, will subdue them.

so what if alina isn’t as powerful as he is, won’t live as long as he does? he supposes now is as good a time as any to whip out old grandpa ilya’s journals to get his set of amplifiers on her. 

she’s the amalgamation of everything he has ever searched for, ever wanted. and maybe that’s why a lot of people conflate those strong feelings for love, but the thing is... TD? loving someone? feeling anything? i have to laugh. 

that’s another thing about TD. when it comes to emotions, he’s not as emotionally stunted as some people make him out to be. 

he strikes me as a very introspective character. it doesn’t make sense to me that someone who’s lived so long is so out of touch with their emotions. he is, in a way, but i also think he is aware and merely chooses to ignore, push down, or disguise it as something else entirely. he’s not emotionally stunted, he just thinks some emotions are inconvenient. unpleasant. annoying, even.

the thing is, TD has lived a really loooong life. he doesn’t feel loneliness the same way any of the other non-immortal characters do. no, his kind of loneliness manifests itself without feeling, numb from the centuries of having nothing and no one to depend on but himself. 

i’m not saying that TD doesn’t love alina—though honestly, i could never imagine a world where he acknowledges he does. besides, it doesn’t look like what is the ideal definition of love as we see it, but it’s as close as he’s gonna get.

love is a tricky, flexible thing; and it isn’t always good or bad. ideally, love should be good, but. it’s like a friend pointed out to me: a controlling mother can tell her child, “i love you, so you have to do what i say,” but she isn’t necessarily lying. she does love her child, but she uses it as leverage to manipulate—another classic TD move. 

now, i never quite answered why, then, if he wants alina so badly, doesn’t he stop his quest for world domination and have a little more compassion for humanity? short answer is: it’s impossible. 

i’ve answered an ask before, on TD and the possibility of a redemption arc, but again: it’s impossible. i mean, imagine holding onto a grudge for years. years. at some point, it’s not just a grudge, it’s just you, holding onto your anger, some kind of injustice you feel but can no longer identify. 

it’s like that with TD, but x100000000000000000000. i might even be missing a few more zeroes, to be honest. 

TD is many things. stubborn, selfish, arrogant. arrogance plays a big role, because his ego is, frankly, the size of the shadow fold. someone who’s as self-righteous as TD isn’t going to readily admit he was wrong this whole time. 

the fold is one thing—but that mistake he could rectify, work around. if he were to admit that he was wrong for doing all this grand planning, plans he spent centuries building up to and waiting for, it would all go to waste. it would all be for nothing. at the very least, he has to see some follow through. 

and another thing: he’s not about to give up a centuries’ long ambition for one (1) mousy girl who is too stubborn to acknowledge her own potential. forget it! 

he might love alina, but he will always love power more.

[lifeofyellowpearl]

Yellow Pearl Gets Singled Out

I was all but trembling as our palanquin made its way to the Facet 7 spire. My Diamond was headed to a summit wherein she would be sitting down with several elites. Now the information in this meeting was classified. This meant that I would once again have to wait in the pearl chamber and since there would be so many elites attending this meeting, no doubt the chamber would be full. Three things I really hate: Not being around My Diamond, crowds, and socializing.  

We dropped down on the landing pad outside the spire and My Diamond directed me towards the pearl chamber warp pad. My anxiety gradually increased as I got closer to the pad. Just do what you always do. I thought, find an empty cubby, hide in there, and just…hope that no one will notice. I stepped onto the warp pad and was taken to the pearl chamber.

Just as I suspected, the place was packed. I was petrified. I had been in situations like this before, but it never seems to get any easier. I just really hate being alone in crowds. I looked around and saw that every single cubby that lined the walls was filled, save for one that was on the other end of the room directly across from me. I just needed to make my way to that empty cubby without being noticed. I took a deep breath and began to move through the crowd. It was positively nerve-wracking. So far, no had noticed me, they were all caught up in their own personal conversations. Just a little further, I thought to myself, you can do this.

“Oh, my stars!” A voice bellowed, “Look who it is!” I stopped in my tracks. Damn it! I recognized that voice. Against my better judgement, I turned to see who it was. And there, I saw a familiar lime green pearl pointing right at me and smiling wryly. “Hey! Look, everyone! It’s our favorite pearl! Everyone, turn and look at our favorite pearl!” One by one, the pearls turned to look at me. Some were visibly confused but most were well aware of what was happening here. I instinctively tensed up and bowed my head. I really hate being the center of attention. But of course, that stupid green pearl knew that. All the pearls began to giggle when they saw how uncomfortable I was getting. With a mischievous grin, the green pearl waved at me wildly. “Everybody say, ‘Hi, 1XL!’”

