#go check out the whiteboard server guys!!

[lilacthebooklover]

tmw you infiltrate the bestie's awesome whiteboard and get carried away in his absence

[rubyzbestbluuee]

Art Requests Are: Open!!

IMPORTANT EDIT: I, CQ, TAKE ART REQUESTS AND WOULD REALLY LOVE TO DRAW SOMETHING FOR RLLY ANYONE AS LONG AS IT'S NOT R34 OR SMTH LIKE THAT. THANKS

Also i'd prefer art rqs be AvA/AvM and or Dave and Bambi, but I can draw ocs too. (as long as they arent too complicated.)

feel free to send art rqs in my dms/ask box (im pretty sure my asks are open.)

I can not guarantee that I will finish your art request. Sometimes I loose interest, I apologize.

*coughs* please look at this post here, https://www.tumblr.com/rubyzbestbluuee/736410458874052608/hi-guys-i-really-wanna-take-art-rqs-if-youve

(The whiteboard has been permanently removed, there will not be another whiteboard until I can manage it myself.)

Me when i return once in a blue moon.

Idk if you can pin posts, but if i can, this is the new pinned post!

Hi! I'm CQ (⚪️) I think I am the host of a OSDD system but am yet to be diagnosed. There are a few in the system.

QC (🔷), Ruby (♦️), and BBB (🟢)

You can give us asks and stuff.

Also, you can give asks for our ocs and characters in the CQ AU! The CQ AU includes many characters, and a few fandoms! (Two of them are AVA and AVM)

You can find us on Twitter as: @/DDawn775

Our Discord username: cqdiamondman_theidiot_7535

Our Discord server:

More stuff will be added to this post as time goes on, so everything below this note you are reading was not added until after this was posted :)

Tags!

Also i think i (CQ) am gonna be more active here

The CQ AU Blog! :3

(update, 2 months later :3)

i left twitter about a week ago. We have moved to tumblr sense there is less of a concern for 0nlyf4n$ accounts spamming our comments, liking our posts and reposting our stuff and or following us. This place is a lot more peaceful sense there is no disturbances or constant notifications of drama. (edit, i left twitter sometime late 2023)

RP AND COMMUNITY SERVER POST LINK

cqau update

Info on asks

[waumpel]

ADHD STUDY TIPS

I have adhd. I'm taking all online classes this semester for college. Somehow, I'm not failing. Here's what I do that works for me!

1. I have an alarm that makes me do math every morning to turn it off, it's called Alarmy! 📚

2. It also plays a different loud sound every day from random-- I have several hundred(?) ringtones downloaded from Zedge, things like songs from shows I like or Pokemon cries or MBMBAM lines, and this helps me wake up to a different sound I'm bound to like which my brain can't get used to (and then ignore). I highly suggest godzilla roars if you need to be startled awake. 📚

3. This is SUPER HARD but I always try to force myself to sit up in bed when I'm turning off my alarm or checking my phone or whatever, so I'm not tempted to pass out again. I also like to get up and loudly tell my cats "good morning" so I wake us both up 📚

4. PLEASE STOP EATING CEREAL AND BAGELS AND STUFF. You would not BELIEVE the difference it makes when you eat things like fruits and eggs in the morning. NO MORE 10AM NAPS, I'M WATCHING YOU 📚

5. I literally schedule in Duolingo time. If you aren't learning a language you can do some other enriching activity like this, idk. I force myself to do it on my computer, not phone, so I can't lay down in bed when I'm doin it. I have a 101-day streak!! 📚

6. ik this isn't available to everyone but SPACE MATTERS SO MUCH!! I got a gaming desk that we put in our living room and I do ALL of my homework there. I also got a second monitor for my laptop with is SOOOO important if you're multitasking (and we all are, bc we're adhders ibdusvcjkn) 📚

7. HAND WRITE YOUR NOTES!!! I know this is super hard for many people-- I have carpal tunnel so I get it lmao. If you can't, at least type them. YOU THINK YOU CAN MEMORIZE INFO BUT YOU'RE WRONG!! Please write as much as you can i swear it will change ur life 📚

8. COLOURED! PENS!!! These changed the game for me y'all. I take all my notes in at least 2 colours, and I cycle through them a lot. My favs are Pilot Frixions because u can erase them :) (the highlighters are epic too) 📚

9. Make your space fun, but NOT DISTRACTING. I have a plant (his name is Yoshi) and a desk Godzilla (his name is Godzilla) on my desk, but they're out of the way so I can't zone out starin at em. But also, when I'm bored outta my gourd, I can smile at Yoshi and tell him how my day is goin :] 📚

10. SNACKING BAD *BUT*... sometimes i do it anyway... i try to associate certain foods with subjects, like I eat cocoa M&Ms (which are awesome) when I'm reading my Kaqchikel textbook. On the upside, I think it helps me recall Kaqchikel better? but also the language makes me crave mnms adkldigurvn 📚

11. LISTEN TO... CERTAIN MUSIC. I have learned that music with words, even in LANGS I DO NOT KNOW, is HELL for my adhd. Right now I'm listening to stuff like "Pokemon and Chill" (lofi album on YT), Studio Ghibli violin covers, and Night on Bald Mountain 5x on repeat ibjnvc.... I highly suggest songs/videos that are, like, 20+ minutes or else you'll get distracted with the constant change. Also, that No One's Around To Help 1hr vid is REALLY REPETITIVE and therefore PERFECT for when I'm reading textbooks. 📚

12.  EVERY NIGHT... i make a super detailed timetable schedule for the next day, down to the half hour. I don't always follow it but it's a really good reminder of what I gotta do. I write it on a whiteboard but sometimes I also write it on a sticky note and on social media so I don't forget. To do lists are so epic you guys 📚

13. THIS HAS SAVED MY L I F E: at the beginning of the semester I looked at ALL of my syllabi and wrote down EVERY daily task, test, homework, etc BY DATE. this is essentially a premade to do list EVERY DAY for MONTHS and oh my gosh it is the best thing I have ever done. 📚

14. I use the Forest app to track my productivity AND lock me out of apps ndsjv... podomoro timers work well too!!! 📚

15. Ok so for me this is like... a religious thing bc my Patron (my God) is a deity of fire AND working, but I like to light a candle (scented like FALL!!) and do a little prayer on it and I have it next to me when I'm workin on terrible, terrible homework. It helps me feel like my Patron is here with me, but also it’s GREAT for grounding and I can just kinda. Stare blankly at the flame and then get back to tryin to focus. 📚

16. Please drink water lmao, to make sure I drink enough I set little goals like "take a sip after every paragraph you read" 📚

17. Each of my classes has a different coloured notebook which I'm consistent with! Like, all my German notebooks through the years have been green! Also I take notes w green pens a lot in Deutsch 📚

18. HELLA STICKY NOTES... I put em on the bottom of my monitor, on a shelf by my desk, in my books as bookmarks (bad idea lol), on Yoshi. When I wanna go look up something random but I need to focus, I like to write it down on sticky notes to look at later. 📚

19. I'm the most annoying student ever. I like to do a bunch of assignments at once so I don't have to budget my time later, so I'll turn in like 5 things in an hour and then NOTHING for a week. ALSO i email my teachers constantly if I have any questions at all. I work at a pace that works for me!!! 📚

20. I turn off my sound on my phone until I'm done with work bc otherwise I WILL open that notification 📚

22. I make a loooot of chai (and also some overpriced herbal teas). It makes me feel fancy, it's better for me than coffee, and it helps me ground and focus! Plus it's a samefood! 📚

23. Hyperfixating on classic literature would be awesome, except I'm hyperfixating on Gothic and I'm taking a lit class for More Than Just Gothic. But I'm figuring out ways to connect them, which is really helpful, cause I get to enjoy my hyperfixation while learning for school! PLZ TRY TO DO THIS (harder when you're hyperfixating on godzilla :pensivecowboy:) 📚

21. When I have extra time I write my notes like I'm plannin to put em on Tumblr and taggin em as #darkacademia... I never post my notes, but when they look nice it's easier for me to look over em later. Plus it takes me longer to write so I remember it a lil better!! 📚

24. I'm in an awesome academia + studyspo server!! We sometimes study together on call and it's SUCH a good motivator! Here's an invite link if u wanna join, we are nice https://discord.gg/fjuX7TN (this wasn’t meant to be a promo post I just really like this group lol) 📚

OK I hope that helps!!! Feel free to add more if you have any tips that work for you :) Neurotypicals, feel free to RB respectfully!

(pics are: syllabus list, daily schedule, Yoshi the plant, and some fancy notes)

[sgtbradfords]

Sorry your getting a ton of prompts off of me 🙈

Can you write a version of SE2E11

But slightly different

Caleb is a tech wiz and hacks the police computers

They think Lucy is just running late, they’re in roll call and the screen flickers on and it’s a live video of and unconscious Lucy strapped to a table getting her Day of Death tattoo

And basically it’s plays out similar, but they see her nearly escape they see her being forced into the barrel, and they have the live feed of her inside the barrel

Alright anon, first off thank your for your patience the past couple of weeks. I hope this does your request justice. Enjoy! :)

The only thing that Lucy Chen wanted to do was go home, unwind and crawl into bed. But according to her training officer she needed to go out, blow off some steam, in order to forget about the long and restless day they had endured. She thought over his words as she changed, reluctantly deciding he was right as she fished her phone out of the front pocket of her jeans, pulling up her social media messaging app, scrolling through before finding who she wanted, pressing his contact.

“Hey.” She said into her phone. “I know it’s late, but do you want to go get a drink?”

“I’d love to.” He said with a smile in his voice. “Want to meet back at Las Torres?”

“See you in twenty.” She told him, hanging up.

Caleb Wright was someone that Lucy never expected to stumble upon, let alone a person who found her somewhat worthy of being flirted with. It started when she met him while waiting at the counter of the bar, words and flirtation coming easily. Though she was not very forthcoming until the last minute about her occupation, she found him to be intriguing, and was surprised when he showed up at the station just to give her his number. She spent days playing the should she, shouldn’t she game which resulted in Lucy cyberstalking him on his social media pages.

Tim scolded her for not being on task as she sat next to him in the shop, scrolling through his Instagram and scoffed when he caught her later in the day watching a video of him playing with his dog, making sure to tell her that it probably wasn’t even his dog as she rolled her eyes at him. But, her training officer was also the first person to officially meet him, Tim going as far as to intimidate and question Caleb when the man visited the precinct, before he reluctantly handed over the number he had taken out of Lucy’s hands.

---

“Hey, have you seen Lucy?” Jackson West asked John Nolan as he walked out of the locker room. “She didn’t come home last night.”

“She’s a grown woman. Why, you worried?”

“No. Yes. A little?  It’s just- she didn’t come home last night.”

Thinking that their friend may just be running late, the two rookie officers headed to roll call, taking their seats at the front.

“Where’s Chen?” Tim asked as he walked into the room, noticing his missing boot.

“We don’t know, she had a date last night and never came home.”

Alarm bells began ringing in Tim’s head as John turned around in his chair, asking his training officer, Nyla Harper if Lucy was in the locker room. The detective’s response sent chills up Tim’s spine. He pulled out his phone, scrolling through his contacts to find hers. The phone ringing continuously before going to voicemail.

“Something’s not right.” Tim said, hanging up before quickly walking back out of the room and into the bullpen. “Sergeant.” He said as he approached their superior. “Chen’s missing.”

“What do you mean Officer Bradford?”

“My boot is missing sir. Nolan and West have not been able to reach her, and I just tried her cell myself.”

Nolan spoke first. “She had a date last night.”

“And she never came home.” Inputted Jackson.

“A date? Did she go out with that guy, the one she met at the bar?” asked Tim. “Caleb… Wright, with a W.”

Jackson recalled her plans. “Yeah, she was headed to meet up with him when we walked out together last night, about 8:30? We haven’t heard from her since.”

“If she comes in late and we sound the alarm, she’ll be in more trouble than what it’s worth.” John pointed out.

“Her phone could be dead.” Mentioned the Sergeant.

“No.” spoke Tim, shooting the suggestion down. “I just called it and it rang before going to voicemail. She also keeps it fully charged with a charger in her bag.”

“She could be stuck in traffic or maybe she’s overslept and is still at his place.”

John and Jackson spoke together. “No, Lucy doesn’t do one-night stands.”

“This guy, Caleb Wright, he came by the station yesterday, gave her his number.” Tim told the other officers.

“What else do we know about him?”

“Nothing.” Said Jackson.

“I met him yesterday, he told me he works for a medical supply company. She watched a video of him playing with a puppy.” Tim told them as they gave him an incredulous look. “Chen was checking out his social media page.”

Grey shifted on his feet. “Bradford, take West and go run this guy’s name through NCIC and LAPD’s database, see what you can find, warrants, tickets, previous charges, anything before we go knocking on his door.”

“I can run a trace on Lucy’s phone, get her into MUPS and NaMus systems.” Nyla told her commanding officer before walking away.

Tim moved quickly, beckoning Jackson to follow as he approached an available computer terminal, sitting down behind the desktop as he began his search.

“What do you think?” Jackson asked as he pulled up a chair to the terminal.

Tim worked on punching in what he knew about Caleb. “I think that we’re working a serial killer’s case and that given the circumstances, it’s not looking good.”

“She’s going to be ok, right?”

Tim continuously glanced at the clock in the corner of the computer screen, watching as the numbers for the minutes went up.

“Officer Bradford. Officer Nolan said you were looking for me?” Detective Nick Armstrong asked as he stepped into the room.

“Lucy Chen is missing. No one’s had contact with her in close to thirteen hours and Harper just sent me a text that her phone is turned off and that the GPS has been disabled.”

“And you think it’s connected to Rosalind.”

“I think that there’s no such thing as coincidences.”

“Do you have a name?”

“Yes, Caleb Wright.” Said Jackson. “But we’ve gotten no hits on any database.”

“Any social pages?”

“He has something, but we haven’t started a search.”

“May I?” he asked gesturing to the chair. Tim stood, moving out of the way as Nick sat down. “Name?”

“Caleb. Wright, with a W.”

Nick began punching the information that was given to him.

“Huh. And you’re sure that he’s on the internet?”

“Yes.” Tim told him, pacing.

“That’s weird because Caleb Wright doesn’t seem to exist.”

“What?” he said as he rushed over. “That’s impossible I seen him playing with- with a puppy on it yesterday!”

“Well, whatever it was on, it’s gone now. He must have deactivated it.”

“Even if he deactivated it, we can contact the company and-“

“On what grounds? We have nothing to back up what is being implied Officer Bradford. If he is our guy, he’s already faked one identity.”

“Bryan Coleman.”

“Exactly. This guy stole Coleman’s life to gain access to the old zoo, where he used the isolation to kill his victims.”

“He’s already got fresh blood, now he’s going to need new killing ground.”

“He already has it. If we can find the land, that’s where we will find Officer Chen.”

“We don’t have a picture of the guy, how are we supposed to find him?” asked Jackson.

“West, you work on pulling the security cameras from the front desk and the back hall. I am going to go sit with Isaac downstairs and see if he can compile a sketch from what I remember, it will be better than nothing.” Tim instructed as he quickly made his way downstairs.

Thirty minutes later, Tim was taping up the sketch of Caleb onto the whiteboard at the front of the room as Nyla worked on putting up the necessary information.

“Officer Bradford.” Jackson said walking into the room, lingering by the door. “A word.”

Tim walked over, crossing his arms as he stood in front of the rookie.

“We have a problem. There’s no footage.”

Tim looked at him in disbelief. “What do you mean there’s no footage?”

“The footage from yesterday has been wiped.”

Tim shifted on his feet. “Wiped.”

“Yes sir, I checked the timeframe that you told me he was here and all the footage, an entire hour is nothing but static.”

“Son of a bitch! How did he- when did he-“

“What do we know?” Sergeant Grey asked, walking into the room, Detective Armstrong trailing close behind.

“Any footage of Caleb inside the department yesterday has been wiped.”

“He hacked our servers so we can assume he’s very good with technology which is why we were unable to find any social media pages.”

Nolan spoke up, raising a hand. “If that’s true then he has access to anything we have on Rosalind.”

“Not everything.” Pointed out Armstrong. “Almost all of our findings from her earlier kills have never been scanned into the system, those reports are all still on paper.”

“Who has those?”

“They are locked up in storage in the basement which you have to sign out but you’re in luck, I’m old school. I happen to keep a paper copy of all my cases, for if and when technology fails us, and those copies? Are in my office.”

“Get them.” Ordered Grey. “In the meantime, we do have an update.”

“The bartender at Las Torres recognized Lucy and Caleb.” Detective Armstrong stated, pulling up the security feed onto the smart TV. “The good news, there’s a security camera in the parking lot so we know that they left at 9:05. The bad news is that the angles on the camera are shit which means we are unable to confirm faces.”

“He knew where the cameras were.” Stated Nolan from a table in the middle of the room.

“Correct Officer Nolan. Now, we were able to obtain footage from a neighboring business and have footage of this car driving by four minutes later,” Armstrong told them as he played the footage on a loop. “the plates are missing but it matches the description of a car that was reported stolen yesterday morning.”

“Now, Officer Chen’s car was found in the alleyway where she left it last night. Unfortunately, the amount of evidence that we have discovered gives us every inclination that Caleb is Rosalind’s protégée.”

The sounds of the room came to a halt as the words sunk in. They had all thought it, but no one had uttered the suspicion.

“Officer Chen is one of our own, and I know how upsetting this revelation is, but we have to remain focused. We owe her that.”

Tim closed his eyes, clenching his fist as he fought the wave of nausea that sat in the pit of his stomach.

“Nora was abducted two nights ago and we found her eighteen hours later, already tattooed and about to be put into a barrel to be suffocated. We believe that Caleb’s timeline from abduction to death to be twenty-four hours.” Nolan told them as he took over.

“Officer Chen has been missing for almost fifteen hours now, giving us approximately seven hours to find her.”

“Unless the timeline is wrong and she’s dead already.”

Tim stood from where he was leaning on the table. “You’re wrong. Chen, she’s not like the rest of the victims, she’s a fighter.”

“I haven’t known Lucy as long as the rest of you, but Bradford is right. She’s going to do everything that she can to stay alive until we save her.” Spoke Nyla, gaining a nod of appreciation from Tim.

“I’ve issued a BOLO to be broadcast for Caleb Wright and Officer Chen all over LA and surrounding counties, so I will need more officers answering the tip line as the phone calls come in.” said Grey addressing the group of officers before he began to call them out by name, giving them their tasks, leaving the close knit group of officers in the room.

“Detective Armstrong?” the officer from the front desk asked, knocking on the glass door as she stepped into the room. “Someone dropped this off at the front desk for you.” She told the group, extending the hand holding a manilla envelope.

Nick reached out, grabbing the envelope, observing the information on the outside, finding his name printed on the paper. “No return address.” He stated, looking up at the officers around him.

Tim reached into the pants pocket of his uniform, pulling out a black pair of gloves, slipping them on before he reached out a hand to take the possible evidence. He carefully undone the metal clasp, using the flashlight from his duty belt to peek into the open package. Tim looked around at the faces of the other officers that had gathered around, carefully shaking out the contents, a lone USB drive falling out.

“What the fuck?” he mumbled under his breath.

“He’s playing with us, just like Rosalind.” Armstrong said as he ran a hand over his head. “We need to plug it in, see what’s on it.”

Tim picked up the stick, palming the drive in his gloved hand. “And what if it’s just another game?”

“And what if it’s not.”

“I’m not going to let my boot become another one of their casualties!” Tim told Armstrong, his voice raising with every word.

Sergeant Grey sighed. “We need to find an unsecured computer, one that is not attached to our servers.”

“I can help with that. I’ve got my laptop in the truck, Lucy made flashcards for us to study on the internet, and we were planning on studying after shift.” Offered Nolan.

“Get it.” Grey instructed as he pulled out his phone.

Nolan walked away quickly, returning just as fast with a bag in hand. He pulled the device from the bag, powering it on as Tim connected the USB drive, a lone URL link popping up on the screen as they crowded around.

“Click it.” The sergeant ordered as words began scrolling across the screen.

‘Detective Nick Armstrong. Let it be known, this one’s for you.’

The room was silent as they read the scrolling words on the screen before they disappeared, a video popping up in its place.

“Oh my god.” John said in shock at the video before them.

“Is it live?” asked Tim, his voice cracking with emotion.

“I don’t- it doesn’t-“ Spoke the rookie, stumbling over his words.

“Is there audio?” Tim demanded, his voice raising.

Sergeant Grey placed a hand on Tim’s shoulder, grounding him. “We have to assume it is. She’s not in the barrel yet so she has to still be alive. Officer West, assist Detective Armstrong in going over the files he has. I want you to check out every file that has Rosalind’s name on it, in it, attached to it. I want history, financials, background, anything that may help us get a location. Find me something Nick. In the meantime, let’s get someone from IT up here to find us a location. Officer Nolan, you stay on the computer and if she wakes, Wright shows up or anything on that screen changes, you let me know immediately.  Harper, contact her parents, don’t,” he said hesitantly. “don’t give them the full rundown of what’s going on but make them aware and that the LAPD is doing their best to find their daughter.”

