#i actually screamed at the screen several times while watching this

[hotasfahrenheit]

What are you doing?

I'm resting at home, alone.

No. I hate that.

[NCT 127 - Home Together]

[Home Together gifsets 1 | 2]

[sweetbans29]

Support - CC

Pairing: Caitlin Clark x Reader

Summary: You are an advocate for Caitlin's W transition (based on THIS request)

Warnings: fluff

Word Count: 5.1k

Sweetban Masterlist

AN: The request was very specific and I am going to be honest, I did not follow it to a T but I hope you enjoy!

"Hey CC, you better hurry up the game is starting," Jada yells from the couch. Caitlin taps the microwave in hopes that will speed up the popcorn. It doesn't.

Cait hurridly puts the chocolate chip cookies on a plate, cursing as she keeps burning her hand on the cookie sheet that she just pulled from the oven. She places the last cookie on the plate, grabs the popcorn bag, and scurries to the living room with the other girls.

The team had just finished a summer training session and booked it back to Caitlin's place to watch the game. It was one they all had been talking about for weeks.

"You know one of you could have helped me," Caitlin says passing the popcorn to Jada and placing the plate of cookies on the table. A swarm of hands comes to grab them, leaving 2 on the plate.

"You didn't ask," Jada says like it was a fact, and Caitlin rolls her eyes.

"Sorry, we'll help next time," Kate says as she finishes her cookie.

"Yeah, whatever," Caitlin says as the game tips off.

"CC, my popcorn is burnt," Jada whines as she tries to pick through the burnt pieces.

Caitlin doesn't respond, her eyes glued to the screen as you make your first appearance in 11 months.

You were the first pick in the 2021 draft, there was no question about it. You had led your team to two championships, back to back. There wasn't much left you felt you needed to do at a college level and declared for the draft. The NY Liberty getting first overall pick made the decision a no-brainer.

When you were drafted, you were in the best physical shape of your life. Tired, yes, but more ready than you have ever been for the jump to the W. Getting to NY and starting in training camp confirmed even more that this was the right decision for you. When games started, you realized that the transition was way more than you had expected. The physicality yes, but the mental transition was even harder. You went from a near-perfect season your senior year to losing what felt like every other game.

You were only 7 games into the season when the worst happened. It was during an away game in Minnesota when you went down and you went down hard. The pop in your left knee was something you were trying hard to ignore but the scream you let out was anything but ignorable. When it happened the whole arena went silent as you made your way off the court - only accepting help when you got to the tunnel. After a few scans, you learned you had torn your ACL, officially taking you out of your rookie season.

Caitlin remembers watching the game when it happened. If Cait were honest, she had been watching your game since you entered college. She watched your freshman year as your game immediately translated into a college setting. She watched as they built a team around you your sophomore year, already anticipating playing you when she becomes a Hawkeye. Then your senior year, her freshman year, when your team knocked out hers in the Sweet Sixteen.

It was in Caitlin's freshman year when you had been posted up against her - playing elite defense and causing Cait to have the single worst game in her college career thus far. She went back and reviewed the tape multiple times to see what had caused her to become so shaken. As she watches it, she realizes several things.

First off, you put your head down and do the work. She rarely sees you arguing with the refs when a call doesn't go your way. She actually finds it comical how your teammates go up questioning the ref or trying to explain how what her team did was a foul and you just jogged to the other end of the court.

Second, she noticed how calm you were while playing. You handled the ball like you were playing a pick-up game with some friends. It was mesmerizing to Caitlin. So often she felt like she played all over the place, and if she were to watch herself it was obvious, but when she watched you - you never once seemed jarred.

Third, your vision is similar to hers. She can only assume you see what she sees. Your vision on the court and IQ for the game is one that she hopes to continue working at. As Cait watches you scout out the floor, you don't always go with what she would expect or do herself. It was almost like a game of chess to you. If you saw the defense react a certain way, you would adjust and get them thinking you were going one way when really you would get everyone to shift, waiting until the last second to show your hand. That is what got under Caitlin's skin during the game. It was almost as if you were baiting her and were playing a head game with her. It was most obvious when you were on defense and were able to pick apart her offensive strategy. It was almost like you knew what Caitlin was going to do before she knew it.

The last thing she noticed had nothing to do with the game, and she almost missed it the first four times she watched the tape, but it was the way she caught herself looking at you. Caitlin throughout the whole game was stealing glances of you. She thinks back to the game and feels herself start to blush. She remembers how your cheeks would tint red and how you stood there with your hands on your hips when something was taking too long. She remembers how your team would gravitate to you because she also wanted to. She remembers how after playing a whole game, when you were giving high-fives, you looked over and smiled at her - your eyes looking directly into hers until she finally broke the contact. She realized that not only was she swayed by your game but she took a particularly deep liking to you.

As Caitlin sits with her team watching your first game back, yes she is watching you because it is your comeback game but also because since she has realized she has taken a particular liking to you, she wants to watch you nonstop.

You take the court and isn't the game you want as your first one back but you are back. You are still figuring out how to move on the court with the adjustment of a weaker knee but know that will come with time. To anyone watching, you looking good as new but you know your game is different - so does Caitlin.

You end the game going 12/4/8 with 2 steals and a block. You aren't super happy but you know you are your biggest critic. You also have to remember this is the first game of the season. After the game, you check your phone to see messages from a handful of people congratulating you, responding to them all with some sort of reaction you open Instagram and scroll. Any time you see anything about you, you scroll right past it.

You stop on a post about the winner of the Dawn Staley Award winner. You see it went, for the second time, to Caitlin Clark - a guard out of Iowa. You wrack your brain and remember playing her in college, she is a solid player. It is tough that she has won the award back to back her freshman and sophomore years. You post the achievement to your story with the caption '1-of-1'. You then click on her profile and give her a follow before locking your phone and heading to the post-presser.

Caitlin gets a notification and immediately stands up. When the game ended, the girls didn't move and kept snacking on whatever was in front of them. Cait is the first one to move.

"Woah, are you okay there?" Kate asks grabbing Caitlin's calf. Kate's sitting right next to Caitlin and lost balance when the girl decided to stand up without any sort of notice.

Caitlin didn't know what to say as she just stared at the notification of you following her. She shows Kate.

"Holy shit, there is no way," Kate says looking at her phone. "That is sick."

The other girls are asking what happened and Kate tells them that you followed Caitlin. Cait sits back down and taps on your story only to see a photo of her. She sits there with a stupid smile on her face. You know who she is. You know who Caitlin is. You posted about her winning an award right after you just took the first dub of the season.

Caitlin tries not to let it get to get head considering you are a pro and she still had two (possibly three) more years in college but that is hard to do when the player she is crushing on now knows who she is.

Time flies when you are having fun. At least that is what Caitlin tells herself as she has just played in her last college game. What a time it has been for her. She brought her team to the championship game twice but fell short both times, never being named with a title. She is now headed to the WNBA draft and will likely go first, making her way to Indiana.

The transition is fast and before she knows it, she is moving in to an apartment in Indianapolis and preparing for training camp. When games begin, she feels like she hasn't received a break in what feels like a year. In reality, it has only been six months but the amount of play she has had both in her senior year and entering the W is overwhelming.

The thing is - Caitlin would never outright say she is overwhelmed, rather just swallow it and keep going. She may not say anything but her body language and eyes tell the story.

You on the other hand have started the season out on fire. Your mindset for this year was redemption. Over the last two years, your game wasn't where you had wanted it to be coming out of college and coming back from a major injury but where you are now is a much better place than you were before. The year you came back from injury, your game was anything but great. You had the worst season you had ever had playing, including the very first year you started with the sport. It was downright embarrassing but that is what drove you to be where you are now. It may have taken longer than anyone had expected but you have arrived.

It is a few games in when you are asked about the rookie guard.

"What are your thoughts on Caitlin Clark? She has been struggling in her transition and many people have been comparing it to your start in the W," one reporter asks. You smile and let out a little chuckle.

"You all love to pick apart a player when they're down, don't you," you begin and your media manager is in the back corner giving you a death stare. When it comes to the media, you have never had a problem calling them out. Unlike you on the court where you just put your head down and play, when it comes to how the media depicts players - well that is something you don't stand for.

"You need to give the girl some space to breathe. I feel like every time I open Twitter it is a huge rookie feast and it's not cool. It is like the world has forgotten they just got done playing their asses off in March and now you expect them to come into a league, freshly adapted to a different game," you say and continue before anyone can cut you off. "It was just a few days ago when I saw something circulating about how these rookies are facing a rude awakening and I laughed. I laugh because people are not looking at the whole picture. Looking at her box score is not a fair assessment of her game. I've been able to catch a few of the Fever games and yes, they have room to grow but all of our teams do. Do you all see the way she is running the floor? Have you looked into how many times she touches the ball? Like, come on, her vision of the game is the same as it was in college - she is now, alongside a team, are both learning how to adapt to play with her. You all may not say she is coming in and dominating but just watch - she will have you all stunned by the Olympic break - use that a headline."

You glance back at your media manager and they have they are rubbing their eyes as their head shakes back and forth. You personally don't think you have said anything out of line but you know you'll get an earful for something. And you do but not as badly as you thought you would.

On the other side of things, Caitlin gets out of a game where she went 8/5/9. She got in her head and stayed there. She gets out of her own post-presser to see a link from Jada.

When Caitlin opens it, she sees you with the headline '[Clark] will have everyone stunned by Olympic break'. Caitlin quickly opens the link and watches you talk. A smile can't help but make its way to her face as you call the media out and speak praises about her.

'Just wait until you see this game, if you see this game', Caitlin thinks as she flinches again at the thought of her efficiency this last game. The link is followed by Jada being Jada.

[Jadaaa: Your girl's got your back, think you can work up the nerve to talk to her when you face off in a few weeks?]

Caitlin knows the younger girl is joking but the feeling that swells in the pit of her stomach thinking about talking to you has her feeling sick.

As much as Caitlin doesn't want to think about you, she does. She can't help it. The last time she faced up against you, you handed her the single worst game she has ever played and in her mind, she wants to show you what she's got.

Little to her knowledge, you were also looking forward to your match-up against the rookie. It has been years since you played against her and look forward to seeing how she has grown. Also, to see how you two match up in the W.

The game finally comes, too slowly in Caitlin's eyes but finally here.

You are the first one on the court. It's not unusual for anyone who knows you but when Caitlin walks out, she stops dead in her tracks. She should have known you would be on the court already but she was so used to being the first one out that it never occurred to her that there would be someone else out there with her.

Caitlin makes her way out and begins to warm up herself. She wants to go over and talk to you but chooses to keep stealing glances. Soon enough, the whole team is out doing a shoot around and the opportunity has passed.

The game is about to begin as the teams take the floor. You go over and hug one of Cait's teammates and high-five the others. When you make your way to Caitlin, everything moves in slow motion for the younger girl.

You come up to her, wrapping one of your arms around her waist. You lean in and whisper something only she can hear.

"Have fun today, it's just you and me on the court - forget about everyone else, and let's have some fun." You tell her.

Caitlin smiles and nods as her cheeks heat up from your closeness. You pat her lower back and get positioned.

The game is a battle.

You play like you have been since the beginning of the season. You hit your double-double in the third quarter and are working towards a triple-double, which would be the second one of the season if you get there.

Cait is also playing better than she has yet and you can even see a little smile come out every now and again.

It is in the fourth when the two of you are standing next to each other during one of your team's free throws.

"Having fun?" You ask.

"Actually, I am," she says, surprising herself with her answer.

"It will get more fun, just wait and see. You're getting there C," you say and she smiles.

"I actually want to tha-" Caitlin begins but is cut short when your teammate knocks down both free throws and the ball is back in the Fever's possession.

The fourth quarter finishes and your team had come out on top by just 2 points. The closest game of the season thus far. It was probably the most fun you had in a game since you got to the W.

In the post-presser, you are asked about the rookie guard again.

"Now that you have faced Caitlin firsthand, what are some challenges you see in her game?" a male reporter asks.

You flat-out laugh at the question.

"You're kidding me, right?" You say and you already see your media manager waving her hands in the air to stop whatever it is you are about to say.

"I am tired of you guys hounding her into the ground. She played a tremendous game today - what was it, another double-double for the rookie? What more does she have to do to show you all she is already dominating in the W? This is midway through her first season playing the sport professionally. She is already doing the damn thing. What you all should be asking is how much more capable is she? If she is doing this in her first year, what will she be doing next year? In 2 years? 5? Like come on, she is already playing better than any of you could so I don't know why we are still talking about what she can't do," you say and stand, tired of their stupid questions.

You are on your way out when you add one last thing.

"Caitlin Clark is a force of nature. She is one of one, I said it about her in college and I will say it again with her in the W. She is unlike anyone we have seen before and you should all be more concerned with how high her ceiling is versus how low to the ground she stands."

You walk out and wait for your media manager to rip you another new one. You don't care and just take it.

When you get back to your hotel, you ignore all the things you are tagged in and open Caitlin's profile.

[You: Hey, this may seem out of the blue but I wanted to let you know I am on team Caitlin. You know the media spins things but keep your head down and play your game and they will see. I've been where you are, I know the media is a circus. Feel free to call or text if you need anything]

You follow your first message with a second that contains your number. It was a little bold and your motives are pure, mostly.

No one asked but if they did, you would tell them that you remember playing Caitlin in college. You remember how your one and only match-up was one of the toughest of your college career. You would speak to how you have followed her ever since, catching every game you could when she played. You were just as mesmerized as she was and neither of you had a clue.

Cait gets back to her apartment and falls on her bed. She unlocks her phone for the first time since the game, a rare occasion but she doesn't want anything to do with what the media was saying about her after that game.

Similarly to when you first followed her, she shoots up to a sitting position on her bed. She scans the message a thousand times.

Caitlin, who was just tired is now wide awake and smiling. She cannot believe her favorite player (and crush) has just given her phone number.

Her phone begins to go crazy in an old team group chat.

[Jadaaa: CAITLIN FREAKIN CLARK]

Jada then sends a link to another post-game presser.

[KMoney: Bro, it is your game to lose now. She's pro-Clark]

[Stulke: I'll start planning the wedding!]

[Caitlin: I bet you can't guess who just got her number 🫣]

[Jadaaa: SHUT UP]

[Stulke: Yep, wedding planning in progress]

[KMoney: I call dibs on making a speech]

[Jadaaa: Get in line Kate, I am getting first speech]

[Caitlin: Shut up]

Caitlin debated sending you a message but decided to wait until the morning. When Caitlin wakes up, she shoots you a text.

[C: Hi...I want to say thank you for always defending me. You really don't have to but I appreciate it]

[C: It's Caitlin btw]

[C: Caitlin Clark if that wasn't clear]

Caitlin feels like an idiot after she texts three times in a row. She locks her phone and throws her head into her pillow with a groan when she hears a 'ding'. She pulls her phone up to her face.

[You: I thought you weren't going to message]

[You: It's cute that you felt the need to put your first and last name]

[C: Didn't want to get mixed up with someone else]

[C: I don't know how often you hand out your number]

[You: Not often]

[You: So...who is Caitlin Clark?]