The other pearls happily obliged as they began waving, each repeating that stupid greeting: “Hi 1XL!” “Hi 1XL!” “Hi 1XL!” I felt as though I were under fire. My breathing became shallow as a rush of vertigo came over me. I could barely hear myself think in this noise. I hunched over and embraced myself in a desperate attempt to stop myself from shaking. I remembered that empty cubby at the other end of the room. Still hunched over I quickly began to make my way towards it. I was almost there but then that green pearl jumped in front of me, standing between me and the cubby, “What’s the hurry, L? Don’t you want to say hi to everyone?”

My trembling intensified, partly out of fear and partly out of anger. I managed to look up at this pearl, though I was still hunched over. As per usual, I could only barely speak above a whisper “D-d-damn it, 2XH!” I managed to stutter out, “Y-you know I h-h-hate this!” I tried to sidestep her, but she kept stepping in my way, “P-p-please, just let me pass!”

“What was that?” 2XH said with a laugh “I can’t hear you!” That was a lie, I knew she could hear me. I wanted to call her on it, but the anxiety was really getting to me. I began to tear up.

“Aww look!” H shouted, “She’s about to cry!”

“Oh no! poor little pearl!” Shouted another pearl. All the other pearls began to follow suit with their mocking ‘awws’ and ‘boo-hoos.’ This only served to worsen my anxiety. I hunched over even further, and crouched down, all but falling to my knees, and covered my head with my hands. Don’t cry, you worthless clod! I thought, Don’t let them see you cry!!

“Uh oh!” one pearl shouted, “I think she’s about to have one of her outbursts!”

Gradually, the general tone grew more hostile as their offhand comments turned to outright insults.

“Woah! Woah! Hey! What’s going on here!?” I recognized that voice as well. It belonged to 9XD. I could hear her marching up behind me through the mocking crowds. I wanted to turn and face her, but I couldn’t bring myself to look up. “C’mon guys, seriously? leave her alone!”

The pearls stopped and murmured. H sneered, “9XD? Don’t tell me you’re here to defend this idiot.”

“Hey c’mon.” D crouched next to me and was able to help me back up, though I made it a point to keep my head down. “Just step aside, will you?” H scoffed and moved aside.

“Your friendship won’t last!” One pearl shouted.

“She’s right, you know.” Said H.

D ignored them.  I was a mess. I couldn’t stop shaking, “God damn it,” I whispered, “I hate those pearls.”

“Hey, don’t worry about them.” D guided me towards the cubby. I began to turn and face her, but she stopped me “keep facing the wall,” she said.

“What?”

“Just trust me.” I didn’t have the energy to question her, so I went ahead and did as she instructed. I sat down facing the wall of the cubby. D sat down right behind me and placed her hands on my shoulders. “Those pearls? They aren’t even here, okay? It’s just you and me.”

I understood and nodded, “Just you and me.”

“Oh, how touching!” Shouted H, “Nice that you have a worthless clod for a friend!”

“Hey guys, maybe we should ease up a little,” I heard a pearl say, “I mean, we almost made her cry.” I grimaced. Did she really have to mention that?

“Why should I care? She made me cry, first!” H said indignantly.

“She made me cry too.” Said another pearl. “It’s only a matter of time until she hurts 9XD.”

“Yeah seriously D, forget that pearl!”

“Yeah! Trust us! She’s more trouble than she’s worth!”

“That’s a gross understatement,” said H, “We all know she ain't worth much!” All the pearls started laughing. Still ignoring them, D covered my ears. She pressed her hands firmly, assuring that I couldn’t hear any more of their verbal attacks.

“Thank you.” I managed to say. I began to relax as I was able to pretend that none of those pearls were there. Like D said, it was just her and me.

Eventually, the pearls got tired of attacking me and stopped. When they did, D uncovered my ears. We sat in silence for a while after that.

“Hey,” D said, breaking the silence “that one pearl…what did she mean when she…” D paused abruptly. I assumed she was reconsidering her question.

“It’s okay,” I said despondently, “you can ask.”