Each officer went out the door, heading their separate ways as they went about the task they were assigned.

“Sir.” Tim said moving to the door, towards where his superior was walking out. “And me?”

Wade glanced over Tim’s shoulder at Nolan who was intently watching the monitor.

“She’s your boot Bradford, you know her better than anyone. Stay with Nolan and watch the feed.”

“But sir-“

“Watch the feed Bradford.” Sergeant Grey commanded as he left the room.

Tim sighed, running a hand over his face. He pulled out his phone, dialing the one person he knew he could rely on. “Hey, Lucy’s been taken. I need you.” Was all he said, hanging up the phone, clenching the metal device in his hand before stepping back into the room.

“Get Grey back in here, she’s waking up.”

“Hey Sarge!” He yelled out the door, running over to Nolan and the computer.

-----

Lucy Chen came to in a daze, her head throbbing, her mouth dry and her left side was burning. She knew what had happened as she glanced around the bare room, the realization that she had become one of them hitting her full force.

Instinct told her to pull at the restraints, the tape around her wrists not budging, making her realize that she wasn’t going anywhere, at least not until her numb body became more aware. She took in her surroundings, noticing the blinds we’re drawn, the sun filtering through, the wooden entertainment center and desk to her right, both covered in dust.

“Rise and shine sleeping beauty.” He spoke from behind her, his footsteps heavy as he walked into the room she was being held in. “I’d offer you some, but it’s better if your stomach is empty, for you know, later. All the screaming and lack of air tends to make you-“ he said before pretending to gag.

She glanced around the room, looking for anything that could potentially give her a clue as to where she was being held, spying the bottle of water on the wooden table.

“Can- can I at least have some water?” She asked, remembering that water is more sustainable, no matter the circumstance.

“Oh, of course.” He said as he moved over to the table, reaching for the bottle. “I’m not a monster.”

Caleb sat his plate down as Lucy took the time with his back to her to further observe her surroundings for the split second she had, before he turned back around, twisting the cap off as he walked over towards her. She opened her mouth, taking any water she could get. “Ah, don’t get greedy.” He chastised as she swallowed the sip he had allowed her.

“Is this why you hit on me in that bar? Why you asked me out? So you could make me a victim?”

“No! Not at all!” he told her as he took a bite of the apple from his plate. “Though, I see the confusion. You weren’t the target Lucy, you were just an opportunity. I was there scoping out Armstrong. Honestly, I don’t know what Rosalind sees in the guy. But who am I to judge, we all have our fetishes.”

Lucy swallowed harshly, “Are you gonna bury me in Rosalind’s third unmarked grave?”

“You know, that was the plan. I was gonna put Nora in there, but then your friend screwed that up.”

“Why are you doing this?” She asked, her voice raising.

Caleb smirked, “You know, that’s more of a second date question. And we’re just not gonna get there. I’m sorry.” Lucy could feel her heart stop as his words confirmed her fears. “Now, I’ve got a lot to do before I put you inside-“

Lucy panicked as he began to walk away, she needed to know, she deserved to know “Wait!” she yelled, causing the retreating man’s steps to faulter. “Why- why the tattoo? Is it… some display of ownership? Knowing that you have the ultimate control over a person, deciding when they die?”

“No.” he huffed a laugh. “It’s not for me, silly. It’s for you, to force you to face the truth of your death. It is the gift of something we rarely get in life, clarity.”

“Did Rosalind teach you that?”

“No.” he said, his voice raising as his tone became irritated. “That’s mine.”

“Rosalind is your mentor, is she not? So that would-“

“No!” he interrupted. “No, It’s not like that. We are equals.”

“Does she know that?”

Caleb laughed. “You’re good Officer Chen. But I would think carefully of how you want to proceed, because this, I’m going to enjoy this.”

________________________

The room was quiet as they watched Caleb’s retreating back, the conversation they just witnessed settling in. “The window to the left of the screen is obscured, so there’s no way to find out where she is. Dammit.”

“How long till IT gets here?” Nolan asked grimly.

“Soon. Officer Nolan, I want you and Harper to assist West and Armstrong, the more eyes we have filing through the paperwork, the better chances of finding where this house is.”

Nolan stood, walking out in search of his training officer.

“Officer Bradford, I need you to stay here and monitor the feed, she may not know of the camera but look for any identifying characteristics in that living room that could point us in the right direction. If he comes back, notify me immediately.” The Sergeant instructed before walking away.

Tim sighed sitting down into the seat that Nolan had vacated, watching as his boot took in the details of the room, her fingers twitching against the wooden arm rest. “We’re going to find you boot.”

Twenty minutes later, the sound of two pairs of footsteps walked into the room, dragging Tim’s focus away from what the IT analyst, Marcus, was working on on a second computer. “Hey. Thanks for coming in.” He said standing as Angela and Wesley walked in.

“Of course. What are you working on?”

Tim clenched his jaw, extending a hand to show what was on the screen.

“He’s recording her?” Wesley asked in disbelief.

Tim nodded his head, “We think the camera is hidden so she’s not aware that she’s being watched. Day off?”

“Yeah, something like that.” Wesley said as shared a glanced with Angela. “Can I help?”

“What’s your tolerance level for cranks and asshats wasting your time?”

Wesley couldn’t help the smirk on his face. “I’m a public defender.”

Tim rolled his eyes as they walked out of the room. “There’s an empty spot next to West so help yourself to a notepad and a phone. Besides, nothing says we’ve got squat like listening to the public.”

Wesley sat down as Tim began walking back to the room, Angela walking beside him as he took large steps.  “This is useless. We should be out on the streets, kicking down doors.”

Angela placed a hand onto Tim’s arm stopping them in the middle of the pen. “Whose doors Tim? They wouldn’t be able to tell us where he is keeping her.”

“I don’t know.” He said shaking his head. “I-I can’t just sit here Ang.”

“I get that, but you’ve got to get your head in the game.” She told him as she pulled him to the side.

“I don’t need a pep talk Lopez.”

Angela searched his face. “Then why’d you call me? Because clearly, you need to get something off your chest.”

Tim looked away, glancing around the room for possible prying eyes and listening ears before he looked back to his friend, letting out a sigh. “Look, she- she wanted to go home. Okay? Go to bed. And- and I told her that she should focus on something else. She went out with Caleb because I told her to Angela.”

Angela Lopez had been witness to the many emotions of Tim Bradford over the years that she had known him, but the one he was displaying now, was one that she hadn’t seen in a long time. “You couldn’t have known.”

“But I should’ve! I’m a fucking cop.” He told her, his voice raising with every word as he stepped closer to his friend, lower his voice. “I was standing this close to the guy. Okay? Right across from him, and I never saw him coming.” He vented, his hands returning to his duty belt as he quickly got himself in check. “But she did though. She- Some part of her didn’t feel right about this whole thing. She hesitated and I-I pushed her right into him.”

Angela stood there, her mouth opening and closing as his admission of guilt left her speechless.

“Sergeant Grey!” exclaimed the voice of Marcus, as he stuck his head out of the door of the room.

Tim snapped his head towards the trembling voice as his feet quickly carried him, Angela hot on his heels.  

Tim immediately went to the computer, finding a empty and broken chair on the screen. “Where the fuck is she?”

Marcus hurried back in, quickly pulling up footage on the second computer. “She escaped.”

Tim felt his eyes grow wide as he watched the recorded scene play out before them.

Lucy saw the opportunity, having previously checked the stability of the wooden chair by wiggling the pieces ever so slightly to find the weak spots, she waited for the best moment to make her escape. The chair was wooden, making it easier to break, and as soon as the front door closed, her knew it was time.  As hard as she could, she pulled her right arm that was strapped to the wood, the wood splintering as she moved her wrist to her left hand, undoing the duct tape before removing the tape from her right wrist and then both of her calves.

She never heard the door open again, her hands shaking with adrenaline as she moved quickly to the back wall.

“Okay. We are ready to go.” Said Caleb as he walked into the room.

Lucy pulled her arm back and threw her punch as he walked into the room, knocking him to the ground as the force and lingering drugs forced her unsteady body to the ground. She quickly got to her feet, running towards the door as Caleb gasped in pain on the floor.

“Where did she go?” Sergeant Grey asked, his voice tainted with excitement of her escape.

“There’s no other cameras so we can’t- Shit.” Marcus cursed under his breath, typing furiously into Nolan’s computer. “He cut the feed.”

“What do you mean he cut the feed!” asked Tim, moving closer, finding a black screen in front of him.

“It’s gone, it’s still broadcasting but he must have turned it off.”

Tim ran a hand through his hair as he stepped back.

“What about a trace on the broadcast?”

“The signal is being run through an anonymizer, meaning that each time I try to back trace a location, the ISP is in a different location. He’s keeping it local to LA and the surrounding counties but it’s going to take time that we don’t have to get a better trace.”

The shrill tone of Angela’s phone broke the tension in the room. “Hey. What? He may, let me find out and I will get back to you.” She said ending the call. “That was Nolan, we may have a lead.”

Angela informed the group of Nolan’s suggestion, gaining approval from Sergeant Grey before she made her way to Wesley.

“Hey.” She said as he hung up the phone. “Do you have any clients at the Central California Women’s Facility?”

“Sure.” He said running a list of his clients through his head. “Three, I think.”

“They need to tell you who’s running contraband into the prison.”

“Okay, but I can’t do anything that would incriminate a client.”

“No one cares about black market cigarettes. Getting the smuggler might be out only hope at finding Lucy before it’s too late.” She urged.

“Okay.” Wesley said, picking up the receiver. “Let me make some calls.”

Thirty minutes later, the feed was back online, the screen showing the dirt on the ground, as faint voices could be heard in the background.

“Can we make it louder, hear what their saying?”

Marcus shook his head. “No, this is as loud as it gets for the real time audio.”

A loud rustling could be heard before the image on the screen became distorted, showing Lucy sitting in the barrel.

“So I can watch.” Caleb’s voice came through the speaker before he placed the lid onto the barrel, positioning the camera in Lucy’s face.

“Can you go back?” Grey asked as Nolan’s computer continued showing the live events.

Marcus pressed a variety of buttons on his computer, going back to when the camera showed Lucy sitting inside the metal barrel.

“Slow it down. There.” Grey pointed out. “That tree in the background, if we can get a location...”

Tim’s eyes stayed trained on the live feed, watching as Lucy began panicking. The nauseousness that Tim had felt all morning intensified as he witnessed his boot being sealed into the container, her fate being decided. He couldn’t stand there and watch what was about to happen, watch her- he walked out of the room, heading straight for the locker room.

Angela gasped as the clack of the lock snapping into place echoed through the metal, Lucy’s breaths becoming shaky as a loud thud and tumbling could be heard before coming to a stop, dirt settling around the barrel as Lucy let out a whimper.

“Mute the computer.” Grey instructed somberly, knowing what was about to come.

“Sarge?” Angela whispered.

Wade turned away from the screen, “Did Wesley get anything from his clients?”

“I.. Let me go check.” She told her commanding officer before walking out of the room, returning five minutes later with Wesley in tow.

“Benjamin Lassie. He’s who you want.”

Sergeant Grey turned towards the couple. “Start pulling everything we can on him, if you see Bradford and West grab them, we could use the hands.”

Angela nodded, walking out of the room and towards where she thinks Tim may be.

“Hey.” She said noticing him walking out of the men’s locker room. “Come on, we’ve got a name from Wesley’s client.”

Tim walked ahead of Angela, flexing his left hand, the motion not going unnoticed by the officer, but Angela chose not to comment as they walked to the closest computer terminal.

She worked on pulling the information about their lead, finding out that the low-level criminal had recently been paroled. “He’s on parole, Officer Scott Francisco.”

Tim and Jackson were able to easily find the man, making a traffic stop, obtaining the name and information that they needed.

Jackson glanced at the superior the entire ride back to the station as Tim made the appropriate phone calls, acquiring a no-knock warrant from a more than happy judge and the Mid-Wilshire’s SWAT team. The two uniformed officers parked a block away, staging as SWAT suited up and went over the plan for the breech.

Tim could feel their moods tumble even further down as their promising lead turned into a bust. “Caleb used Jerry’s identity to get into the prison, get close to Rosalind.” He realized, staring down the man sitting in the floor. “And you were our last shot at saving her.”

He stormed out of the house, throwing his gear into the back of the shop as before slamming the hatch closed. He wanted to lash out, yell at someone, chase down every lead they could grasp. But Tim Bradford was slowly giving up hope.

“Hey, check it out.” Jackson said, pulling the older officer out of his pity.

“What’s that?” he asked solemnly, gesturing towards the folder in the rookie’s hand.

“Copies of every credit card statement from the card that Caleb used in Jerry’s name. He may be good with tech but even when you steal someone’s identity, you can’t erase what’s been bought.”

Tim stood, pulling the folder out of Jackson’s hand. He glanced over the statements, a hopeful smile taking over. “There could be charges in here that leads us to Caleb. Let’s go, we’ve gotta get back to the station, get everyone on it.” He said in a rush, closing the folder as he hurried to the driver’s side of the shop.

Jackson pulled out his phone as he sat down in the passenger seat, hitting the contact for the person he needed as the phone began ringing. “Hey, Caleb stole Jerry’s identity just like Brock Coleman’s. Jerry had copies of every credit statement and gave them to us, we’re on our way back.”

“Good, we’ve got a lead here too. Wesley has been going over some of Rosalind’s biographical data, if we can cross-reference those statements with the data, we can find where he’s keeping Chen. Wesley thinks it’s somewhere that’s near and dear to Rosalind’s heart.”

“We’ll be there in ten.” Jackson told her, hanging up the phone, reaching for the file that was haphazardly thrown onto the dash, scanning through the documents.

True to his words they rolled into the parking lot ten minutes later, both walking quickly into the bullpen, finding Sergeant Grey, Angela and Wesley gathered around a table.

“Hey, hey, we’ve got something. Caleb used Jerry’s identity to rent a post office box in Kern County near the prison. But, he kept it up even after he quit. Stills pay for it, so there must be a place close by.”

“Wait, Kerns County?” Angela asked, digging through the piles of papers in front of her. “Rosalind’s family – her trust owns a farm there.” She said handing the paper over to Tim.

Tim grabbed it, looking at the information as he let out an incredulous laugh. “Son of a bitch.”

“Sergeant Grey!” Marcus huffed as he ran to the table. “She’s not got much longer.”

Sergeant Grey stood, pulling out his cell phone, scrolling through his contacts as he delivered orders. “Call Nolan and Harper, get them headed in that direction.” He instructed before speaking to the other person on the phone. “Hello Sir, we believe we have found Officer Chen. Yes Sir. Thank you.” He said as he ended the call. “Chopper will be here in five. Let’s go.”

The four officers stood on the helipad, Jackson keeping an eye on the live feed with his phone. Angela was on the phone with Kern County Sheriff Department, giving instructions to the other person on the line, telling them about the situation and where they were heading, requesting local backup.

“It looks like she’s talking to herself.” He mumbled, moving the speaker of the phone next to his ear, listening to the quiet melody coming from one of his closest friends. “Oh my god.”

“What?” Tim asked, turning to Jackson.

“She’s- she’s singing.” He whispered in disbelief, pressing the volume button of the already maxed out device as a chill went through his spine.

Jackson pulled the device away from his ear, handing it over to Tim who held it up to his own ear, hearing the soft voice of his rookie come through the speaker.

‘Say nighty-night and kiss me

Just hold me tight and tell me you’ll miss me

While I’m alone and blue as can be

Dream a Little Dream of Me’

Tim knew his rookie’s voice, whether it was sitting next to her for hours on end in the shop or listening to the hours long recording of her reading sentence after sentence to help him prepare for his Sergeants exam, he knew her voice. He had heard her sing before, quietly under her breath as she sung along to the song playing on the radio of the shop or her mumbling the words of the song stuck in her head that she had heard on her drive to work that morning. But he knew those words, the melody of the song that he was hearing her softly sing, would haunt him for the rest of his life.

The LA police department helicopter landed on the helipad as Tim stood frozen in place, his rookie’s oxygen deprived voice ringing in his ears.

“Bradford.” Jackson said questioningly. “Sir? Are- are you ok?”

Tim absentmindedly handed the owner of the phone their device back, the wind from the blades of the chopper hitting him, pulling him out of his trance. “Yeah.” He said clearing the emotions that were held his throat. “Let’s go.”

“She’s lost consciousness.” Spoke Jackson through the headset over halfway through the flight. Tim leaned his head back onto the metal wall, silently saying a hopeful prayer as a sense of dread overcame him.

Thirty minutes after takeoff, the helicopter was beginning its decent into an open field when something out of the corner of his eye, caught Tim’s attention.

“A tree.” He said pointing out the right side of the aircraft, remembering the piece of wood from a different perspective. “That’s the tree from the video.”.

The chopper landed, the passengers aboard hastily making their way out of the aircraft as they met the local deputies.

“If our calculations are correct, we’re out of time. Bradford, Lopez make your way up there to the tree, look for fresh dirt. Sheriff, Officer West and I will take your SWAT team and head towards the house where we believe our suspect to be.”

Tim took off in a run, Angela along with a few sheriff deputies following hot on his heels as they quickly approached the hill, scaling it with ease, swiftly reaching the top. He made his way towards the dead tree as Angela instructed the other officers to spread out in different directions in order to cover more ground as he walked the parameter around the dead tree, hoping to find something as he looked for any signs that the ground had recently been disturbed.

The late afternoon sun casted a glow onto the panoramic views around him, showcasing the dry California land that leaves everything in its path tarnished. But the burning star proved to be a blessing instead of a curse as the flash of something metal reflecting the sun’s rays back towards him, gained his attention.

He ran, stumbling over his feet as his knees slammed into the ground. A ring. And not just any ring, it was one his subconscious was familiar with, having seen it adorn her finger a countless number of times.

He picked it up, palming the warm metal holding the opal that was glinting in the sun. ‘She’s close.’ He thought as he stood, looking down at the ground around him before he began to stop on the ground, listening for anything abnormal.

It didn’t take long. “I’ve got her.” He yelled as his voice cracked.

Tim pocketed the ring, calling out once again, louder and more frantically as he fell to his knees, his voice echoing as the footfalls of Angela and the local deputies hurried over. He used his hands, moving away as much of the loose dirt that he could as other hands joined the effort, one of the deputies using an expandable shovel, casting it behind them.

“Come on.” He chanted under his breath as the metal lid of the barrel was exposed. He reached over, undoing the metal clasp as someone shoved the metal of the shovel under the lid, lifting the piece off in ease.

“Lucy.” He sighed as his arms reached in for her slumped form. “Help me get her. Let’s get her.”

“We need medical.” Someone said in the background, speaking into their handheld.

“Lucy.” He said once they extracted her as they laid her down.

“Is she breathing?” Angela asked as he glanced at her chest, finding no movement as his fingers went to her neck, feeling for a pulse.

“No, I’ve got no pulse.”

Tim leaned over, pinching her nose, giving her two rescue breaths as Angela moved beside him, counting out as she performed the thirty compressions. Tim giving her another two breaths, “Come on Lucy.” He whispered.

“Suspect had been neutralized.”

“MedEvac is five out.”

“Dammit Chen! Not like this.” He cursed as Angela counted to thirty once again as he leaned over, once again breathing for her. “Switch.”

Angela moved back and into Tim’s previous position as he laced his fingers together, pushing hard and fast into her chest.

“Tim…” Angela said worriedly.

“No!” He said in between counts. Angela was prepared to give another round of rescue breaths when a gasp came from before them.

“Holy shit.” Angela cursed, letting out the breath she had been holding.

Tim huffed out a laugh, smiling. “Lucy.” He breathed as both her arms rose, preparing for a fight. “Hey, hey, hey, you’re ok. It’s me.”

Lucy looked around with hooded eyes, as her head lulled to the side, staring at Tim as reality settled in, the tears escaping as she began to sob. He leaned over, pulling her into him, mindful of her injuries.

“I’ve got you Lucy.” He mumbled into her hair as her shaky hands grasped onto his uniform for dear life. “I’ve got you.” He repeated as she sobbed in his arms.

The next few hours passed in a blur, the medical helicopter flying in, loading up Lucy and taking her to the closest hospital.

“I’m going with her.” Tim sternly told the flight medic on board as they went to stop him from getting aboard. The medic knew then not put up a fight, watching as the officer climbed aboard, sitting next to his patient.

Soon they were in the air, Lucy holding on to Tim’s hand as the medic began their assessment. Her grasp never waned from his, even in her altered state of consciousness as he ran his free hand over her hair. He stayed by her side, never leaving her until they reached the awaiting staff of the emergency department.

