#i am sitting here staring up at the ceiling like. wow. did I traumatize that family

[science-doyourstuff]

I had to do client counseling for a euthanasia today at the vet clinic while extremely delirious with a fever and I am pretty sure I fucked it up

[p5youllneverseeitcoming]

Mwahahaha >:D Thanks to the S/O’s traumatic fear of hospitals post I now have an idea! As a sequel to it, can I get Headcanons where Akira and Akechi get critically injured (from Metaverse or an accident I dunno) & they have their own death experiences while in the hospital/ER (they survive thanks to the promises they made with their S/O but still) and their worried S/O visits?

*Casually posts this at 3am* I return from the Super Mega Hell I call transcribing interviews to bring you this

Also… Uh very minor Royal spoilers I guess? In Royal there’s a chance that Mementos is completely dark when you go to one floor but that’s it

As for Akechi’s part… Spoilers for the seventh palace (for vanilla P5) so just incase anyone here is not up to this part I put his part under the cut!

Akira Kurusu & Goro Akechi getting injured and having a near death experience with a S/O who is scared of hospitals for that exact reason

Akira Kurusu:

> Everything was going rather smoothly

> You were in Mementos, taking care of a few requests

> But eventually, you got to a floor that was particularly confusing… And completely pitch black

> “Um Joker? I’m pretty sure I’ve seen this broken wall like three times already.” Skull said as he pressed his face against the window 

> “Did I make a wrong turn? No but… I went right and…” Joker muttered to himself as he mentally tried to recall the path he took

> “Should we go back to where we were?” You asked as you squinted trying to see anything in the darkness

> “I’m not exactly opposed to that idea but um, where exactly would that be?” Asked Fox

> “Navi, can you see anything?” Noir asked as she turned to the hacker

> The girl opened her mouth to answer only to be cut off by something no one wanted to hear

> Rattling chains

> “That doesn’t sound good…” Crow said as he leaned forward to grip the driver seat

> “Joker we have to-” Mona began to say

> He didn’t get a chance to finish however as moments later, the Mona car was knocked over causing the Thieves to scream in fear and tumble out

> “Do we even stand a chance?” You asked as you gripped your weapon and looked at the Shadow before you

> The Reaper was… Well, terrifying

> “We don’t really have much of a choice.” Crow replied as he raised his saber

> “Get ready everyone!” Joker called as he rushed towards the Shadow

> You were hitting it with everything you had

> Magic, melee attacks, guns… Even Almighty attacks

> But it seemed like that was barely effecting him

> And what’s worse, you were running out of items

> “Joker…” You say as you turn to him

> Everyone is exhausted, all of you are breathing heavily, trying your best just to stay conscious

> You watch Joker, the leader, your boyfriend, lets out a shaky breath as he turns to Mona

> “Mona… Turn into the car and… Please… Get them out of here.”

> “’Them’? Wait, Joker you don’t-”

> “Please.”

> “No, Joker, you can’t be ser-”

> “I leave you in charge of driving, [Code name].” He says before turning back to the Shadow and aiming his gun at it

> “Wait!-”

> “See you at the entrance.” He says with a smile as he fires a couple of times before turning and sprinting in the opposite direction of the Thieves

> “We- I- We have to-” You stutter out as you turn to try and run after him but then you feel someone’s hand on your shoulder

> “Joker gave you a task to do didn’t he?” Crow says as he gives your shoulder a gentle squeeze

> “But…” You say, tears making your vision blurry

> “Come now, this is Joker we’re talking about, I’m sure he meant what he said.”

> You sniffle quietly before nodding

> “You’re r-right.. Let’s go, everyone.”

~~~

> It’s silent on the way back

> You glance over at Crow who is sitting in the passenger seat and notice that his expression is a lot more… Different than usual

> You’re used to seeing his signature polite yet charming smile but this time he looks…

> Scared.

> Does that mean?…

> No, don’t think like that. This is Joker we’re talking about. I mean… This man runs across rooftops without the slightest care there’s no way he could be defeated…

> Right?

> After a bit more driving you eventually manage to reach the first floor

> But instead of going up the last platform you stop, just right before it 

> “Hm? [Code name]?” Queen says as she leans forward a bit

> “I- I want to wait for him.” You say, trying your best to keep your voice from shaking

> You can almost feel everyone turn to look at you but instead of saying anything else you just grip the wheel a bit tighter

> “… Okay.” Crow says after what feels like ages, “let’s wait five minutes and then go up, alright?”

> You nod and bite your lip

> You can’t cry right now, because Joker is fine, and if Joker is fine, then there’s no need to cry

> You repeat these words over and over like a mantra but…

> … Five minutes pass, and Joker is nowhere to be seen.

> You let out a shaky exhale as you grip the wheel once more

> “We-” you begin as you shut your eyes “we have to go up.”

> No one says anything, but it doesn’t matter

> You know everyone’s thinking the same thing.

> You watch as the other Thieves slowly climb out of the Mona car, supporting any of the members that can’t quite find the strength to stand anymore

> Once you’re all out, Mona quickly turns back into his usual form and quickly walks up to you

> “[Code name], let’s go.” He says tugging at your outfit lightly 

> You give a quick nod before finally climbing up the stairs

> You’re exhausted and you wish for nothing more than to collapse on your bed and sleep for about a week

> But what you see as soon as you climb the final step makes you instantly break out into a sprint

> Leaning against the wall is… Joker

> His clothes are torn and there’s blood everywhere but he’s really there

> He’s alive

> “Hey, what took you so lo-” He says before you knock the air out of his lungs as you collide into him

> “Oh my God.” You mutter into his chest as you wrap your arms around him tightly

> You hear him hiss which can’t mean anything good but you feel one of his hands slowly rise until its settled on your back

> “Joker! Y-you made it!” Skull shouts as he hobbles as quickly as he can towards you

> “Oh my, you look horrible!” Noir exclaims as she quickly glances at him

> “We need to get him medical help, now.” Crow says as he glances towards the entrance

> “Yes, um, what’s the quickest way to get to the hospital again…” Queen mutters more to herself than anyone else

> “Come on guys…” Joker begins, his voice a lot quieter than before, “I’m fi…” 

> He doesn’t get to finish his sentence, instead he just slumps forward causing you to stumble as you try to keep the two of you upright

> “Oh no, Akira! Akira wake up!” You shout as you shake him slightly