The two of you messaged pretty consistently. Messages turned to phone calls, phone calls turned to Facetimes then before you knew it you both were talking about anything and everything.

Caitlin's season has gotten better as the Fever as a team has grown, winning more games in a stretch than losing.

It is a few games later after a win that Caitlin is sitting in a post-presser with Aliyah. An interviewer asks if Caitlin has seen the clips of you talking about her in her post-pressers.

Caitlin blushes and looks down, trying to hide her rosy cheeks. Aliyah chuckles and nudges the girl who is now covering her uncontrolled smile with a towel.

"Ya...I've seen them," she says as she removes the towel to show her smile. "I think it is pretty cool how she stands up for me. I have been watching her for years now and love her game so it means a lot when she speaks of me with such grace."

"Ya, I've caught CC watching that presser probably five times now," Aliyah says throwing Caitlin to the wolves. Someone's got to do it right?

Caitlin playfully pushes Aliyah.

"Way to out me," Caitlin says and hides her face again.

There aren't many more questions asked and Caitlin feels like she is in the clear. That is until she gets a call from you.

"Hi," she says with a smile. She doesn't know it but you can tell by her tone when she is smiling.

"Five times, five times is a lot C," you tease her.

She is glad you aren't standing in front of her because the blush that had subsided from the presser is fully back. The truth is that she watched it 15+ times now.

"What can I say? I like watching people praise me," she says trying to speak with confidence.

"Isn't that cute," you say.

"And you are the one who is calling me right after I get out of a presser and you are calling me obsessed?" Caitlin asks.

"That's fair, I won't call next time," you say and Caitlin immediately says 'no'. You laugh and she is thankful you can't see how fast her face turned red.

The conversation is light and flirty before she has to go.

"I'll see you at All-Star weekend," you say, and are looking forward to seeing the rookie. It would be another fun match-up with you being on the Olympic team and her being an All-Star.

"I look forward to kicking your ass," she says, the confidence in her voice dominating over the phone.

You laugh and give her some nonsense response. You've learned she wouldn't talk a big game to the public but when it was just the two of you, that's a completely different story. To you, she talks a big game and you let her. You know she has the game to back it up but you also know you have the ability to slow her down and that is exactly what the plan is for your next meeting.

The weekend arrives and the fun begins. You are included in the starting lineup for the Olympic team while Caitlin is in the starting lineup for the All-Stars.

Your eyes meet hers and you smile. She returns it as you walk up to her. You greet her.

"You ready?" You ask as you pinch at her hip. She swats your hand and shakes her head but your hands are persistent.

"Oh I am more than ready," she says trying to hide her smile.

"Why don't we put a little skin in the game," you say as you lean into her.

"I win, I get to take you out," you say and Caitlin feels a heat rise in her.

"And what do I get if I win?" She chokes out.

"Whatever. You. Want," you say. Caitlin smirks.

"You're on," she says as the two of you shake on it.

The two of you go head-to-head in the game. Caitlin plays one of the best games she has in the W so far. You take note of how hard the girl is working but you also put in the work, having quite the game yourself.

In the final minutes, the score is tied. Your teams switch off points as the seconds wind down.

You have control of the ball, trying to set up the play. Caitlin is guarding you - poking her hand in to try to get the ball away from your hands. You turn and use the screen that Stewie sets up for you, stepping back you put up the three. As you come down, Cait gives you a little push causing you to fall to the ground but you just catch sight of the ball bouncing on and then out of the rim.

Caitlin then proceeds to stand over you, in the heat of the moment, showing you and the crowd that she is tough.

You get to your feet and bump her chest - exchanging a few words.

Someone comes and pushes you back from Cait while they grab Caitlin's arm but you don't back down, bumping Caitlin again.

By now both of your teams have gotten involved and the refs are trying to separate the two of you. As you feel yourself being pulled back you blow Caitlin a kiss.

You both receive techs.

In the final few seconds, all you have to do is not foul and play solid defense which you do, making Caitlin pass it for the final shot that doesn't fall. Team USA taking the victory.

As you celebrate with the team on the court, you also go and hug your opponents from the night making a conscious decision to end with Cait.

When you go in to hug her, you can tell she is moody.

"I'm picking you up at 10 tonight, be ready," you say and wink at her.

As much as Caitlin wanted to win, she couldn't help but be excited.

Once everyone clears out and makes their way back to the hotel, you quickly shower and head to pick Cait up.

When you get to her door and knock, she answers within seconds.

"Someone is a little eager," you joke and she blushes.

"Well it's 10:20 so technically you're late," she says.

You laugh.

"Okay C, come on," you say and lead her on a walk. The two of you talk and she opens up about her experience so far, asking you questions left and right. You answer every single one of them.

"Where are you taking me?" She asks, half expecting the two of you to just stay in her room.

"Patience, we are almost there," you say as you make a turn and Caitlin sees it.

You have brought her to an outdoor court. It is dimly lit and there is a single basketball laying on one side.

You jog to pick up the ball and she walks over to you.

"I just had the best game of my career so far and you want me to play more?" She asks trying to sound annoyed but she isn't annoyed at all.

"Thought we could play a little one-on-one," you say bouncing the ball between your legs before passing it to her. You can tell she is a little skeptical but goes along with it. She begins to bounce the ball and your hand immediately finds her hip, giving it a squeeze like you did before the last game. The same blush as before rose in her cheeks. She works her way around you but your arms wrap around her waist not letting her go anywhere.

"Foul," she yells as you pick her up with her still holding the ball.

"This isn't a normal game babe," you say and she gets the hint. You put her down, still standing right behind her with your hands on her hips. "Take a shot," you whisper in her ear as your lips graze her neck.

Caitlin swallows and puts up the shot missing it.

"That's not fair," she says turning around.

"Better luck next time," you say bringing your hand to graze her cheek. Your eyes go from her eyes down to her lips as you lean in painfully slow.

Caitlin grabs your shirt and anticipates your lips on hers. When they never come, she pouts.

You run to grab the ball and pass it to her again.

"No bucket, no kiss," you say and you can see her demeanor change.

Caitlin locks in.

"Oh it's on," she says as she is ready for the one-on-one action.

AN: Here you go! Let me know what you think! And as always, thank you for your love and support 🤍

[a-writer-on-elm-street]

Hi dear,

I was wondering if you could write for creepy neighbor! Michael x fem! reader, where he finds her on social media and downloads her pics to jerk off to then gradually 2 months later he storms into her house at night and fucks her into the mattress, love your blog <3

a/n: i absolutely can write that! thank you so much for the request and i hope you like it <3

pairing: creepy neighbour!michael x fem!reader

warnings: stalking, home intrusion, unprotected sex, rough sex

word count: 1005

You were beautiful, that much Michael knew. Even as you were staggering up the front steps to your door, your coordination severely lacking, he thought you were the most beautiful person he'd seen in a while.

Something about you always made his cock twitch in his pants, a sensation he had long since forgotten, it had been so long.

He'd first noticed you a few months ago, stumbling up the front steps to your new house, with a heavy box in your arms. No one ever came near his house, so he was surprised to find that you had been the one to finally move in next door.

He thought he had finally gone mad, that the long stretches of silence he usually endured had finally corrupted his mind, destroyed his sanity.

But with each month that passed, it became apparent to him that you were in fact real, and you were living right next door.

As he watched you jam your keys into the door, he quickly unbuttoned his coveralls, wrapping his hand around his aching cock.

But unfortunately, your brief presence outside your door wasn't enough to satisfy him, so he found himself reaching for the phone he'd stolen, quickly bringing up the images he'd taken from your social media.

He found that he rather enjoyed the idea of being able to watch somebody by simply tapping a few buttons on a screen. It certainly saved him the energy of having to sneak around outside all the time. Now, he could just watch you from inside the walls of his own home.

He pulled up an image of you in a bikini, the sun warming your skin and your chest glistening. He imagined his hands on you, rough fingers slipping beneath the straps, pulling the material over your head.

He imagined your breasts. He imagined his hands, wandering over your body, dipping inside your panties, driving his cock into you...

He wanted to hear you scream. He wanted to feel your skin beneath his hands, his cock buried deep inside your pussy.

Once he came to the realisation that a simple image wouldn't be enough to satisfy him, he put the phone down, tucking his cock back into his pants and walking towards the door.

You were home alone tonight, he knew that, which meant he was free to pay you a visit, satiate his need for you.

He silently left his house, walking straight up the steps to your house, and he opened the door with ease, noting that you rarely remembered to lock your doors at night.

Luckily for you, Michael had no intention to actually harm you tonight. He only intended to finally live out his fantasy, to feel your skin against his as he fucked you.

You were halfway up the stairs when you suddenly heard something behind you, strong hands roughly gripping your hair, forcing you forwards.

"What the fuck?!" You screamed, struggling in his hold as he continued to shove you forwards, barely even flinching as you thrashed around. "Let me go!"

It only took mere minutes to reach your bedroom, and he released his hold on your hair, forcefully throwing you into your mattress. And that was when you saw his face, the signature white halloween mask that belonged to none other than Michael Myers.

You thought he was dead. Everyone did. Yet here he was, standing over you as you laid there helpless.

"Michael?" You breathed out, staring up at him in shock. "Is that really you?"

He offered you no response, simply standing there motionless, his muffled breathing filling the silence.

"Michael─"

Before you were able to say anything else, he was closing in on you, his hands quickly finding the waistband of your shorts, effortlessly tugging the material from your body.

You probably should've struggled, attempted to fight him off in some way, but you could only lay there as he pushed your shirt up your body, revealing your tits to him.

You weren't sure what you were expecting, but it certainly wasn't this. You also hadn't expected to be so turned on by it.

You gasped when you felt his hands on your tits, the heat growing between your legs becoming uncomfortable.

"Michael," you whined. "Please, fuck me."

That was all the encouragement he needed to finally take his cock out, wasting no time in pushing into you, a muffled groan falling from his lips when he heard you cry out.

His hands were still roughly gripping your tits as he thrusted into you at a bruising pace, revelling in the sounds that he was pulling from your throat, and the near violent slapping of skin that filled the small bedroom.

You let out something short of a scream as he fucked you into the bed, the pressure building in your stomach becoming almost too much to bear.

"Oh, fuck! Shit!" You hissed, desperately clawing at the bed sheets.

Michael didn't let up, curling his hands around your waist as he continued to thrust into you relentlessly.

He loved the way you were squirming beneath him, trying to get away, to relieve yourself of the pressure.

And it wasn't long until you felt the sting of tears in your eyes, your body aching as he continued to pound into you.

"Michael," you breathed. "Oh God!"

The fire that had been building inside you finally exploded, a shock of pleasure coursing through you as you continued to cry out, your vision becoming blurred.

Michael continued to fuck you through your orgasm, your body becoming limp as he slapped up against you. And it only took one last pathetic moan from you for his hips to stutter, pleasure crashing over his own body now as he spilled into you, a muffled groan pushing past his lips.

Once he was finished, he pulled out of you, leaving you to watch as he tucked himself away, quickly doing up his coveralls before turning and walking out of your door.

Michael would definitely be doing this again.

[Main Masterlist]

[frenchy-wino-jerkface]

So, I was a queer teenager about fifteen years ago. Fifteen years doesn't seem like much, but in TV History, fifteen years is not even BBC Sherlock times yet. So, in Queer TV History, it's basically like comparing modern times to the XVIIIth century : there was the beginning of an idea of equality and justice, but we were clearly not there yet.

The sort-of-gay pairings I saw on TV didn't end up together, or only in some niche content I couldn't get my hands on on national television - and that was where we watched shows at the time. Sometimes they were gay-coded, but what happened most of the time was : the queerest one of the pair ended up alone, living his best quirky-lonely life, while the most straight-passing found a spouse and a respectable straight marriage.

At the same time, I was falling in love with my very queer best friend. These were scary times, we were kids. When she ended up rejecting me and running off, not speaking to me again and going into straight relationships, I felt like I deserved it. That experience, plus the way I saw myself on television, shaped the way I saw my love life. Like I couldn't truly get one.

Now, shows have changed. Shows are queer, and watched by everyone. There isn't just one sort-of gay relationship on the screen, there are several in the same show! And they fall in love, and kiss, and break up, and get back together, and are shown being gentle and loving and couples! Actual couples. I still have to pinch myself sometimes. Before they get together, and despite the entire show screaming at me that it's gay, I still feel like I'm getting queerbaited. I brace myself, I wait for the unavoidable rejection and pain and loss. And yeah, sometimes it's dramatic. But it's always real now. They kiss. They love each other. There's no shame in that anymore.

Damn.

I wonder what it would have done to me and my best friend if we'd seen these shows fifteen years ago. How different I'd be today. I'm a bit sad that I didn't get that, that I was shaped so differently by contents that wanted to make me feel like I didn't quite belong, that I didn't quite deserve to be happy.

I'm sure excited for you younger lots, though. Have fun <3

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Once Upon a Time 10

Warnings: non/dubcon and other dark elements. My username actually says you never asked for any of this.

Characters: Andy Barber

Part of the Bookstore AU

My warnings are not exhaustive but be aware this is a dark fic and may include potentially triggering topics. Please use your common sense when consuming content. I am not responsible for your decisions.

As usual, I would appreciate any and all feedback. I’m happy to once more go on this adventure with all of you! Thank you in advance for your comments and for reblogging.

A message pops up on your Instagram. You open it with dread, a blank profile with some generic photo of a bookshelf. You already know it's him. 

‘Your aunt is very nice.’ 

You nearly drop your phone as you glance over at Jo. She sits with a cross stitch as she watches a rerun of Cold Case. You shudder and look back down at the screen. 

‘Why r u doing this?’ 

You hit the arrow as your sweaty hands stick to the silicon case. 

‘Why am I being nice?’ He replies. 

You can't. You stand up with your phone and your Aunt Jo peeks over with an arched brow. You give an apologetic smile. 

“Sorry, I'll be right back.” 

You cross the room and pass the kitchen doorway. You lock yourself in the bathroom and look at your phone. You see three dots then they disappear. 

‘You followed me.’ 

He sends a rolling eye emoji. You nearly scream. What the hell? He's rolling his eyes at what? Stalking you? 

‘More than once.’ 

He sends a laughing emoji with tears. You huff. He's so confusing. Then a photo pops up, buffering before finally loading. 

It's Chelsea, well, the top of her head and she's… 

You want to puke. You can't believe he'd send you that. Does she know he took that? Even if she's a bitch, you feel bad. 

‘Looks like I'm all taken care of.’ He texts. 

‘Looks like you are.’ 

You turn your phone to do not disturb and lock it. He's disgusting. You don't even get what he wants from you. If he has Chelsea doing all that, why the heck is he texting you? 

You take your phone to the spare room, what was once your room, and leave it there. You don’t want to be bothered by him, even if you can’t shake the uneasiness stirring your nerves. You go back to the living room and sit down on the couch. You stare unseeingly at the television as the syndicated legal series drones on. 

“What was that, honey?” Jo asks, poking her needle up then pulling it through. 

“Work,” you lie, “um, they keep moving around the schedule or whatever. It’s... frustrating.” 

“Ah, that’s too bad,” she tug the thread to its limit, “you’re stressed. Maybe you should take a day off.” 