“Sir, I know that she’s your partner, but I’m going to have to ask for you to leave.”

“I’m not-“

“We need to assess her injuries Officer Bradford.” The nurse stated firmly. “And in order to do that, you need to leave.”

“I-“ he hesitated as all the fight left him. “Ok.” He sighed, letting go of her hand. “Just let me- I’ll be back boot.”

Lucy sleepily smiled at his words.

He did come back, never leaving her side for longer than what he deemed necessary, keeping her unconscious form company as he sat at her bedside. They were two hours from home, affirming his decision to not go, at least not until he knew that she was ok. Wesley drove from LA, picking Angela up from the farmhouse with a change of clothes in the trunk, stopping by to give Tim his own fresh clothes and the emergency bag of clothes Lucy kept in her locker.

Jackson showed the next morning, giving Tim a break though he only left to stretch his legs before returning to the room. They sat in silence, Tim filling out his reports as Jackson scrolled through the apps on his phone. Around noon, Jackson stood mentioning going out to grab something to eat from the mom-and-pop burger stand that just so happened to have a second location nearby, Tim giving the rookie some cash and reciting the two orders he knew by heart.

He kept an eye on the clock, knowing that Lucy’s parents were due to arrive at any moment, Tim personally keeping them updated throughout the night on any improvements. There was none as the doctor chose to keep her sedated, but it was the thought that counts.

Tim was sitting on the doctor’s stool at her bedside when she came to, pretending to read a magazine as he watched her wake up. Lucy knew he was fooling no one as she chuckled.

“What are you reading, Teen Rebel?”

Tim looked at her with a teasing grin as he rolled over to her. “They actually have some really insightful political articles.”

“Mmm-hmmm.” She said not believing him. “Oh. Which BTS member is your soulmate? It’s gotta be Suga, right?” she asked him as she leveled a look.

“Totally.” He agreed shaking his head as he skimmed the questions, not clear on what she was talking about. “What’s a BTS?”

Lucy laughed, a bad decision as her broken ribs protested at the movement. “Oh God.” She cried out in anguish as she took a steady breath, breathing through the pain.

Tim watched her with concern, masking it as she turned to him with a smile.

“Have you been here all night?” she asked, already knowing the answer.

“No.” he denied, shaking his head as he forced out another no, repeating the word as he looked away from her stare.

Lucy rolled her eyes. “Mm-hmm.” She said about to call her training officer out on his lying capabilities when a knock sounded at the door.

“Hey.” Nolan smiled as he walked through the door. “You’re awake.”

Lucy turned her head, changing her posture in the bed as Jackson walked through the door, carrying a bag. “Hey. Is that food?” she asked excitedly, causing the men in her life to chuckle. “What, I’m starving ok?”

“I would wait on the food Officer Chen.” A quite voice said as they walked into the room, knocking on the door. “Doctor Allison Rivera. And you, Lucy Chen are one very lucky lady.” Lucy nodded absentmindedly at the words, she didn’t think herself to be lucky.

“You have several abrasions and a few stiches throughout, as well as a slight concussion along with two broken ribs and moderate dehydration.”

“Does that mean I’m going to be in the hospital for a while?”

“I believe that you can be discharged tomorrow. Your body is dehydrated, and I want to make sure no other complications arise.”

She turned her head, looking towards Tim. “How did you guys find me anyways?”

Tim opened his mouth to speak when Nolan interrupted. “It was all of us. I talked to Rosalind, Jackson found the credit card statements, Angela found the farm, Wesley talked to some of his clients and Tim made all the connections.”

Lucy nodded her head appreciatively. “Thank you.”

“Oh!” Nolan said removing the item from behind his back. “I brought you something.”

She smiled, laughing at the enormous pink teddy bear that was in his hands.  “I can see that.”

“It was the biggest one I could find.”

“I would hope so.” She gingerly laughed once again. “Oh my god, I’m going to need a bigger apartment.”

“I think we’ll be just fine Lucy.” Jackson told her, smiling as he rolled his eyes.

“Thank you Nolan.”

“Hey!” Jackson weakly protested. “I brought you food! Besides, he cannot stay in my room.”

“Well, he is a she, and she is going to be sleeping with me in my bed, since I am clearly never going on a date again.”

“I’m not sure that should be your takeaway.” Doctor Rivera said from the foot of the bed, watching the interaction.

“Oh, hang on.” Nolan said looking at the doctor. “Statistically, that’s actually pretty safe.”

Tim quickly glanced at Lucy before looking away, nodding his head. “Definitely should.”

“Wow, so is this the kind of support and understanding I can look forward to from now on?” she asked as she looked around at each of them.

“Yes.”

“Pretty much.”

“Oh definitely.”

Lucy chuckled at their responses. “That’s great. That’s really good.”

“You hungry?” Tim asked her before looking at the doctor.

“You can eat, just keep the portions small and non-greasy for right now.”

Lucy nodded as she opened the Styrofoam container in front of her. “Wait. Is this- is this a veggie burger and fries with extra pickles?” she asked, looking at Jackson.

“Don’t thank me, it was all Bradford.”

Lucy picked up a fry, turning her head and smiled. “You know me so well.”

Tim laughed as she let out a sigh, chewing the greasy potato. “Too well.”

“Well, I’ve got other rounds to make but I will be back by this evening to check in on you. A nurse will be by shortly to take vitals and give you some medicine for the pain.” Doctor Rivera said, dismissing herself.

“Your parents called me on the way up and said they’re on their way, I’m gonna go meet them downstairs. Come on Nolan.”

“Oh great just who I wanted to see.” She mumbled, rolling her eyes as Jackson left.

“I’ve actually got a date with Grace in three hours, so I’ve got to head back to LA. But I will swing by your apartment tomorrow with pastries.”

Lucy’s face lit up at the word pastries. “Make sure there’s a bear claw!”

“For you, I’ll make sure there’s two.” He smiled, saying goodbye as he walked out of the room.

Lucy sighed, leaning her head back, closing her eyes. “Are my parents seriously coming?” she whined.

“Yes.”

She let out a groan, opening her eyes as she reached for the burger. “Don’t get me wrong, I love them, most of the time- but after all of this, I just don’t-“ she sighed, her words drifting off as she took a bite.

“You’re their only child Chen.”

She swallowed the bite. “I know, but-“

“Give them thirty minutes and then tell them you’re tired.”

Lucy turned her head. “Is that not the equivalent of going to the bathroom on a date and not returning?”

Tim shrugged before hesitantly speaking. “How are you?” he asked, his tone low and laced with concern.

“I’m-“ she began before letting out a sigh “I’m alive.”

He nodded at her honesty. She wasn’t ok, he wasn’t ok, and they both knew it.

She moved her left hand to the edge of the bed, leaving her palm up. “Thank you.” She whispered. “I don’t-“ she began, choking on her words as tears welled in her eyes.

“It’s ok Luce.” He whispered back, placing his hand in hers. Lucy relished in the feel of his hand in hers before a knock on the door tore them apart, her mom rushing in.

Tim rolled the chair away from the bed, wordlessly reminding her of his suggestion as her parents began speaking rapidly. Lucy looked past them towards Tim, her face pleading for help. He chuckled, shaking his head before moving silently towards the door. They weren’t ok, but with time (and a lot of therapy) they could be.

[kumiwrites]

Beneath the Christmas Tree

Bakugou Katsuki’s lived with Kirishima since they graduated high school. Their life together has always been peaceful, and Bakugou’s never imagined living without that damn redhead. So when Kirishima has to move for work, and you end up moving in, Bakugou doesn’t know how to feel.

Pairing: Bakugou Katsuki x GN!Reader Prompt: Naughty or Nice Genre: Fluff, some angst, roommates-to-lovers (and they were roommates) Warnings: None Word Count: 3182 A/N: This is my fic for the BNHA Hangout Server’s Christmas collab! Check out the other fics here! I chose to do a nice Bakugou, I love this stupid angry boy and his character development just makes my heart go brrrrt. My brain’s been a bit scattered as of late but I hope I get to write more this year and post the Todoroki fic I’ve been working on for the last year.

Bakugou Katsuki is not normally a sentimental guy.

Even with Kirishima moving out, he feels fine. He knows it’s for work, and he doesn’t mind shouldering the cost of the apartment for a month or two while he looks for a new place for when their lease is up at the end of the year.

Katsuki’s known, for a while now, that he wouldn’t be able to keep living with Kirishima their whole adult lives, but it’s still bittersweet saying goodbye to his best friend.

One morning, a week before Kirishima’s scheduled move-out date, the redhead sits Katsuki down at the kitchen counter with a cup of coffee and a fully cooked breakfast. There’s clearly something that Kirishima wants to talk about, and Katsuki has no idea what’s coming.

“So, Bakugou,” he begins, sipping slowly at his coffee. “I have a good friend, [Name]-chan.”

“Yeah, we’ve met at your birthday once,” Katsuki says warily, taking a bite of egg from the plate as he watches Kirishima. “Why?”

Kirishima grins sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. “We caught up the other day, and they’re kind of in a pinch. Their roommate kicked them out so his girlfriend could move in, and they need to find a place before they have to get out.”

Katsuki almost immediately groans, already seeing where Kirishima’s going with his train of thought. Even the inviting aroma of his mug of coffee isn’t enough to put Katsuki into a better mood for a conversation like this. He debates whether or not he wants to shut the idea down immediately or entertain Kirishima’s suggestion; Katsuki decides on the latter because mornings where he wakes up to a fully cooked breakfast are few and far between. “And you want me to let her move into your room.”

“I mean, it doesn’t have to be permanent! But [Name]-chan is desperate, and I think they’d be a good friend for you, otherwise I wouldn’t ask,” he explains, hiding behind his mug.

“They’d be a good friend for me?” Katsuki asks, an eyebrow shooting up.

Kirishima laughs, nodding. “[Name]-chan really laid back, but they also like to keep things neat, so I think you’d get along well. They wouldn’t get in your way much, and they’d keep to themself! Plus, you’ve already met and you guys got along pretty well, no?”

Katsuki lets out a loud sigh, his fork clattering on the table as he rubs his temples. Kirishima’s always been one to dream big without thinking through the fine details, but this time, it feels like he’s taken the time to really talk this out with you before bringing it to Katsuki. The pitch is too well-thought out for it to have been a spur of the moment thing. “And they’re desperate to find a place to stay?”

Kirishima nods enthusiastically, taking a seat next to him. “They can come over later to hang out and plead their case, but I wanted to ask you first in case you’re really against it,” he explains, grinning. Sometimes, Katsuki wants to smother Kirishima alive. “And since I’m on my way out, I figured they could take over my half of the lease and when it’s time to renew at the end of the year, you could part ways!”

“And they’re desperate?” Katsuki asks again with a loud sigh.

“Absolutely desperate. Do you know how hard it is to find a trustworthy roommate these days?” Kirishima exclaims, arms thrown in the air. “As someone who’s had to search far and wide for a new one, let me tell you, it’s difficult!”

For some reason, Katsuki finds himself seriously considering the offer. It would be nice to not have to pay the full rent on his own for the next few months while he looks for a new place, and quite honestly, Katsuki got along with you quite well the one time he had met you.

“Will you at least let them come and talk to you themselves?” Kirishima asks, seeing the doubt flash through his friend’s eyes. When Katsuki nods, Kirishima practically howls, pumping his fists in the air before flipping through his contacts and dialing your number. “We’re good to go! Come over this afternoon for lunch!”

Katsuki knows he’ll regret saying yes.

“I swear, I’ll be out of your hair at the end of the year if you absolutely hate me, Bakugou-kun,” you reassure, hands clasped tightly as you sit on their sofa next to Kirishima. “I really wasn’t expecting to be kicked out so suddenly, but I was never really on the lease and was subletting one of the rooms…”

Katsuki grumbles, scratching the back of his head. You really do seem desperate, and at the very least, the two of you got along for now; there were worse roommates that Katsuki could’ve been stuck with. “We’ll need some ground rules.”

You nearly shoot out of your seat. “Absolutely. Anything.”

“The most important one: don’t make a fucking mess.”

Kirishima grins, slinging an arm around you and nudging his roommate with a foot. “See? Everything’s going to go great!”

Hopefully, Kirishima didn’t just jinx everything.

“I’ll put up my schedule on the fridge every week so we can rotate chores,” Bakugou explains, pointing to the magnetic whiteboard divided by days. “We usually take turns grocery shopping for common stuff, but if there’s anything specific we need we can write it down.” He motions to the notepad on the kitchen counter, and you nod. He’s come to realize, over the last week of bustle as he helped Kirishima move into his new place across town and moved you into the empty room, that you don’t like asking for help unless absolutely necessary. And, that you enjoyed order. From the way your boxes were meticulously labelled to how you were able to unpack and organize everything into your room within that day, Katsuki knew that at the very least, your organization skills would go well with how tidy he likes to keep the apartment.

“And cooking?” you ask, peering at the sleek, stainless steel stove and marble countertops. One of the first things you openly admired after Katsuki had agreed to letting you move in was the stove; it had something to do with being tired of shitty broken-down stoves that only had two working burners.

“You’re on your own there. If I’m feeling nice, I might make some for you,” he says gruffly, running a hand through his hair.

You laugh, nodding. “Sounds reasonable. Same goes for you, then.”

He glances at you, before looking towards your room, eyebrows furrowed. “Don’t be a slob,” he says finally—he’d probably been unsure of how to put it in nicer terms, but he knew that he didn’t have to say much on this front.

“I won’t,” you reassure, waving a hand at him as you return to your new room.

Katsuki begins warming up to you around the third week of living together.

He’s always been slow to start when it comes to things like coexisting with others, but mornings with you have grown to become one of the parts of the living arrangement that he enjoys most. He’s come to appreciate the sounds of you brewing coffee while he showers and your soft humming while you tidy up around the apartment before getting ready for the day.

It’s a peaceful coexistence.

There are some mornings where Katsuki is just getting home from the night shift, worn out and barely functioning, that he’ll pass by a bakery or a coffee shop just as it’s opening and will pick something up for you for breakfast. It only happens when he’s in the mood to play nice, and when he’s sure he’ll be back before you begin going about your morning. The few times that it has happened, you were surprised, but appreciative of the gesture.

Katsuki’s learned a lot about you in the past few weeks—how you take your coffees, which pastries are your favourites, the way you play music and sing along while you shower, how you curl up on the sofa watching shows at night before bed and always fall asleep—and he finds that he’s grown quite fond of your routines. It’s a steady, predictable rhythm that runs in the background while his unpredictable, hectic schedule throws him in and out of sync with you.

The first time he remembers ever thinking that he was glad you moved in was when he had been so overwhelmed at work on Halloween weekend, he had forgotten about groceries entirely. Without ever saying anything, you made him meals for that entire weekend until he was able to find the time to get everything back on track; waking up to breakfast on the counter with a small note letting him know that lunch was in the fridge, coming home to dinner being cooked for him, with all the chores done and apartment spotless—Katsuki’s never really been cared for like this since high school, and it makes something inside his chest rumble.

He could get used to this.

You get sick mid-November, almost two months after moving in, and Katsuki coincidentally also takes a few days off of work. The dates coincide by chance, of course.

Chance or not, though, he cooks every meal for you, making sure it’s light enough that it doesn’t upset your stomach, and keeps everything tidy while you wither away in bed or wrap yourself in your comforter and walk around like the dead. Every now and then, you’ll sit on the balcony for a bit, tucked into your comforter with your legs curled against your chest, and somehow Katsuki always ends up within earshot, as if watching to make sure all was well.

“Do you want to sit with me?” you ask him through the glass one day, and he nearly jumps out of his skin. How had you known he was standing by the door?

With a huff, he slides open the glass door, closing it gently behind him and leaning against the frame with his arms crossed. “You’re gonna get sicker if you stay out here any longer.”

“S’okay,” you reply softly, burying your face into the blanket. “I like the fresh air.”

“Whatever you say,” Katsuki replies gruffly. He’s realized over the years that he has to put a lot of effort into sounding neutral. His natural disposition has always been—and continues to be—an explosive one, even when he’s not angry, and it takes a lot of conscious effort on his part to tone that down and come off as anything other than a Pro Hero with Anger Issues™. His previous manager suggested getting a girlfriend or finding a therapist (or both), and that led to a vulgar fight, ending with the position of Ground Zero’s manager opening up again, along with a sweeping declaration that he’d never let someone tame him like that.

“Sorry I couldn’t be of more help around the apartment,” you say suddenly between sneezes.

“Don’t apologize for getting sick,” he scolded, knocking you gently in the head with the back of his hand.

You let out a soft laugh. “Can we make some tea?”

Katsuki nods without hesitation, already running through the medley of choices in his head as he opens the door for you.

“You’re telling me you’ve never had a Christmas tree in here?” you gaped, pointing at the perfect empty space in the living room, next to the floor-to-ceiling glass windows. It’s three weeks before Christmas, and you’ve been thinking of whether or not to decorate the place like you usually would. “You literally have the ideal space to set one up!”

Katsuki groans, setting his chopsticks down as he takes a sip of water. He had gotten home early and decided to cook dinner for the both of you while you were on your way back from work. If he had known he’d be harangued for his lack of holiday cheer, he wouldn’t have bothered. “Kiri and I’ve never had the freaking time, between holiday shifts and nearly passing out when we get back,” he bites back.

Pouting, you look around the apartment, taking in just how spacious everything is and how lovely it’d look once fully decorated for the holidays. “That’s a shame,” you murmur, cheek pressed into your palm as you rest your arm on the table. “Did you celebrate when you were growing up?”

A small hum of agreement left Katsuki’s throat as he swallowed his last bite of food. “Stupid old hag loves the holidays. Made my dad and I fetch a huge ass tree each year and set it up, and then we’d have to haul that damn thing to the dump afterwards. Being able to just relax during the holidays was a good change.”

You nod in understanding. “Yeah, I like the holidays, but I don’t like being stressed out about it. My favourite part was always this spicy hot chocolate my mom would take me to buy, with little marshmallows roasted on top.”

“Spicy hot chocolate? Sounds fucked.”

Laughing, you dip your finger into your water and flick it towards him. He yells, wiping the water off and throwing the tissue box at you, which you smack out of the way, a big grin plastered on your face. “Don’t knock it ‘til you try it, you asshole.”

Katsuki finds himself waiting up, in spite of all his senses telling him to sleep. Lounging on the couch, he drapes an arm over his forehead and scrolls through his phone absentmindedly, skimming through the news articles that litter his feed. He has an early-morning shift, but the knowledge that you’re out on a date with a shitty guy keeps him wide awake.

He’d never admit that to anyone, though.

When he hears the familiar jingle of keys outside the front door and your hushed swearing as you fumble through them to find the right one, he debates whether he should just make a break for his room. Would you think it’s weird that he’s still awake, clearly waiting for you?

“You’re not going to let me in?” a deep voice whispers, and Katsuki’s shoulders tense. “I won’t get to see you during the holidays, so shouldn’t we… spend more time together?”

“I—thanks for walking me to my door,” Katsuki hears you say. “I’ll text you.”

“Babe, c’mon—”

“I have work in the morning,” you say more firmly, and your date clicks his tongue. “I’ll text you.”

The door opens, and Katsuki stills as he waits for you to notice him. He sees you in the reflection of the balcony window, and watches as you press your back against the locked door and sink to your knees, clearly exhausted.

“You’re still awake,” you mumble, face buried into your forearms as you let out a deep breath. “What’re you doing up?”

“Couldn’t sleep.”

You hum in acknowledgement.

“Shitty date?”

“Some people are just overly eager about skipping to the sex,” you grumble, shaking your head. “Shindou’s nice and all, but I can’t stand the way he looks at me.”

Katsuki’s eyebrows shoot up. “Shindou Yo?”

“Yeah,” you sigh, cheek squished against your forearm as you watch your roommate cross the room and hold out a hand to you. “You know him, I guess?”

He waits patiently for you to take his hand as he nods. “We faced off during a licensing exam. Wasn’t the best experience.” When you clasp your hand in his, he tugs gently and grabs onto your shoulders when you stand, steadying you.

“Thanks,” you murmur, sighing softly as you pat down your clothes. “Do you want a drink or something?” you ask hopefully, glancing up at Katsuki. You don’t want to go to bed in such a sour mood.

Katsuki lets out a laugh, his hand patting the top of your head as he makes his way to the kitchen with you in tow.

Katsuki is not normally a sentimental person.

But, coming home from one of the worst Christmas Eve shifts he’s ever had and seeing the glimmering lights on the Christmas tree, with a gift perched perfectly centered beneath it, has Bakugou speechless for the first time in his life. He turns, and in hand you have a cup of the spicy hot chocolate held out for him.

“You did all of this for me?” he asks incredulously.

You give him a sheepish smile and nod. “You said you’ve never had a Christmas tree in the apartment, so I wanted to make this year a bit more special.”