D didn’t say anything. Perhaps she was debating whether she should drop the subject, but I knew she was curious, and I knew that her curiosity would never completely go away. She’d hear about it eventually. If not from me then from some of the other pearls. “Those pearls…” I began “They hate me. Now don’t get me wrong, those pearls will try and tell you that I’m this awful gem. Heaven knows they won’t even bother to mention all the things I’ve done for them.  But I must admit…perhaps they’re somewhat right to hate me.” My voice began to break “The thing is…I’m just so angry at myself. I’m angry at myself all the time and sometimes…I take that anger out on others and I…say things.”

“Why are you so angry at yourself?” D asked.

I shrugged, “You probably shouldn’t be my friend. I’ll just hurt you like I hurt the others. Like I hurt K…” I stopped at that last statement. It had been so long since that altercation. The things I said to K…I was amazed that she stuck around after all that.

Suddenly I felt D’s arms wrap around me, her cheek pressed up against mine. “L, has anyone ever told you that you’re way too hard on yourself?” My eyes began to mist. It had been so long since anyone had embraced me like this.

D and I stayed like this for the rest of our time there. One by one the pearls were summoned by their masters. By the time D and I were summoned, the place was empty. I was relieved that H had gone, I was worried that she would try and get one last insult in.  D released me and we both made our way to our respective warp pads. I was still a bit off kilter after what had just happened. Before leaving, D turned to me and smiled, “Hey,” she said, “we’ll talk.”

I smiled back at her, “Yeah,” I said, “We’ll talk

[buckyscrystalqueen]

Bad Things: Part 2

Pairings: Alpha!Negan x Omega Porn Star!Reader

Warnings: Swearing, fluff, angst, sex slavery, mentioned abuse, medical emergency, seizure

Word Count: 4,344

A/N: I was going to write a nice, peaceful story for @ne-gans challenge… two adult actors fall in love, and it’s so beautiful….. But then this happened. And it’s fucking glorious. (I’m also not sorry.)

Part 1

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You were sitting on the upper deck, watching the yacht cruise across the Pacific Ocean, in silent shock. Your bother’s music and the sounds of all your friends partying echoed across the water as they celebrated the multimillion dollar contract Kels had just signed with Negan’s label. You wanted to join him and celebrate the good news as well, but something prevented that from happening. Fear of what Matthew could do to you once he found you. Fear of what he would do to your only family member, or your friends. Fear of what he could do to your mate.

“There you are.” Negan said softly as he came around the corner with a blanket, and a bottle of Dom Perignon on ice. “I was wondering where you had escaped to.”

“Not many places to hide.” You said as you adjusted your oversized sweater on your shoulders. “Though that’s not what I was intentionally doing, anyways.” He nodded and put the ice bucket in its holder before gesturing you forward.

“Come here, Omega.” He breathed as he sat down behind you and easily pulled you into his lap. He flicked the blanket out in front of you and pulled it up over your lap, making sure you were completely covered to block out the slight nip in the salty ocean air. As he kissed your temple and wrapped you in his arms, you let out a small sigh and shed a single tear at the gentleness of it.

“I didn’t know what else to do.” You whispered as you laid your head on his shoulder and curled into his chest. “It’s so weird how my life played out. One minute we were traveling all over the world with our parents, and the next thing you know, mom took off, we moved in with our aunt. Then the fighting started, dad took off, and Kels just kinda jumped off the deep end. My aunt was threatening every day to kick us out unless he got his shit together and before I knew it, I was on the streets.”

“I won’t let that shit happen to you again, baby girl.” Negan promised as he tilted his head to see your face.

“Negan, I’m scared.” You whispered as tears started to slide down your cheeks. “What if he…”

“He will never come near you again, Omega. I swear on my fucking life. My job, as your Alpha, is to protect you and I’ll be fucking damned if I fail at my fucking job. You will be safe. Period. No matter what.”

“But what about my brother?” You asked as hysteria started to slip in. “Or my friends. What if he goes after them?”

“He won’t be able to, ‘mega.” He soothed as he cupped your jaw in his large hand. “Hey, look at me. Take a deep breath.” You nodded your head and did what he asked. “Good girl.” He said with a nod as he mimicked taking another deep breath again. 

“Now, first of all, do you really think that fucking asshat is going anywhere near your fucking brother? That kid fucking stood up to me with full intention of knocking my ass out just for touching you. Do you think, now that he knows you’re fucking safe with me, that he’s gunna let your fucking manager come near him?” You shook your head as he fixed the blanket around your shoulders when a gust of wind blew across the deck. “And after what I heard he did to you, do you honestly think I would let him stay in fucking business so he can keep hurting other women the same fucking way?” You shook your head again, and curled into him a bit more to stay warm, and to feel the protection you needed. 