“Maybe,” you rub your forehead, “or get a different job.” 

“Could do,” she shrugs, “you know I’ll support whatever you do.” 

“Yeah,” you drop your hands into your lap and look at her, “I know.” 

You turn back to screen and try to hide your despair. Should you try to tell her about Andy? The thought’s crossed your mind a dozen times over. Your Aunt Jo is fierce and loving, she might just believe you but it’s not her holding you back. It’s him. He’s dangerous and he hasn’t yet shown you how dangerous. 

It’s better she doesn’t know. Not right now. You’ll have to deal with Andy. Just not tonight. 

📖

You grumble around the last mouthful of coffee. Another day, another shift. While Jo’s suggestion was tempting, you really can’t give up the hours. Nonetheless, you haven’t sat on your hands. Several applications were forward late into the night as sleep eluded you. Now you can barely hold your head up. 

It shouldn’t be very busy at opening. You can survive on an instant coffee packet from the breakroom. You yawn and grab your coat and bag. The snow puffs up around your boots as you step outside, shivering as you tuck your scarf into the top of your jacket. You pull your hood up against the frigid wind and tamp down the fresh powder as you come down the walk. 

As you get to the sidewalk, you stop and look both ways. Before you can cross and head for the bus stop, a horn honks, jarring you. You step back as a familiar car rolls up. You cross your arms, heart racing, and peek back over your shoulder at the safe hold of your aunt’s house. 

“Buses are behind,” Andy calls through the window as it slides down, “you’ll be late...” 

“I’m fine,” you sidestep to walk around the rear bumper and he shifts into reverse, blocking your escape. 

“I know your aunt didn’t teach you to be so ungrateful--” 

“Don’t talk about my aunt,” you snap as you turn back the other way and he rolls forward. You stop short and stomp your foot, “why are you doing this? Why are you bugging me? Chelsea--” 

“I don’t want Chelsea, she’s a slut. She’s easy. She gets the job done,” he sneers. 

You shake your head and blow out a cloud of warmth into the crisp air, “I’m sure there are other--” 

“You,” he says tersely, “that’s it. No one else.” 

You close your eyes and shudder, “I... I’m not interested... like that, Andy. I just was being friendly because it’s my job. Can’t you understand?” 

“I don’t understand,” he snarls, “I’m a lawyer, I’m good-looking, I take good care of myself and I could do the same for you. You wouldn’t have to work in some shitty bookstore.” 

You flutter your lashes and shake your head, “I...” 

“What? Why don’t you want me?” He leans over the seat further, glaring at you. 

“How old are you?” You blurt out, immediately sealing your lips in regret. 

He scoffs, “and how old are you? Bit over the hill to be in retail, huh? I know you’re not some college kid getting a few extra bucks. You’re a grown woman, your life is a mess. You need someone like me.” 

You huff, “I need you to leave me alone.” 

He clucks and sits up. The car idles in front of you as he sits silently. He grips the real and clears his throat, “I’ll be seeing you for dinner. Aunt Jo sure is sweet, maybe you could learn a thing or two from her.” 

The window rolls up before you can spit back a retort. The mention of your aunt flares in your chest. How dare he. You know it’s more than a snipe at you, he’s not saying her name for nothing. It’s a threat. 

He steers away down the snowy road, the snow packing beneath the weight of the car. You watch his headlights stop at the corner before you kick through the snow. Fuck. 

[redactahoe]

old friends die hard pt. 1

A/N: heeey so ive been working on this for awhile and am so glad the first part is done.

summary: for the past 6 months treasure has been… off. Porter didn’t know how to describe it but something was going on with his favorite human and he didn’t know how to help. The last time they talked was 3 weeks ago and since then they haven’t been answering his call. So porter decided the next best thing was to drop by unannounced.

Tw//: talk of missing memories and nighmares (kinda), porter is so soft for them its not even funny, this is also in the not so distant future where porter and treasure is an establish relationship, cussing, treasure yells like once

codes: (T/N) = treasure's name and (D/N) = darlin's name

The first but last thing Porter had expected to see when entering his human’s apartment was the living room to be void of all light save for the glow of his treasures laptop screen. Open and set in their lap as they sat on the couch, a weighted blanket resting on their shoulders as the skrunkly little cat they found on the street a month ago slept behind them on the back of the couch. a forgotten bowl of what he can assume is some form of soup sitting on the coffee table along with a half empty mug of tea in front of them. 

Glancing at his watch as he walked closer to the couch, it read 3:30 AM. his gaze lifts back up to get a better look at treasure's face. Their usual dark circles under their eyes somehow had gotten darker since the last time he had seen them. Their eyebrows were scrunched up in a mix of frustration and concentration, lips pressed into a deep frown.

“Treasure, when's the last time you've actually gone to sleep and had a proper meal?” Porter asked, having a feeling that the answer wasn’t going to be anything he liked.

“I don’t need to sleep right now.” they frustratedly almost angrily mumbled out.

“(T/N) im being serious…” Porter came closer, leaning over the couch and careful no to disturb the sleeping feline. He noticed that There were several pictures strewn across the couch and coffee table, some were in frames and some weren’t.

The picture propped up against treasure’s computer was of a tiny 10 year old treasure, In the front yard of what could be assumed to be their childhood home. They were lying on top and wrestling with another kid, pulling a smile onto the kids cheeks as they tried to push (T/N) off of them, clearly enjoying themselves. Porter immediately recognized that kid as (D/N) or Tank, Sam's mate and the wolf from the Shaw pack.

Porter picked up the picture to get a closer look “did you know them, treasure?”

“I DON’T KNOW!” treasured screamed out and through their hands up in exasperation before dropping them to bury their face in them, digging their palms into their sockets. They were both silent for a minute before (T/N) finally spoke up in a quiet and defeated tone.

“.... I'm sorry i yelled at you, it's just- I've been so stressed and so confused lately. It's been driving me nuts!” their hand moved to hold the side of their hand while the other stayed to rub the exhaustion out of their eyes.

“What's going on my love?” Porter's voice dropped to a low concern as he rubbed his treasures shoulders trying to sooth them as best as he could.

“Sigh, recently I've started to have these…. I don’t know how to describe it but every time i close my eyes I see them” treasure waving their hand in the vague direction of the childhood photo.

“But there's always something wrong with them, with their voice, with their face.” “Their face is always blurred out and their voice is always distorted.” “It feels more like someone tried editing them and everything related to them out of my head more than me just forgetting them or not knowing them.”

“How long has this been happening?” Now the porter was really concerned, It sounded like a memory wipe done by the department was wearing off. He’s heard of it before, it was a rare phenomenon that happened to the unempowered that were wiped but re-exposed to the empowered. It didn't happen often but when it didn’t it never ended well for the unempowered in this situation, in the three recorded cases the department has published it always ended in insanity and a trip to and a permanent stay to grippy sock land or the psych ward for those who are boring out there. 

“Ever since I met you”

“What was that?” 

Treasure threw their head back in exasperation “ever since i met you.” they said a little louder, they didn’t want Porter to think that he was at fault for their dilemma. It wasn’t, it never was, it's just that ever since they've known him their memory started acting up. It's like he jumped started buried memories to start resurfacing.

“But if it's been happening for that long then why is it now becoming a problem?” Porter on the other hand was more concerned about the fact this has been happening for a better part of a year now and (T/N) hasn’t said anything about up until now.

“ because only recently have the faces started to clear up, only recently have I've been able to make out any sort of facial features! And when I was able to see a face it sparked even more memory and caused me to rip apart my closet to find these pictures to make sure I wasn't going crazy.” “I can recognize the faces as someone i knew, someone i cared about but their voice and more importantly their name i can't get down, so I've been trying to find a solution but i keep running into dead ends.” (T/N) gestures to the laptop for Porter to take a look and well.. It was nothing but some Pseudoscience bullshit about crystals and shit that would most definitely wouldn’t help.

“Okay, your-” porter stops speaking for a second to shut the laptop before continuing “-going to get up and go shower while I am going to clean up and make you something proper to eat.”

“But-”

“No buts, go.” This was not something porter was going to debate with the human at all. 

So with the end of that ‘argument’ (T/N) got up, stretched(much like a cat, porter would like to add) and padded off to their apartment's shower, their fluffy companion following soon after.

As soon as his treasure was out of ear shot, porter pulled out his phone to call the only person he knew who could possibly help.

[traveler-at-heart]

Hi 🥰

🐾

Thank you for the prompt!

High on love

“Landing in 5 minutes” Clint announced as he checked over the screen.

“Thank God” Natasha muttered. It’s been almost six weeks since the mission started and she’s eager to see you.

“Are you going to see your girl?”

“She’s not my girl”

“Yet”

As soon as they landed, Fury walked up to them.

“Let’s debrief now”

“Oh, Fury… I actually have to get to the medbay” Natasha began to limp. Clint hid a smile as she pretended to be in pain.

“You once stayed at a meeting while stitching yourself up” the man reminded her, unimpressed.

“What can I say, not all of us are super soldiers. We’re getting old, right, Barton?”

She doesn’t wait for an answer and limped away, as Clint and Fury watched her committ to the lie.

“She’s going to see that chick doctor, isn’t she”

“Yeap”

—

“Agent Romanoff, how can we help you?” A nurse greeted as soon as Natasha walked in. She’s no longer pretending to limp but she figures there might be another way to get your attention.

“Just reporting after a mission for a general check up. Doctor Y/L/N is usually in charge”

“Oh, she’s getting prepped for surgery”

Well, damn. As head of the department, you were usually in and out of the OR at any given hour.

“I’ll come back when she’s out then”

“Yeah, it’s gonna take a while for her to wake up from the anesthesia”

“Wait, what? I thought you meant she was performing surgery, not being the one…”

“Well, she was feeling sick this morning and after running some tests we found her appendix was the issue” Natasha stared at the woman and she could immediately telll the spy was worried. “It’s a very simple procedure. They’re starting in ten minutes. Would you like to see her?”

Natasha nodded and walked behind the nurse to one of the patient rooms.

“She’s heavily sedated so… uh… yeah” the nurse warned before knocking.

“Come iiiiin. Oh my God, is this a dream? Natty!! It’s been so long since I’ve seen you” you smiled and raised a hand, hoping Natasha would take it.

She blushed at the nickname. So far, all she had heard you call her was Agent Romanoff and a very stern “Natasha” when she insisted on going on a mission with broken ribs.

“How was your mission, darling?” you sighed and she chuckled. “My God, you have the loveliest smile”

“The mission went great. I came here to see you but it seems like you’ll need me to take care of you for a change”

“I hate needles, Natty. And I’ll have a scar. Bye bye bikinis” you pouted, lifting your hospital gown to show your still intact skin.

“Let’s not…” she pulled it down just in time for the nurse to open the door and take you to the OR.

“Natty, walk with me” you pleaded as you were wheeled away. “If I die…”

“You’re not gonna die, Y/N”

“But if I do… I just want you to know that I think you’re beautiful and smell really, really nice and anyone would be lucky to have you. And do you like Italian food because I can make an amazing lasagna and then we’ll make out in my couch”

“Oh my God” the intern walking next to your bed was desperately trying to make it stop. He knew how much you’d regret saying all of that to Natasha, in front of several staff members.

“Please rush Doctor Y/L/N to OR 1. This is as far as you can go, Agent”

“She’s gonna be ok, right?”

“I’ll let you know as soon as she’s out of surgery, if you’d like”

“Yes, please”

He nodded once again, following your bed as you waved and screamed.

“Byeee, Natty”

—

Natasha stared at her empty cup of coffee, still wondering what she should do with the things you’d said.

Considering how many drugs were on your system, it could all be meaningless.

Should she act on it?

“Agent Romanoff” the intern stood before her, trying to appear casual. The truth was, most of the Medbay’s staff was scared of her. “She’s back in her room, we’re just waiting for her to wake up. It could take a while”

“But everything went ok? She’s gonna be fine?”

“Yes. She just needs bedrest for at least two weeks. Which I suspect she won’t like”

Natasha chuckled and followed him back to your room. You were sleeping peacefully, your vitals stable.

Still, Natasha disliked the sight of you in a hospital bed.

“You can tell nurse Richards to page me once she wakes up. A-assuming you’ll wait here for her…”

“I will, thank you”

He nodded once again and closed the door behind him. Natasha approached your side and placed a small strand of hair behind your ear.

Aside from some physical exams, she’d never been so close to you. Free to examine your face, she noticed a small scar right above your left eyebrow, a birth mark near your right cheek….   

She could stare at you forever, and she almost did, dragging a chair to sit next to your bed.

An hour and a half later, your eyes struggled to open.

“Mmm”

“Hey, I’m here, Y/N. You’re ok.” the redhead took your hand, her thumb drawing soothing circles.

“Nat?”

“Hi, detka. How are you feeling?”

“Like a bus ran me over several times. But it’s good to see you” you admitted with a smile. You weren’t as forward as before, probably because the anesthesia was wearing off.

“Right back at you” she smiled softly.

“I had the weirdest dream while I was all high” you chuckled. “That you were here and I practically flashed you in my hospital gown and then asked you out in the least romantic way possible…”

Natasha looked to the ceiling, trying to hide her blush.

“Natasha, that was a dream, right? RIGHT?”

“Uhmmm…”

“OH MY GOD”

“What’s wrong?” the intern walked in at that moment. “I told you to page me when she woke up” he scolded Natasha but one glare from the redhead and he was back to being scared. “Your heart rate is way up right now”

“Yeah, that’s nothing medical, trust me” you answered, mortified. The intern looked between the two of you and nodded.

“Right. I think we can discharge you tomorrow, Chief”

“Thanks, George”

He nodded and left you alone again, in the middle of a very awkward silence.

“I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable”

“Go out with me” Natasha said as you spoke.

“What?” you smiled, and she squeezed your hand.

“Would you go on a date with me?” she said and you nodded.