Katsuki plucks the mug from you and places it on the coffee table before taking your hands in his, pulling you to him. An arm wraps around your waist, the other pressing against the back of your head as he buries his face into your neck. He’s never been good with words, and gestures like this rendered him speechless more often than not. And not many people ever really go to lengths like this for him.

It takes you a moment to return his hug, but only because you really weren’t expecting such an affectionate reaction from him. You can’t help the smile that spreads across your face. “I’m glad you like it, Bakugou.”

He hums, and it reverberates through his chest and through your whole body. “You’re an absolute idiot, you know. You didn’t have to do all this.”

You laugh wholeheartedly, burying your face into his neck. “C’mon, try the hot chocolate.”

Katsuki makes a face when he pulls away, almost scowling as he reaches for the mug and gives it a long sniff. “It actually smells pretty good.”

“I’m telling you, it’s delicious.”

He watches as you take a long sip, and a devilish look flashes across his face as he sets his mug back down. Katsuki plucks your mug from you, setting it down next to his as he ignores your complaints while he tucks his fingers below your chin. He tilts your head back, eyes searching yours before he kisses you.

You’re a little shocked, but his lips are so soft against yours and his hands are so warm that you melt into him, your eyes fluttering shut as his tongue finds yours.

He pulls away slowly, that mischievous glint in his eye making you laugh as you press your hands flat across his chest. “That was unexpected,” you say breathlessly, shaking your head.

Katsuki’s tongue darts across his lips before he smirks at you. “You’re right, it does taste good.”

It takes you a moment, but when your brain catches up to what he’s saying, you laugh so loudly that Katsuki starts laughing along with you. He presses his forehead to yours, his vermillion eyes glinting in the Christmas lights.

“Bakugou, kiss me again.”

“That’s Katsuki to you,” he murmurs, voice sultry as his nose brushes yours.

You lace your fingers through his, squeezing as he inches closer. “Kiss me again, Katsuki.”

The laugh rumbles in his chest as he kisses you again under the glimmer of the Christmas tree.

[primemeet-price]

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[lex-ically-batman]

Hey love your blog! Mind doing 10 (“The ladies love a guy who’s good with kids.”) for Curtwen? I was thinking Owen flirting with girls and CHAOTIC GAY Curt pinning hard. Thanks!

(I sat on this prompt 5ever cause I couldn’t figure out how to fill it. Hopefully I got close to what you wanted! Also, thanks for the compliment 😊😊)

Curt was late. Per usual. He’d promised Owen that morning that he wouldn’t be late, but he fucked up and knocked over a beaker of explosive milk in the lab and started a small fire and the chewing-out that Cynthia had given him went a little longer than normal.

So Curt was late. And there was a burned hole in his dress shirt.

He pulled into the parking lot, slammed the car into park, and jumped out, startling backwards as a car came whipping around the corner and nearly hit him. There a blond mom in athletic wear behind the wheel talking on her phone. “Thanks Karen.” Curt muttered, rolling his eyes. “Get off your phone, Sharon, before you kill us all.”

He shook off the residual adrenaline and rushed inside. He checked the postcard in his pocket for the location and scanned the room numbers as he sped past, looking for the right one. Finally, he found room 105 and pushed open the door.

Inside was a brightly colored 1st grade classroom. Colored blocks and crayons were scattered throughout, plush beanbags sat near a bookcase filled with children’s titles, and bright posters and corkboards hung on the wall. A big “Welcome to First Grade!” swirled across the whiteboard in blue expo, and in the center of the room, Owen was seated on the floor, patiently reading a book to serveral kids as several more pulled his hair into messy ponytails. Curt smiled and some familiar butterflies took up residence in his stomach; the same ones that always broke in when he looked at his husband.

Curt scanned the room and spotted their daughter, Cami, playing with another little girl near the front of the classroom. He also saw all of the moms staring at Owen, laughing loudly at the accents he gave to the book characters. Curt narrowed his eyes at tem.

“Hi!” A cheery voice suddenly greeted him, and Curt turned to see a bubbly red-headed woman with a round face and bright eyes. “I’m Ms. Ryan, the teacher.” She shook his hand.

“Curt Carvour.” He said.

“Oh! You must be one of Cami’s dads.” She said. “I met Owen earlier, and he said you would be here.”

“Yes, I’m sorry I was late. I—“ Curt stopped. One of the moms had left her spot in the flock to go over to Owen. She handed him a water bottle, giggling flirtatiously and touching his arm. “What the—“

Ms. Ryan followed Curt’s gaze. “Ah yes. We have a lot of single moms this year, and they must’ve assumed Owen is as well. And, well, <b>ladies love a guy who’s good with kids.”</b> She shrugged.

“Excuse me for a moment.” Curt said, then moved quickly across the room.

When he got to where Owen was, the other man looked up and smiled. “Oh good! You made it. Kim, this is my husband, Curt.” Owen said to the water-bottle-arm-touching-woman.

Kim’s warm smile wavered a moment while disappointment flashed across her eyes. Then, she shook Curt’s hand. “Nice to meet you.” Then, she turned and went back to the group of moms along the wall. Curt heard her say quietly, “He’s gay. Also, married.” There was a disappointed sigh from a few of the other women.

“You having fun?” Curt asked. Most of the kids had disappeared from around Owen by this point, distracted by the snacks that had just been put out.

Owen stood stiffly from the tiny chair he was sitting in. “I am, yes! I think Cami is going to love first grade.” He pulled the ponytails out of his hair. “What happened to your shirt?”

“Libg story. Ms. Ryan seems nice.” Curt remarked, letting Owen take his hand and lead him over to where the moms were standing.

“Oh yes. She’s great!” He lowered his voice. “Now let’s try to make some friends and score a playdate or two.”

“Can do.” Curt said, though it was the last thing he wanted to do.

“Hi ladies!” Owen said in an overly-chipper tone. “Have you met my husband, Curt?” And just like that, they were thrust into the world of gradeschool parents.

~Liz~

[lacewrites]

LOST DOG - tom holland imagine

Your dog disappeared after a rushed morning and you’ve been wandering the streets of the outside boroughs of london for a few days with your friend by your side when your house phone gets a call from a male voice you immediately become infatuated with. [this very much includes harrison bc best friends being friends and hanging out is my favourite thing in life]

Info (pls read):

 i’ll refer to the pupper as ‘they' bc it’s easier for me lol

y/m/n - your mother’s name (unless it’s your dad or carer or older siblings idk guys sorry i went with one)

y/l/n - your last name

y/f/n - your friend’s name

british spelling of mum bc hi hello i’m from this tiny island off Europe and yes finally i can write about brits whoo

^ is this not the cutest thing you’ve ever seen

warnings: none, this is pretty much just fluff. i’m more used to writing longer fics, this may not be personal enough? please send feedback!

For the past week, the weather had pretty much been scorching. You swore every time you left the house you rented a room in that the concrete was smoking, the cars in the not-too-far off distance appearing like in funhouse mirrors, wavy and distorted. Although you would have been enjoying the weather, there was a very important problem that had rained on the beautiful past few days.

You were alone in the house, having come back after hours of searching for your dog who had disappeared one night. The garden gate was left open after your parents went out the back to catch their flight. During their rush, the door wasn’t bolted and a breeze had opened it, shutting your dog out. You hadn’t heard anything from anyone in the past three days that you’d been putting up posters. You were back from school and all you had to do was look after the four legged family member, but before your responsibilities could start, they had ended with the bad news.

“Still no sign?” your friend, Y/F/N, asked as you opened the front door for her, letting her in. You went into the kitchen as you told her about how many posters you had printed and how many houses’ doors you’d knocked on, only to come back without your pet.

“I have no idea where they could be,” you sighed, offering her the box of prepackaged ice lollies, Y/F/N reaching in to take one. She’d been helping you look, driving you around to different parks and your frequently visited places before and after her work.

“Is there anywhere else we could check? Maybe there’s a few houses you go by often?” she asked.

“It’s been three days, I doubt they’re around here somewhere by now. They could be in any London borough at this point,” you shook your head. “We’ve literally checked every walking place, the only others are too many miles away.”

“Maybe we could go for another walk? Go a bit further this time?” she offered, taking out the footpath map your mum had kept in the kitchen newspaper stand.

“I’m so exhausted,” you whispered, dropping your head onto the cool counter. “I can’t sleep, I cried and managed to have about an hour, but I kept thinking of places we went to, what if we just passed them?”

“Well, what if-“ she cut off at the shrill ring of the telephone mounted on the wall beside the fridge, your legs carrying you over numbly. Reaching up, your fingers curled around the receiver of the vintage looking device, lifting it off and putting it to your ear.

“Hello, (y/l/n),” you spoke as the loud ring cut off, the sound of cars speeding by coming through a little garbled through the phone.

“Hi, is this (Y/m/n)?” the masculine voice gave your postcode and recited the phone number back to you as your ears and expression perked up.

“Yeah, that’s my mum, how can I help?” you asked, much more interested now that you knew it wasn’t an insurance call.

“Uh, I think my friend and I have found your dog?” he asked, a dog’s bark audible in the background.

“Oh my god,” you suddenly spoke, Y/F/N starting to listen in. After he gave an accurate description of the four-legged canine, you confirmed that he had indeed found your lost dog who you’d been very worried about finding.

“We’ve taken them to the local vet’s, do you want us to drop them off somewhere, or do you want to meet us here?” he asked. “We’re just waiting on results from a check-up on them."

“We’ll come and meet you, where are we going?” you asked, picking the pen off from the wall and writing the address he gave you onto the whiteboard on the wall beside the phone. Y/F/N copied it into her maps application on her phone and you thanked him a thousand times before you hung up after telling him a time when they could expect you.

You were the one driving this time, following your friend’s directions as you pushed the speed limit, finally pulling into the parking lot where you quickly pulled up the handbrake, put the car in neutral and sped into the office, leaving your friend behind by tossing her the keys to lock the car. Bursting through the doors, you immediately spotted the rich coat of the dog you’d had for years as they bounded over to you, jumping up onto your legs. You lowered yourself onto your knees, letting them sniff all around you and lick your hands as you grinned from ear to ear, your friend lowering herself to allow the dog to do the same to her as well as you both cooed in celebration.

“Hi,” you looked up at the voice you’d recognised from the phone, your smile still wide on your face as you stood up and threw your arms round the first boy, thanking him over and over again for finding your dog.

“I’m sorry, but thank you so so much, I can’t believe how far they went! We live like half an hour away by car, I don’t know how they managed to make their way here,” you babbled, thanking the other boy with a hug as well, who just chuckled, both smiling at your over the top gratitude from the excitement of finding the four-legged family member.

“It’s okay, just saw them wondering around and thought we’d bring them here,” the second boy shrugged, making you smile.

“I genuinely can’t believe that actual nice people found them, thank you so much guys,” you said with a smile.

“Honestly, no worries,” they were still smiling wide, though their eyes occasionally flitted down to the dog at your feet. “What’s their name?” they asked, crouching down to scratch at the dog’s fur. Once you’d told them, they affectionately started to refer to them by name as they continued to pet them, your dog reacting very favourably. Even when your friend’s phone rang and she had to rush off to pick up her siblings, you felt comfortable to stay with the two boys - Tom and Harrison as they’d introduced themselves - while you waited for the results from the vet.

“How long have you had them?” Tom asked, the three of your sitting on the floor with your dog.

“About two years, she was part of a box of puppies who were given to a shelter,” you explained, stroking your hand through the mid length fur as they lay by your guys’ feet.

“They’re a really good, well behaved dog,” Harrison also contributed, his hand scratching at the top of the almost sleeping canine’s head.

“Hey, guys, I’m happy to see you’ve got the owner,” the vet came out, smiling at the three of you.

“Hi, nice to meet you, is everything okay?” you asked, standing up and shaking the vet’s hand.

“They definitely need some food and water, nothing harmful ingested, they’ll be fine, right as rain. Just let them sleep a little bit more, and make sure you keep them fed and watered for the next week. They may be a little sluggish, but after meeting them I doubt it,” she chuckled, the dog nudging her leg with their nose as the boy and they also got up.

“That’s cool, thank you so much, do you need insurance details?” you asked, pulling out your phone to bring up the details your mother had emailed over when you caught her up through a phone call.

“I’ve sent everything over to your local vet’s. We’ll deal with it, but our time was for free, so don’t worry. Thank these boys instead, they took very good care of them, they did the right thing,” she smiled, the boys thanking her for her time and offering to shake her hand before the three of you left, detaching the belt the boys had used as a lead to instead attach your dog’s lead you brought from home.

“You guys need a lift home or something?” Tom asked, the three of you - well, four - standing in front of the clinic.

“Uh, no, we might just walk home or something,” you shrugged, Harrison looking at you a bit weirdly.

“In the thirty degree heat, walking a distance that’d take you half an hour to drive?” he asked, “Don’t be silly,” he chuckled. “You’re over eighteen, right?” he asked, and you felt yourself nod before you could even think about it. It was weird having passed that age, really.

“Where do you live?” Tom asked.

“North west London,” you replied.

“Cool, we’ll drive to the Queen’s head, beer garden, really nice food,” he shrugged, making you chuckle.

“I should be thanking you guys, I was thinking more like fast food, I can’t afford much else right now,” you said, smiling a little at their offer. Pretty much the most British thing ever.

“Okay, so buy us a coke,” Harrison shrugged, turning to walk, looking over his shoulder to check you were following. Once Tom had also turned, of course you were.

The three of you walked over to where Harrison lived. He disappeared inside to get his keys for his car, driving the three of you as he followed the sat nav to the pub you knew all too well. It was where you’d celebrated finishing school, exams, birthdays, whether you were of the legal age to drink or not. The food was delicious, had a great atmosphere, but it was also a hidden gem, somewhere pretty much only the immediate locals visited, which made you wonder how the two boys from West London knew of it. Most of the local kids, once they turned sixteen, got jobs there are servers, as did you, which you quit just last year to pursue further education.

“Y/n! How are you, babe?” one of the girls from the bar, her name was Millie, rushed around to the front of the bar, throwing her arms around your neck to hug you as you chuckled and hugged her back. She also reached down to pet your dog. It was one of the now more trendy dog friendly pubs, much to the workers’ delight.

“Hey guys!” Y/f/n exclaimed, wearing her working uniform and apron, rushing to you guys and throwing her arms around you with a light squeak, making you laugh again. “I’m so glad you’re here, things going good?” she asked.

“We're good, thank you, can we take a seat on the patio? I’ve got one designated driver,” you told her, your friend leaning behind the bar to pick up a roll of stickers, peeling one off. “This lovely guy, right here,” you gave Harrison’s shoulder a pat, your friend grinning wide as she stuck the sticker to his chest, making the boys laugh at her forward attitude.

“Thanks? I guess?”

“Tells all of us to look out and keep you guys safe,” Millie explained, finding the situation a little comical. You knew Y/f/n's ways, her eyes already wandering his face as if she wanted to memories every inch of his features. She was pretty much his height, something she always complained about, being tall, but you knew it worked in her favour instead of against her. “All right,” she whirled on her converse clad heels, going behind the bar with Millie as she pulled at her ponytail to tighten it. “What’s you two’s poison, and what can I get you other than a tall drink of water?” she flirted, making you chuckle.

“What’s the recommendation?” Tom asked you, leaning against the bar, lowering his voice a little as he stared at the beers and lagers on the blackboard as you left Y/f/n to flirt with his friend.

“Other than the obvious,” you pointed to the blackboard you knew he was eyeing mostly, “If you’re after some sweet cider, I recommend Lilley’s Mango, it’s an absolutely delicious 4% fruity still cider. They stock a lot of West country products, because the owner is from Gloucester,” you explained. “As for beers, Frontier Uk Craft lager is lush,” you said with a small smile.

“What are you going for?” he asked.

“I’m not telling you, but I advise you tell me so I can pay for it and thank you for finding my long lost family member?” you smiled, not realising how much he was admiring the crinkles by your eyes as you did so. He was hooked by your love for the four legged pet by your feet, but the way you smiled and managed to joke around, now that you were much more calm and comfortable, kept him captivated.

“All right, then, surprise me,” he shrugged, your face distorting in a grimace.

“What if it’s something you don’t like?” you asked.

“I promise it’ll be fine,” he chuckled, his elbow lightly nudging yours.

“Y/n, you want to order for both?” Millie asked.

“All three, actually,” you corrected, grinning your head off, the girl nodding with a chuckle. “Okay, so, because you both found my dog, you get a Gypsy Hill Beatnik Pale Ale,” Millie nodded, turning to take out a 330ml bottle from the fridge, “A Stella and a Peroni, to keep it safe,” you added, your friend picking up a glass to pour the chosen beer, “And I’ll take a Desperados and a Lilleys Mango, please guys,” you finished, the girls behind the counter chuckling. “Can I get an extra glass, and a bottle of water as well?” you asked, Millie nodding to get it for you. “What non alcoholic drink do you want, Harrison?” you asked, opening your phone case to take out your bank card.

“Y/f/n’s told me about the homemade lemonade,” he said, glancing to the girl to check he was correct.

“We’ve got peach and raspberry and an appletiser and elderflower one today,” she offered.

“A glass of elderflower,” he nodded.

“Awesome, all together, I’ll cap that at twenty quid, Y/n,” Millie said, lining up the glasses and bottles in front of you. “You want a tray?”

“Nah, I’ve still got the carrying skills,” you grinned, handing over your card. “Twenty five for a tip?” you bargained.

“All right, fine,” she rolled her eyes. “You realise that it would come to about 26 anyway, right?” she asked, putting the order through the till before she pressed card payment, handing you the machine, letting you sort out your payment.

“I can’t have my best student live without tips from her teacher,” you teased, making her chuckle. You were the one that had trained Millie, who was only about six months younger than you, but you’d worked there almost a year more, and now it was your friend’s turn to keep her doing the best job behind the bar. The three of you were quite good work friends.

“Fair enough. Would you guys like any food at all?” she asked, you leaving the decision up to the boys.

“What’s good to eat?” Tom asked, shrugging as you put the Stella and craft ale in front of him, letting Harrison take the peroni and lemonade. You slipped the lead up your arm into the crook of your elbow, picking up the unopened bottle of Desperados, cider and the bottle of water and glass in one hand. Y/f/n listed off the popular offers, the boys asking for a plate of some snacks before you also spoke up, getting a bit more hungry as they talked about it.

“A plate of nachos? Everything separate please?” you asked Millie.

“You got it, babe,” she disappeared into the kitchen after she gave Harrison a number on a stick, letting you guys walk outside to find a seat.

You sat right outside, in the shade, but it was so warm that the only purpose the shadow of the bushes had was that the sun wasn’t directly shining onto you. It was a nice change, and the three of you sat down at the table, you winding the lead around your leg to not let your dog escape, those a few of the dogs outside came to greet you guys, sniffing at your feet and clothes.

“I used to work here, by the way, I wasn’t being weird by knowing everything,” you said as you guys got comfy, leaning back in the padded chairs.

“Hey, it’s all good, the guys at my local pub pretty much know my order by heart,” Harrison shrugged, making you chuckle.

“Y/F/N is one hundred percent single by the way, not that it’s any of my business,” you said, smiling a little as you dug into your bag that you’d quickly picked up as you rushed out of the door, for some sunglasses.

The first round of drinks went down well, not too fast or too slow. Your time was spent drinking the cool, slightly bitter, alcohol - later very sweet lemonade for Harrison - in a comfortable atmosphere. You let your pet off their lead after a little while, letting them run around and make friends. While they did that, you got to know the boys a little better, expressing your gratitude a few more times, explaining how your few days passed without having the ecstatic pet running and lounging around at all times of the day.

“No, I just know that if Tessa would disappear I’d be distraught as well,” Tom shrugged, thoroughly understanding your situation. Harrison had gone back inside to put the now empty glasses and bottles back - and also to most likely catch a bit of time with your friend, but you didn’t want to ruin that by commenting on it.

“Yeah, it was a bit tough. Definitely weird not having them around,” you said, looking out at the playing dogs in the sun. “Thank you so much, you’ve genuinely just, like, saved my life,” you said with a relieved laugh.

“It’s honestly fine, happy to help,” he grinned, making you look back at him with a soft smile.

“It was really lucky that you guys found them, I’m not sure anyone else would have been so lovely,” you said, feeling your cheeks get a bit hot.

“We do our best, just what I would have wanted someone else to do if it was Tessa,” he shrugged, picking up the glass that you’d poured some Desperados in once he expressed interest in it. “That craft lager wasn’t bad, you know,” he added, changing the subject a little.

“Yeah? Good, I’m glad,” you grinned. “I definitely recommend this place, it’s really homely, and they switch the craft stuff around a little every month. Always something new to try,” you smiled, reaching forward to take a nacho chip and took some dip. “Plus when you’re actually here to have lunch, they make some really good food,” you added, Tom smiling at it. You’d gotten on really well during the afternoon, talking about everything and anything, getting onto jobs and childhoods even. It was like the three of you had known each other all your lives, and he knew that even Harrison would like to repeat something like this again. If even just to see your best friend again.