~~~

> When he opens his eyes again, he finds himself in a dark room

> He groans quietly as he turns his head to try and get a better understanding of his surroundings

> Upon closer inspection, he notices that this isn’t just a ‘dark room’, it’s a prison cell

> Or to be more exact, his prison cell

> Wait then that means that I’m…

> “How did I end up here?” He mutters as he slowly sits up and stares at the all too familiar bars

> “Hm? Oh my,”

> “So you finally woke up huh, Inmate?!”

> Akira watches as the twin wardens turn and face him at the same time

> “How did I get here?” He asked

> Instead of an answer, Akira just hears a deep chuckle

> “This place exists between mind and matter… I believe this should be enough to answer your question.”

> It really isn’t but okay

> “Don’t look at our Master with such a dumb expression Inmate!” Caroline says as she slams the bars with her baton

> “Caroline, I don’t believe this was his intention.” Justine says with her usual calm voice “I suppose he is simply confused.”

> “… Am I dead?” Akira asks turning his head towards Justine

> “Not exactly.” She answers as she glances at her clipboard

> “It seems you’re too stubborn to die, maybe you do have potential after all.” Caroline adds as a small smile appears on her lips

> “Your friends also seem very determined to keep you alive, they’re the reason why you woke up.” Justine says

> “My friends?” Akira asks 

> “They practically dragged you to the nearest hospital! You should thank them for all their efforts!” Caroline says with an angry expression

> “Yes, it seems the bond you share is truly something special.” Justine says with a polite smile

> “Yeah, so stop wasting time and wake up already!” Caroline says before slamming the bars with the baton once more

~~~

> Once again, Akira finds himself opening his eyes

> Only this time, he’s staring at a white ceiling as opposed to a dark prison cell

> Also this time instead of the sound of water dripping, he hears beeps

> Turning his head to confirm his suspicions, he finds a monitor showing his heartrate

> Huh, so he really is in a hospital

> “Akira?”

> “[Name]?”

> He tries to turn his head back but before he can you’re already leaning over him

> “I was so worried… You- You collapsed so I- I tried to wake you up but you…” You practically sob these words out

> “Hey, hey [Name] it’s okay, take a deep breath and try to calm down okay?” Akira says as he raises a hand up to your cheek

> You hate hospitals, he knows that

> Yet here you are, right by his side

> He must’ve made you really worried if you managed to conquer one of your greatest fears

> He makes a mental note of how he will have to make this up to you once he gets out 

> “You stopped breathing Akira.” You cry out as tears make their way down your cheeks

> Oh God, how does he even respond to something like that?

> “… I did?”

> Wow, congratulations dumbass.

> “Yes! I- We- Doctor Takemi… Oh God…” 

> “[Name], [Name], hey, it’s okay, breathe with me okay? Come on, deep breath in…” Akira says before taking a deep breath

> You let out a few more sobs before trying your best to copy him

> Once you do, he smiles softly and deeply breathes out, hoping you will do the same

> The two of you continue this for a while, and eventually you manage to calm down

> “Good, it’s okay now [Name], I’m okay.”

> “Please don’t… Don’t ever do that again.”

> He nods as he strokes your cheek again

> “I promise.”

Goro Akechi:

> “Long time no see” Crow says to the group before his eyes land on you

> You couldn’t help but look away

> This wasn’t how it was meant to be

> You knew what he was planning, but you always thought hoped that you would be able to change his mind

> You quietly listen as Crow talks to the group and clench your fist when he tells you about Shido being his father 

> Panther gives you a quick worried glance but you just raise your head and look directly at Crow

> “Why? Why must you be against us? We- We could’ve-”

> “Let’s finish this.” Joker says cutting you off

~~~

> It doesn’t take long for you to defeat the enemies 

> “Goro…” You mutter quietly as you raise your hand slightly

> But then, something you never expected happens

> You watch as that mysterious persona, who you now know as Loki, appears once more and transforms Crow’s pristine white outfit into a dark blue and black costume, the small red cape turning into a ripped up black fabric and his pure white gloves turning black with talon like fingertips