“No, I’m not gunna let that shit fucking happen. I don’t give a fucking fuck. As of today, my fucking label just branched out into fucking porn. Fuck it. Because I will fucking buy out every mother fucking contract I need to to protect men and women, no matter their fucking status, that are going through the shit you went through, baby girl. I don’t fucking tolerate people who exploit other people for their own benefit. That mother fucker has another fucking thing coming to him. I promise you that.” He searched your eyes and smiled as he ran his fingers through your hair and pulled it all back over your shoulders. “You’re OK now, baby girl. And fuck if I ain’t the luckiest fucking man in the entire world that you’re my Omega.” You choked on your laugh and quickly hid your face in his chest just as Kels came to find you.

“Hey!” He barked, causing you to sit up, and look over at him. “You havin’ a fucking drink with me or what? You’re being a shitty sister right now.” You smirked as you reached back to grab the bottle of champagne, and purposely popped the top right at him, hitting him directly in the chest.

“Congrats, Kels.” You said as you held the bottle away from you over the table so it didn’t get you or your Alpha. Your brother smiled, and nodded as he came over, flopped down on the long, ‘U’ shaped couch beside you, and passed you a joint. “I’m still mad at you.”

“Wanted to surprise you.” He said as he waited for you to pass back the joint before handing you one of the four glasses he had in his hands since he didn’t know how many people you were with. “Figured you’d be happy for me.”

“I am.” You said with a nod as you handed your Alpha his glass before leaning back into his chest for the warmth and taking the joint back. “But you lied to your baby sister, and that’s not very nice, Kels.”

“Boo hoo.” He teased as he stretched out across the couch, and looked up at the starry night sky. “Damn. This is some fucking first class living right here.”

“Takes a lot of fucking work.” Negan said as he rubbed your back softly, shaking his head when you offered him the smoke. “Lots of fucking hard work. But you’re on the right fucking track.” You nodded in agreement as Kels took a gulp of his drink.

“Had a lot to fight for.” He said as he looked over at you and took back the joint. “You and Casie.”

“How is my niece, anyways?”

“She’s good.” He smiled and looked over at you. “Excited to spend a few days on the bus with Auntie (Y/N).” You sighed and rolled your eyes with a smile as you took the joint one last time.

“Didn’t realize she was in town, too. You’re really fucking killin it, here, Coulson.”

“Bite me.” He said as he poured all three of you more champagne while you took a final drag. “Her moms is in town for work day after tomorrow. We’re picking up Casie from the airport on the way back to Cleveland.”

“Good. I got a bunch of new makeup she will have fun destroying.”

“Come on, now.” Kels said as he topped off his glass, traded you what was left of the joint for a cigarette, and got up to rejoin the party. “She’s fucking ten. My baby girl is a straight G when it comes to making up her face now. Bloom.”

“You a big smoker?” Negan asked as he pulled a Zippo lighter from his pocket to light your cigarette for you. You shook your head, and inhaled deeply.

“Not supposed to because of my contract.” You said as he knocked on the window of the wheelhouse and told whoever stepped out the door to bring you an ashtray. “I smoke when I’m with Coulson but not on a regular basis.” Negan nodded as he took the ashtray from his employee and set it on the table where you could reach it easily.

“I don’t want you living by that fucking contract any more.” He said as he pulled your hand toward him to take a drag of his own. “You wanna smoke, do it. You do whatever the fuck you wanna do, baby girl. And you’re coming off those fucking suppressants when you get back from Cleveland. I won’t have my Omega killing herself to hide who she is, you hear me?” You nodded your head as you ashed that cigarette before leaning into his chest again.

“Yes, Alpha.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Alright, Casie. We got this.” You said as you pulled your ten year old niece on to your lap, despite the aching pains you had been feeling all day, so that both of you could see the TV to play Mario Kart against Kels, and his drummer, Rook.

“Oh, you two are fucking going down!” Your brother said as he grabbed his controller, and flopped down on the corner of the ‘u’ shaped couch that took up the whole back part of his tour bus.

“Nu uh!” Casie yelled as she looked up at you to make sure you could see around her giant, curly haired bun, and leaned back against your chest. “You’re gunna lose, dad!”