“How about you get some lunch with us this weekend, then? Actually eat food?” he offered, turning to you a little more to show that you had all of his attention.

“Only if I can invite Y/F/N,” you bargained, smiling a little at what you thought he was asking. You weren’t entirely sure about his intentions, but if it was going the way you were hoping, you would cancel anything on the earth for it.

“Yeah, that’s okay with me. You sure you’d want to double date?” Tom asked, surprising the both of you with how forward he managed to be.

“I guess I should maybe leave my dog at home for this date?” you asked, smiling a little wider, now that his intentions were revealed.

“I’ll just bring Tessa,” he shrugged, grinning from ear to ear. Shaking your head, you let out a laugh.

“Saturday, half past one, I’ll book a table,” you offered, Tom immediately nodding, pulling out his phone to offer it to you to put your number in.

“Hey,” Y/F/N walked out, holding a tray of partially filled glasses. “I brought you guys some cider tasters, they’re what’s going to be on the menu from next week, thought you’d want to try them,” she offered, putting one each in front of you.

“Thanks,” you grinned. “You free Saturday?” you asked, grinning cheekily at her as Tom chuckled.

“As always,” she nodded.

“How would you feel about coming back to work, but with a date?" you asked, seeing Harrison right behind her, holding another glass of lemonade.

“You guys work fast,” he joked, Tom reaching over to hit his shoulder playfully. “I beat you, though,” he added, Tom laughing and shaking his head as he threw back the taster cider.

“That one’s great,” he said, pointing to it, after having actually tasted the sweet alcohol.

“Uh, in answer to your question, I guess next Saturday can be a thing.”

“Next Saturday it is."

[alphawave-writes]

Experimental Design Chapter 4: Actions have consequences

Synopsis: Stone reminisces on his past, and how he came to become Agent Stone. Robotnik gets the bright idea to get handsy with a collar. Feelings ensue.

Read it here on or AO3. You guys can also find me on twitter @alphawave13.

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-

Actions have consequences. That was the first thing Stone was taught back in school, long before he was given the identity of Stone. As a child, Stone wasn't too different from his adult self, with a few exceptions. The most blatant one of all was his utter disregard for any and all authority figures. But in his defense, it was utterly hilarious to see Teacher Deidre try and wobble over to chase him, her big gangly arms wafting with the breeze. Teachers had words to describe people like him. He was too nice to be a bully but too much of a nuisance to be a good kid. He was kind and friendly to his peers and his family, but showed absolutely no consideration for his teachers.

Thus, he was labelled a 'troublemaker'. For a boy with no future goals in mind, it suited him well enough.

There was one victim above all else that young Stone liked to tease. Mr Khoury was a new science teacher in his school, with slicked back hair and a wide grin and a crazed look in his eyes. As a teacher he was OK—this was his first job as a teacher and so he was still a little wet behind the ears—but it was the experiments he did during break time that awarded him his reputation amongst the students. As a son of a chemical manufacturing giant, he was able to get easy access to all sorts of chemicals and materials for his experiments, and then some. He'd mess with chemicals in bunsen burners. He'd steal compost and seeds from the school garden to experiment on the plants. More often than not, he'd make sculptures and robots from scrap metal that he fished from the school's recycle bin.

He may not have been the best teacher, but there was no denying that he was incredibly and devoutly passionate about science. That made him the best target for pranks, Stone thought.

It started small. Stone would steal little things from Mr. Khoury when he wasn't looking. A piece of scrap for his experiments, the fancy gold pen on his desk. But of course, it quickly escalated into hiding all the valves for the bunsen burners and locking the room and drawing silly stuff on his classroom's whiteboard. The best moments were when Mr. Khoury caught him in the act and tried to chase after him. He'd laugh, just a silly little kid enjoying the moment as he ran and ran, glancing behind his back to stare at his teacher's flushed cheeks and sweaty forehead. Mr. Khoury was slow compared to Stone, so sometimes he’d let himself get caught. And then he let himself get caught more often. One time, instead of taking him to time out or detention, Mr Khoury forced the young child to help him with his experiments. And then he became an active participant. He claimed it was just to observe his teacher, and in a sense he was. He remembered Mr. Khoury's quiet look of concentration, the glitter in his eyes and the fire that burned deep in his soul. He remembered it so well that those looks stained his dreams, making him feel fuzzy and warm and happy.

It all seemed so fun and idyllic. Until one day, when Stone found Mr Khoury clearing out his desk.

“But I don’t understand,” the young Stone said. It was another lunch break, and he was expecting another experiment. Instead, Mr. Khoury was packing up his stuff, his normally calm face twisted into a scowl. “You didn’t do anything. You can't be fired.”

“It’s that incompetent headmistress," Mr Khoury said. "Her and her backwards views of the world, of progress. It’s only because of her that I have to go.”

“But why?”

“I’m…” Mr Khoury pouted, then turned to young Stone. Behind his glasses, his eyes were dark but focused, a swirling and shimmering vortex. “Will you keep this a secret between you and me?”

He nodded obediently. His chest felt light, knowing that his teacher trusted him so much with such an important secret.

“I’m married.”

Stone frowned. He wasn’t surprised, Mr Khoury was very good looking for an adult. Or at least, he thought he was. His friends didn’t agree. Then again, most of his friends were boys like him. “Is that a bad thing?"

“To another man. I'm married to a man," Mr Khoury replied.

Stone tilted his head in confusion. "That doesn't sound like a bad thing."

"It's not, but of course your headmistress seems to think otherwise, the troglodyte," Mr. Khoury spat. "Not all love is equal in this society. People of walks of life are expected to fit into society's expectations of love, and when you defy it, you’re punished.”

"I love someone," Stone blabbed. His small eyes widened, his hand instinctively reaching up to cover his lips. He didn't mean to say that. Not to Mr Khoury of all people.

"Oh? Who?"

Young Stone looked away shyly. A small chuckle escaped Mr Khoury's lips, gracing his sharp features with a rare softness.

"I'm flattered, but I'm afraid you're a bit too late. Five years too late, to be specific," Mr Khoury said.

"Most people say it's just a childhood crush," he quietly admitted. "They don't think it's real."

"All love is real, to some extent. It's the same neurotransmitters firing in our brains whether it's a fictional entity or a real person, someone close to you or someone that's completely and utterly unattainable." Mr Khoury smiled. "Perhaps you do have a childhood crush, but if you learn from who you love, and why you love them, maybe you'll learn a little bit about yourself from these experiences."

He nodded slowly, a frown playing on his young and childish face. He knew nothing would ever happen between them, even if Mr. Khoury stayed at school forever. In the presence of someone greater and better than him, why would they ever fall in love with someone so weak and dumb?

Mr. Khoury's face sharpened. "You've learned something from this experience, have you?"

He nodded. "I did."

"Perhaps not everybody in this school is a complete idiot," Mr. Khoury said, rubbing his hand through the kid's short hair.

He stared up at his teacher's face. He did not know how or why, but something in his gut told him that this would be their last conversation ever. "I'll be smarter," the young boy continued. "I-I'll be better than smart. I'll be strong and cool and smart, and I won't let bullies tell me off."

In all his life, he'd never seen Mr. Khoury smile like this, soft and gentle like his favourite teddy bear. It shouldn't suit his face, and yet it did, this rare moment of softness transforming him into another person, a better person. In the reflection of Mr Khoury's eyes he saw his own expressive face, wide and beautiful. A selfish thought popped into his head, of someone looking at him with the same adoration that he looked at Mr Khoury. It couldn't be anyone. It had to be someone great. Someone brilliant and smart, who saw the world in a way no one else did, who'd grant him the kindness of letting him be by their side.

It didn't have to be Mr Khoury, but someone like him. Someone just as great and brilliant.

"Tariq?" Mr Khoury asked.

"Stone!!" Robotnik yelled.

Stone jolted in surprise, turning his head to the source of the sound. In the present, Dr. Robotnik was glaring at him from his usual spot behind his desk, his stubble peeking out a little bit more than usual.

Stone put on a smile. "Sorry, sir?"

"I was going to ask you to do something, but it seems your mind is filled with ridiculous nonsense. What is it? Did you suddenly remember that red and blue paint combine to create purple?"

"It's nothing," Stone handwaved. "Just remembered something. Nothing important though."

But Robotnik didn't seem convinced. "You've been staring into space a lot lately. Do I have to get your brain checked?"

Stone blinked rapidly. From anyone else it was an insult, but from Robotnik it sounded almost like concern. "If you're talking about the nightclub incident, I'm fine. What about you, though?"

"Obviously I'm fine," Robotnik scoffed. "Unlike you, I haven't been affected whatsoever. My superior intellect means I do not get inundated by such insignificant things like death, and dildos, and other miscellaneous things in that category."

Except that was an obvious lie. Since the nightclub incident a few days ago, a few things had changed between them. For one, Senator Willingham didn't take too kindly to being tortured, so they needed to keep a low profile for now, which meant more hours being by Robotnik's side. Robotnik in turn had devoted more time to his research, working late into the night to work on a mysterious new project he'd concocted. Normally the doctor was eager to talk about his experiments, but when Stone tried to ask this time, Robotnik would stiffen and clamp up, pretending not to hear him.

And then there were those...other moments.

They were insignificant in the grand scheme of things but Stone took care to notice the insignificant things, because in his line of work nothing was ever insignificant. The twirl of a moustache, the way the doctor chewed on the very tip of his gloves, the snap of leather gloves to the doctor's pale but firm wrists, the way he licked his bottom lip all too slowly when he was deep in thought.

It was earlier that day, as Robotnik scratched and itched at a red rash growing at the base of his stubble-lined jaw that Stone realised he had been staring at his boss for a whole ten minutes.

It wasn't polite to stare. He was sure if Robotnik actually paid attention and caught him, he might have been given some form of punishment. But then that only made Stone think about his punishment, and what Robotnik would do to him. If Robotnik made a threat, he always followed through on it. It could be any day now, perhaps even today, that he'd be punished. But usually Robotnik was rather swift with his threats, claiming that it took precious time away from his experiments. So why was Robotnik delaying it? Did he forget, or was he planning something big? If it was something big, why was it big? Would it be painful or humiliating, mild or serious?

Would Dr. Robotnik glance down at Stone with that heated gaze once again, ready to take whatever he wanted from him? Was Stone willing to give his boss whatever he wanted?

Stone glanced at his reflection, only to see a wide, excited smile grace his features. He clamped it down, trying to relax his face into a more normal smile. He was not getting excited about getting punished. This was just the adrenaline talking, or maybe that newly-discovered kink of his. This had nothing to do with his boss.

Robotnik waved his hand frantically in front of Stone's face, making him blink.

"You're doing it again, Stone," Robotnik said.

"I-I'm sorry, sir."

Robotnik stood up from his chair and dramatically took a step forward, closing the distance between their bodies. With his gloved hand, he pulled Stone's face up, forcing him to look into Robotnik's cold, dark eyes. "What's going on in your mind?"

"Nothing," Stone said quickly, even as his eyes glanced down to Robotnik's salt and pepper stubble. He always wondered what that'd feel like on his hand. Would it feel different on his lips?

"It shouldn't be nothing. There should be something to fill that enormous head of yours," Robotnik cradled Stone's head roughly, as if looking through his eyes to see his dark, festering mind. "Perhaps there's something wrong with your head after all. The neurons aren't firing, or perhaps your frontal lobe just isn't responding to stimulus."

A strange thrill grew in Stone's chest as a smile grew on his lips. "Wouldn't it be the parietal lobe that's not working? If I'm not paying attention?"

Robotnik's eyes widened for a second, blinking rapidly as crimson fury crept up his face. Stone was correct, and they both knew it. In an instant, calm and logical Robotnik was unraveling at the seams. It always entertained Stone, seeing his boss lose that carefully crafted veneer of his and the madness and the brilliance peek through.

"You know, I never got to punish you for your insubordination the other day," Robotnik purred, a predator sizing up its prey. "Perhaps I've been a bit too lax with you recently. You should be taught more...discipline."

Stone couldn't stop smiling even if he wanted to. Something about that crazed look in Robotnik's eyes made him feel bold and cocky, as if he was the one in charge and not the man with the army of robots at his disposal. But that was silly to entertain, especially given how tightly Robotnik was holding his face. "How would teaching me discipline help me with my head?"

Robotnik chuckled darkly, exposing a bit more of his throat. They were almost nose to nose, so close he could almost taste the doctor's sweat. This was the moment Stone was all too familiar with, the charged energy building between their bodies, rising and rising, only striking when Robotnik so commanded. This was the moment when Robotnik's breathing increased and his pupils dilated and his cheeks went a gorgeous rosy pink. It made him look ridiculous. Human.

Gorgeous.

Stone sharply inhaled. Oh god, he didn't think that, did he? Not about his boss. Not about Ivo Robotnik.

"Stone," Robotnik said.

He couldn't stop staring at Robotnik's pink lips. Were they always so kissable?

"Get down on your hands and knees," Robotnik ordered.

To his credit, Stone did it all without shaking. Whether he would hypothetically shake from fear or excitement, Stone didn't know anymore.

"Stay there, and don't move an inch.," Robotnik said, disappearing for a short while to grab something from his desk. That act alone limited the possible punishments he might be given. What did Robotnik have planned?

He heard Robotnik's steps approach him. "You can move your head up now."

Stone did, taking his time to let his eyes trail up Robotnik's legs, torso, neck,before finally resting on Robotnik’s devilish face. In his hand was something circular but thick, wires and electronics sticking out of the fabric interior. It resembled a dog collar, but it was much thicker and wider than a normal one, with strange wires surrounding it. But Stone didn’t remember Robotnik owning a dog.

Stone gulped. It couldn’t be…that wasn’t for him?

“Don’t move a muscle,” Robotnik commanded.

“Sir, this is unconventional.”

“Oh, but you’re an unconventional man, Agent. I thought I was dealing with a government lapdog with a modicum of intelligence. But you’re so much more than that, aren’t you?”

Stone went silent, keeping his face neutral. Robotnik chuckled darkly as he undid Stone's tie, letting it drop to the floor. His lithe, leather-bound fingers traced the sensitive skin of his neck before clamping the collar on. It wasn't tight, but it wasn't loose, as if it was made for him.

"I must admit, you keep stumping me. There's no records about you. Nothing about the man you were before you became Agent Stone, what school you went to, your parents' names, whether your mommy tucked you into bed or not. Even I couldn't find anything." Robotnik leaned forward. "I find that very strange, Stone. Or whatever your real name is."

"Ben," Stone said quietly.

"Huh?"

"Ben Stone. My name," Stone swallowed tightly. "And as for everything else, I graduated the academy top of my class, I kept getting transferred to too many schools when I was a kid, my parents' names are Ali and Mary, and my mom tucked me into bed every night until I was 12."

"I've read your file—or should I say, I've read Stone's file. I know all about your cover identity. You're supposed to be an obedient little dog with a gun. And you know what happens to dogs that don't do what they're supposed to do?"

Robotnik pressed his thumb to a button on his gloves.

"They get a little shock."

An electric current rippled through Stone's neck, making him gasp, more in surprise than actual pain. It only lasted a second, but it was enough for all the muscles on his back to firm up in attention.

"Does it hurt?" Robotnik grinned.

Stone let out a chuckle. "You'll never hurt me, doctor. We both know you can't."

"Wrong answer," Robotnik said.

An another electrical current at a slightly higher voltage. Enough to make Stone wince, but still far from painful. It all but proved Stone's point. The doctor could take the air out of his lungs, but he was always careful never to harm him.

Robotnik crouched down so he was face to face with Stone. His smile was condescending, but not completely malicious. The doctor was far too excited to be that cruel. "You're going to be wearing this collar all day. If you slip up even a little bit, I press a little button on my glove and you'll get shocked. The more times you slip up, the longer the electric shock lasts. I'll take it off when the shift ends. No earlier, no later. Understand?"

Stone stared at Robotnik for a few seconds, taking in those flushed cheeks and eager grin. This was a test, Stone realised, and he was the sole participant. Was the doctor's plan to reduce his will? To make him beg? Robotnik would love to see that, it'd stroke his massive ego even more, but Stone would never give him that satisfaction. He'd do many things, but not everything. It'd take away the fun.

Another chuckle escaped from Stone. Robotnik's lips thinned into a line. "What are you laughing about?"

"Don't I get a reward for this?" Stone smiled devilishly. "If I'm a dog, I deserve a treat for behaving, don't I?"

Robotnik smirked. "And why should I give you anything?"

"To reinforce behaviour. After all, isn't that why you put a collar on me?"

Instead of laughing, Robotnik scoffed sharply, the corner of his lips pulling up against his will. "Perhaps." He stood up suddenly and went to his chair. It spun approximately 70 degrees before Robotnik placed his feet down, grinding to a halt. "You know, Stone, all this talking and moving has made me thoroughly parched. A nice latte with steamed Austrian goat milk sounds like it'll do just the trick."

They both knew that the coffee machine was in the breakroom for the other guards, on the opposite side of the compound where the mobile lab sat. The chances that Stone would be seen wearing what was very clearly a BDSM collar were fairly high, but there was just as high a chance that the person who caught him would report it to both their superiors, and Robotnik wouldn't have that. This was just another one of those games of 'Simon says' that they played. A dare to see how far Stone could be pushed.

Stone slowly stood up, stuffed his tie into his suit pocket, and gave his most award-winning smile. He always liked a challenge. "Of course, sir," he purred.

Robotnik's cheeks seemed to get redder, but if he had something to say Stone didn't hear it as he opened the door and strolled outside.

Whether it was Stone's luck or some other supernatural force, the base was surprisingly empty given the time of day. Not that there weren't people, but the few he did pass seemed far too engrossed in conversation to notice him walking past. All the better for him. Less questions asked, less answers he needed to give.

In the breakroom were two coffee machines: one that was used fairly often and one that wasn't. Stone went to the latter, preparing the coffee beans (a special blend of his own creation based on a South American recipe) and steaming the goat milk and making the foam. The resulting latte is rather sweet, with a chocolate-y aftertaste. Not everyone's cup of coffee, but Stone liked it, and Robotnik loved it. It definitely earned him a few brownie points when he first came into the doctor's services.

Stone had just finished making a latte for the doctor (and of course one for himself because why not?) when he heard someone call out his name. "Stone?"

He turned his head, letting out a breath when he realised it was Agent Jared Aird: low-level government agent and high-level weirdo. In other words, the closest thing to a friend Stone had outside of Robotnik.

"What's up?" Stone asked.

"Someone's looking for y—" Stone winced suddenly as an electric shock hit him. Aird's eyes flickered between the collar and Stone’s expression, the dots connecting slowly but surely in his mind. "I, uh…OK then. I'll just talk to you later."

Stone stifled the need to explain himself. He didn't need to make this more embarrassing. “You said someone's looking for me. Not the doctor?"

"No, they're looking for you specifically. Or at least…it sounded like they were talking about you. Described you to a T."

"Name?"

"Called themselves Lara Stein." Before Stone could comment, Aird said, "Obviously a pseudonym. We’re pulling ID checks on her though. Should take at least an hour." Aird glanced at the collar and coughed loudly into his fist. "I'll just…tell her to come back later."

Stone didn’t know a Lara, or anyone that could be looking for him specifically. Not many people knew of Agent Stone, as part of the whole cover identity business. He shook his head. "Tell her to come after my shift's done, please. And, uh…don’t tell anyone about this.”

“I won’t, I won’t, we all know the doctor is a freak. But a shock collar? Bit kinky for his tastes.”

Stone let a frown slip. The doctor was strange, but certainly not a freak. He was a genius with limitless knowledge, unburdened by the expectations of society, but no one else saw him like that. Everybody thought he was dangerous. Everybody thought he was crazy. Not Stone though. Stone knew the doctor was just a drama kid with a need to please. Dangerous men weren’t capable of such innocent, child-like smiles when they tinkered away with their machines. Crazy men didn’t see the world with such fascination and awe.

Times like these reminded Stone that he might literally be the only person in the world who liked Robotnik, let alone tolerated him.

Stone forced a chuckle. “He’s certainly gotten some weird ideas lately. But I’ll manage.”

“I hope so,” Aird muttered with concern.

The trip back was equally uneventful, with even fewer potential witnesses. By the time he got back to the mobile lab, Robotnik was sneering at him, stamping his foot for dramatic effect.

"You're seven minutes late." Robotnik snatched the latte out of Stone's hand and took a sip. His face, as it often did when he drank Stone's coffee, softened considerably. "At least the coffee is the correct temperature this time. Nearly scalded my tongue yesterday."

Stone smiled warmly. The only compliments he ever got from Robotnik was for his coffee. Not that he minded. He made some damn good coffee, and any compliment from Robotnik was worth its weight in gold. "You're welcome, sir."