> “You’re going down… I’ll destroy you…. Go down with me!” Crow shouts as more of the red mist surrounds him

> “That bastard, he made himself go psychotic!” Skull says reaching for his weapon

> “No…” You say as you stare in disbelief

> “[Codename] I know this is hard for you but you need to focus right now. You can’t let him win.” Queen says as she places a hand on your shoulder

> You take a shaky breath and nod

> She’s right. You can’t lose here, you need to snap some sense back into him afterall

~~~

> “Change Shido’s heart… In my stead… End his crimes… Please!…”

> “Leave it to me.” Joker answers staring at the partition

> “We can’t…” You begin as you look from one Thief to another

> “Isn’t there some way to get this open?!” Panther says as she glances at Mona

> That’s when you hear the gunshots

> You can’t help but cry out in shock, one hand flying up to cover your mouth

> You realise the others are talking but you just stare at the partiton, tears flowing down your cheeks

> You don’t move, at least not until Fox physically has to drag you away from the partition

> You don’t really know how long the group has been walking to reach the exit, but then again, you don’t really care about that

> You’re still crying when you return to the real world, only this time there’s no mask to hide your tears

> Your face feels hot, and your head hurts which must mean you look like an absolute wreck right now

> Once again, you notice the Thieves are talking but you don’t listen

> After a couple of minutes, you notice that some of the members are slowly shuffling away and heading off in different directions

> Soon enough, it’s just you and Akira left

> “[F/n].” Akira says, as he turns to look at you “I’ll walk you home, okay?”

> You shake your head at that, mentally cursing at the shooting pain you feel moment after

> “… Here…” You practically choke out

> “Huh? I’m sorry I-”

> “I’m staying… Here…” You repeat, hand vaguely gesturing at the Diet Building

> Akira looks at you for a solid minute before nodding a few times

> “Okay… But [F/n]-”

> “I’ll go home… Later.” You say cutting him off 

> “Right.” He replies as he turn to walk towards the station “I’m sorry.”

> You listen to his footsteps for a little while, but then… There is silence.

> You’re pretty sure you’re out of tears by now, so you decide to wipe your face with both hands

> You need to calm down, crying won’t solve this

> You take a few minutes to just breathe and eventually, you feel yourself shaking a lot less

> Why did this have to happen?

> No, asking this is pointless now

> You look at the Diet Building once more and bite your lip

> Before you can fully comprehend what you’re doing, you find yourself marching towards it

> You really wish your weapon wasn’t just a plastic imitation in the real world

> Then again, what could you possibly do?

> Maybe you could-

> “Hm?” You hum to yourself as you take a closer look at the wall

> Due to it being early evening, there isn’t much natural light left but you’re pretty sure there’s something smeared on the wall

> Not only that, it seems almost like… There’s some sort of trail?

>… Wait, is that?

> You cautiously touch it with your finger before bringing it back for closer examination

> T-This is…!

> Before you can fully process why there’s blood on the wall you hear the nearby bushes rustle

> You move one hand close to your bag ready to pull out your plastic weapon as you take a few steps closer

> “Who’s there?” You ask

> “Don’t be… Stu-” The voice begins before coughing violently

> “G-Go…”

> “Mm…”

> You quickly drop your bag and use your hands to carefully move away the leaves

> Sure enough, there’s the Detective Prince, Goro Akechi, your boyfriend, lying in a small pool of his own blood

> “How- No, wait- Erm- Hospital.” You sayas you quickly move one hand towards your pocket to retrieve your phone

> “Heh…” Akechi coughs out as a small smile appears on his lips

~~~

> You were pacing the hospital hall back and forth for hours

> Despite your constant pleading, the doctors told you that you can’t be in the room

> Your hands are constantly fidgeting and the amount of times you bit your lip caused you to draw a bit of blood

> You hate this place, you would much rather be anywhere but here…

> But you can’t leave him. You won’t leave him.

> “[L/n] - san?” 

> You look up at the sound of your name 

> “Yes?” You ask as your eyes land on the doctor

> “You can go see him now, but…”

> “But what?” You ask as your eyes widen 

> “He’s in a coma.”

> You nod and give a quick thanks before walking into the room

> Your hands are shaking again

> Calm down [F/n], just breathe

> You take a deep breathand slowly step towards his bed

> Goro is wrapped in so many bandages but he’s alive

> “Goro…” You whisper as you gently stroke one of his hands “you absolute fool…”

> You stay with him until visiting hours are over

> But you return the next day

> And the day after

> It’s not until the 3rd day that he actually wakes up

> The first thing he does when he wakes up is raise one hand slightly and flex his fingers

> “Hm.” He hums looking at his hand

> “Oh my God… Goro, how are you-”

> “Terrible.” He says with an annoyed expression

> “I thought you… You know…” You say as you turn to fully look at him

> “I almost did.” He answers, a hint of sadness in his voice 

> There’s a moment of silence before he speaks up again

> “It was… A strange experience.”

> “Huh? How so?”

> He coughs before answering

> “I’m not sure how to explain it,” he says before clearing his throat “I saw… A blue room?” 