“Lasagna at my place” you offered, trying to  raise yourself from the bed. “Ouch”

“For now, let’s stick to take out”

“Deal”

[sarahmadisonxoxo]

An idea that  @spectrum-spectre had inspired a scene in the dark pits of my mind.  Soulmate  AU’s in which people see color at the sight of their soulmate. The rules aren’t specific on whether that is only true if the meeting is in person, or if looking at photographs or videos brings on the same effect.  Soulmates AU Part 2 ---------------------------- Steve returns from the kitchen holding a large bowl of popcorn and two cans of coke from the fridge. Dustin’s been staying with him for a while, and as usual their afternoon consisted of watching television until their bodies screamed for sleep.  This particular afternoon Steve let Dustin choose what they’d watch. Dustin was usually left to make the choice simply because Steve wanted him to be comfortable, but it wasn’t something they mentioned. He’d so far been enjoying Dustin’s pick, the MTV music awards. There had been several artist that Steve adored. Tears for Fears. Madonna.  Dustin however was watching for Corroded Coffin, his newest favorite band that he listened to seemingly nonstop these days. The kid was obsessed, but again Steve didn’t complain because his home was Dustin’s home if he accepted it. It was nice to have someone around to liven up the overwhelming emptiness of the Harrington estate.  Steve set the popcorn down on the coffee table, dropping down next to Dustin on the couch, when his eyes came up to see the television screen color burst from the center of his gaze flooding out to adjust his vision until everything settled and grey was changed with vivid colors he’d only heard about in books.  His soulmate... the only issue was the angle of the camera was showing dozen’s of faces. He’d never be able to tell which one of them sparked the change. It was the whole point of it, making finding soulmates easier. Of course Steve would find a way to fuck his up.... he’d never find them. That show was several states away, the likelyhood of ending up in a room with one of them was nearly impossible. Even if he did, now he wouldn’t have a way to tell him who it was.  “ I think I am going to go to bed..” Steve hums.  “ Bed? Steve it’s eight thirty? “  “ Yeah... Work was just a lot today and I guess it’s just hitting me how tired I am” Steve explained.  Dustin didn’t seem to buy it, but he didn’t argue.  “ Okay.. Goodnight man. “  “ Night”  Steve cried his eyes out that night... over someone he didn’t even know.  ----------- “ thanks for driving me Steve.. I can’t believe they are coming Chicago on a day I can actually attend the convention. “ Dustin stood next to him in the line to get in to meet one of the guy’s from Corroded Coffin.. Steve planned on leaving the line before Dustin went behind the curtain, but he didn’t feel like being alone in here. Everyone seemed chill.. He was just feeling overwhelmed.  “ No problem Dustin.”  Slowly the line progressed foward, Steve eventually dropping out to go stand at the edge of the booth to wait. Letting himself get distracted by the excitement of those leaving the booth. Smiling at them as they ran out with their autographed pictures. He caught sight of Eddie.. or at least that’s who he assumed it was with the sign. The guy was pretty. His smile was bright and filled his face, dimples standing out to soften the rest of the edge his clothing might lead you to think he had.  When he heard Dustin’s voice Steve could only smile at the pure joy and excitement of the kid meeting one of his favorite people. He couldn’t remember hearing him so happy about anything other than when he’d finished building his Cerebro last summer.  The curtain opened, Steve’s eyes met Eddie’s for the first time that day as the man was telling Dustin goodbye.  They didn’t make it far from the booth before he heard someone calling Dustin’s name.. them both turning around to find Eddie running toward them.  “ Sorry I didn’t know your name...” Eddie apologized, taking Steve’s hands in his own. A small crowd forming around them with people muttering how Steve was living everyone's dream right now.  “ Steve? Is everything okay man? “ Steve questioned, Eddie’s face falling as he noticed the utter confusion written over Steve’s features.  “ you didn’t see it” Eddie questioned. “ See what?  “ The color? You didn’t. Oh shit. “  “ The color?..” Steve started, his eyes looking off in thought “ Oh... it was you. On the tv.. I must have seen you. “  “ TV? “  “ The MTV Awards...”  “ Steve that was nearly a year ago... you’ve had color for? “  “ Nearly a year yeah...”  “ Oh shit..” Eddie thought allowed, processing that the confusion was because Steve had been seeing color the whole time. “ Can I take you out sometime? You know if you want. I don’t know if you do this whole thing, but I think it would be pretty cool”  “ Eddie”  “ Yeah”  “ I’d love to go out with you sometime”  “ Great” Eddie cheered, a small smile pulling at his lips, offering his sharpie over to Steve. “ just write your number on my arm”  Eddie tugged his sleeve up to give Steve space in a place that could be hidden on his arm. Both of them smiling like fools the entire time.  “ You should get back to your fans.. “  “ Yeah.. I will call you tonight. “  “ I can’t wait” 

[elliethejellie]

The Lovebug Virus - Chapter 2: Sun

Yandere! Sun and Moon x Reader

Masterlist || Chapter 1 || Chapter 3

*****

"And down that way past the daycare is Monty Golf," Max says. You try your best to remember everything he's telling you, but you're having a hard time now that you're close enough to the daycare to hear the children screaming and playing down below.

It's been about a week since the disaster at the party and Kat telling you she would call her older brother. Turns out, he's actually the head engineer here at the Pizzaplex, which you hadn't known. That's why Kat worked at the plex, because she wanted to make her way up the engineering ladder like her brother Max had done once he had finished with his degree. She only works as a night guard because it was what was open at the time. Kind of like what you were doing now. Except you hadn't gotten as lucky with the job opening you had to take.

"Well, guess that leaves the most important part now, doesn't it?" Max says, clapping his hands together in front of him. He was older than Kat, that much was evident. But he still looked young. You guess he can't be much older than 30, given the lack of worry lines or grey hairs. His face is clean shaven, but he rubs his chin constantly as if stroking a beard. If there is one thing you've been able to take from your interactions with him so far, it's that you definitely know where Kat gets most of her personality from.

"Yeah, I guess. Lead the way," you say, allowing him to guide you towards the employee entrance of the daycare.

Everything is so bright and colorful, and there's a rather silly song that never seems to end playing from somewhere overhead. Not that the kids could hear it over there incessant screams of joy. Max leads you over to a desk with several computers at it and a large screen behind it advertising the Sunnydrop energizing candies. Do they really give those to kids? You doubt they need anything energizing considering the pure molten energy they seem to have flowing through them right now. 

Max types a password into the computer and fiddles with something in the system while you take in the sights around you more. Some of the children seem to be playing a rather intense game of tag, while others are sitting around a small table coloring. You smile. Even though you are nervous about being around so many little kids, you find some level of comfort in the thought. It can't be that hard, right? Especially if you're going to be working with... other people...

You look around the large daycare with more detail. There doesn't seem to be a single other daycare attendant in sight! Who is watching these kids? Were you expected to work alone? 

You're going to mess this up. You always screw up, especially when it's something new.

"Okay, you're officially in the system, and you are authorized to handle drop offs, pickups, medicine inputs, and incident reports," Max says, pulling you from your thoughts. 

"Uh, okay. A-Are you going to be working with me?" you stutter, the uneasiness you feel seeping into your voice. Max lets out a hearty laugh, as if it was the funniest thing he's heard all day.

"Hell no, I don't like being around the younger ones."

"Mr. Diaz, language!" you hear a robotic, high pitched voice say from behind one of the play structures. Your confusion must be pretty evident, because Max only laughs harder.

"Well, now you get to meet them," he says, winking at you once he calms down. "Sun! Remember when I told you that you'd be getting some help around the daycare?" 

"Ohmygosh yes! Are they here now?" the same voice from before asks. Your eyes widen as a tall, yellow animatronic appears from behind the play structure holding one of the children in his arms. Several kids appear with him, all holding different stuffed Fazbear-themed plushies. He bends over and places the kid down before saying something to the rest of them and heading towards the security desk.

You take a hesitant step backwards. "I-I'm going to be working with an animatronic?" you ask quietly. This is insane. Neither Kat nor Max told you that there was going to be one of them working with you in the daycare. And it wasn't anywhere in the job description! The animatronic leans forward on the desk, his sunrays spinning slowly around his faceplate. 

"Hello new friend!" he greets you. "I'm Sundrop! But you can call me whatever you'd like! Everyone has so many different names for me. But the most popular are Mr. Sun, Sunny, or just plain ol' Sun!" 

Max types something into the computer again before smiling up at Sun. "She's going to be working with you as the human daycare attendant to get some of the work off of your back. Don't go chasing her away like the other one, though." Sun's rays stop spinning and shrink back slightly. It's almost as if he's... embarrassed?

"I-I'm Y/N," you say, sticking your hand out. Sun's face lights up and he reaches out to shake your hand from across the desk. 

"That's such a lovely name, Sunbite! Oh, do you mind if I call you Sunbite? I give everyone nicknames," he says, speaking rather quickly. It makes you smile. He sounds just as nervous as you. The AI in him must be super advanced. You'd love to be able to read the coding that goes into his software, but you know you won't even get the chance to do anything like it until you're actually an engineer here, and not some measly little daycare attendant.

"I don't mind," you say. Of course you don't. You don't want to upset him already. He somehow seems to smile even brighter.

"Lovely!" he exclaims. Max's Fazwatch beeps and he curses under his breath. But before Sun can scold him again, he pulls his staff hat from his belt loop and puts it on. 

"I am so sorry about this," he says to you. "But I have to go. Something just came up. But I'm sure Sun can show you the ropes of running the daycare for today, especially since naptime has already passed?" he pleads, turning to the animatronic. Sun nods eagerly.

"Of course I can, Mr. Diaz! Don't you worry, our new little friend will know all the ins and outs of the daycare before the end of today!" Sun says, waving as Max leaves. You, on the other hand, don't feel as confident. Still, you turn to the animatronic and smile nervously.

"So, where do we begin?"

You spend the last hours of the daycare day mainly learning about the routine and where everything is. Being distracted seems to have busied your mind enough that you don't really have time to have any negative thoughts. Especially because the kids seem to find an extra burst of energy with you being new, surrounding you and asking you question after question. After the first hour, you grew used to it though, answering them patiently. This had caused Sun to tell you that you were beginning to be a perfect fit for the daycare already, which had made your cheeks flush.

But now you're waving the last two kids out the front door from behind the security desk. The door closes and you sigh, flopping back into the office chair. Sun bounces in front of you on the opposite side of the desk. "You did absolutely wonderful, Sunbite!" he says rather loudly. It will certainly take a lot to get used to his base volume being noisier than you're used to. But still, you flash a grin at him.

"You really think so?" you ask as warmth tickles the back of your neck. "I-I don't really feel like I did much." Sun's rays begin to spin around his head again. 

"You absolutely helped out. Normally the kids are bored by the end of the day and begin terrorizing each other because of it. But they really liked you." He turns and gestures wide with his arms. "Now for my favorite part of the day. Cleaning time!"

You find yourself chuckling softly to yourself. You don't mind cleaning - it was actually the part of this job that you were looking forward to the most. Making things nice and shiny was one of your favorite activities. It calmed you down and allowed you to think. Your anxiety would cool off and your negative self talk would quiet. So you head out from behind the desk and follow Sun around as he runs you through the cleaning routine. He continues to remind you how grateful he is for your help, repeating that the cleaning routine will go by so much faster now. Sometimes it feels like he's reminding himself in a way? If you weren't so enthralled by the amount of cleaning there was, you might have even wondered if he was talking to someone else...

After an hour and a half of scrubbing, wiping, sweeping, and vacuuming, you finally finish sanitizing the daycare with Sun. He thanks you repeatedly, and tells you that he can't wait to see you again the next day.

"Can I give you a goodbye hug, Sunbite?" he asks, holding his arms out. You smile sheepishly. You've only spent a few hours with the animatronic, but you find yourself enjoying his company and unable to deny his request. How could you deny that cute smile?

So you hug him. Much to your surprise, you don't come into contact with cold metal, and instead he is warm. It kinda throws you for a loop for a moment, as your brain tries to process the fact that you're not hugging another human, but you shove your thoughts aside and decide to just enjoy it. He also smells faintly of citrus, which only makes you smile and giggle a bit to yourself. When you pull from the hug, Sun turns his head to the side and his rays shrink down slightly.

"D-Did I say something funny?" he asks, and you immediately shake your head, still smiling.

"No, no, not at all, Sunny," you say. "I'm just finding this whole thing a bit bizarre is all."

"Oh, how so?"

You hesitate. "Well, where I'm from, there was an old Fazbear Pizzeria, but it was closed down when I was a teen. Still, there wasn't any kind of advanced AI in those animatronics. They were just machines inside of a cheap fuzzy suit." You shrug and walk back over to the security desk with Sun in tow.

"What was it like there?" he asks. You weren't expecting that. He's so curious, almost in a childlike manor. You wonder how often people actually answer his questions. But you smile nonetheless and answer him.

"Freddy, Chica, and Bonnie were on the mainstage," you say, and continue to describe the layout, pointing out that the daycare alone is bigger than the entirety of that small little pizzeria you used to spend all your summers at. You clock out of the system as you do so, and then place your hands on your hip. "It was my favorite place to go to growing up. Especially because.. Well, it doesn't matter," you say suddenly, cutting yourself off as bitter memories begin to cloud your nostalgia. Sun's shoulders sink at your unexpected shutdown.

"Hey, meatball!" a familiar voice says from behind you. You turn and smile at Kat walking through the door to the daycare. 

"Hey, Catnip!" you greet. Sun also smiles and bounds over to Kat excitedly. 

"Miss Diaz! What a pleasant surprise! You already know our Sunbite?" he asks. Your steps slow slightly as you approach. Wait, did he just say "our" when referring to you? Well, he probably means the daycare as a whole. Either way, you hug Kat once you reach her.

"Of course I know her," she says, ruffling your hair and flashing you a toothy grin. "We're roommates." 

You place your hand to your chest in mock heartbreak. "Just roommates?! Kitkat, you wound me," you joke. She laughs and shoves your arm.

"My bad, we're best friends," she corrects herself. Sun's rays begin spinning around his head again.

"Oh! So this is the one you said worked at the uh... adult bar before!" he says, and your mouth falls open.

"You told him that?" you round on your friend. She holds her hands up in surrender.

"How was I supposed to know that you would end up working with him?" she asks, chuckling through her words. "Besides, it's not like he knows exactly what goes on in places like that," she says in a hushed voice. "But anyways, I came by to make sure you survived your first day, and it looks like you have, so I'm going to get ready for my shift!"

"Which parking lot did you leave the car in?" you ask, and she smiles deviously at you. "Figure it out," she says before turning back and walking back through the entrance. "See you later tonight, boys!" she calls over her shoulder.

"Bye Miss Diaz!" Sun says from your side, waving wildly. Before you can even begin to wonder why on earth she referred to Sun as "boys," he turns back to you. "So, the next day you work is this Saturday, correct?"

You give a puzzled look to the yellow animatronic. "H-How did you-"

"Oh! We're connected to the entire system!" he says, tapping his index finger to his head. "So we can see the schedules, place incident reports, and contact emergency services or head personnel if needed." 

"Ah, well that makes sense." You walk over to the door of the employee entrance and Sun follows at your heel once again. You seriously feel like this poor animatronic doesn't get a lot of interactions from anyone besides the children. Once you reach the door, you stop and turn back to him. "Do you ever leave the daycare, Sunny?" you ask.

He clasps his hands in front of him, wringing his fingers together. "Well, uh, I don't," he says. You can't help but think that he looks adorable when he's nervous like this. 

"Why not?" 

"It's just not really required, I guess? Honestly, I'm not so sure." His rays shrink back once again, and you smile. 

"Well, either way, I guess I'll see you Saturday!" 

"Saturday it is!" he perks back up.

"Buh-bye Sunny," you say, and slip out of the door to grab your belongings from the employee locker room and head back home.

*****

A/N: AHHHHHH we finally met Sunny!! Does he meet your expectations? Does he?? God he's such a soft nervous boi, just needs some attention and love *cries*

Anyways, stay tuned because in the next chapter you get to meet Moon!! And then the real story can begin muahhahahah

Stay sweet, my lovelies~

[moreespressoformydepresso]

TBOSAS where the thing that fixes the pain and suffering is the Capitol’s cruelty. Because I love positive irony like that.