The rest of the day went surprisingly normally, give or take a few electric shocks here and there when Stone looked like he was daydreaming again. Robotnik did little to hide how much he enjoyed the way Stone twitched in surprise, catching him off guard. Even when Robotnik left to get a quick snack, his presence could still be felt on Stone' throat. The collar tethered him to the doctor, a physical mark of his servitude. It was sobering, realising how far he let himself get subjugated by Robotnik's whims, to the point of humiliation and shame. This was just the start, and if Robotnik got any more crazy ideas from BDSM, this might not be the last time he'd be punished like this. No more 'pin yourself to the wall'. It'd be 'get down on all fours and bark like a dog' or 'lick my shoes'.

He saw his wide grin in the reflective walls and forced himself to stop smiling.

When Robotnik came back, he continued his usual work on his computer, stopping every now and then to quiz Stone on the collar and how it was working. After Stone answered, he would then ask him to write it down anyway. The first two times, Stone did it without question. The third time, Stone felt brave enough to ask Robotnik why he wasn’t taking the notes himself if he was so much smarter. He glanced over his shoulder, ready to ask, only to realise that the doctor was already behind him.

"Sir?"

Robotnik was silent as he turned Stone's chair to face him, his normally expressive face toned down into something that almost looked soft. He clicked a few buttons on his gloves, and then fiddled with a strap on the collar. It opened up easily, sliding down and off of Stone's neck, before gently being dropped on the nearby table.

Stone rolled his head slowly, frowning at the stiffness. The cool air felt so much colder on his now-sensitive neck, which was in stark contrast to the hungry flames in Robotnik's eyes. He felt like those women in those B-tier horror films, waiting on bated breath for the vampire to sink their teeth into his neck and make him feel the most writhing ecstasy.

"Does it hurt now?" Robotnik asked, his voice suddenly quiet. Unsure.

Stone glanced at the clock. "Is it time already?"

"Clearly you need to get your eyes checked as well," Robotnik huffed. He grabbed Stone by the jaw, twisting and turning his head to observe his neck. He let out a small tut. "There's a few spots of redness on your neck. Was it from the collar?"

"It didn't hurt," Stone said. Which was partially true. He was aware of a faint itchiness but they weren't painful. He got shot with a blank to the stomach once. No pain could compare to that.

"You should have told me. Or written it in your report. You have seen me work, you should know by now the importance of writing down every single observable detail for data collection."

Robotnik slowly tugged at the tips of his gloves, pulling them off his hand one by one. It was a simple act, done without show or boast, and yet somehow it was the most erotic thing Stone's ever seen Robotnik do. Stripping away his gloves felt no different from watching him strip away his clothes. The way he folded up his gloves so neatly, those dexterous yet thick fingers moving so freely now that they weren't bound to their cloth prisons. And the way they moved, gently tucking the folded gloves into one pocket before retrieving a small jar from another, was an act that was far too intimate for a scientist and his agent. And yet Stone stared at Robotnik, his neck exposed and his cheeks flushed, wondering if this was a dream.

The cool sensation of Robotnik's lotion-covered fingers on his neck quickly told him it was very much real.

"Doctor?" Stone breathed.

"Let me work," Robotnik replied, sounding out of breath himself.

"What is this?"

"It's just lotion from the supermarket. Won't cure the redness right away, but at least it shouldn't distract you any more than you've already distracted yourself."

This felt wrong, just as much as it felt right. There had to be a reason Robotnik was being so nice as to rub lotion on his neck. There had to be a reason why those dark eyes seemed so warm and brilliant. There had to be a reason why he was leaning in, drawn in to the dark fire.

"I'll ask this for the final time. Is there anything else about the collar that was uncomfortable? The fabric, the voltage, the tightness. Anything at all?" Robotnik dabbed his fingers and let his fingers dip lower, near Stone's nape.

It took all his willpower not to sigh or gasp. This didn't just feel good. It felt great. It felt amazing. How could one man's touch feel so amazing? "Why are you so concerned about whether the collar hurts or not?" Stone asked quietly.

"I'm going to be making improvements for next time. Obviously, I don't want it to harm my best agent."

Stone chuckled, if only to disguise the warmth creeping up his chest and dipping to his limbs. His smile must have been big and wide, but Robotnik was still applying the lotion with the kind of careful touch he usually only reserved for his robots. Best agent. The doctor thought he was the best. He was getting excessively giddy from those two words alone.

"Everything's good, doctor. Perfect as always." He smiled. "Have I been a good boy then?"

The question didn't register for Robotnik for several seconds, applying the lotion before stopping, his fingers paused near the tight ball of Stone's throat. He blinked rapidly, glanced up into Stone's eyes, then turned his head away abruptly. "You have, for once." He cleared his throat loudly. "You're lucky I didn't punish you firmer. I was hoping the collar would have more…observable results."

What was this energy floating between them? What was this urge to get closer? Their noses were almost touching and their breaths were fusing and it was making Stone dizzy. Despite his position, despite the creative punishments Robotnik could dole, he felt powerful. Like he could lean in and purse his lips and do whatever he wanted without consequence.

"So does that mean I get a reward?" Stone breathed.

Robotnik smirked. "You're not getting any more sick days from me."

"I wasn't thinking sick days, doctor."

"Oh? So what were you thinking? What's going on in that microscopic mind of yours?"

Stone pretend to think before grinning. "I'll let you decide, doctor. You're the genius."

Robotnik had stopped massaging the lotion, putting it back in his pocket and wiping his hands on Stone's jacket. His eyes were unfocused as he continued to stare at Stone's neck, as if scanning him for his blueprints, looking for weaknesses. It was so uncharacteristic and so firm that Stone wasn't sure he'd refuse any command Robotnik would give him. If he was asked to strip, he'd do it. If Robotnik bit his neck like a vampire, he wouldn't refuse. He'd do anything if it meant Robotnik stared at him like this, like he mattered, like only he mattered.

Was this really a punishment kink, or was there something more to what he felt? Did his feelings for the doctor perhaps run deeper?

Did Robotnik perhaps feel the same?

A knock on the door took both of them by surprise. Robotnik had stood up, quickly snapped his gloves back on, and pressed a couple of buttons. The security feed for outside flickered on, the edge of a white skirt flapping in the wind near the entrance. A woman in a white business jacket and skirt came in holding a file. Her eyes flickered around the room before narrowing on Stone.

"You must be Tariq," she said. "My employer has been looking for you."

For a second, time stopped, a bevy of uncomfortable, horrific memories surfacing. Then, in a flash, Stone had rushed forward with superhuman speed and punched her square in the face. She went out cold in an instant, her nose ruined and bloody, bruises already forming near her cheek where his knuckles had connected with the facial bone.

"Stone?!" Robotnik yelled. "What in tarnation is going on?"

He didn't react, instead searching the woman's jacket for something, anything. A file, a USB, an incriminating something or other. But nothing. Just her ID, and a card at maximum clearance level, the same level as Robotnik's and Stone's. The mysterious Lara Stein. Robotnik's legs seemed like jelly as he wobbled over to his desk and hurriedly typed away. Lara Stein's name was compared through hundreds of databases, but there was no one high enough to have maximum clearance. He tried to go through every filter, every database, too fast for Stone to comprehend, but even he knew that there'd be nothing.

There was another knock on the door. Robotnik grabbed Stone by the shoulder and said, "Don't do it," but Stone shrugged it off and readied his handgun. The door opened, and Stone pointed his gun at the person who opened the door.

Behind that person was a swarm of G.U.N agents, all pointing their weapons at Stone. He recognised a few of them. Sarah, Flores, Jacobs, they were all here, and they were all blank and emotionless like dolls, or mannequins. A pity he couldn't reacquaint with them under better circumstances.

The person at the door shook his head casually. His military-buzz cut had now gotten a bit longer, and his face was sagging, but Stone knew this man all too well.

"Still shoot first, ask questions later, huh, Tariq? Or should I say, Agent Ben Stone?"

Stone flicked his gun off safety. "My primary job is to protect my current charge, Commander. If you do anything to him—"

"Didn't you hear? We want to talk to you. Or, well…you would've heard it if you haven't bashed that poor girl's head in." He glared at Robotnik. "We only want to talk to Tariq."

Robotnik's eye twitched. "I am Dr. Ivo Robotnik. I've caused more wars than you’ve sired fatherless children. If you think I will—"

"Who do you think has been giving you those orders?" The Commander interrupted.

Robotnik's eyes widened. "You can't be…b-but the Commander is just some stupid character from a John Wick movie. "

"Doctor…" Stone warned.

"You are not touching my agent without my express permission,” Robitnik continued. “And since you've been so nice as to introduce me to your inferior weaponry, I shall introduce you to my means of destruction."

Stone grabbed Robotnik by the wrist, just as the turrets and sentires activated. He squeezed hard, hoping to the heavens themselves that Robotnik realised how serious this was. The Commander wasn't just any man. The Commander was a dangerous man who knew thousands of ways to kill and torture people. The Commander had a hand in every major war operation from the US since 9-11. The Commander had informants all over the globe, and was considered utterly untouchable.

The Commander was the man who taught everything Stone knew. And if someone was on his bad side, hell hath no fury.

Stone pressed a few buttons on Robotnik's gloves and the turrets and sentries deactivated. "I'll be back shortly," Stone said as he flipped the safety of his gun back on and holstered it.

"Stone?"

"Wait for me," he said.

"Don't you dare go," Robotnik's voice warbled. "T-that is an order, Stone. You won't like me when you disobey me, so don't—"

But Stone stepped out of the mobile lab and toward the Commander. Neither of them said a word, because there was no need for them. Stone knew the Commander too well to not know what he wanted to do, and he was not going to disobey the Commander. As he followed the Commander and the G.U.N agents out of the compound, the man known as Agent Stone disappeared, and a different man emerged—identical and yet different—to take his place.

Actions have consequences. That was the first thing Stone was taught back in school, long before he was given the identity of Stone. When the headmistress initiated a slam campaign after Mr Khoury left, slandering him as a pedophile who liked young boys, nobody expected it to go viral on the internet and get him taken to court on criminal charges. She was a white lady with a respectable career and numerous connections, whereas Mr Khoury was a relatively young teacher who had yet to make his mark on the world. His family wanted nothing to do with him. His husband could only provide moral support. Legally, he was on his own.

No one would imagine a little kid like him to have that much pure anger and rage, to punch and kick and win in a fight against an adult. It didn't matter that she had started the fight by slapping him on the face for providing evidence to refute her lies. It didn't matter that he was trying to protect himself. It didn't matter that his parents whole-heartedly supported him, and even helped him retrieve the evidence. In the end, he was expelled, and his school record was completely tarnished. Mr Khoury was declared innocent solely due to lack of evidence, but no one would ever hire him again.

It'd be many years before people took interest in Stone. Until then, Stone kept his head down and his ears peeled, learning as much as he could about the world and the evil that festered within it.

[poppo911]

You’ve Got Mail! (Chapter 4)

Read it on FFN here

Word count : 1900-ish

Chapter 4 – The Bet

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To : All contacts

From : Maes Hughes

Attachment : Elysia_001 .jpeg, Elysia_003  .jpeg, and 54 more attachments

Subject : Your morning dose of happiness

You’re welcome.

Maes Hughes

Teacher, English Literature

East Amestris Senior High School | 75 Sycamore Lane, East City

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To : Heymans Breda, Jean Havoc

From : Roy Mustang

Subject : Re: Re: Abort mission (continued)

Before you guys judge me for being ‘ignorant’, yesterday was too hectic for me to check on incoming mails. And yes, Jean, listen what Breda said; you’re still a dumb-ass.

Miles was right though, you were lucky enough. At last I met her yesterday. And who could’ve guessed that that accreditation board member whom you had a rather unpleasant argument with three years ago is an Armstrong? (and the one who got a say in the board, while at it.)

Seems like she still hold grudges on me for a reason I don’t remember. Imagine the awkward silence (or you’re-dead-to-me glares) I have to go through everytime we encountered each others, considering we share an office room from now on.

Let’s just hope Maes won’t be genius enough to even try to push her button during his (suspiciously abundant) free time.

Roy Mustang

Teacher, Chemistry

East Amestris Senior High School | 75 Sycamore Lane, East City

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To : Jean Havoc

From : Maria Ross

Subject : How many times do I have to tell you?

I don’t care how and when you do it, Jean, but no way in hell smoking is allowed anywhere inside school. The rooftop included. You’ll set bad examples for the students. Besides, the kids love you—they’re more inclined to justify your actions, and do it by themselves!

This will be my last warning before I write the Principal a formal complain letter on this matter.

Maria Ross

Teacher, School Guidance Counselor

East Amestris Senior High School | 75 Sycamore Lane, East City

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To : Maes Hughes

From : Kain Fuery

Subject : Data Usage Notification

Mr. Hughes,

I regret to inform you that you have already used up all your bandwith. Please do take my advice to stop sending everybody gigabytes-worth of photos, and you will be able to enjoy this facility until the last day of every months. Thank you.

I’m not gonna receive your bribery, Sir. Mr. Greed already took suspicion on our internet funds, and had been eyeing me closely ever since. Sorry for that…

Regards,

Kain Fuery

Staff, Department of Information and Technology

East Amestris Senior High School | 75 Sycamore Lane, East City

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.

To : Edward Elric

From : Riza Hawkeye

Subject : See me during lunch break

Dear Edward,

My experiences told me that detention letters have no effect on you. But that doesn’t mean you can get out from the fact that you sent a .docx with the writings ‘MUSTANG SUXX’ as its only content for your chemistry take-home assignment.

Meet me at the teachers’ room right after the bell rings. You know where my desk is.

Fail to do so, and I will pair you up with Ling for the upcoming group project(s).

Thank you.

Riza Hawkeye

Teacher, Biology

East Amestris Senior High School | 75 Sycamore Lane, East City

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To : Olivier Mira Armstrong

From : Alex Louis Armstrong

Subject : Re: All those East City chickens are getting under my skin

O, my dearest Sister,

YOU HAVE JUST MISUNDERSTOOD OUR HOSPITALITY, THE PEOPLE FROM THE EASTERN SIDE OF AMESTRIS!

They were just trying to befriend you, Sister. Trust me. Perhaps the norms here are not exactly similar to those of North’s, but please adjust yourself.

Besides, it’s not a secret that Mr. Roy Mustang is the Principal’s favorite negotiator when it suits his needs, second only to himself. Do forgive me, Sister, because I can’t tell you what kind of demands Mr. Eugene Grumman insisted three years ago.

Oh, and I have done setting up your new desk according to your requests. I also added a little touch of fine arts to please your eyes. Worry not, my Sister, for my taste is far better than Kimblee’s.

With the spirits that had been passed down in the Armstrong Family for generations,

Alex Louis Armstrong

Coach, Physical Education

East Amestris Senior High School | 75 Sycamore Lane, East City

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To : Kain Fuery

From : Rebecca Catalina

Subject : Is the Principal hiding in your server room again?

I swear to God I was just taking his tea cup back to the pantry and BOOM that old man disappeared like a trickster. He thought it would make me amused? Maybe, when the stars align. But absolutely NOT when we got a lot of works to submit before Tuesday!

Well guess what? Don’t tell him I’m going there. If he decided that the Principal’s Room is too boring that he chose to leave, trust me, his paperworks are more than eager to follow.

Why did I sign up for this shit anyway? Oh, right—Ri will kick me out if she’s the only one paying our room’s rent.

Rebecca Catalina

Staff, Principal’s Secretary

East Amestris Senior High School | 75 Sycamore Lane, East City

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To : Christopher Vinther

From : Solf Z. Kimblee

Subject : This budget-efficiency-thingy is getting ridiculous

I’m a simple man; hence next time that old Grumman give me another warning due to unmet curriculum, I will just blame that on your decision to cut my clay-shopping budget.

Solf Z. Kimblee

Teacher, Visual Art

East Amestris Senior High School | 75 Sycamore Lane, East City

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.

To : All contacts

From : Kain Fuery

Subject : Server Maintenance Notification

All students, teachers, and staffs,

Today we will be performing routine server maintenance and upgrading hardware on the server environment for performance and scalability. The maintenance will be performed on March 9th during a three hour window of 12:00 PM - 3:00 PM. We are expecting approximately two hours of down time during the maintenance. If you have any questions please contact our support team by emailing support@eastamestrisshs.com.

Thank you.

Kain Fuery

Staff, Department of Information and Technology

East Amestris Senior High School | 75 Sycamore Lane, East City

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.

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To : Mechanical geek (+xxxxxxxxx947)

From : Edward Elric (+xxxxxxxx311)

Hey Winry?

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To : Edward (+xxxxxxxx311)

From : Winry Rockbell (+xxxxxxxxx947)

Yes?

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To : Mechanical geek (+xxxxxxxxx947)

From : Edward Elric (+xxxxxxxx311)

Did you have a word with Miss Riza recently?

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To : Edward (+xxxxxxxx311)

From : Winry Rockbell (+xxxxxxxxx947)

What do you mean?

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To : Mechanical geek (+xxxxxxxxx947)

From : Edward Elric (+xxxxxxxx311)

Well… Did she, like, tell you something? Anything?

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To : Edward (+xxxxxxxx311)

From : Winry Rockbell (+xxxxxxxxx947)

Umm.. no, I guess. Why are you asking?

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To : Mechanical geek (+xxxxxxxxx947)

From : Edward Elric (+xxxxxxxx311)

Nothing. Really. Okay—one more thing—not even about me? Or something you don’t know??

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To : Edward (+xxxxxxxx311)

From : Winry Rockbell (+xxxxxxxxx947)

Okay she did explain me some things about cellular metabolisms because I asked her, and technically that was something I didn’t know by that time. Aside from that, nope? Why so sudden??

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To : Mechanical geek (+xxxxxxxxx947)

From : Edward Elric (+xxxxxxxx311)

Great. Well then. Better stop using our phones before Mr. Miles turn around from the whiteboard.

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To : Edward (+xxxxxxxx311)

From : Winry Rockbell (+xxxxxxxxx947)

Weirdo.

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To : Al (+xxxxxxxx744)

From : Edward Elric (+xxxxxxxx311)

Alphonse.

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To : Brother (+xxxxxxxx311)

From : Alphonse Elric (+xxxxxxxx744)

What’s it, brother?

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To : Al the TRAITOR (+xxxxxxxx744)

From : Edward Elric (+xxxxxxxx311)

You traitor.

.

.

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To : Roy boy (+xxxxxxxxx489)

From : Maes Hughes (+xxxxxxxx138)

Ayyyyyy Roy! Guess who just caught the latest news from the water-cooler?

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To : Hughes, Maes (+xxxxxxxx138)

From : Roy Mustang (+xxxxxxxxx489)

Stop texting me everytime the web is down, Maes. I’ve got assignments to grade.

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To : Roy boy (+xxxxxxxxx489)

From : Maes Hughes (+xxxxxxxx138)

C’mon, why so salty? Okay then, my fault. But a heavy nosebleed, Roy? Seriously?

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To : Hughes, Maes (+xxxxxxxx138)

From : Roy Mustang (+xxxxxxxxx489)

SHUT. UP.

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To : Roy boy (+xxxxxxxxx489)

From : Maes Hughes (+xxxxxxxx138)

Oooouch! It’s alright, Roy-boy. Even without that, we all have seen your little crush on her already. Believe me, it’s reciprocal.

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To : Hughes, Maes (+xxxxxxxx138)

From : Roy Mustang (+xxxxxxxxx489)

That’s none of your business.

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To : Roy boy (+xxxxxxxxx489)

From : Maes Hughes (+xxxxxxxx138)

How rude! I’m serious, tho—you two keep getting closer day by day ever since she joined this school. You two are, like, what did Breda say? Oh—like an asymptote. Keep getting closer, never find each others. Seriously, does ‘commitment’ sound that frightening to you? As ‘asking her out’ does?

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To : Hughes, Maes (+xxxxxxxx138)

From : Roy Mustang (+xxxxxxxxx489)

Me? Afraid to ask a woman out? Please. Reality check, I’ve got more experiences than you. Well, she just happened to be my professor’s daughter so I also have to include that into my calculations and believe me, Berthold Hawkeye is not a chill man.

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To : Roy boy (+xxxxxxxxx489)

From : Maes Hughes (+xxxxxxxx138)

I call bullshit. You barely have a business with him nowadays after you got your master degree.

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To : Hughes, Maes (+xxxxxxxx138)

From : Roy Mustang (+xxxxxxxxx489)

Take it or leave it.

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To : Roy boy (+xxxxxxxxx489)

From : Maes Hughes (+xxxxxxxx138)

Well if you think you’re that great at dealing with women, gimme a prove.

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To : Hughes, Maes (+xxxxxxxx138)

From : Roy Mustang (+xxxxxxxxx489)

Aren’t my weekly dates enough?