> You frown at him, clearly confused

> “Don’t look at me like that… I told you I don’t know how to describe it.” He says, his eyes scanning your face

> “Ah, um, sorry.”

> “You know, I can’t say for sure but… I thought I heard your voice in there.”

> “Hm?.. Wh- What did it say?”

> “You said I’m too stubborn to die, especially in that asshole’s Palace, plus, I heard you crying.”

> You let out a small laugh at that

> “Well, it’s not wrong.”

> “There’s no need to cry over me. I told you, I’m not wanted, I’m a backstabber, a traitor.”

> You click your tounge at that as you reach for both of his hands and squeeze them lightly

> “That’s wrong. You may have betrayed the Phantom Thieves but you are wanted. I want to be with you.”

> “[F/n]…”

> “I… I can’t say I forgive you for what you did, but that doesn’t mean I’m just going to abandon you!”

> Goro doesn’t answer

> Instead, he just squeezes back

[carol-effing-danvers]

push me, pull you

this is part three of the series “run long, roam far, return soon” part one: “knock me the fuck out (i dare ya, babe)” (cont.) (fin.) part two: “where we grew up”

(click here if you’d prefer to read this in AO3′s format)

“You guys have been in here for over twenty minutes,” Steve complains, turning into the kitchen of the Wheeler’s house – not the same as the one they lived in while Nancy and Mike where in high school. Karen got her heart set on a fixer-upper after Mike left for college and it became a passion project for her. It’s old, charming, and deeply haunted. “What are you two doing?”

Quickly, El turns away from Billy, nervously running her hand over the end of the braid draped over her shoulder. She’s dressed a little nicer than he normally sees her today, in a sweet flowing dress patterned in butterflies that leaves her shoulders bare. There’s always been an innocence to her, despite her childhood, or maybe because of it. A wide-eyed wonder that he secretly hopes she never loses.

Steve notices that Billy looks concerned as he informs Steve “El’s gotten herself ready for a big date.”

“Billy,” she pleads, mumbling at her hands. “I can’t.”

“Just ask,” he coaxes softly. “Even if he says ‘no’, anything is better than wondering. You know that.”

“Ask who what?” Steve asks, confused. Then, feeling like he’s been hit with a frying pan: “Jesus fuck, please do not say Lucas, I will have a fucking heart attack-”

Lucas has spent six years hoping that Max would see what a monstrous snake her husband was and leave his ass and Max has, from what Billy’s told, regretted most of the eight years since they broke up for good. Steve can’t take watching life break El’s heart that way, not sweet and loyal Eleven.

“Henderson,” Billy says, clipped and brusque. “She’s talking about Henderson.”

“Why would you talk El into asking Dust on a date?” he says, even more confused now. “Eleven doesn’t even want to talk to Dustin. I mean, I don’t think you hate him, but he’s pretty sure that you do. He can be dramatic sometimes.”

El trembles as she slides down the wall into a crouch. “I can’t!” she tells Billy, her eyes filling with tears. “Billy, I can’t! I’ve already messed it up.”

Crouching beside her, Billy says, “Why d’you never talk to him, honey?”

She shrugs, staring at the floor as she wipes furiously at her cheeks. “I can’t-I can’t remember how to talk around him,” she says, swallowing against a fresh urge to weep. “I forget words.”

“Yeah, baby, I know. Love can make you super dumb.” Billy says sympathetically and Steve feels sucker-punched when he realizes that he is talking about the way teenage Billy felt about teenage Steve.

Turning on his heel, Steve enters back into the group of people laughing around a game of mock D&D in Max’s living room. “Hey,” he says, smiling at Dustinas he gestures wildly with a half-empty glass of Guinness. “Can I talk to you for a second?”

“Um, yeah.” Dust downs the rest of his glass and hands their shoddily made up script to Erica. “Have fun. Make me proud.”

“Wow, the bar has never been lower.”

“I love you too, you little shit.” Steve begins pulling him along toward the kitchen. He’s not sure he’ll ever get over Dustin growing up to be bigger and taller than him. Bemused, he asks, “Where are we going?”

“I think that it’s time for El to apologize to you,” Steve says firmly. It was the one thing he was sure of – his realization may never have arrived if Billy hadn’t been laying in the hospital bed and apologized in that dead, traumatized monotone.

Dustin begins to resist a little. “No, Steve, c’mon. The six of us don’t really have to be attached at the hip.”

“You think she hates you.”

“No, I said she didn’t like me,” Dust replies patiently as they approach the kitchen. “That’s not the same thing.”

Billy and El are where he left them, and if he didn’t believe it before, he believes it when he actually looks at her reaction to seeing Dustin.

Eleven’s back straightens up and her eyes widen, leaning away from their approach like someone is actively holding a gun to her head. If Billy’s reaction to his own love was rage, El’s reaction seems to be terror.

“Dude, what did you guys do to her?” Dustin is just as clueless as Steve was, but it doesn’t take a genius like him to notice that she’s been crying recently. “Eleven…”

Even the simple act of hearing her name makes El tremble. Dustin can barely seem to stand looking at her and it pains him. Steve says, “If you guys ever want to get past this, then she needs to apologize to you.”