“Yea, dad!” You taunted as Rook came running back from the bathroom with his remote under his chin as fast as the moving bus would allow him. Kels threw a mini Oreo at your head and you whacked him in the arm as hard as you could as Casie picked her character, Peach, first, per the unofficial bus rules. Once she was locked in, you chose Mario before Rook could, Kels grabbed Bowser, and Rook finally settled on Yoshi.

“Alright, no fucking cheating.” You said with a glare over at your brother as your niece choose the track, another unofficial bus rule.

“You’re to talk!” Rook said as he sat in the only available spot between the two Baker kids, which was the worst seat on the bus when the pair of you were playing against each other. “You abusive little bitch.”

“You’re just mad you always get beat by the girls.” You said as the game started counting down. You held the controller in your left hand and not so subtly grabbed a pillow.

“Don’t do it!” Rook shouted as the game started and you and your brother both whacked each other and poor Rook with a pillow. He growled, and tried to duck as you shoved your brother into the wall of the bus as he tried to catch up to his daughter on the screen.

“Go, Casie, go!” You cheered as you grabbed your remote, and took off across the track.

“Such a fucking cheater!” Kels said as you cut him off, and stole the box he had been aiming for. You smirked and stuck your tongue out at him as you zipped ahead with your star powers and caught up to your niece. You would never, ever dare to pass her because you always worked as a team so you stayed right behind her to keep Kels from taking her first place spot. 

“Both of you suck.” Rook complained.

“Y’all are so damn competitive, it’s disgusting.” Ace laughed as he played cards with Slim.

“It’s a family thing.” Kels said as he hit the buttons on his controller as fast as he could to hit your character with a turtle shell. He hissed a ‘yes’ when Mario went flying into the air, and poor Rook jumped to his feet to avoid getting hit when you punched your laughing brother in the arm.

“Got you, dad!” Casie scolded as she ran him off the rainbow bridge, causing you to laugh, obnoxiously, at his expense.

“Oh, I’m coming for you now, Casie.” He said as he got up on his knees as the game announced the final lap.

“Go, baby go!” You cheered as you tried to block Kels’ car with yours. You had him pinned up against the track’s walls until almost the very end when both your hands seized. The remote fell to Casie’s lap as she crossed the finish line in first place, and your brother’s head whipped over to you, instantly.

“Fuck, not again.” He said as he tossed his remote on the couch. “Cas, get up!”

“Coul… C-c-c…” You tried as your muscles started to lock up, and spasm simultaneously.

“I know.” Kels said as he shoved everything off the couch onto the floor. “Casie, go get (Y/N)’s blue bag.” His daughter nodded as she turned, and ran off while Slim and Kels tried to straighten your limbs out and lay you down before the seizure started. “So fucking over this shit.”

“N… N…” You tried you tried to focus your vision on anything in the room.

“Casie, you gotta fucking hurry baby!” Kels yelled as he grabbed your bottom jaw to keep it open so you could breathe.

“Here.” She said as she held out the bag and climbed onto the couch to hold your head in her lap so it wouldn't hit the back of the couch. Your brother ripped the zipper open with his teeth as Slim and Ace held you on your side as the seizure, caused by not having a heat in the past ten years and the chemical imbalance due to your meds, started to roll through your body. 

“Thanks, baby.” Kels said as he grabbed a syringe and passed it and a bottle of liquid Ativan to Rook. “Two mig’s.” The drummer nodded as your brother kneeled down on the ground in front of you, grabbed a thick, rubber mouth guard from the bag, and wedged it between your teeth so you wouldn’t break your teeth or bite through your tongue when your jaw clenched. His chest heaved painfully as he gasped for air, hating that he had to watch you go through this yet again.

“Here.” Rook said as he held out the full syringe.

“Alright, here we go.” Kels said over the inhuman noise you were making as he ripped down the sleeve of your sweater and gave you the shot that would only temporarily help. “Here we go, it’s almost done, babe. Shhh…” He nodded his head and moved so he was directly in front of your face as he loosely held the back of your head with one hand and used the other to keep your mouth open to breathe. He kept talking to you while Casie kept brushing her hand through your hair as your seizure subsided.

“Do we need to find a hospital?” Ace asked as Kels pulled the mouth guard from your mouth when you stopped spasming .

“Na, she’ll make it to Cleveland.” He said as he put his hand on the side of your face and head so you knew he was there. “Someone find me her phone though.”