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To : Roy boy (+xxxxxxxxx489)

From : Maes Hughes (+xxxxxxxx138)

No. Your aunt’s café workers are hardly dates. Show me the real thing—like, land a date with Olivier Armstrong before the end of this month, and I will believe it. I will even make your skill widely acknowledged. Heck, just tell me what you want.

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To : Hughes, Maes (+xxxxxxxx138)

From : Roy Mustang (+xxxxxxxxx489)

Maes, you’re lunatic. You know the not-so-pleasant little story between us. What if I fail? What if I got my neck cracked?

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To : Roy boy (+xxxxxxxxx489)

From : Maes Hughes (+xxxxxxxx138)

Well, if that’s not possible, it can’t be helped—then just ask Rizzie out for a date. Deal?

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To : Hughes, Maes (+xxxxxxxx138)

From : Roy Mustang (+xxxxxxxxx489)

And if I refuse?

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To : Roy boy (+xxxxxxxxx489)

From : Maes Hughes (+xxxxxxxx138)

I will inform Bradley that almost a third of your presence in the daily attendance list are fraudulent. Poor little Fuery could lose his job for manipulating them at your insistent request, right?

.

To : Hughes, Maes (+xxxxxxxx138)

From : Roy Mustang (+xxxxxxxxx489)

…you’re impossible.

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To : Roy boy (+xxxxxxxxx489)

From : Maes Hughes (+xxxxxxxx138)

I’ll take that as a yes, then. Twenty two days from now. A fine date with the Armstrongs’ Lioness. Good luck, Mr. Gentleman.

.

.

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To be continued

(Uploaded this chapter one day erlier since pretty sure I won’t have enough time for it tomorrow—tomorrow we’re gonna feast! Yay!)

…that was rather… blunt? And I don’t even have anything to say aside from thanking you guys for sticking around! I mean 24 followers? Whoa! Thank you, really. I mean it.

This chapter was necessary but I just lack the idea for more humor. Seems that writer’s block and the weekly-update schedule are starting to get their toll on me!

Really, I’m sorry for this chapter and I hope that the incoming chapter(s) could make it up for this! DX

Even so, kindly review?

(P.s Hughes is still the biggest Royai shipper—he only tried a different approach to push his bestie!)

[comparecheapssl]

Best Tools to Monitor SSL Certificate Expiration

Punishments are always meted out to the webmaster. There are minor acts on the web on which he always has to work! That means webmasters lack peacefulness in their lives and hence they should always keep in check whether their websites are working healthily or not.

The punishment is carried out when your SSL certificate expires! It’s the job of the webmaster to keep checking whether the SSL Certificates are working efficiently or not.

Hence the expiration is really a retributive type of punishment. The expiration objective is to deter the working of those certificates after a particular date. This very concept urges the webmaster to keep the certificates under maintenance.

These certificates are commonly known as the X509 Public key Certificates. When the expiration date reaches, they stop sending and receiving data through the Secure Sockets Layer. Visitors are thereby shown a security warning. Hire an expert who has a good idea about these certificates and he will surely warn you when they reach their expiration date.

Well, this solution is not conformity to what your personality stands for. So I know that you are a hard-working lad and her hence planning to jot down the expiration dates of these certificates on a whiteboard.

SSL CERTIFICATES are a temple of monitoring and period check of their expiration dates. You need to acquire more and more knowledge once you adopt it. That’s because you will definitely not want your site to be blocked without your notice. Why also allow bad guys to practice malware attacks on your website?

Its high time now you learn about certificate monitoring.

Follow the chain of rules as per the chain of trust

If you want to avoid immediate retribution, it’s better to comply with the fact that your SSL Certificate should be traceable back to the trusted root. Thus look forward to the trusted root where you signed off. Be happy in linking it to a trusted certificate authority. The main objectives of a chain of trust are

The root certificate- The CA owns it. It has a trust store to keep it in.

The intermediate certificate- These certificates are kept between the root certificate and the server certificate. Hence it’s a good middleman to be trusted. Always ensure that the trust chain has at least one intermediate certificate.

The server certificate- The trust chain has a specific domain. The role of the specific domain is to issue that server certificate.

The SSL CERTIFICATE inhibits a bundle in addition to clouding an intermediate root certificate. Thus when someone curtails his natural urge of arriving at your website, his browser experiments your certificates by downloading it and as per its learning, it dampens the trust chain back to the trusted root. That’s why it is recommended to upgrade your SSL certificate, for if the browser can’t follow the chain, your website’s visitor is warned about a possible security threat.

This leads your certificate’s chain of trust to cause errors. That’s because the error misses out the task of an important configuration. Some of the issues you must be aware of are

An untrusted CA should not issue your certificate.

Your intermediate certificates should be correctly installed.

Your server must configure with the SSL Certificate.

Learn these issues and you are definitely good to go with the certificate monitoring tools.

However, certain CERTIFICATE MONITORING TOOLS lessen down your work of frequently monitoring your SSL Certificates. They are as follows-

1. Oh, Dear-  Oh Dear is committed to just more than a domain certificate. This platform lurkingly performs complete validation of your certificates. It will keep you contended for it checks all your intermediate certificates. Apart from detecting a chain of certificates, a clean reporting company accompanies you and thus has a profound effect on the before and after situation. This service never detests the search for old ShA-1 or revoked or distrusted root certificate. Thus the site is never dropped out of its availability.

2. Sucuri- Sucuri is another platform that offers certificate monitoring services. It will scan your website for all possible malware detection.

On the anti-agent detection, it immediately sends you an alert message so that you can take the necessary steps. For more advanced formula, go for its complete malware detection set, it comes at a nominal fee of $199.9 per year. The wide range of tasks that it provides is

SEO Spam

Blacklist Status

DNS

Uptime monitoring

3. HTTPS COP- Crumb never goes off the desire to help you acquire a certificate expiry alert free service. He has chosen this type of profession because he wants to make the Web more a more secure place. We also hear instances of the publicity of HTTPS Cop because it offers a complete set of tools for checking all types of problems that your website’s SSL Certificate is facing. The steps are easy for getting the free service

Type in your website’s URL

Your Email Address

Do the same thing with as many sites you want

You get notified two weeks before your certificate expires!

4. Rapid Strike-This is another certificate monitoring tool that keeps you notified of all significant news of your SSL Certificates. The tool is preferably the best because it regularly checks the expiry date of your certificate. You get notified about your expiring certificate 30 days before the count. You can choose either way of being notified weekly or regularly. The notifications then stop when you install a new SSL Certificate. Your website is then promoted an additional level of security through its user interface which supports all kinds of domains. The primary plan comes at £40 per month.

5. Keychest- It all results in digital certificates. This service affects your email through its weekly reports which by time turn into dashboard summaries. This is applicable for all your certificates and it externally ones the discovery of new certificates. Its global database is highly confident with renewal automation in third party CAs. In addition to all these features, it also got the Let’s Encrypt management. Its purchasing process involves 4 steps such as CSR generation, Linux Downloader, and automation renewals.

6. Updown- Its totally an inexpensive website and thus comes in a simple format. Set up this service and you can go for worry-free e-commerce for it alerts you in case of invalid certificates. You only pay for what you use are devoid of monthly or yearly fees. You are alerted by the following means

SMS

WEBHOOK

ZEPHYR

TELEGRAM

SLACK

7. CertsMonitor- They fix all the problems in your certificates before they make any negative contribution to your website-INSECURE CONNECTION. Thus it prevents misfit among your visitors. The Service is therefore keeping a tap on your LetsEncruptcron, for which is required, it fixes the problems. It’s quite encouraging at keeping a glance over your domain certificate’s configuration. The cost is also very minimal-$29 for 30 domains.

8. Certificate Expiry Monitor-  Its an open-source utility exposing the expiry date of your SSL Certificate. It goes for Prometheus Metrics also besides the fact it has its own tools. Utility builts on a Docker Image and a Kubernetes Cluster.

9. Let’s MONITOR- Let’s Monitor alerts you for free whenever your certificate is not working. The application sends alert inboxes to a number of contacts or email. Uptime performance is a major factor in performance and data stays totally encrypted. Its globally distributed servers feature assures worldwide access to secure websites.

10. tracks- It checks your SSL Certificates for common errors, just create an account and add all certificates through the web interface. Upto 20 domains, you pay $12.

11. SSL Certification Checker- Its features are as follows

Free

Open-source

Runs from cron

Sends warning either through email or Nagios

The utility can be viewed with several options such as “h”.

DEAR VISITOR, TRY REMOVING THE EXPIRED CERTIFICATES AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE. THE CONSEQUENCES OF A CARELESS BEHAVIOR WILL FETCH YOU A GREAT LOSS.

THANK YOU

[isearchgoood]

Intro to Python - Whiteboard Friday

Posted by BritneyMuller

Python is a programming language that can help you uncover incredible SEO insights and save you time by automating time-consuming tasks. But for those who haven't explored this side of search, it can be intimidating. In this episode of Whiteboard Friday, Britney Muller and a true python expert named Pumpkin offer an intro into a helpful tool that's worth your time to learn.

Click on the whiteboard image above to open a high resolution version in a new tab!

Video Transcription

Hey, Moz fans. Welcome to another edition of Whiteboard Friday. Today we're talking all about introduction to Python, which is why I have a special co-host here. She is a ball python herself, total expert. Her name is Pumpkin, and she's the best. 

What is Python?

So what is Python? This has been in the industry a lot lately. There's a lot of commotion that you should know how to use it or know how to talk about it. Python is an open source, object-oriented programming language that was created in 1991.

Simpler to use than R

Some fun facts about Python is it's often compared to R, but it's arguably more simple to use. The syntax just oftentimes feels more simple and common-sense, like when you're new to programming. 

Big companies use it

Huge companies use it. NASA, Google, tons of companies out there use it because it's widely supported.

It's open source

It is open source. So pretty cool. While we're going through this Whiteboard Friday, I would love it if we would do a little Python programming today. So I'm just going to ask that you also visit this in another tab, python.org/downloads. Download the version for your computer and we'll get back to that. 

Why does Python matter?

So why should you care? 

Automates time-consuming tasks

Python is incredibly powerful because it helps you automate time-consuming tasks. It can do these things at scale so that you can free up your time to work on higher-level thinking, to work on more strategy. It's really, really exciting where these things are going. 

Log file analysis

Some examples of that are things like log file analysis. Imagine if you could just set up an automated system with Python to alert you any time one of your primary pages wasn't being crawled as frequently as it typically is. You can do all sorts of things. Let's say Google crawls your robots.txt and it throws out a server error, which many of you know causes huge problems. It can alert you. You can set up scripts like that to do really comprehensive tasks. 

Internal link analysis

Some other examples, internal link analysis, it can do a really great job of that. 

Discover keyword opportunities

It can help you discover keyword opportunities by looking at bulk keyword data and identifying some really important indicators. 

Image optimization

It's really great for things like image optimization. It can auto tag and alt text images. It can do really powerful things there. 

Scrape websites

It can also scrape the websites that you're working with to do really high volume tasks. 

Google Search Console data analysis

It can also pull Google Search Console data and do analysis on those types of things.

I do have a list of all of the individuals within SEO who are currently doing really, really powerful things with Python. I highly suggest you check out some of Hamlet Batista's recent scripts where he's using Python to do all sorts of really cool SEO tasks. 

How do you run Python?

What does this even look like? So you've hopefully downloaded Python as a programming language on your computer. But now you need to run it somewhere. Where does that live? 

Set up a virtual environment using Terminal

So first you should be setting up a virtual environment. But for the purpose of these examples, I'm just going to ask that you pull up your terminal application.

It looks like this. You could also be running Python within something like Jupyter Notebook or Google Colab. But just pull up your terminal and let's check and make sure that you've downloaded Python properly. 

Check to make sure you've downloaded Python properly

So the first thing that you do is you open up the terminal and just type in "python --version." You should see a readout of the version that you downloaded for your computer. That's awesome. 

Activate Python and perform basic tasks

So now we're just going to activate Python and do some really basic tasks. So just type in "python" and hit Enter. You should hopefully see these three arrow things within your terminal. From here, you can do something like print ("Hello, World!"). So you enter it exactly like you see it here, hit Enter, and it will say "Hello, World!" which is pretty cool.



You can also do fun things like just basic math. You can add two numbers together using something like this. So these are individual lines. After you complete the print (sum), you'll see the readout of the sum of those two numbers. You can randomly generate numbers. I realize these aren't direct SEO applications, but these are the silly things that give you confidence to run programs like what Hamlet talks about.

Have fun — try creating a random number generator

So I highly suggest you just have fun, create a little random number generator, which is really cool. Mine is pulling random numbers from 0 to 100. You can do 0 to 10 or whatever you'd like. A fun fact, after you hit Enter and you see that random number, if you want to continue, using your up arrow will pull up the last command within your terminal.

It even goes back to these other ones. So that's a really quick way to rerun something like a random number generator. You can just crank out a bunch of them if you want for some reason. 

Automating different tasks

This is where you can start to get into really cool scripts as well for pulling URLs using Requests HTML. Then you can pull unique information from web pages.

You can pull at bulk tens of thousands of title tags within a URL list. You can pull things like H1s, canonicals, all sorts of things, and this makes it incredibly easy to do it at scale. One of my favorite ways to pull things from URLs is using xpath within Python.

This is a lot easier than it looks. So this might be an xpath for some websites, but websites are marked up differently. So when you're trying to pull something from a particular site, you can right-click into Chrome Developer Tools. Within Chrome Developer Tools, you can right-click what it is that you're trying to scrape with Python.

You just select "Copy xpath," and it will give you the exact xpath for that website, which is kind of a fun trick if you're getting into some of this stuff. 

Libraries

What are libraries? How do we make this stuff more and more powerful? Python is really strong on its own, but what makes it even stronger are these libraries or packages which are add-ons that do incredible things.

This is just a small percentage of libraries that can do things like data collection, cleaning, visualization, processing, and deployment. One of my favorite ways to get some of the more popular packages is just to download Anaconda, because it comes with all of these commonly used, most popular packages.

So it's kind of a nice way to get all of it in one spot or at least most of them. 

Learn more

So you've kind of dipped your toes and you kind of understand what Python is and what people are using it for. Where can you learn more? How can you start? Well, Codecademy has a really great Python course, as well as Google, Kaggle, and even the Python.org website have some really great resources that you can check out.

This is a list of individuals I really admire in the SEO space, who are doing incredible work with Python and have all inspired me in different ways. So definitely keep an eye on what they are up to:

Hamlet Batista

Ruth Everett

Tom Donahue

Kristin Tynski

Paul Shapiro

Tyler Reardon

JR Oakes

Hulya Coban

@Jessthebp

But yeah, Pumpkin and I have really enjoyed this, and we hope you did too. So thank you so much for joining us for this special edition of Whiteboard Friday. We will see you soon. Bye, guys.

Video transcription by Speechpad.com

Sign up for The Moz Top 10, a semimonthly mailer updating you on the top ten hottest pieces of SEO news, tips, and rad links uncovered by the Moz team. Think of it as your exclusive digest of stuff you don't have time to hunt down but want to read!

via Blogger https://ift.tt/35BzYsR #blogger #bloggingtips #bloggerlife #bloggersgetsocial #ontheblog #writersofinstagram #writingprompt #instapoetry #writerscommunity #writersofig #writersblock #writerlife #writtenword #instawriters #spilledink #wordgasm #creativewriting #poetsofinstagram #blackoutpoetry #poetsofig

[luongthuyvy]

Intro to Python - Whiteboard Friday

Posted by BritneyMuller

Python is a programming language that can help you uncover incredible SEO insights and save you time by automating time-consuming tasks. But for those who haven't explored this side of search, it can be intimidating. In this episode of Whiteboard Friday, Britney Muller and a true python expert named Pumpkin offer an intro into a helpful tool that's worth your time to learn.

Click on the whiteboard image above to open a high resolution version in a new tab!

Video Transcription

Hey, Moz fans. Welcome to another edition of Whiteboard Friday. Today we're talking all about introduction to Python, which is why I have a special co-host here. She is a ball python herself, total expert. Her name is Pumpkin, and she's the best. 

What is Python?

So what is Python? This has been in the industry a lot lately. There's a lot of commotion that you should know how to use it or know how to talk about it. Python is an open source, object-oriented programming language that was created in 1991.

Simpler to use than R

Some fun facts about Python is it's often compared to R, but it's arguably more simple to use. The syntax just oftentimes feels more simple and common-sense, like when you're new to programming. 

Big companies use it

Huge companies use it. NASA, Google, tons of companies out there use it because it's widely supported.

It's open source

It is open source. So pretty cool. While we're going through this Whiteboard Friday, I would love it if we would do a little Python programming today. So I'm just going to ask that you also visit this in another tab, python.org/downloads. Download the version for your computer and we'll get back to that. 

Why does Python matter?

So why should you care? 

Automates time-consuming tasks

Python is incredibly powerful because it helps you automate time-consuming tasks. It can do these things at scale so that you can free up your time to work on higher-level thinking, to work on more strategy. It's really, really exciting where these things are going. 

Log file analysis

Some examples of that are things like log file analysis. Imagine if you could just set up an automated system with Python to alert you any time one of your primary pages wasn't being crawled as frequently as it typically is. You can do all sorts of things. Let's say Google crawls your robots.txt and it throws out a server error, which many of you know causes huge problems. It can alert you. You can set up scripts like that to do really comprehensive tasks. 

Internal link analysis

Some other examples, internal link analysis, it can do a really great job of that. 

Discover keyword opportunities

It can help you discover keyword opportunities by looking at bulk keyword data and identifying some really important indicators. 

Image optimization

It's really great for things like image optimization. It can auto tag and alt text images. It can do really powerful things there. 

Scrape websites

It can also scrape the websites that you're working with to do really high volume tasks. 

Google Search Console data analysis

It can also pull Google Search Console data and do analysis on those types of things.

I do have a list of all of the individuals within SEO who are currently doing really, really powerful things with Python. I highly suggest you check out some of Hamlet Batista's recent scripts where he's using Python to do all sorts of really cool SEO tasks. 

How do you run Python?

What does this even look like? So you've hopefully downloaded Python as a programming language on your computer. But now you need to run it somewhere. Where does that live? 

Set up a virtual environment using Terminal

So first you should be setting up a virtual environment. But for the purpose of these examples, I'm just going to ask that you pull up your terminal application.

It looks like this. You could also be running Python within something like Jupyter Notebook or Google Colab. But just pull up your terminal and let's check and make sure that you've downloaded Python properly. 

Check to make sure you've downloaded Python properly

So the first thing that you do is you open up the terminal and just type in "python --version." You should see a readout of the version that you downloaded for your computer. That's awesome. 

Activate Python and perform basic tasks

So now we're just going to activate Python and do some really basic tasks. So just type in "python" and hit Enter. You should hopefully see these three arrow things within your terminal. From here, you can do something like print ("Hello, World!"). So you enter it exactly like you see it here, hit Enter, and it will say "Hello, World!" which is pretty cool.



You can also do fun things like just basic math. You can add two numbers together using something like this. So these are individual lines. After you complete the print (sum), you'll see the readout of the sum of those two numbers. You can randomly generate numbers. I realize these aren't direct SEO applications, but these are the silly things that give you confidence to run programs like what Hamlet talks about.

Have fun — try creating a random number generator

So I highly suggest you just have fun, create a little random number generator, which is really cool. Mine is pulling random numbers from 0 to 100. You can do 0 to 10 or whatever you'd like. A fun fact, after you hit Enter and you see that random number, if you want to continue, using your up arrow will pull up the last command within your terminal.

It even goes back to these other ones. So that's a really quick way to rerun something like a random number generator. You can just crank out a bunch of them if you want for some reason. 

Automating different tasks

This is where you can start to get into really cool scripts as well for pulling URLs using Requests HTML. Then you can pull unique information from web pages.

You can pull at bulk tens of thousands of title tags within a URL list. You can pull things like H1s, canonicals, all sorts of things, and this makes it incredibly easy to do it at scale. One of my favorite ways to pull things from URLs is using xpath within Python.

This is a lot easier than it looks. So this might be an xpath for some websites, but websites are marked up differently. So when you're trying to pull something from a particular site, you can right-click into Chrome Developer Tools. Within Chrome Developer Tools, you can right-click what it is that you're trying to scrape with Python.

You just select "Copy xpath," and it will give you the exact xpath for that website, which is kind of a fun trick if you're getting into some of this stuff. 

Libraries

What are libraries? How do we make this stuff more and more powerful? Python is really strong on its own, but what makes it even stronger are these libraries or packages which are add-ons that do incredible things.

This is just a small percentage of libraries that can do things like data collection, cleaning, visualization, processing, and deployment. One of my favorite ways to get some of the more popular packages is just to download Anaconda, because it comes with all of these commonly used, most popular packages.

So it's kind of a nice way to get all of it in one spot or at least most of them. 