“Why the hell do you think she needs to apologize to me? I’m the asshole, you dipshits! Have the two of you seriously been telling her that was her fucking fault?!” Crouching, Dustin mutters, still without looking quite at her, “C’mon, you don’t need to do this. Go to The Party, I’ll talk to the idiots.”

“Dustin, what you talking about?” Steve demands, “What’s your fault?”

Startled, the younger man looks at him, blinks, then quickly says, “Nothing, stop harassing her about this. She doesn’t need to apologize, we don’t talk to each other, that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have my back, okay?”

Billy tries to say something, but Steve cuts him off. If he knows what Dustin sounds like when he’s tired, then he also knows what Dustin looks like when he’s done something he shouldn’t have. “Why do you look guilty? Dust, what did you do? Why did you call yourself an asshole?”

Awkwardly fluffing his curly hair, like an exceptionally sad-looking poodle, Dustin grimaces and tells El, still without looking her directly in the eye, “Sorry, I thought you already told him. I should have known you wouldn’t rat me out. I’m sorry they’ve been bugging you.”

She stares at him, wide-eyed, as he turns to Steve and bluntly says “Eleven doesn’t like me because two weeks after graduation, after she broke up with Mike, I basically shoved my tongue down her throat.” Everyone in the room gapes at him in shock and he sighs heavily, “We were all at a bonfire, I was drunk, she was really drunk, She didn’t want to talk to me anymore, and I totally respect that. You guys need to stop this weird crusade to force her to like me, because it’s my fault. I earned it.”

Dustin flails his arms in a ‘so, there’ kind of gesture, and adds, “El, I’m so sorry for this whole thing, I should’ve apologized immediately, but you look so freaked out anytime I go near you, and I didn’t wanna corner you like some kind of creep. You’ve always been Mike’s girl, and it was so fucking gross and sleazy for me to…”

“I’m not a possession.” Eleven interrupts, her voice hard and cold. “I don’t belong to Mike Wheeler. Michael Wheeler doesn’t own me.”

“Of course he doesn’t,” Dustin assures her. With a nervous laugh, he adds, “I don’t think anyone could if they tried.”

And El’s face fills with a helpless rage that reminds Billy painfully of himself. You idiot, he thinks, watching Dustin’s face, so full of friendly sympathy. So clueless for a kid so smart. She wants to belong to someone. She wants to belong to you.

Were his feelings that obvious?

Oh, totally, Robin’s voice answers in his head, explaining to Erica on the phone. There poor Billy-boy was, heart on his sleeve, checkin’ Steve-o out like he was on the effing menu. And Steve got so flustered every time Billy walked in, he never even noticed.  

“You kissed me,” she repeats angrily.

“I’m sorry,” Dustin repeats, miserably. “I took advantage of you, El, and it took me so fucking long to apologize, but I really am so sorry.”

“I don’t remember,” El seethes, fists clenched. “You kissed me, and I don’t remember.”

“You were really drunk,” Dustin says gently. “But I promise, I won’t ever do that again, okay?”

Oh, that is the opposite of the thing Eleven wants to hear. She’s so angry – she feels like something she so desperately wants has been taken from her, and now Dustin is telling her she doesn’t even have the chance to get it back again.

“Bastard,” she hisses, eyes beginning to shine and glitter with unshed tears. On the stove, a kettle begins to whistle sharply, even though the burner it’s sitting on isn’t even lit.

Dustin begins backing away, eyes wide, and El lunges, grabbing the front of his sweater with clawed fingers and kissing him, passionate with anger and six years of love that she’s just been choking herself on.

She pulls away just as abruptly, and Dustin’s lower lip begins to bleed sluggishly. “You bit me.”

He doesn’t sound mad, just quietly shocked.

“That’s all you can say to me?” she demands, as the tears begin to slide down her face. She has made herself into a fool, and for no good reason. She told Billy this was a mistake.

“I…yes?” He’s bewildered by the combination of passion and violence, and even more bewildered by the tear. Maybe the kiss made them even now? But then why the hell is she crying? Fuck, he’s been trying not to upset her, Dustin can’t stand it when Eleven cries, but somehow, he’s managed to do it anyway.

Swiping angrily at her eyes, El darts toward the back stairwell beside the sink. Dust, feeling like something important was slipping away from him, grabs her arm, though he knows that’s the last thing he should do with El when she’s upset. That’s how you end up suddenly knowing what the ceiling feels like on your back. “What do you want me to say?” he pleads, grabbing both of her elbows. “Just tell me what you want, and I promise I’ll do it.”

LOVE ME BACK!, she wants to scream.

“Nothing,” she says dully, limbs going slack like a puppet with its strings cut. The lie crushes her. “I don’t want anything.”

“Do you just…really not like me, then?” he asks in a small voice, and the question startles her into a half turn. “Because you didn’t remember my dumb drunk kiss, but you always act like I’m a Demogorgon that’s about to…eat…you…”

Her face is a brilliant crimson, arms crossed defensively over her chest. His lower lip still stings. “Oh.”

“Don’t look at me,” she says in a mumble, shoulders hunching. She covers her eyes, tears spilling out from beneath her fingers. Chin trembling, she repeats, half-pleading, “I don’t want anything.”