Somehow, the zoo enclosure where the kids are kept is destroyed. Since it’s so unbearably hot in the books say something caught on fire and the tributes were taken out of the enclosure because there won’t be any games if all of them are dead. This conveniently sidesteps Brandy’s death because it happens either just before or right after she stabbed Arachne. If she did kill her bitch of a mentor the fire was so beautifully times that all evidence of her little crime was destroyed and nobody knows it was her. How convenient. One could almost say it’s divine intervention. Now, the kids need to be kept somewhere, and the zoo was sooooo annoying for the mentors, so the tributes are put in cages around the city. Near the academy so those poor oppressed rich kids who aren’t about to die don’t have to suffer even more for traveling 10 minutes to see the vile district scum. This… backfires horribly for the Capitol. See, the tributes are separated. For the sake of this story they’re all in separate cages on their own.

How does this lead to a fix-it? Well, it’s now much harder to not interact with the tributes. You don’t have to go to the zoo to see them, and you won’t have to pay money either. The tributes can’t hide in the enclosure, so everyone can see the discomfort plain on their faces as they try to cling to some kind of privacy. The cages have one side agains some kind of structure, so seeing these kids ducked agains the one solid part of their cage is very hard hitting because it’s impossible to ignore what they’re going through now. Even the biggest tributes look small, all alone and helpless.

And then the mentors get involved, and things really kick into high gear. All the tributes like Sejanus, and at first people thought it’s because he’s district. Now they can see it’s because he’s actually nice to them. The nicer mentors are trying their best to help their tributes, and the less amazing ones receive a bit of a cold shoulder. Several fights between different pairs of mentors and tributes happen, and all of them color in the kids’ perspective of everything in a way that’s undeniable. I feel like a big part of why the Capitol citizens had so little empathy is because they refused to see things from the tributes’ perspective due to not seeing them as people. But when massive crowds witness these arguments, it’s hard not to. When all you see is a figure deep in the enclosure and a face on a screen it’s easy to chalk their anger up to some irrational grudge or just vile beasts being their vile beastly selves without thinking about it too much. It’s a lot harder to do that when you have Facet screaming at Livia for treating him like a disposable object and shirking all her duties as a mentor, such as providing his basic needs, while pretending she’s done jack shit for him. When the citizens hear the raw emotion in his voice, it’s very difficult to not feel even the slightest bit of empathy.

And when they watched Lamina cry on a screen, it was easy to laugh at her for being so weak. But when this young girl is sobbing right in front of you, and you can see the pain on her face? Suddenly it’s a whole lot less funny. Even more so when she calls Pup over and ignores the food he offers her in favor of asking about her district partner. The crowd can’t ignore what they’re putting these kids through when they watch a clearly starving girl only accept food when she’s reassured a boy that has to die for her to live is being fed. When Lucy Gray sings for food it feels like the beggars in the city until she asks her mentor to bring more than half of what she got to Jessup and whichever tributes have gotten the least that day. And when all the tributes keep asking about each other with clear and obvious worry, even for the tributes from other districts who they’ve only known for days, suddenly the people find themselves stuck with the unescapable notion that these are kids who are being forced to perform like circus animals, who are about to be forced to kill each other, yet still find it in themselves to show empathy. It’s especially inescapable when the tough, strong tributes who everyone expects to be vicious are the ones doing this. Reaper and Coral for Dill and Mizzen, of course, but even more impactfully Marcus for Sabyn. Two of the stronger tributes showing concern for one another, despite neither having that underdog or innocent air the younger tributes have.

At one point, Treech is performing for a crowd and some of the mentors pass by, including Vipsania. As soon as they approach he stops what he’s doing and retreats to the one solid side of his cage. Vipsania calls for him, and he utterly ignores her existence. All he dignifies her with is a hateful glare. Then Pup comes into his line of sight, and he shoots up immediately to ask whether Lamina’s okay. It’s only when Vipsania gets huffy about this that Treech actually acknowledged and responds to her. Not nicely though. Rather, he goes “now why ever would I not want to talk to you? It’s not like you starved me so I’d perform or anything. Gosh, it’s such a mystery!” Before turning back around intending to sit down. Vipsania tries to defend herself and it goes about as well as you may expect. By which I mean, a one-sided screaming match ensues. More like Treech giving into the urge to start ranting and raving about all the shit he’s been through while finally telling Vipsania how he feels about her treating him like a toy to use and discard once he’s no longer of use to her. When she says she just wants to help him now, he reminds her that her “help” so far has come down to actively making his life harder for her own benefit. “You’ve done enough, Sickle. Go back to your prissy princess palace and leave me alone.” Very similar to Facet when he finally gave Cardew a piece of his mind, actually.

And slowly people start giving the tributes food, even when they’re not performing. Slowly they start to change their minds about the games, and once the interviews happen they finally realize all these kids have families and friends waiting for them in the districts. And only one of them gets to go home. But… they’ve seen how sweet these kids are to those that don’t treat them like shit. And honestly, nobody really wants to see them die anymore. And they realize if they don’t act now it’ll be too late. So they act. And long story short the games are finally stopped for good.

[alpaca-clouds]

Is There Actually A Media Literacy Crisis?

Something I am thinking about a lot is that supposed "media literacy crisis" that people talk about a lot online. Some people say it is real, some people say it isn't.

Of course I am in the strange condition of not being American and this discussion focusing mostly on America. Talking to some of my bald eagle loving friends, I know that most Americans get way less media analysis taught in schools than us Germans. Like, I kid you not: All I did in German and English and history class between 7th and 13th grade was analyse texts and pictures. NOTHING ELSE. And how that was very dependent on the teacher in terms of how much media literacy I actually learned would be a topic for another day. But I know that a lot of my US friends did some analysis, yes, but comparatively little.

I will openly say one thing: Despite being pushed through so much literary analysis in school, I probably learned more about media analysis thanks to the internet than I ever learned in school. Because while we did it a lot. Well, it was basically the quality of content that the Japanese schools have when it comes to learning English. Do they start in primary school? Yes. Do they then absolutely fail on building on the vocabulary and all? Absolutely.

In history class we did a lot of analysis of historical propaganda. But do you think we ever spoke about framing? Just as a very accute example.

I would however not quite argue that we have a media literacy crisis really. More... Well, I would say we have four other problems that are seperate from one another - but that will contribute to it appearing as if people are media illeterate.

People do generally not think about or inform themselves how the media they consume is created. They are not really aware of what goes into the production of a piece of media, that has more complex behind-the-scenes scenarios than a book. Movies, TV shows and games are the most notable example here. As such, folks are often not quite able to see how the influence of several different people working on a project can be felt - let alone be able to analyse how that might have influenced the end product.

A lot of the most widely marketed media is very much created by coorporations to extract money. While some of the people involved might have had something to say, the studio producing it just wanted to make something that they can sell, which often results in some watering down of more complex themes. Through this people have kinda forgotten to even expect themes in their media. (Yes, this is very much about the MCU and most of AAA gaming.)

Because half of the discussion of any piece of media now takes place in the arena of the culture war, people often just reduce themes - if they are there - to very superficial culture war readings. And this happens on both sides of the isle. While the on the right we have idiots going "they hate white men", because a movie does not have a white male protagonist, the other side will go "this is sexist" because in a show of mostly female characters, a female character died.

People just do not have the time currently to actually sit with a piece of media and everyone in the industry knows it. A lot of media is created to be "second screen content", aka, something that you watch on your TV while you are in home office and working on that stupid powerpoint. And of course you cannot really interact with that media the same, you would, if you watched it on a first screen basis, right?

And of course, then there is the fandom side of things. Because yes, the entire proshipping and antishipping thing is also very much a media literacy problem, that mostly originates with, well... How should I say?

It originates with the same stuff like the rightwing leftwing culture war: From people not touch grass. From people not being aware that the folks that scream so loud online are actually a minority. And most people who will ever engage with a given piece of media will just never write something on tumblr, reddit or twitter about this piece of media. They will just consume it... and move on.

[clinicsharmartia]

DISCLAIMERS BEFORE YOU PROCEED!

This is a DELAYED character review. I know what’s going to happen to them in s2. I’m saying this as to say that I’m fully aware of the dramatic irony of some of these character reviews 😭 also this is a transcript from an audio I sent to my friends when I actually finished S1 so I’m sorry if some bits don’t make sense. I’ve edited a bit but not entirely.

TWD CHARACTER REVIEWS - SEASON 1

Rick Grimes: 10/10. He is an amazing person, he’s an even more amazing father. He's selfless, kind, gentle, understanding, caring, protective, loving, brave and so much more. The relationship that he has with people around him is so nice to watch. Him owning up to things immediately without knowing how people react is such a nice characteristic about him that I really hope he doesn't lose. He’s just— ugh I love him. I can’t wait to see how his character progresses and how his relationships change.

Lori Grimes: 9/10. She's an amazing mother. She's an amazing wife. She is a good person who is trying her best. So many people hate on Lori Grimes because she ‘cheated’ with Shane. He was a rebound. If I was in her situation I would do the same. You get told that your husband is dead during the apocalypse, which means he’s DEAD, never coming back, and you’re forced to live in the woods with your only son who only looking up to you in this moment. It is such a devastating situation to be in. You’re mourning and grieving while trying to keep your only son safe in this horrible horrible world and the next best thing to your husband, the closest thing your him, walks up to you to give you comfort, protection and security. Of course she would turn to him. Of course she would sleep with him. I would do the same thing. And the guilt on her face, you know she regrets it so much. She's so kind and sweet and protective. I know it's not gonna be for very long unfortunately but from what we have with Lori Grimes I cannot wait to see her progression in the show a character, as a mother, and as a wife.

Carl Grimes: 10/10. I'm pretty sure I teared up a bit when I first saw him on screen because he's just so little he's just a baby it's just a little baby boy he is so small. My maternal instincts kicked in fucking immediately when I saw him on screen. He's just a little kid and this is what I love about Carl Grimes. He is accurate representation of what happens of what would happen if you put a child in the apocalypse and then them having to go through puberty during the apocalypse. I am so fucking excited to see his character progression. I cannot wait for him to be sassy. I love him mwah.

Shane Walsh: -10/10. I know we need characters like him in these types of media, and I know that he was an important part of the plot, and I KNOW that he is a well written character, but I hate him so much. The only time I want him on screen is when he’s dying. The only time I want to see him open is mouth is when he’s screaming in agony. I hate him. Disgusting filth.

Daryl Dixon: 8/10. He's a very very funny character with a lot of baggage but he’s so loving and caring, just in his own ways. You can really tell that he wants to protect everyone there and that his act is just an act because he can’t admit to loving anyone. He’s a complex character and I like it a lot. Also, the way that people treat him in this season is so horrible. You come back after hunting for the group of people that you have decided you were going to look after and you see this guy rock up and he says “yeah your brother? yeah I left him for dead after I locked him up to a metal pipe on the top of a roof in the sweltering heat surrounded by zombies LOL. I'm Rick Grimes by the way” and people get upset with him getting angry at that? Then, people are saying you shouldn’t go and find him because no one likes him. And then you go after him anyways BECAUSE HES YOUR BROTHER and you find his SEVERED HAND instead. And then you come back and your camp gets attacked by walkers and one of your camp mates get bit, and when you say you should kill him to prevent any pain or suffering, people call you crazy and weird. WTF! Wtaf. Daryl is getting so much hate from them like what. Anyways I love Daryl, I can’t wait to see how his character develops and how his relationships change, and how he adapts to the new environments and people (because we all know what he’s like).

Glenn Rhee: 9/10. Glenn is an amazing guy. He's funny, a bit stupid and has some great lines as well. He's very smart, very valuable and his humanity and compassion is what really makes me love him. He saw a random stranger surrounded by zombies and instead of doing what he was supposed to do he took time out of his mission time out of that situation to save him. What could've very much gotten him killed to help the stranger. And then the stranger comes back and makes him do something that he really doesn't want to do (covering yourself in blood and guts and gore and walking through a street of zombies which could very much kill you in a second is not something he wants to do) but he does it anyways because he does it for the people that he cares about. Then he comes back to camp and the whole ambush happens and they're about to burn one of the camp members bodies and he yells at them and he says “we don't burn our people we bury them”. That line made me so so emotional and it means so much to me that they added that in because it is such an emotional and beautiful line for me. It honestly really highlights him as a character and the humanity and compassion he carries even after everything. I really loved him again. I can't wait to see his character progression, I can't wait to see how his relationships progress as well and how his skills are able to be used in the long run.

Dale: 8/10. I really love him. He’s a great guy doing his very best to try and teach and help the group. He is the word of wisdom, he is the one you look to for guidance. I absolutely adore him. Although, dragging Andrea out of suicide was not great, didn’t like that. Can’t wait to see how he’ll help the group in the future.

Andrea: 6/10. She is a little bit annoying, but she seems quite smart. I don't like how she treats certain people though. Like, I can't explain it but the way she goes about some things just urk me really bad. I think she has a lot of room for improvement, but right now she's okay. I want to see what she can bring to the table though.

Carol: 9/10. BAD ASS BITCH. She is amazing and funny and trying her best. I cannot wait to see her healing process and how her relationships change and how her skills develop. I love her.

T-DOG: 7/10. He's cool, I like him a lot. You can tell that he's trying his best and he has a nice voice. I think he can do a lot of good for the group in the later seasons as we can see that he's already helped quite a bit. Also, his loving and caring nature is really nice to see. Merle called him a racial slur and threatened to hurt him and still he went back to chain the door shut so he could have a chance to survive. He's super cool.

[ellenchain]

Hitman question! Favourite cinema snack and general behaviour while watching a movie on the big screen?

A new question yay ❤️

I've always wanted to draw a picture of all four of them watching a horror film at home (but a cinema is also a good idea)!

I think only Olivia and 47 like to go to the cinema. Diana is too busy and Lucas is too paranoid to sit in a dark room full of unknown people. But let's say it's Olivia's birthday and, as is the case with (adult) children, one day is a proper celebration with friends and one day is spent with the family. So she drags her family to the cinema and they watch… an action thriller.

47 buys far too much popcorn and nachos and drinks because Olivia convinces him that a family menu is too small. Because money is not an issue and it's nice to eat trash food once in a while, he gives in and hands everyone a full menu. He probably sits down dutifully in his seat and stares at the screen for the entire duration of the film (sometimes he even blinks). At the end, he walks with a bag full of popcorn and nachos to the car and drives everyone home. He won't talk about the film except to say ‘it was good’.

Diana comes along because why not, the last time she went to the cinema was ages ago. But first thing she notices is the carpet, which is full of popcorn crumbs and nachos. Children, who are fortunately going to a different film, scream and try to persuade their parents to buy far too expensive gummy bears. She doesn't like the noise level outside the cinema; she is about to leave again. Especially when she sees the seats, which are still dirty from previous customers. But she can relax during the film, reaching into her far too big tub of popcorn and snacking on a few nachos. The film is boring, but she enjoys the peace and the evening together. She talks to Olivia about the film on the drive home because in the end she kind of liked it.

Olivia is full of anticipation, buys a few more snacks and tells everyone about the trailer. Going to the cinema with her family (and old people) is actually totally lame, but she wanted to see the film anyway and you don't have to talk while you're sitting in the cinema (something that 47 also quite appreciates). During the film she occasionally says ‘ohhh’ and ‘ahhh’ or laughs out loud. At the end of the film, her stomach hurts because she almost emptied both popcorn and nachos. But it was worth it. She had fun and talks about the film for the whole ride.