Learn more

So you've kind of dipped your toes and you kind of understand what Python is and what people are using it for. Where can you learn more? How can you start? Well, Codecademy has a really great Python course, as well as Google, Kaggle, and even the Python.org website have some really great resources that you can check out.

This is a list of individuals I really admire in the SEO space, who are doing incredible work with Python and have all inspired me in different ways. So definitely keep an eye on what they are up to:

Hamlet Batista

Ruth Everett

Tom Donahue

Kristin Tynski

Paul Shapiro

Tyler Reardon

JR Oakes

Hulya Coban

@Jessthebp

But yeah, Pumpkin and I have really enjoyed this, and we hope you did too. So thank you so much for joining us for this special edition of Whiteboard Friday. We will see you soon. Bye, guys.

Video transcription by Speechpad.com

Sign up for The Moz Top 10, a semimonthly mailer updating you on the top ten hottest pieces of SEO news, tips, and rad links uncovered by the Moz team. Think of it as your exclusive digest of stuff you don't have time to hunt down but want to read!

Intro to Python - Whiteboard Friday Theo dõi các thông tin khác tại: https://foogleseo.blogspot.com Intro to Python - Whiteboard Friday posted first on https://foogleseo.blogspot.com/ #FoogleSEO #luongthuyvy Nguồn: http://bit.ly/2QFTvnK #luongthuyvy

[whitelabelseoreseller]

Intro to Python - Whiteboard Friday

Posted by BritneyMuller

Python is a programming language that can help you uncover incredible SEO insights and save you time by automating time-consuming tasks. But for those who haven't explored this side of search, it can be intimidating. In this episode of Whiteboard Friday, Britney Muller and a true python expert named Pumpkin offer an intro into a helpful tool that's worth your time to learn.

Click on the whiteboard image above to open a high resolution version in a new tab!

Video Transcription

Hey, Moz fans. Welcome to another edition of Whiteboard Friday. Today we're talking all about introduction to Python, which is why I have a special co-host here. She is a ball python herself, total expert. Her name is Pumpkin, and she's the best. 

What is Python?

So what is Python? This has been in the industry a lot lately. There's a lot of commotion that you should know how to use it or know how to talk about it. Python is an open source, object-oriented programming language that was created in 1991.

Simpler to use than R

Some fun facts about Python is it's often compared to R, but it's arguably more simple to use. The syntax just oftentimes feels more simple and common-sense, like when you're new to programming. 

Big companies use it

Huge companies use it. NASA, Google, tons of companies out there use it because it's widely supported.

It's open source

It is open source. So pretty cool. While we're going through this Whiteboard Friday, I would love it if we would do a little Python programming today. So I'm just going to ask that you also visit this in another tab, python.org/downloads. Download the version for your computer and we'll get back to that. 

Why does Python matter?

So why should you care? 

Automates time-consuming tasks

Python is incredibly powerful because it helps you automate time-consuming tasks. It can do these things at scale so that you can free up your time to work on higher-level thinking, to work on more strategy. It's really, really exciting where these things are going. 

Log file analysis

Some examples of that are things like log file analysis. Imagine if you could just set up an automated system with Python to alert you any time one of your primary pages wasn't being crawled as frequently as it typically is. You can do all sorts of things. Let's say Google crawls your robots.txt and it throws out a server error, which many of you know causes huge problems. It can alert you. You can set up scripts like that to do really comprehensive tasks. 

Internal link analysis

Some other examples, internal link analysis, it can do a really great job of that. 

Discover keyword opportunities

It can help you discover keyword opportunities by looking at bulk keyword data and identifying some really important indicators. 

Image optimization

It's really great for things like image optimization. It can auto tag and alt text images. It can do really powerful things there. 

Scrape websites

It can also scrape the websites that you're working with to do really high volume tasks. 

Google Search Console data analysis

It can also pull Google Search Console data and do analysis on those types of things.

I do have a list of all of the individuals within SEO who are currently doing really, really powerful things with Python. I highly suggest you check out some of Hamlet Batista's recent scripts where he's using Python to do all sorts of really cool SEO tasks. 

How do you run Python?

What does this even look like? So you've hopefully downloaded Python as a programming language on your computer. But now you need to run it somewhere. Where does that live? 

Set up a virtual environment using Terminal

So first you should be setting up a virtual environment. But for the purpose of these examples, I'm just going to ask that you pull up your terminal application.

It looks like this. You could also be running Python within something like Jupyter Notebook or Google Colab. But just pull up your terminal and let's check and make sure that you've downloaded Python properly. 

Check to make sure you've downloaded Python properly

So the first thing that you do is you open up the terminal and just type in "python --version." You should see a readout of the version that you downloaded for your computer. That's awesome. 

Activate Python and perform basic tasks

So now we're just going to activate Python and do some really basic tasks. So just type in "python" and hit Enter. You should hopefully see these three arrow things within your terminal. From here, you can do something like print ("Hello, World!"). So you enter it exactly like you see it here, hit Enter, and it will say "Hello, World!" which is pretty cool.



You can also do fun things like just basic math. You can add two numbers together using something like this. So these are individual lines. After you complete the print (sum), you'll see the readout of the sum of those two numbers. You can randomly generate numbers. I realize these aren't direct SEO applications, but these are the silly things that give you confidence to run programs like what Hamlet talks about.

Have fun — try creating a random number generator

So I highly suggest you just have fun, create a little random number generator, which is really cool. Mine is pulling random numbers from 0 to 100. You can do 0 to 10 or whatever you'd like. A fun fact, after you hit Enter and you see that random number, if you want to continue, using your up arrow will pull up the last command within your terminal.

It even goes back to these other ones. So that's a really quick way to rerun something like a random number generator. You can just crank out a bunch of them if you want for some reason. 

Automating different tasks

This is where you can start to get into really cool scripts as well for pulling URLs using Requests HTML. Then you can pull unique information from web pages.

You can pull at bulk tens of thousands of title tags within a URL list. You can pull things like H1s, canonicals, all sorts of things, and this makes it incredibly easy to do it at scale. One of my favorite ways to pull things from URLs is using xpath within Python.

This is a lot easier than it looks. So this might be an xpath for some websites, but websites are marked up differently. So when you're trying to pull something from a particular site, you can right-click into Chrome Developer Tools. Within Chrome Developer Tools, you can right-click what it is that you're trying to scrape with Python.

You just select "Copy xpath," and it will give you the exact xpath for that website, which is kind of a fun trick if you're getting into some of this stuff. 

Libraries

What are libraries? How do we make this stuff more and more powerful? Python is really strong on its own, but what makes it even stronger are these libraries or packages which are add-ons that do incredible things.

This is just a small percentage of libraries that can do things like data collection, cleaning, visualization, processing, and deployment. One of my favorite ways to get some of the more popular packages is just to download Anaconda, because it comes with all of these commonly used, most popular packages.

So it's kind of a nice way to get all of it in one spot or at least most of them. 

Learn more

So you've kind of dipped your toes and you kind of understand what Python is and what people are using it for. Where can you learn more? How can you start? Well, Codecademy has a really great Python course, as well as Google, Kaggle, and even the Python.org website have some really great resources that you can check out.

This is a list of individuals I really admire in the SEO space, who are doing incredible work with Python and have all inspired me in different ways. So definitely keep an eye on what they are up to:

Hamlet Batista

Ruth Everett

Tom Donahue

Kristin Tynski

Paul Shapiro

Tyler Reardon

JR Oakes

Hulya Coban

@Jessthebp

But yeah, Pumpkin and I have really enjoyed this, and we hope you did too. So thank you so much for joining us for this special edition of Whiteboard Friday. We will see you soon. Bye, guys.

Video transcription by Speechpad.com

Sign up for The Moz Top 10, a semimonthly mailer updating you on the top ten hottest pieces of SEO news, tips, and rad links uncovered by the Moz team. Think of it as your exclusive digest of stuff you don't have time to hunt down but want to read!

from The Moz Blog http://tracking.feedpress.it/link/9375/13142491

[theinjectlikes2]

Intro to Python - Whiteboard Friday

Posted by BritneyMuller

Python is a programming language that can help you uncover incredible SEO insights and save you time by automating time-consuming tasks. But for those who haven't explored this side of search, it can be intimidating. In this episode of Whiteboard Friday, Britney Muller and a true python expert named Pumpkin offer an intro into a helpful tool that's worth your time to learn.

Click on the whiteboard image above to open a high resolution version in a new tab!

Video Transcription

Hey, Moz fans. Welcome to another edition of Whiteboard Friday. Today we're talking all about introduction to Python, which is why I have a special co-host here. She is a ball python herself, total expert. Her name is Pumpkin, and she's the best. 

What is Python?

So what is Python? This has been in the industry a lot lately. There's a lot of commotion that you should know how to use it or know how to talk about it. Python is an open source, object-oriented programming language that was created in 1991.

Simpler to use than R

Some fun facts about Python is it's often compared to R, but it's arguably more simple to use. The syntax just oftentimes feels more simple and common-sense, like when you're new to programming. 

Big companies use it

Huge companies use it. NASA, Google, tons of companies out there use it because it's widely supported.

It's open source

It is open source. So pretty cool. While we're going through this Whiteboard Friday, I would love it if we would do a little Python programming today. So I'm just going to ask that you also visit this in another tab, python.org/downloads. Download the version for your computer and we'll get back to that. 

Why does Python matter?

So why should you care? 

Automates time-consuming tasks

Python is incredibly powerful because it helps you automate time-consuming tasks. It can do these things at scale so that you can free up your time to work on higher-level thinking, to work on more strategy. It's really, really exciting where these things are going. 

Log file analysis

Some examples of that are things like log file analysis. Imagine if you could just set up an automated system with Python to alert you any time one of your primary pages wasn't being crawled as frequently as it typically is. You can do all sorts of things. Let's say Google crawls your robots.txt and it throws out a server error, which many of you know causes huge problems. It can alert you. You can set up scripts like that to do really comprehensive tasks. 

Internal link analysis

Some other examples, internal link analysis, it can do a really great job of that. 

Discover keyword opportunities

It can help you discover keyword opportunities by looking at bulk keyword data and identifying some really important indicators. 

Image optimization

It's really great for things like image optimization. It can auto tag and alt text images. It can do really powerful things there. 

Scrape websites

It can also scrape the websites that you're working with to do really high volume tasks. 

Google Search Console data analysis

It can also pull Google Search Console data and do analysis on those types of things.

I do have a list of all of the individuals within SEO who are currently doing really, really powerful things with Python. I highly suggest you check out some of Hamlet Batista's recent scripts where he's using Python to do all sorts of really cool SEO tasks. 

How do you run Python?

What does this even look like? So you've hopefully downloaded Python as a programming language on your computer. But now you need to run it somewhere. Where does that live? 

Set up a virtual environment using Terminal

So first you should be setting up a virtual environment. But for the purpose of these examples, I'm just going to ask that you pull up your terminal application.

It looks like this. You could also be running Python within something like Jupyter Notebook or Google Colab. But just pull up your terminal and let's check and make sure that you've downloaded Python properly. 

Check to make sure you've downloaded Python properly

So the first thing that you do is you open up the terminal and just type in "python --version." You should see a readout of the version that you downloaded for your computer. That's awesome. 

Activate Python and perform basic tasks

So now we're just going to activate Python and do some really basic tasks. So just type in "python" and hit Enter. You should hopefully see these three arrow things within your terminal. From here, you can do something like print ("Hello, World!"). So you enter it exactly like you see it here, hit Enter, and it will say "Hello, World!" which is pretty cool.



You can also do fun things like just basic math. You can add two numbers together using something like this. So these are individual lines. After you complete the print (sum), you'll see the readout of the sum of those two numbers. You can randomly generate numbers. I realize these aren't direct SEO applications, but these are the silly things that give you confidence to run programs like what Hamlet talks about.

Have fun — try creating a random number generator

So I highly suggest you just have fun, create a little random number generator, which is really cool. Mine is pulling random numbers from 0 to 100. You can do 0 to 10 or whatever you'd like. A fun fact, after you hit Enter and you see that random number, if you want to continue, using your up arrow will pull up the last command within your terminal.

It even goes back to these other ones. So that's a really quick way to rerun something like a random number generator. You can just crank out a bunch of them if you want for some reason. 

Automating different tasks

This is where you can start to get into really cool scripts as well for pulling URLs using Requests HTML. Then you can pull unique information from web pages.

You can pull at bulk tens of thousands of title tags within a URL list. You can pull things like H1s, canonicals, all sorts of things, and this makes it incredibly easy to do it at scale. One of my favorite ways to pull things from URLs is using xpath within Python.

This is a lot easier than it looks. So this might be an xpath for some websites, but websites are marked up differently. So when you're trying to pull something from a particular site, you can right-click into Chrome Developer Tools. Within Chrome Developer Tools, you can right-click what it is that you're trying to scrape with Python.

You just select "Copy xpath," and it will give you the exact xpath for that website, which is kind of a fun trick if you're getting into some of this stuff. 

Libraries

What are libraries? How do we make this stuff more and more powerful? Python is really strong on its own, but what makes it even stronger are these libraries or packages which are add-ons that do incredible things.

This is just a small percentage of libraries that can do things like data collection, cleaning, visualization, processing, and deployment. One of my favorite ways to get some of the more popular packages is just to download Anaconda, because it comes with all of these commonly used, most popular packages.

So it's kind of a nice way to get all of it in one spot or at least most of them. 

Learn more

So you've kind of dipped your toes and you kind of understand what Python is and what people are using it for. Where can you learn more? How can you start? Well, Codecademy has a really great Python course, as well as Google, Kaggle, and even the Python.org website have some really great resources that you can check out.

This is a list of individuals I really admire in the SEO space, who are doing incredible work with Python and have all inspired me in different ways. So definitely keep an eye on what they are up to:

Hamlet Batista

Ruth Everett

Tom Donahue

Kristin Tynski

Paul Shapiro

Tyler Reardon

JR Oakes

Hulya Coban

@Jessthebp

But yeah, Pumpkin and I have really enjoyed this, and we hope you did too. So thank you so much for joining us for this special edition of Whiteboard Friday. We will see you soon. Bye, guys.

Video transcription by Speechpad.com

Sign up for The Moz Top 10, a semimonthly mailer updating you on the top ten hottest pieces of SEO news, tips, and rad links uncovered by the Moz team. Think of it as your exclusive digest of stuff you don't have time to hunt down but want to read!

from The Moz Blog https://ift.tt/2QG9oun via IFTTT

[chauhuongtran]

Intro to Python - Whiteboard Friday

Posted by BritneyMuller

Python is a programming language that can help you uncover incredible SEO insights and save you time by automating time-consuming tasks. But for those who haven't explored this side of search, it can be intimidating. In this episode of Whiteboard Friday, Britney Muller and a true python expert named Pumpkin offer an intro into a helpful tool that's worth your time to learn.

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Video Transcription

Hey, Moz fans. Welcome to another edition of Whiteboard Friday. Today we're talking all about introduction to Python, which is why I have a special co-host here. She is a ball python herself, total expert. Her name is Pumpkin, and she's the best. 

What is Python?

So what is Python? This has been in the industry a lot lately. There's a lot of commotion that you should know how to use it or know how to talk about it. Python is an open source, object-oriented programming language that was created in 1991.

Simpler to use than R

Some fun facts about Python is it's often compared to R, but it's arguably more simple to use. The syntax just oftentimes feels more simple and common-sense, like when you're new to programming. 

Big companies use it

Huge companies use it. NASA, Google, tons of companies out there use it because it's widely supported.

It's open source

It is open source. So pretty cool. While we're going through this Whiteboard Friday, I would love it if we would do a little Python programming today. So I'm just going to ask that you also visit this in another tab, python.org/downloads. Download the version for your computer and we'll get back to that. 

Why does Python matter?

So why should you care? 

Automates time-consuming tasks

Python is incredibly powerful because it helps you automate time-consuming tasks. It can do these things at scale so that you can free up your time to work on higher-level thinking, to work on more strategy. It's really, really exciting where these things are going. 

Log file analysis

Some examples of that are things like log file analysis. Imagine if you could just set up an automated system with Python to alert you any time one of your primary pages wasn't being crawled as frequently as it typically is. You can do all sorts of things. Let's say Google crawls your robots.txt and it throws out a server error, which many of you know causes huge problems. It can alert you. You can set up scripts like that to do really comprehensive tasks. 

Internal link analysis

Some other examples, internal link analysis, it can do a really great job of that. 

Discover keyword opportunities

It can help you discover keyword opportunities by looking at bulk keyword data and identifying some really important indicators. 

Image optimization

It's really great for things like image optimization. It can auto tag and alt text images. It can do really powerful things there. 

Scrape websites

It can also scrape the websites that you're working with to do really high volume tasks. 

Google Search Console data analysis

It can also pull Google Search Console data and do analysis on those types of things.

I do have a list of all of the individuals within SEO who are currently doing really, really powerful things with Python. I highly suggest you check out some of Hamlet Batista's recent scripts where he's using Python to do all sorts of really cool SEO tasks. 

How do you run Python?

What does this even look like? So you've hopefully downloaded Python as a programming language on your computer. But now you need to run it somewhere. Where does that live? 

Set up a virtual environment using Terminal

So first you should be setting up a virtual environment. But for the purpose of these examples, I'm just going to ask that you pull up your terminal application.

It looks like this. You could also be running Python within something like Jupyter Notebook or Google Colab. But just pull up your terminal and let's check and make sure that you've downloaded Python properly. 

Check to make sure you've downloaded Python properly

So the first thing that you do is you open up the terminal and just type in "python --version." You should see a readout of the version that you downloaded for your computer. That's awesome. 

Activate Python and perform basic tasks

So now we're just going to activate Python and do some really basic tasks. So just type in "python" and hit Enter. You should hopefully see these three arrow things within your terminal. From here, you can do something like print ("Hello, World!"). So you enter it exactly like you see it here, hit Enter, and it will say "Hello, World!" which is pretty cool.



You can also do fun things like just basic math. You can add two numbers together using something like this. So these are individual lines. After you complete the print (sum), you'll see the readout of the sum of those two numbers. You can randomly generate numbers. I realize these aren't direct SEO applications, but these are the silly things that give you confidence to run programs like what Hamlet talks about.

Have fun — try creating a random number generator

So I highly suggest you just have fun, create a little random number generator, which is really cool. Mine is pulling random numbers from 0 to 100. You can do 0 to 10 or whatever you'd like. A fun fact, after you hit Enter and you see that random number, if you want to continue, using your up arrow will pull up the last command within your terminal.

It even goes back to these other ones. So that's a really quick way to rerun something like a random number generator. You can just crank out a bunch of them if you want for some reason. 

Automating different tasks

This is where you can start to get into really cool scripts as well for pulling URLs using Requests HTML. Then you can pull unique information from web pages.

You can pull at bulk tens of thousands of title tags within a URL list. You can pull things like H1s, canonicals, all sorts of things, and this makes it incredibly easy to do it at scale. One of my favorite ways to pull things from URLs is using xpath within Python.

This is a lot easier than it looks. So this might be an xpath for some websites, but websites are marked up differently. So when you're trying to pull something from a particular site, you can right-click into Chrome Developer Tools. Within Chrome Developer Tools, you can right-click what it is that you're trying to scrape with Python.

You just select "Copy xpath," and it will give you the exact xpath for that website, which is kind of a fun trick if you're getting into some of this stuff. 

Libraries

What are libraries? How do we make this stuff more and more powerful? Python is really strong on its own, but what makes it even stronger are these libraries or packages which are add-ons that do incredible things.

This is just a small percentage of libraries that can do things like data collection, cleaning, visualization, processing, and deployment. One of my favorite ways to get some of the more popular packages is just to download Anaconda, because it comes with all of these commonly used, most popular packages.

So it's kind of a nice way to get all of it in one spot or at least most of them. 

Learn more

So you've kind of dipped your toes and you kind of understand what Python is and what people are using it for. Where can you learn more? How can you start? Well, Codecademy has a really great Python course, as well as Google, Kaggle, and even the Python.org website have some really great resources that you can check out.

This is a list of individuals I really admire in the SEO space, who are doing incredible work with Python and have all inspired me in different ways. So definitely keep an eye on what they are up to:

Hamlet Batista

Ruth Everett

Tom Donahue

Kristin Tynski

Paul Shapiro

Tyler Reardon

JR Oakes

Hulya Coban

@Jessthebp

But yeah, Pumpkin and I have really enjoyed this, and we hope you did too. So thank you so much for joining us for this special edition of Whiteboard Friday. We will see you soon. Bye, guys.

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Intro to Python - Whiteboard Friday Theo dõi các thông tin khác tại: https://foogleseo.blogspot.com Intro to Python - Whiteboard Friday posted first on foogleseo.blogspot.com from https://chauhuongtran.blogspot.com/2020/01/intro-to-python-whiteboard-friday.html