“Dad, the blanket.” Casie said as she pointed it out to him. He nodded as he grabbed the fabric and passed it to her so she could help him.

“C… Coul…” You tried as you began to shiver violently.

“I’m right here.” He said as he rubbed the side of your face. “You’re alright, sweetheart. I got you.” He looked over when someone tapped his arm and grabbed your phone from Slim’s hand. “We’re gunna get you to Cleveland, (Y/N). Take you to the hospital there.” You nodded subtly as he unlocked your cell and found Negan’s number, knowing you’d want your Alpha to be there when you got to the hospital. He propped the phone up to his ear with his shoulder, and grabbed your blue bag off the floor to find the sugar cubes you kept in there.

“Negan? It’s Kels. Look, figured you would want to know, (Y/N)’s having another seizure fit from her meds. We’re gunna take her to Cleveland Clinic. Should be there in a couple hours.” He looked down at you with a sigh, put a small, broken piece of the cube on your lips, and nodded his head as you looked up at him with wide, panicked eyes. Without a word, he pulled his hand away from your head to grab your phone. “She won’t be able to answer, but she can hear you.” He said before putting the call on speaker, and laying the phone in front of your face. “Go ahead.”

“Hey, baby girl.” Negan said, as calmly as he could over the sound of him scrambling to get the paperwork he would need into his briefcase. “I’m gunna meet you at the hospital, OK? You’re gunna be alright, just keep breathing for me.” You tried to nod your head, unsuccessfully, as your whole body tensed, and relaxed a few times. “You should feel special, Omega. I don’t ever do the fucking snow if I can avoid it. Shit’s fucking cold. I’m much fucking happier in warm, sunny California. But, just for you, I’ll endure the damn snow. I’m coming, (Y/N). I’m on my fucking way.” You nodded your head half an inch, as your eyes drifted closed in exhaustion. You let out a throaty ‘un’ as a response before falling into a fitful sleep.

“She’s asleep.” Kels said as he sat down in front of the couch with his arm in front of your body as he picked the phone back up and took it off speaker. “This is the shit I was fucking talking about.”

“I’m taking care of it.” Negan growled as he got in the elevator to head down to his car. “I’ll be there in a few hours. Keep her phone on you.” Your brother nodded as the two Alpha’s hung up simultaneously. 

“Is that guy gunna stop Aunt (Y/N)’s fits?” Casie asked as she carefully moved out from under your head, and put a pillow down in her place.

“I sure fucking hope so, baby girl.” Kels said as he ran his hand over his hair. “I sure fucking hope so.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Leather, whiskey, and aftershave. It made you feel calm despite the amount of pain you were in. You whined, wishing that there was something you could do to get away from the pain but there wasn’t much you could do about it.

“Hey, sweetheart.” Negan said softly before your eyes even opened as he got up from the chair he had been sitting in for two days, watching you go through multiple fits that he could do nothing about. He smiled when you finally opened your eyes, sat down on the bed beside you, and pulled the blanket he had brought you from his bed up to your chin for you. “You’re alright, Omega.” Tears welled in your eyes, and you shook your head, disrupting the nasal cannula that was giving you extra oxygen.

“No.” You croaked as he picked up your hand, and put it on his thigh so you knew he was there. He shushed you softly as he cupped your jaw in his hand to fix your oxygen, and you instinctively turned your nose into his wrist, preventing him from doing so.

“You’re alright now, baby.” He said as he brushed your hair back with his other hand while you burst into tears. “I’m here. But you gotta fucking breathe for me.” You nodded against his palm as he finally put your oxygen back on.

“Negan.” You cried as you wrapped your sore fingers around the fabric of his dress pants.

“You gotta breathe.” He repeated in his Alpha tone. “Breathe Omega, or I will go sit back down in my chair until you do.” You nodded and finally took a deep, shaky breath. He nodded his head and smiled as you repeated the action and looked up at him through your tears. “Good. I’m gunna go get the doc while you keep taking deep breaths. I'm coming right back.” You nodded again as he carefully loosened your grip on his slacks and put your hand back down on the bed. “You stay calm, now.” With one more nod, he stepped out of your hospital room to find your doctor. You closed your eyes and tried to piece together the past couple days. That was another down side to your fits; losing days of your life to blackouts.