Dustin swallows hard, licks his lips. He’s been less nervous presenting his actual dissertation plan. “What if I want something? Would that be okay?” He watches her chewing on her lower lip before she nods. “Can you please look at me?”

Slowly, arm trembling, she lowers her hand and stares at him, her gaze darting at him and then away, frightened and hesitant. She’s barely able to raise her voice. “...okay.”

He never had the slightest conception of the power his touch could have over her, but when his hands cup her face, all of the cupboard doors suddenly swing themselves open. His thumbs wipe at the trails of tears on her cheeks and the dishes on the shelves tremble along with her. Dustin lets her relax enough to look him straight in the eye and says, deadly serious, “Do you have any idea how fucking difficult it is, finding a girl who can measure up to you?”

Her brows pinch together.

“Because I’ve tried,” he confesses. “For twelve years, in three different states, I’ve tried to find a woman who can compete with the first girl I ever fell in love with, and it’s asking way too much of one person.”

Eleven listens, stunned, as he continues “Because that girl is the kindest person I know, and the strongest, and the bravest. She’s clever, and funny, and beautiful, and wise. She’s stubborn as a mule and she pushes anyone who’s ever loved her to be the best version of themselves. She can flip cars without breaking a sweat, and she makes a chocolate cake so delicious that after my first bite, I cried literal tears of joy.”

She’s crying again, and the bags of flour and sugar on the counter have split their seams and begin to pour their contents all over the countertops and the floor. Like Eleven’s heart is bursting, and they burst with her in sympathy.

Pressing his forehead to hers, Dustin whispers “That’s all I want. Find me your equal. I’ve tried, but every time I come home, I see you and I know it’s no use. No matter who they are, they can’t be better than an Eleven.”

“…I can’t say anything that nice,” she admits, holding his hands to her skin. “I’m-I don’t have the words…”

Karen’s tulips, half dead in their vase, are suddenly blooming in full life on the center island. Billy and Steve grin at each other.

Very quietly, Eleven says, “You carried me.” At his confused look, she continues “In the school. When we were young. You carried me. I remembered that.”

“Yeah?” He doesn’t know why, because she seems to think this is very important.

“It was the first,” she tells him. “The first time I really knew what ‘safe’ felt like. It was you. It’s always been you, too.”

Dustin laughs. “We’re a pair of perfect fuck-ups, aren’t we?”

Seriously, she asks “Are we a pair?”

“We could be. If you want.”

She considers that for a moment. “Does it mean I can have a real kiss now?”

His eyes flicker down to her lips. After fully breaking, his voice has always had an almost musical quality, but it seems especially nice to her. “They both felt pretty fucking real to me.”

The back of her neck tingles. As stubborn as he accused, El insists “More?”

Dustin glances nervously at Steve and Billy.

Steve laughs and Billy rolls his eyes. “At least go upstairs, we don’t need to watch the two of you making out.”

Billy sighs as El drags Dustin up the stairs. He’s intensely familiar with dating someone who looks innocent but turns into a fucking maniac in the sack when they’re in the right mood.

Fuck, I hope the kid has a seatbelt and a fucking helmet.

[roses-ruby]

Desperandum Victum Chapter 1

Jimin x Female Reader

Genre: Demon AU, Angst, Fluff, Smut (future chapters), Mature, Slow Burn

Warnings: The story will get really fucking dark, including themes of incest, cannibalism, rape, murder, slavery, gore, yandere, religion, and way more oof. This chapter doesn’t have anything but a subtle mention of violence lol

Word Count: 10,025

Summary: You’ve had a traumatizing hard life and you move to a new town for new beginnings. But what if this town was hiding secrets of it’s own?

A/N: Ahahahaha, I hate that it’s unedited. Let me know my mistakes fam so I can fix them. At the moment I’m setting in the story. I hope you guys read the warning! Enjoy.

It is hopelessness, even more than pain that crushes the soul-William Styron

You breathe in the brisk air. A cloud of steam encompassing your vision. From the rusted hardwood patio, you spot the large Latin cross above the ball and lantern of the church. The church stands a few blocks away from your standpoint yet is clearly visible to anyone in town glancing towards the heavens, as a sort of metonymy supposedly. Religious town folks, you gather, taking note of the polished finish of the pole compared to deteriorated timber linings of the dwellings scattered amiss. Shades of caliginous sky-blue paints your vicinity and you lead out another gust of blight. Frosty weather penetrates your sweats, making your thighs shake bitterly and your teeth chatter.

Sighing, you take one last look at the azure atmosphere and head inside; letting warmth engulf your bones. Entering the dining room, you hear the voice you’ve been avoiding all day

“Hey, you’re supposed to be helping me unpack!”

Scrunching your nose, you grab an apple off the countertop, “when’s dinner?”

“After we unpack”

Your mouth drops in horror as you eye the many boxes littered around the compact space with packing tape still intact.

“Are you serious? So next week then?”

“It’s my fault? I’ve been unpacking hours ago-most of this is your stuff anyway! And you aren’t doing anything-where were you even at?”