Lucas arms himself to the teeth and sticks a knife in every sock. Better safe than sorry. He keeps a close eye on everyone in the cinema. Every face, every child is analysed. He's not interested in the film, it's totally unrealistic anyway. In the film itself, he gets nervous when the lights go out. He has looked at everyone around him several times, but what if someone in the film room shoots at them with a sniper rifle? After 15 minutes of boring film and absolute no incidents (apart from the annoying teenagers and the occasional laugh from his daughter), the dark room begins to put him to sleep. He only wakes up again when the light comes on and 47 gently shakes him by the shoulder. He says nothing about the film. His popcorn and nachos are subtly packed into a bag by 47. He eats both the next day while planning a mission.

What do you think? Maybe it depends on the genre of the film: I think 47 has a weakness for slice-of-life films. But what do the others like??

[tenebraevesper]

Sonic Cyber Revolution, Entry 53: The Scream Of Perfect Chaos

''Oh yeah! Try to look cool, make mistakes, and stand back up! To the unknown horizon that I gaze upon with you! Go act tough, jump on, and become like the wind! We'll make the sun shining on tomorrow our landmark! Fly on to the free, glorious world!''

– Mikakunin Hikousen (Unidentified Airship) by Digimon Adventure: (2020)

xXxXxXx

''What is that?'' Big was surprised to see a blue diamond-like gem lying on the ground, having found it after following Froggy through Sentoraru. He picked it up, looking around curiously as he saw people walking and passing by him, some picking up the pace as the Irregular Hunters were directing them towards a safer area. Big remained standing, wondering if someone lost this gem and wanting to return it back, but instead, he was approached by a Hunter.

''Please, sir, you will have to leave this area. We're closing it off as a safety precaution,'' the Hunter said.

''Okay…'' Big didn't see any reason against following the crowd to safety, figuring that he could hold onto the blue gem until he found the owner.

xXx

Team Chaotix was still on their way from Eas to Sentoraru when they ran into another Badnik – E-105 Zeta. The battle raged on, with Vector, Espio and Charmy taking down the Egg Keepers, all while avoiding Zeta's attacks and playing hot potato with the purple Chaos Emerald, which was currently held by Charmy, who blew a raspberry at the Badniks.

''Watch out!'' Espio shouted, throwing several shuriken at the Egg Keeper that threatened Charmy.

''I'll be just fine! Don't worry Espio!'' Charmy replied, clearly having fun as he zoomed down and knocking another Egg Keeper, then throwing the Chaos Emerald at Vector. ''Catch!''

Vector was about to catch it, but then a claw suddenly extended, catching the Chaos Emerald and holding it up. The Chaotix detectives were baffled to see Eggman now holding the purple Chaos Emerald, hovering above them in his EggMobile.

''Eggman, give us that Chaos Emerald back!'' Vector growled, feeling frustrated that they lost it so easily.

''As if,'' Eggman scoffed, deciding not to waste his time on the detectives and flew away on his EggMobile. ''Have fun defeating my Badniks!''

Vector got into a grappling match with Zeta, managing to break off the canon arm, then grabbed him by the other arm and swung him around before tossing him into a group of Egg Keepers. There was a small explosion, with Zeta and the Egg Keepers catching fire and breaking down, now destroyed. Vector immediately reached for the AR Visor, calling Lucas.

''Vector?''

''Unfortunately, I have some bad news. We lost both the Chaos Emeralds from Souto and Eas to Eggman,'' Vector said, him, Espio and Charmy feeling guilt over their failure.

''Don't beat yourself over it,'' Lucas replied, narrowing his eyes. ''We'll have to change plans, as Starline had already managed to acquire two Chaos Emeralds, and from what Makoto and Silver told me, he and Eggman now have access to two more Chaos Emeralds. I'm certain that we can still defeat him, even if he reaches his Chaos 6 Form, but we cannot let him, under any circumstance, reach his Perfect Chaos Form, else the whole of Neos City will be in grave danger.''

''Which Chaos Emeralds are left?'' Espio asked.

''Team Rose and Team Dark still have theirs, going by the signal on the map. The one from Sentoraru seems to have been also found, as it is moving towards Souto, but we don't know who has it,'' Lucas explained. ''Sonic and I will try to get it. Could you guys try to track down Chaos' location? We fought him earlier, but he disappeared.''

''You can count on us. We will make up for our earlier failure,'' Espio replied, with the holographic screen closing.

''You have heard him, boys! Find Chaos and prevent him from becoming Perfect,'' Vector said, with Espio and Charmy nodding. ''If we manage to actually find Chaos, we'll most likely find Starline and Eggman.''

''Then, we can get the Chaos Emeralds back!'' Charmy chimed in, excitedly.

''Right! Let's go!'' Vector said, with the three running off.

xXx

Unfortunately for the Chaotix Detectives, Eggman had managed to find Chaos 2 first, having used the control chip Starline implanted inside the water deity to remotely call for him. He had found a good spot at the border between Sentoraru and Eas, observing as Chaos 2 emerged from the sewer in a burst of water.

''I already know what will happen next, given how this isn't the first time we've been in this situation, and I hope for Starline's sake that this will work better than last time,'' Eggman said, tossing the cyan and the purple Chaos Emerald towards Chaos 2, who had absorbed them, growing much stronger.

As Chaos 4, Chaos was more fish-like, having a shark-like body with a dorsal fin on both his back and a horn on his forehead, and the flaps on the sides on his head have grown longer. He also had two sharp pelvis fins and a pair arms like Chaos 2's, except his hands looked more like fins and lacked thumbs. Inside his hands and wrists he had gray bones, each with a Chaos Emerald embedded in them. He also had bones running from his tail fin to his belly where he had a pelvis-like bone holding two Chaos Emeralds.

''Go, use the Chaos Emeralds and destroy Team Neos!'' Eggman ordered, only to pause for a moment when Chaos 4 did nothing. ''Hey, I was talking to you!''

Chaos 4 did not respond, instead turning himself into a pool of liquid and disappearing down the street as swiftly as possible. Eggman furrowed a brow, wondering why Chaos 4 was so hesitant about following his order initially.

''I have a bad feeling about this,'' he muttered.

xXx

''This situation has gone wrong, but I know that I can fix it,'' Starline muttered, feeling a sense of panic creeping up his spine. ''All I need is to find Chaos, round up the remaining E-100 Series robots and the Egg Keepers, and launch a counterattack. That should be easy enough.''

He was flying towards Kita on the EggMobile, as Gamma appeared to be the closest robot to his own position. He didn't know where Chaos was, but had decided that it would be smarter to acquire another Chaos Emerald. He also felt irritated that he didn't predict that Chaos would have a weakness to electricity, but at the same time, no one in Team Neos or Team Neos' allies were capable of generating electricity, from what he knew.

Unfortunately for Starline, destiny decided to throw a wrench in his plans, as Tails appeared out of nowhere, flying up to him, grabbing the controls and generating the EMP wave that caused the EggMobile to crash on the ground. Fortunately for both, Tails and Starline had managed to get out of the EggMobile before it crashed, Starline using the Fly Type Power Core, and were now standing across each other.

''What have you done?! Are you crazy?!'' Starline screamed at Tails, who was joined by Warren.

''No, but we have figured out how the Chaos Emeralds are being transported, and the only people who'd be the recipients would be you and Eggman,'' Tails replied. Starline was glaring daggers at him, the situation unraveling before him at sonic speed. Despite that, he still believed that he could do something to fix the situation. Before Tails and Warren could even react, Starline activated the Speed Type Power Core and quickly ran off.

Tails and Warren were left standing, realizing that he was going towards Kita, both exchanging questioning looks, with Tails asking, ''What do we do?''

''We'll go find Chaos. I'm sure that Minami and Amy will be able to handle Dr. Starline,'' Warren said, with Tails nodding in agreement.

xXx

Amy stepped in front of E-102 Gamma and the Egg Keepers, placing herself between the Badniks and an injured Cream, who was still being held by Minami while keeping a tight grip on the grey Chaos Emerald. Amy brandished the Piko Piko Hammer, glaring daggers at Gamma.

''I won't let you hurt Cream again!''

''Pink Hedgehog, resistance is futile. Give me the Rabbit,'' Gamma responded.

''No way! I promised to protect Cream and I won't back off!'' Amy growled, ready to fight this battle all on her own.

''Why?'' Gamma questioned her, the sudden question confusing Amy.

''What do you mean?'' she asked, still being on guard, but now curious.

''Rephrasing question. Why do you feel the need to protect someone so weak?'' Gamma inquired.

''Weakness or strength is irrelevant in this kind of situation. Cream is my friend, and that's all I need to know,'' Amy responded in a resolute tone. ''Of course, you wouldn't understand that.''

Gamma paused for a moment. ''Data unavailable.''

''Huh?'' Amy blinked, staring at Gamma for a moment.

''Does not compute. The Rabbit is useless to you. Does not compute,'' Gamma responded again.

''That's a rude thing to say! Cream is not useless, and you should apologize for hurting her!'' Amy demanded.

''Apologize…?'' Gamma replied slowly. ''Does not compute.''

Amy tilted her head, wondering whether Gamma was actually capable of self-reflection. Eggman surely wouldn't program his Badniks to act this way, right? Admittedly, there is also Omega, but he's a special case…

''Mr. Robot…'' Both Amy and Gamma looked over at Cream, who managed to get up with Minami and Cheese's help and took a few weak steps towards them. ''I know that you are following the evil Dr. Eggman's orders, but please, don't hurt Miss Amy.''

''Cream…'' Amy muttered, her heart aching because Cream was pleading with the robot despite having been injured by him. Gamma just stared at Cream, his intentions being unreadable as he locked eyes with the little rabbit, completely silent. Amy suddenly stepped up, realizing that Gamma had been contemplating after hearing Cream's plea. ''You are capable of experiencing emotions, right?''

''Does not compute. Dr. Eggman did not program me with emotions,'' Gamma responded.

''But, you do feel something,'' Amy pointed out. Gamma was silent for a moment.

''I do not know how to articulate,'' he said.

''That's fine. I know people who also have trouble explaining how they feel,'' Amy said, giving Gamma a warm smile. ''Do you still want to fight us?''

''I should be following my orders,'' Gamma stated.

''But, you don't have to,'' Amy insisted. ''Omega has also rebelled against Eggman.''

''E-123 Omega has been registered as a traitor in the data base,'' Gamma responded. ''He needs to be destroyed on sight.''

Suddenly, several missiles appeared out of nowhere, with Gamma having just enough time to dodge it, but the Egg Keepers that were with him weren't as lucky, getting blasted into pieces.

''As you said – it is on sight,'' Omega stated, holding up both of his cannon arms at Gamma. In response, Gamma held up his own cannon arm, only for Amy to suddenly run in-between the two.

''Omega, wait! You two don't have to fight!'' she said, looking at the two.

''I vowed to eliminate all of my predecessors,'' Omega told her.

''Omega is a traitor. He needs to be destroyed,'' Gamma added.

''But, you don't have to destroy each other,'' Amy pointed out. ''Omega, you said that you want to destroy all of Eggman's Badniks, didn't you?''

''Affirmative,'' Omega replied.

''Gamma, you said that destroying Omega was an order issued by Eggman, right?'' Amy then turned to the other robot.

''Correct,'' Gamma replied.

''Would it be possible for you to not follow Eggman's order?'' Amy asked, leaving Gamma stunned. She turned to Omega. ''If Gamma abandons the Eggman Empire, then you two could work together. Would you be okay with that?''

Omega was silent, having not thought about this solution. He was solely focused on destroying all of Eggman's Badniks, but if Gamma betrayed Eggman, that would mean that he was no longer a Badnik. In other words, Omega would have no reason pursuing him, unless Gamma gave him a different reason to destroy him.

''I only hunt Eggman robots,'' Omega stated, only to suddenly point his arm cannons at Gamma again, his action startling Amy and Cream. ''But, I won't hesitate to destroy Gamma if he offended any of you.''

''That's not necessary,'' Amy said, waving her hands in a defensive manner and glancing at Gamma for a response. The robot just stared back at them in silence, contemplating the situation. He wasn't sure why he was feeling like this, why he was so hesitant to just eliminate all of them and grab the Chaos Emerald. He gazed back at Amy and Cream, and that strange sensation resurfaced again. It was as if a mere look from both of them could stop him in his tracks, but he still had trouble understanding what exactly it was.

''Stop giving me that look,'' Gamma suddenly said, turning around, leaving Amy and Cream confused. To everyone's surprise, Cream ran up to him, giving him a confused look.

''What's wrong, Mr. Gamma? Are you okay?'' she asked him, with Gamma taking note of her warm and gentle cinnamon-brown eyes. He then turned to the side, avoiding eye-contact with her, which confused Cream further. She turned to the rest of her friends. ''Did I do something wrong?''

Minami suddenly giggled, snapping her fingers as she came to a realization. ''Hey, Gamma, is it possible that the word you're searching for is 'cute'?'' Everyone stared at her in surprise, with Minami continuing, ''That has to be it! You consider Amy and Cream too cute to attack them anymore.''

This conclusion left everyone in an awkward silence, even sweatdropping at her comment, while Minami just kept smiling as if she had figured out the secrets of the world. Amy sighed.

''Minami, I don't think that's the real answer… Even if I am flattered about being called cute,'' she said, then placed the Piko Piko Hammer over her shoulder and glanced at Gamma. ''Anyways, have we reached an agreement? You could use this opportunity to find a purpose outside the Eggman Empire.''

Gamma simply nodded, wondering if Minami had really guessed why he felt like this. Regardless, he could accept the idea of actually having a life outside the Eggman Empire, as he was curious about what kind of life Omega was living after he had left. Gamma then saw Cream looking at him, and she gave him the most heartwarming smile possible, the kind that could melt a heart made of ice.

''Thank you so much, Mr. Gamma,'' Cream said. Gamma suddenly felt as if his inner systems were short-circuiting, and had to wonder if that had anything to do with him thinking that Cream was cute. He certainly felt that he should protect her, recalling Amy's words from earlier.

''I apologize…'' he said, with Cream just giving him a bright smile.

''I'm fine,'' she replied.

''Well, I guess this issue is now resolved.'' Minami smiled at this scene and turned her head towards Rough and Tumble, who just stood a bit further way, watching what was going on. ''So, do you two still want to fight? Especially now that we have two very destructive robots on our side?''

Rough and Tumble exchanged glances, now being stared at by the whole group. The two glared daggers at the group, but also understood that they were woefully outpowered and outnumbered. Not only that, but Cream was still holding the Chaos Emerald.

''You have won this time,'' Rough grumbled.

''But, we will get our revenge next time!'' Tumble shouted, with the two turning on their heel and running off.

Minami stretched her arms, releasing the Chaos Surge and looking at the rest of the group. ''So, we got the grey Chaos Emerald and Gamma's now helping us. What should we do next?''

''I think we were supposed to give the Chaos Emerald to Mr. Sonic,'' Cream said, with Cheese chiming in.

''I still have my mission of eliminating other Eggman robots,'' Omega said, clearly fired up for another battle.