“Ms. Baker?” A beta woman said as she came into the room. You opened your eyes and nodded as a tall woman in a white coat walked in to your room behind your mate. “It’s good to see you awake. My name is Doctor Wilson. I just wanted to come touch base with what happened, and how we’re going to treat you from here.”

“I have fits.” You said as you looked away from her.

“Omega, it is not just fucking fits.” Negan scolded as he stood on the other side of the bed. “Listen to her. She’s helping.” You nodded and looked back up at the doctor.

“(Y/N), in the course of the past three days, you have had six seizures, as a side effect of these suppressants you have been on.” You nodded at her as she picked up the half empty blister pack Kels had given her when he brought you in, and showed it to you. “Personally, I haven’t seen this brand on the shelves of a pharmacy for Omega’s in at least a decade because the severe side effects…”

“My old manager got them in bulk from Mexico.” You whispered as you looked down at your hands in shame. “He made us take them.” Negan growled beside you as the doctor looked at you in horror. 

“I’m sorry. He made you?” The doctor asked.

“It’s a long, long fucking story that I have a group of LA’s best lawyers looking into.” Negan said as he reached down to hold your hand so you would stop picking at your thumbnail.

“God, I sure hope you win that case.” Dr. Wilson said as she put the pills back under the clasp of her clipboard to dispose of. “At any rate, we now have to get you off these medications, and either put you on a better suppressant that doesn’t have the extreme side effects, or take you off suppressants completely. That, however, is your choice…”

“Off.” You said with zero hesitation. “I want to be off of them.” Dr. Wilson glanced up at Negan for his agreement, and nodded with him as she pulled a pen from her coat pocket, and made a note in your chart.

“Alright. Well fortunately, at three days out, we’ve passed the half life of the drug. So getting the rest of it out of your system is just a matter of time. However, there are so many side effects to being on this particular medication long term that we just don’t know about. Blood clots, heart attack, stroke, inability to conceive, ovarian cysts…”

“Enough.” Negan said, shortly when you squeezed his hand, and whined nervously. The doctor looked up at him as he stepped forward and sat down on the bed beside you, protectively. “Enough. She didn’t have a fucking choice in taking those fucking pills, and any fucking side effects she has because of them, will be addressed by the best damn doctors in the fucking world. No use trying to further traumatize an already terrified Omega.”

“My apologies.” Dr. Wilson said with a nod as Negan covered you with his blanket again so you would feel safe surrounded by his scent. “Well, Ms. Baker, we’d like to keep you here for a few more days to monitor your wellbeing. The concern we have, of course, is your first heat.”

“Is she stable enough to be transferred?” Negan asked as he brushed his thumb over your knuckles. “No offense meant to your fine establishment, but I’d prefer to have my Omega closer to home.”

“She can be transferred.” The doctor said with a nod as she closed your chart. “But it is something we need to confirm with her brother, first. Unfortunately, that’s hospital policy with unclaimed Omegas.” Negan nodded his head and looked over at you with a smile.

“I’ll let you choose, Omega. You can stay here near Kels, or we can go back home.”

“I wanna go home.” You said as you laid your head back against the pillow. “Please, Alpha.” He nodded his head and gave you a reassuring smile before looking back up at the doctor.

“I’ll go put in the transfer orders, and confirm with Mr. Baker.” She said with a nod. “I’ll just need the name of the hospital…”

“It’ll be a home address.” Negan said as he pulled his hand free of yours for a moment to get a piece of paper and a pen from his briefcase. “I already have a call in to an Omega specialist from Europe that’s just waitin’ on my call and my primary doctor is also waiting to monitor her wellbeing through her recovery.” Dr. Wilson nodded once more, and took the paper with Negan’s home address to add it to your chart. 

“Alright. Let me make a few phone calls, and get your paperwork in order, and we’ll get you squared away. I’ll be back.” You said a soft ‘thank you’ to her back as Negan came back over and sat down beside you.

“Don’t you listen to a fucking word she had to say.” He said as he cupped your jaw again. “You’re gunna be just fucking fine, baby girl.”

“But what if she’s right?” You whispered as tears filled your eyes. “What if I can’t give you pups…”

“Then we don’t have pups.” He said simply as he brushed his thumb across your cheek. “Or we fucking adopt. Omega, I don’t need pups to be happy if I have you in my life.” You nodded your head but closed your eyes as you leaned into his touch. He sighed as he leaned forward and gently kissed your forehead. “You’re gunna be just fine, baby girl. Let’s just get you home.”

Part 3