“Alright, alright relax,” plopping onto the floor you pull a box towards you, “stop nagging and hand me a razor”

He focuses his gaze on you, taking a moment before looking around. Observing the little beads of sweat on his forehead, courtesy the reflection of your ceiling light, a small pout presents itself on your face out of guilt. You shouldn’t have ran away to enjoy the house and helped out instead before he overworked himself again. You ignore the part of your conscious that whispers about how they weren’t there before.

A small pair of shears slide next to you and you pick it up to puncture your first box.

It’s around midnight when you complete the task of unpacking and modeling. You once over your small room and smile. Feeling at ease at the cozy looking space you jump, back first-onto your twin bed. Tepid knocks sing at your door, before the hinges creak open.

“Do you still want dinner?” He looks meek and apologetic, and you know how he worries for you. “No way,” you giggle, “I’m about to faint and I know you are too. Just go to sleep, you big goof.”

“But-“

“Oh my god Jun, it’s Sunday tomorrow, just give me a big breakfast, I’ll be fine!”

He smiles, “Alright, get to dreaming, punk”

The door shuts close and you correctly position yourself onto your pillow, pulling the warm comforter around your body and melting into the soft cushions of your bed. Cramped muscles and sore thighs from heavy items, awkward poses and tension relax and meander down from a hectic night. A window positioned right above your headboard let’s in soft moonlight through the eggshell white curtains. Your body dulls and your eyes dormant, slowly drifting your conscious elsewhere.

-

Vociferous chirping birds and a delicious aroma wafting through the entirety of your household right through your nostrils jolt you awake. Sitting up, you feel your dry mouth moisten itself. Last night’s hunger has nested itself in your guts making your craving for food more prominent. Putting a hand over your growling stomach, you throw the comforter off your legs and quickly exit your room, trudging towards the kitchen like a zombie.

Jun’s moving a spatula over a crackling non-stick pan, an unobstructed sniff lets you know the appetizing scent was bacon. “You’re up,” he smiles as you scrap a chair out near the modest pinewood dining table. 9:42 is what you sleepily eye on the clock above.

Stepping up behind you, Jun sets down a plate in front of you filled with your favorite type of eggs, toast, and crispy bacon, half wrapping you in his large frame while doing so. The fragrance from the food has you licking your lips, and Jun laughs while mussing up your bed hair. He smells really nice too.

You quickly pick up your fork digging into the entrée in front of you, as Jun pours some orange juice out in a glass.

“Whoa, slow down missy”

“am hungry”

“Ugh, and don’t talk with your mouth open” he hands you the glass that you snatch and happily gulp down in seconds

Jun grins

“Is it good?”

“It’s breakfast Jun,” you set down the container and narrow your eyes at him, “you don’t have to be Martin Yan to make it right”

“But still, saying thanks or complimenting me wouldn’t hurt,” a silly frown forms on his face as he sulks

You shoot him a cheesy smile, which dies down solemnly, “Thank you,” you mumble, “It’s been a long time since we’ve had a proper breakfast, so thank you, Jun.” Staring at him all-embracing, intently, you let your face reflect your gratitude

His gaze softens and he pulls out the chair in front of you ready to consume his side of the meal

The rest of the morning is spent in silent thoughts and steady heartbeats.

-

“Would you slow down for one second?”

You’ve been running through the streets like a little girl with Jun chasing after you. After breakfast the first thing you requested to do was go shopping. The town is too minor for several big malls, but they did have one in the town square area, which for you is like a candy store.

“Hurry up then old man!” you shout at him across the street, before running through the glass door of the large building.

To a city girl, this structure would be an average sized shopping precinct, but it was bigger than most of the town. Walking into the set of the second glass door, you take in the atmosphere of the brightly lit outlet. It’s bustling with people and families, you can already whiff Christmas although the holiday’s far off. There’s some happy tune settling in your ear, and a fresh mawkish aura from what you conclude to be a bakery on your left. Just like in the movies you surmise.

As your eyes twinkle at the new thrills, Jun catches up with you

“Goodness,” he huffs next to you with his hands on his knees, “Kids these days-“

He’s about to scold you but your eyes look so shiny, facing away from him towards the mall. He smiles.

“Alright, we have to hurry up. You have school tomorrow and I want you getting all your items and books ready. I also have to buy new pots and pans for the kitchen.”

You finally snap out of it and look at him, “Do we have to hurry? I mean can we please look around? And what about your work, don’t you have to buy some wrenches for the cars? Finding the right wrench takes a lot of time and effort,” you state as a matter of factly, “Also there’s a restaurant right by that bakery! We could have lunch here and continue shopping! No need to rush!”

Jun gazes at you rambling before he sighs, “I understand you wanna stay, but we can’t,” he gives you a pointed look, “we’re short on time and we need to get home to finish the rest of the unpacking and get you ready for your first day.”

Dejectedly you look at the ground like you’ve just been kicked. “But-” Jun begins

“We can come back here this Saturday and then you can look around as much as you want. Besides I’m making chicken Milano at home, I thought you loved that”

You perk up instantly and Jun almost laughs out loud at your easy to please nature, “Really, oh wow let’s hurry”

“Where do you want to go first”

“How about you go shop for the kitchen while I go buy some school items and clothes”

He looks uneasy at leaving you alone in an unknown place “uh..I don’t know, that doesn’t seem like a goo-“

“You said we are short on time! I’ll be fine, I’m 17 for god’s sake!”