''I have bad news for you, brother,'' Gamma suddenly spoke, drawing everyone's attention. ''We are the only E-100 Series robots remaining. I have lost the signals of ZERO, Beta, Delta, Epsilon, Zeta, Eta and Theta.''

Omega suddenly lowered his arm cannons, and despite having no expression, he was clearly disappointed by the news. ''There are no more? That's unfortunate. Disappointment has risen by 100%.''

''Don't worry, Omega,'' Amy said, patting him on the arm. ''I'm sure Eggman will be sending out more forces to fight against us. After all, he needs the Chaos Emerald that we have.''

''You are correct. Will you join me in the bloodshed, brother?'' Omega turned to Gamma, who nodded in agreement.

''We need to go to Sentoraru now. If we come across some kind of obstacle, you two can clear it for us,'' Minami reminded them, with Omega and Gamma accepting that. The group rushed back, but unknown to them, a different figure was observing them from behind of one of the buildings, growling in frustration.

''So, Gamma has become a turncoat. I should've reminded Dr. Eggman to actually make sure his programming isn't faulty,'' Starline muttered under his breath in irritation. ''Unfortunately, this mistake might cost us a Chaos Emerald…'' He hummed, pressing the Fly Core and flying up the building, following the group as they were going towards Sentoraru. ''Although, I might be able to fix this situation.''

Starline took note of the fact that Cream was the one carrying the Chaos Emerald, flying after the rest of the group and being open for an attack. He carefully calculated his options, leaping from building to building to keep up with them. He knew that in a direct battle, he would be defeated faster than he could say 'Chaos Emerald', so he needed to be careful. He couldn't even use his special technique, the Tricore Blast, to defeat them, as that would completely deplete the Power Core energy he had gathered and he would have to recharge.

''But, perhaps I don't have to…'' Starline placed a hand under his beak, his eyes darting towards the spurs on his heels. ''Of course, that's the solution! Hah, I'm a genius!''

Cream didn't even know what had hit her. All she felt was a sharp sensation in her back and the world turned black, with someone screaming her name. The one who screamed for Cream was Amy, having turned around only to see her fall on the ground after being hit by Starline, who had leapt out of nowhere, having managed to grab the grey Chaos Emerald. Amy attempted to attack him, only to get her arm scratched by Starline's toxic spur, causing her to fall on the ground as she fainted.

''Amy, Cream!'' Minami was stunned, her and Cheese checking up on both, while Omega and Gamma immediately focusing on Starline, firing a barrage of bullets and missiles at the platypus. Unfortunately for them, Starline had tapped the Speed Core, using his super speed to get away from them.

''Tha-That was close,'' Starline muttered, feeling his heart beating like crazy. After all, he had looked death into the face and survived. He kept running, taking turns at streets to make sure he wasn't followed. Eventually, he skidded to a halt, taking a deep breath and tapped on the Tricore, activating a holographic screen.

''Dr. Eggman, I have acquired another Chaos Emerald,'' Starline said proudly, displaying the grey gem to the Doctor.

''I see. Send it over,'' Eggman replied in a curt tone.

''Uh… Unfortunately, I have lost my EggMobile…'' Starline admitted nervously, with Eggman raising an eyebrow. ''But, don't worry, Sir, I'll be right over. I just need Chaos' coordinates.''

Eggman grumbled as he sent Starline the relevant information, with the platypus pulling up a map of Neos City. To his surprise, Chaos was on his way to Souto, nearing Cosmo River that was flowing through Sentoraru and towards Souto. Figuring that there had to be a reason for this movement, he quickly followed the water deity.

xXx

''I see,'' Loki muttered, after Lucas and Sonic explained him what was going on in further detail. They were also going towards Souto, trying to track down the remaining Chaos Emerald. ''Clearly, you're in over your heads.''

''We're doing our best, but this situation has turned into a Battle Royale for the Chaos Emeralds,'' Lucas replied.

''At least it looks like our friends have dealt with most of the Badniks,'' Sonic said, sounding quite optimistic. ''I'm sure we'll be able to turn this around.''

''I hope you will. Unfortunately, I will have to leave you now. I need to inform the other Hunters about a possible another battle, as well as Neos City getting flooded by Chaos. I wish you luck,'' Loki told them, quickly rushing off. Lucas and Sonic exchanged glances and then hurried up towards the Chaos Emerald signal. They had taken a break, with Sonic managing to recover. Now, he was ready for the next move. They had gotten the news from Team Chaotix and, later on, Team Rose, that they lost their Chaos Emeralds to Eggman and Starline respectively, meaning that they would also be after the remaining Chaos Emerald. Lucas also sent a message to Team Dark to meet up with them at Cosmo River, predicting it to be the next setting of their encounter with Chaos, considering how it was the closest body of water.

''Even though we have defeated Eggman's forces, Chaos is well on his way to his Chaos 6 form,'' Lucas said, his eyes narrowing as he stepped on the accelerator of his hoverboard and sped up.

''What will we do if he does reach his Perfect Chaos form?'' Sonic asked, speeding up to match Lucas.

''Honestly, I don't know. We could regroup with the rest of the team and fight Perfect Chaos that way, and we also have the Master Emerald as another option,'' Lucas replied, a troubled look appearing on his expression. ''But, if that doesn't work, we will need the Chaos Emeralds and, well…''

He glanced at Sonic, who smirked. ''I already have an idea what you're talking about.''

''I'm not sure if that would even work though. Unlike your counterpart, this would be your first time using the Chaos Emeralds in such way,'' Lucas replied, still concerned. ''What if something goes wrong?''

''Aw, com'n, have a little faith in me.'' Sonic winked. ''Even if it's something that only happened in the games, it doesn't mean that I'm not capable of pulling the same feat.''

''You're right. Now, let's hope we're not too late,'' Lucas said, with both speeding up.

xXx

''Watch out!''

Big and Froggy were at Cosmo River, having followed the Hunters' instructions to get away from whatever conflict was happening in Sentoraru. That didn't mean that they weren't at least a little bit worried about their friends, but they were confident that they knew what they were doing. Big then turned his attention to the blue gem in his hand, wondering what he should do with it. He had figured that it was probably important, as it gave of a strange aura, but he figured that, if someone came searching for it, he'll just give it back. He had no need for a blue gem, since they it make good fishing and since he was already at Cosmo River, he figured that he could just cast the line.

''Huh?'' Big blinked in surprise when he felt something tugging at his fishing rod almost immediately, and pulled back, struggling to get out whatever was holding onto the line. His mouth dropped in surprise when this thing turned out to be now fish-like Chaos 4. ''That's a big one!''

Chaos 4 stared down at Big, only to slam his body onto the water surface, creating a huge wave that forced the purple cat and his frog companion to flee. Both climbed up to the nearby road, taking note of the water levels in the river rising and Chaos 4 staring at them, giving the two a calculating look. Before either of them could do anything, something shiny and grey flew across the sky, with Chaos 4 absorbing it.

''Give me the Chaos Emerald!''

Big and Froggy were surprised to see a platypus standing behind them, having been the one to throw the other gem towards Chaos 4. Starline held out his hand, demanding the blue Chaos Emerald that Big was holding, but the cat in question sensed that the platypus was up to no good.

''No,'' Big responded in a firm tone. Suddenly, Chaos 4 sent a wave of energy towards Big, forcing the latter to dive to dodge the attack, losing grip of the Chaos Emerald in the process. Chaos 4 launched an extendable arm towards it, with Froggy quickly jumping over the Chaos Emerald to protect it, only to for him and the Chaos Emerald to be grabbed and absorbed into the water deity.

''No, Froggy!'' Big cried out, but Chaos 4 already started to change, much to Starline's glee.

No longer humanoid, Chaos 6 instead vaguely resembled a bloated scorpion/frog-like creature. Over three times Big's height, he had a massive body with two extensions/antennas on his sides, two pairs of digit-less legs, and a similar pair of large hind legs bending backwards. He had a large mouth with razor sharp teeth and two large eyes aligned vertically on his face with three smaller eyes aligned horizontally on each side. He also had a zigzagged tail with a blunt tip. Running through his hind legs were gray bones, connected in the rear by a pelvis-like bone, with a Chaos Emerald embedded in each of them. In his belly lied his bone-covered core, encircled by four standing bones, each with a Chaos Emerald on top.

Big felt devastated, desperately trying to find any sign of Froggy within Chaos 6, only seeing a vague figure floating inside the water deity. Suddenly, Chaos 6 sent out water tendrils from all of his body, attempting to ensnare Big, but a streak of blue broke through the tendrils, revealing itself to be a Chaos Surge-empowered Sonic.

''Thank you, Sonic,'' Big told the hedgehog, who just nodded in response. Big then pointed at Chaos 6. ''Froggy is somewhere inside. If we attack, we'll hurt him.''

''Yeah, but if we don't attack Chaos, he'll go on a rampage,'' Sonic pointed out.

''Ha, you can't defeat Chaos like this! He is being empowered by all but one Chaos Emerald! Even Chaos Surge won't work!'' Starline gloated.

''Oh, shut up!'' Starline was startled by Lucas, who was glaring daggers at him. ''You have no idea what you're doing! Regardless of all, we still have a chance!'' Starline scoffed, with Lucas turning to Sonic and Big. ''Sonic, you and I will keep Chaos distracted! Big, you'll have to fish Froggy out of his body!''

''Got it!'' Sonic pumped his fist, with him and Lucas rushing ahead, avoiding the tendrils that Chaos 6 sent after them. Big tightened his grip around the fishing rod, narrowing his eyes as he focused on Chaos 6's body and the vague figure inside it and run up to the water deity as close as possible. He saw Sonic running across the river bank, avoiding the tendrils and not daring to get into the water as he knew that, if he got hit, Chaos 6 wouldn't hesitate to drown him. As for Lucas, he was essentially surfing on the surface of the river via his hoverboard, avoiding the water tendrils that shot out from below and dodging a huge wave that the water deity sent after him.

Big waited, his gaze locking with the green figure inside Chaos 6, and finally cast the line, the hook flying across and passing straight into the water deity's body. To Big's relief, Froggy was able to move enough to grab onto the line and Big tugged it with all his might, allowing his best friend to escape and reeling him in. Relieved, Big hugged Froggy. ''Are you okay?''

Froggy just croaked in response, clearly fine, if a little shaken, but neither could take a moment to breathe, as Chaos 6 roared furiously, slamming into the water and creating a wave that crashed over the river bank. The only reason Big and Froggy weren't swept away was because Sonic and Lucas grabbed both of them and pulled them away. A water tendril suddenly came flying, trying to grab Sonic and Lucas, only to be met by a flash of red.

''Lily?!''

Both were shocked to see Lily literally punching the water tendril, being empowered by Chaos Surge that made her whole body crackle with red energy, and blocked it from harming her friends. She didn't even respond to the two, raising her head instead.

''Knuckles, now!''

The red echidna came gliding with the Master Emerald in his hands, hoping to use it to deactivate the Chaos Emeralds that Chaos 6 had absorbed, only to get flung back by another barrage of tendrils. He managed to catch himself, landing on the river bank, with the pink orb of light flashing next to him and revealing herself as a peach-orange-furred anthropomorphic echidna girl with a peach muzzle, a small black nose, cobalt-blue eyes with two medium-length eyelashes on each one, dreadlock-like spines around the sides and back of her head and a medium-sized, tri-crooked tail. She wore a white tank top which revealed her midriff and a traditional tribal skirt with beige, green, and red diamond patterns. She wore a gold armlet on her right arm, a gold necklace and a tiara-like headband atop her forehead, both of which were decorated with triangles and a light blue gemstone in the center. Her white gloves were adorned with thick, cobalt-blue bracelets around her wrists, and she also wore white-strapped sandals. Her dreadlocks and left arm were also wrapped with similar white bandages.

''Chaos, please, don't do this!'' Tikal pleaded, but Chaos 6 roared, slamming his tendrils into both Knuckles and Tikal, who were both forced to dodge the attack.

''He won't listen to you! We need the prayer!'' Knuckles told Tikal, holding up the Master Emerald. Tikal was devastated that her old friend was too far gone, her expression then changing to a firm gaze as she put her hands together in a prayer.

''The servers are the 7 Chaos. Chaos is power... Power enriched by the heart. The controller is the one that unifies the Chaos,'' Tikal prayed, with the Master Emerald that was held by Knuckles started to glow. To their relief, it appeared that it was working, as the Chaos Emeralds too were glowing response, only to be followed by a horrifying scream that caused Tikal to slam her hands over her ears. She could sense Chaos' pain and agony, understanding that he was suffering that he was suffering due to the energy within him slowly being torn out. ''No, please…''

She hated seeing her friend being in so much anguish, not even registering when a wave of energy came suddenly crashing down on her and Knuckles until she heard him shouting for her. Her eyes widened in shock and time slowed down as she stared death in the face, being frozen on the spot. The last thing she saw was a dark figure suddenly appearing before her and Knuckles, crimson eyes staring at both of them.

''Chaos Control!''

There as a flash of light, and the next thing Tikal knew was that she found herself on her knees, further away from the river bank, surrounded by other people. She looked up, her and Knuckles realizing that the one who saved them was Shadow, still in the possession of the green Chaos Emerald.

''Even if the Master Emerald can control the other Chaos Emeralds, Chaos himself is resisting its power,'' Shadow pointed out.

''Then, we should get closer to him!'' Knuckles insisted.

''I don't think so, Knuckles,'' Rouge approached him. ''Look at Chaos – he has completely lost it!''

The group turned towards the water deity, who rose from the river, slamming his tendrils into the building on the other side and picking up pieces of debris, flinging it towards the group.

''Watch out!'' Touka shouted, only for a blast of energy to destroy the debris into tiny pieces. The blast in question came from a Chaos Surge-empowered Metal Sonic.

Despite the fact that he had almost been crushed by the debris if it weren't for Sonic's metallic counterpart, Starline continued to gloat, ''You're no match for Chaos, even though he's not perfected, yet!''

''You know what, I don't think I even want to see him go Perfect!'' Ferra suddenly said, glaring daggers at Starline, who just registered her presence.

''You and Metal Sonic were supposed to grab the last Chaos Emerald! Why don't you have it?'' he asked in a furious tone.

''We were in the middle of it when Shadow used Chaos Control to bring us here,'' Ferra replied, both her and Starline gazing at Shadow, who shot a glare at both of them, his hand crackling with energy in a challenging manner. If they wanted to fight him over the Chaos Emerald, they were welcome.

Suddenly, more debris came flying, forcing the group to scatter. Shadow warped closer to Chaos 6, realizing that he was probably the only one able to get close enough to fight the water deity. He dodged another energy blast, snapping his fingers.

''Chaos Spear!''

The energy spear connected, blowing up Chaos' side, but unfortunately for Shadow, the water deity quickly recovered. Shadow attempted to launch an another attack, only to realize that he couldn't move. He didn't even notice that he stepped into a puddle of water, which suddenly turned into a tendril that wrapped around his body.

''Shadow!''

Shadow heard someone screaming for him, the tendril suddenly lifting him up and slamming him into the asphalt, almost knocking him out cold. Chaos 6 lifted the ebony hedgehog up and flung him at the road, the green Chaos Emerald falling out of his hand and rolling away. Shadow was still conscious, feeling his whole body aching as he tried to get up, only to see another water tendril coming from the corner of his eye.

''Shadow, watch out!''

''Sonic, don't!''

Shadow's eyes widened in horror when the tendril grabbed Sonic, the azure hedgehog being enveloped in water and unable to move as Chaos pulled him back above Cosmo River and holding him up for everyone to see. Sonic's eyes were wide and he desperately tried to get out of the water tendril, one hand over his mouth to not gasp for the non-existent air. His movements were erratic and he suddenly coughed, with bubbles escaping his mouth. He attempted to cover his mouth again, but the spark on his eyes was fading as he felt his lungs burning. His limbs were numb and his eyes slowly closed, bubbles escaping again as his mouth slightly opened.

Sonic was drowning.

''Sonic!''

There was a sudden flash of light, with an orange streak slamming into the water tendril, followed by another flash of light, this time on top of a nearby building. Sonic's glazed eyes slowly opened and he started coughing and sputtering the water he had swallowed, finally opening his eyes and realizing that he was carried bridal-style by Shadow, who gave him an uncharacteristically soft gaze.

''Heh, my hero,'' Sonic quipped weakly, smiling as he wrapped his arms tightly around Shadow's shoulders and pulling him into a tight squeeze as a way to thank him for saving his life. Shadow smiled back gently, then sighed and shook his head, his expression changing to a scoff, albeit keeping it on the softer side.

''Even if you're close to death, you won't stop with your quips,'' Shadow commented, with Sonic just grinning back at him. Shadow narrowed his eyes, his voice laced with anger born of worry. ''Idiot.''

''Yeah, but I am your idiot, Shads,'' Sonic replied back, giving him a playful smile. Shadow avoided his gaze, feeling flustered as he tried to calm down his racing heart. He could still recall the sensation of shock and devastation as Sonic almost sacrificed his own life for his, followed by the overwhelming fear of loss and a wave of determination as he rushed to save Sonic regardless of the danger.

He put Sonic down, the azure hedgehog stumbling a bit as his legs felt weak and holding onto Shadow until he regained some strength, with Shadow giving him a firm look. ''Don't do that again.''

''I'm sorry, Shads, but I can't promise you that. If I ever see you in danger, I will do everything in my power to save you, and I'm sure that you'll do the same for me,'' Sonic said, with Shadow staring at him for a moment, then exhaling.

''You're right,'' he muttered, his expression darkening. ''I lost the Chaos Emerald.''

''Shads…'' Sonic gave him a worried look, but Shadow shook his head.

''You… You're…'' Shadow turned his gaze away towards what was happening below them, unable to finish the sentence. Despite not hearing the rest of the sentence, Sonic smiled warmly, still understanding the message. You're more important than the Chaos Emerald.

As for the Chaos Emerald, the green gem had been grabbed by Starline, who took advantage of the chaos, holding it up for everyone to see. ''At last! Now, it's time to unleash Chaos full potential!''

''Starline, stop!''

To everyone's shock, Dr. Eggman came flying in the EggMobile, glaring at Starline, who just dropped his beak in surprise. He then smiled nervously. ''D-Doctor, what do you mean 'stop'? This is what we both wanted!''

''Yeah, but you forgot one thing!'' Eggman turned towards Chaos 6, who was flailing with his tendrils. ''Chaos, I order you to stop!''

Chaos 6 suddenly stopped for a moment, lifting his head as he observed Eggman, only to launch another attack at the group, with Lucas, Touka, Lily, Ferra, Knuckles, Tikal, Rouge, Metal Sonic, Big and Froggy being forced to scatter again. Eggman then turned back to Starline, who just waved him off in a dismissive manner.

''Chaos has been ordered to destroy Team Neos and he is simply doing as told,'' Starline replied, holding up the Chaos Emerald. ''One more, and we can complete our goal! This is it, Doctor!''

''You idiot! We are losing control of Chaos!'' Eggman shouted at him, causing Starline to wince in surprise. However, he managed to quickly collect himself.

''Doctor, I have made sure that the control device withstands any kind of damage. Don't worry, I will make sure that he remains under our control,'' Starline responded, throwing the green Chaos Emerald at Chaos 6, who absorbed him.

Starline's smile widened, a crazed look appearing on his expression as he watched Chaos grow and change once more, blissfully unaware of the looks of horror on everyone's expressions, including Eggman's. However, his expression changed soon to that of shock when he realized that he may have been in over his head with this move.

The water deity was growing into a gargantuan monster composed entirely of pure, water-like energy. His main body resembled a thick snake whose head, back and sides are covered in dark blue reptilian skin with scales. On the other hand, his underbelly was made of clear liquid energy, and he had pointy liquid spikes protruding from his back. He also possessed a large mouth with green razor-sharp teeth and a green tongue that extends far beyond his eyes, which were green as well and had slit-like pupils. He also had flaps of blue skin with scales hanging from just behind his eyes, green horns along his nose area and behind his eyes, and a fin-based bulge on top of his head that had his organic brain floating inside it. Also, running from the base of his body to his back spikes and brain were massive green-glowing arteries. The base of his snake-like body ended in a flood of liquid with several liquid-composed tentacles extending from him.

Perfect Chaos let out a mighty and devastating roar, followed by a tidal wave that swept over Neos City.

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[clanwarrior-tumbly]

Oooh! Fnf hypno huh? Can I request headcanons of Lost silver fnf befriending a Child Y/N who somehow got teleported in the game and is a huge horror fan headcanons?I can just imagine the surprise of meeting a child who actually likes blood and horror and isn’t scared by your appearance-

Growing up, you were always a sucker for horror. You liked watching movies and playing games with a lot of blood in them--it was never a problem for you.

As much as your peers might’ve been concerned, you’re doing fine, actually. You just like scary stuff. Plain and simple.

That being said, you also liked creepypastas and knew several from the Pokemon franchise.

On Halloween, you hoped to spend it trying out a horror mod for a rhythm game.

However your computer was acting rather odd while trying to boot the game up--and it suddenly crashed, but instead of the usual restart screen it glowed with an eerie light you were tempted to touch-

And it sucked you into the game itself somehow.

You wake up in a void and that’s when you meet the person from the infamous��“Lost Silver” story.

A very much dead and dismembered Gold.

After the initial shock of being inside the game passes, you approach him, curious.

His usual frown twists into a look of surprise upon seeing you rather than Boyfriend. And he realized you didn’t belong here. He was scared.

So he screamed, his facial features stretching in such a way that would’ve surely terrified you.

But...it doesn’t.

You’re like “woah!! You can do that????” with such an awestruck look.

Immediately Gold is confused, and the ? Unowns end up surrounding him. Though you understand what he means.

“You don't scare me. I think you're pretty cool honestly.” You reassure him, though you see him turn away, on the verge of crying bc he thinks you don't mean that.

You caught him on a bad day. He tried befriending a young Pokémon trainer and they ran away screaming at his appearance...so it's hard for him to believe you. He's been sulking in this void ever since.

“Stop lying...” He rasps heartbrokenly.

But then he feels your comforting hand on his shoulder.

“I'm not lying. I'm not afraid of you, Gold.”

“...you should be.”  Turning his head slowly, you see him crying bloody tears, glowing red dots in his sockets, and his mouth stretched unnaturally long. You swore his heart was somehow visible in his throat.

Though all you did was smile. “C’mon, it takes more than that to scare me off.” You chuckle.

Finally convinced, he fixes his looks just as Celebi appears to use Perish Song. But Gold stops it, considering you a friend.

You thank him for that before explaining your situation.

Long story short, you spend a while in the game as your PC in the real world takes its time rebooting.

But until then, you kept Gold company, getting him to smile more and more outside the void.

He's just happy there’s a kid his age in another world who doesn’t fear him.

[thatfanficstuff]

Not About You - 39

Pairing: Damon Salvatore x ofc

Lucy stood on the balcony outside the master bedroom of the beach house Elijah had given them the keys for two weeks ago. Her thumb ran along the band of the ring which now sat permanently on the middle finger of her right hand as she watched the sun come up. He’d apparently had a daylight ring prepared and ready for her for several years just in case.

Damon had warmed some bagged blood in a mug for her to complete her transition, then they’d packed their bags and left town with Stefan and Caroline in tow. In order to make it an actual break from Mystic Falls drama, they’d all turned off their phones and hadn’t told anyone where they were going. Elijah could get ahold of them if there was an emergency.

Every day they trained until Lucy could compel and run with the best of them. Most importantly, she could sit in a diner filled with people and not want to eat anything not on the menu. She knew they should be thinking about going home, but she really didn’t want to leave. It was like their own little piece of paradise.

Arms wrapping around her from behind, pulled her from her thoughts. Damon tugged her back to lean against his chest. He nuzzled the curve of her neck and kissed along her throat. Her eyes fluttered closed and she groaned at the feel of his lips against her skin. Her favorite lessons had been Damon teaching her about her incredibly heightened senses every night in their bed. His every touch had her skin tingling, her nerves dancing. When they weren’t spending time with the others, they hardly crawled out from between the silk sheets.

"When do you want to head home?" Damon asked as he locked his arms around her.

Lucy scrunched her nose. "Never. Is never an option?"

He chuckled and the low sound made her smile in response. "We can stay as long as Elijah will let us. We should probably at least think about turning our phones back on though. At least long enough to make sure the town didn’t burn down while we were gone."

She turned in his arms to lightly kiss his lips. "Deal."

They headed back inside and Damon stuck his head out the door to tell his brother the plan. Lucy sat on the side of the bed as she fished their phones out of the drawer of her nightstand. She tossed Damon's to him and waited impatiently through all the dings and vibrations as her phone booted up. Once it finished, she scrolled through her messages, ignoring most of them. 

One from an unknown number caught her eye. It's time to pay your debts.

A jolt of fear stabbed through her. There was no one it could be other than Klaus. She flicked back through her other texts and missed calls and frowned. Nothing from Elijah. Surely he would have warned her his brother was in town. Maybe he didn't know yet?

Her thoughts were interrupted by Stefan’s worried voice as he stepped into their room, Caroline at his side. "We have a problem. Multiple problems actually."

Caroline tapped on the screen of her phone and Elena’s voice filled the room. “Hey Care. Listen, we could really use your help. We have a plan to get Elijah out of the way but the more people to help the better. I know you’ll say you don’t want to hurt Lucy but they’re going to kill me Caroline. I’m more important than some girl’s feelings you barely know. Call me.”

Lucy rolled her eyes before looking from the phone to Damon. He shook his head to tell her he had no idea what they could be up to either.

The next message was worse than the first. “I don’t know why you aren’t responding to any of my messages but I just thought you’d like to know we took care of Elijah without your help. Thanks for that. He’s stashed away where no one will find him, not even your precious Lucy.”

Silence stretched until Lucy broke it. “She better hope she’s wrong or she’s going to die screaming.”

***

Caroline immediately called Elena and made nice claiming her and Stefan had left for a little cellphone-free vacation. It wasn’t even a lie really. After she convinced her sort of friend that they had no idea where Lucy or Damon were, Elena filled Care in on everything that had happened while they’d been gone. Care relayed everything she’d been told to the others while they made their way home.

"Let me get this straight," Lucy said as she turned in her seat to look at Care and Stefan in the back, “Alaric and John stabbed Elijah with some sort of dagger that kills him for all intents and purposes and are keeping him in Elena’s basement. They set Luka Martin, who is a teenager might I remind you, on fire and killed him when he tried to rescue Elijah. Then Jonas attacked everyone in retaliation and they killed him, too? Oh, and Katherine is who knows where because Elena thought she would be helpful and once they released her, she disappeared?”

Caroline nodded with a grimace. "That about sums it up, yeah."

Lucy raked a hand through her hair and sighed. “We left town for two weeks. Two.”

Damon chuckled and reached over to squeeze her hand. “To be fair, Elijah told us he could handle it.”

“Well, he did a bang up job of that. And, also, why do I get in trouble when I talk about killing teenagers and they actually get to do it? Not fair.”

“Lucy,” Caroline chastised though there was a hint of laughter in her voice.

They spent the rest of the drive coming up with a plan to rescue the damsel in distress from the dragon. Or Elijah from Elena. Whatever.

***

Lucy and Damon hid near Elena’s house, waiting for everyone to leave. As far as everyone knew the two of them were still MIA. Stefan had called a meeting of the Cult of Elena at their house wanting to contribute what he could to help save ‘Caroline’s dearest friend’. Lucy did feel a bit bad that Caroline would most likely be losing most of her friends after they discovered the truth. But the bubbly blonde would still have Lucy. She’d always have Lucy.

Once the Gilberts and assorted others had left the house, Lucy and Damon waited several minutes to make certain they weren’t coming back before they approached. As she hadn’t been invited in, Lucy was forced to wait on the front porch while Damon busted the lock and let himself in.

It didn’t take him long to find the Original laying on the cement floor. Damon grimaced at the condition of the other man, suddenly glad that Lucy hadn’t been able to accompany him inside. Elijah looked horrible, dead and a little crispy. Who knew what her reaction would be to seeing him like that.

Damon crouched down and pulled the blade from Elijah’s chest before setting it aside. There was no immediate change and Damon wondered how long the recovery would take. Stefan was prepared to distract until he got a message from one of them, but the quicker they were out of here, the better.

Several minutes passed and Damon was considering just carrying the Original out when Elijah’s eyes flew open. He sucked in a sharp breath as his eyes darted around until they found his rescuer. “Damon.”

The Salvatore nodded once. “At your service.” He wanted to rush this but knew Elijah needed a moment to recover.

He licked his lips. “What happened? Where is Lucy?”

“Lucy’s fine. She’s waiting outside as she hasn’t been invited. You’re in Elena’s basement. Ringing any bells?”

He hissed in irritation as the confusion left his eyes. “John Gilbert. Though I am uncertain how he obtained a dagger in the first place. I believed them all in my brother’s possession.”

Damon pursed his lips in thought. “He’s connected to Katherine.”

“Katerina. She’s becoming more trouble than she’s worth.”

“Always has been. Speaking of, she’s missing. The teenagers also killed your witches. Sorry.” He stood and held out a hand to help Elijah up.

Once on his feet he did his best to set himself to rights with little success.

Damon picked up the dagger and held it out. “I believe this is yours.”

"Thank you," Elijah answered with a nod and they sped up the stairs. As soon as he left the house, he found himself wrapped in Lucy’s arms. He breathed a sigh of relief as some of the tension flowed from his shoulders. “Hello, little one.”

“You’re shit at handling things while we go out of town. Next time you come with.”

He smirked as he took a step back. “Fair enough. Let’s go. I am in desperate need of a shower and a drink.”

She laced their hands together as Damon pulled up in the car he’d ran to get from down the street. “There are blood bags in the backseat for you.”

He kissed her temple before climbing in the back. When she motioned for him to move over he did so with little more than an arched brow, his teeth already buried in one of the bags. Once Damon had pulled away from the curb, she slid out her phone to show Elijah a message.

It’s time to pay your debts.

Elijah’s gaze locked on hers heavy with worry and concern. Klaus was in town and there was no way of knowing how long he had been here or the chaos he’d managed to sow in their absence.