After a bit more convincing and a credit card in hand, you cheerily skip your way through the shopping center. You find a small stationary store on the second floor of the mall. There are a few kids here, around your age and they’re probably here for tomorrow’s first day of school too. Picking up the items you deem essential, and avoiding eye contact to look like a dork, you pay and head out the store as quickly as you can. If Jun finishes his shopping beforehand, and finds you taking your time then he’s going to admonish you right in front of those kids! Entering a nearby aesthetically pleasing shop for clothes, you make it inside to search around for items you like.

You didn’t want them to be expensive. It’s all Jun’s money anyway. And some of the prices before almost gave you a heart attack. Maybe you should get a part time job, you ponder, then Jun wouldn’t have to worry about your expenses and you can take care of them yourself. Mentally high-fiving yourself at the genius idea, you head towards a rack that says clearance in the back of the store.

Your hands glide across the fabrics, attempting to seize something that catches your eye. When you do find something you like, you take it off the rack and give it a once over. It’s a cute red blouse that’s not bad for $8. Humming to yourself, you place it over your forearm and continue looking through the section.

Concluding your purchase with a top and bottom, you leave the shop in a satisfied manner. This’ll do for tomorrow’s big day. Next Saturday is when you will continue your genuine consumerism. You make your way downstairs to wait for Jun, that way you can tease him for being late. Making certain to take note of all the slight areas that catch your eye, to come back to on Saturday.

-

It’s been 10 minutes. You never considered yourself as an impatient person, but the excitement from having new items to entertain yourself with was challenging you to run home this instant. That and you were hungry.

Being so lost in thought you didn’t even realize there’s someone gradually wandering up by you.

“Hello”

“Whaa?!” You flinch gawking at the woman who crept up on you

She was smiling at you. Amused at your conduct, she chuckles

“My name is Joan Miller. Are you new here by chance? I have personally never seen you around our town?”

You give her a proper look. The lady was a bit taller than you and had small, bobbed blonde hair framing her jaw. There were smile lines around her mouth and in the corner of her eyes, but she didn’t look older than 40. She was wearing a black pant suit that was thoroughly ironed, not a wrinkle in sight, with an off white, button up blouse and thin blue stripes and velvet charcoal pumps. Holding a small black book inside her arms across her chest, she beamed at you with her eyes as crescents. There was something off about her smile, but you budged that assumption aside, not wanting to criticize a person you didn’t know.

“Um…Hi…Yeah, we just moved in yesterday in the old homes a few blocks from the church” You were nervous and not used to talking to strangers, even nice ladies like her, but you give her your name hesitantly

“I see, what a lovely name, and how enjoyable to see a fresh face in FallHaven,” Joan answers warmly, “Are you here with your parents, sweetheart?”

“She’s here with me,” Jun replies, and you flinch yet again

How come people are so good at sneaking up on you? You should work on that.

Joan smiles at Jun and reaches her hand out, for the typical adult greeting. Jun responds as he takes her hand and stretches her a pleasant smile as they give each other their names. He had shopping bags on the sides of his leg, cumbersome components he had to set down to accept hands with the blonde lady.

“If you do not mind me inquiring, where have you settled in from? Am I correct to assume you two are related in some way?” Joan asks

“That’s quite a few questions you’re asking” Jun states bluntly as you stare half shocked at him

Joan doesn’t skip a beat “It is a description in my job, young man.” She laughs a bit before stating “I represent Fallhaven Baptist church as one of their board members, and I am attempting to recruit young people such as you both.”

She turns and points to the stall behind her. It’s a modest table, with white cloth draped over it. There’re two poles at the edges of the table that connect a correspondingly snowy banner that read ‘FallHaven Baptist Church’ in blue. Two men await by the stand, with Joan like smiles on their faces, waving at you in a friendly manner. Joan waves back at them.

You and Jun meet eyes for a mutual look.

Turning to Jun again she completes her answer, “So you see, I want to know you individuals better, lest you join our humble commodity”

“Well um…,” Jun awkwardly coughs, “We’re pretty short on time at the moment-”

He pauses for Joan to interrupt the phrase like most do, but she patiently waits for him to finish his sentence

“…which is why we can’t talk much about it right now.”

She nods, “I understand, you both are quite busy with the recent events surrounding your move. Then I will not take up your time any longer, but may I hand you our brochure, if you might to revise your decision?” taking out a pamphlet behind her black book, she extends it towards Jun

You prepare for him to decline, as he stares blankly at the leaflet, but instead he gazes up at you for a moment before he shifts back at the woman to accept the brochure and thank her, catching you off guard

“Thank you for your kind welcome…we’ll definitely look into it”

You stare at him with your mouth agape as you hear Joan exchange some more polite words and an affable farewell

She turns to do the same to you, and you hastily adjust your gape to a ducky smile in the nick of time.

-

“Wow, they offer confessionals, perfect for you to profess about the time you stole my portion of the Chinese leftovers in the middle of the night”

“Can you ple-ase shut up?!” you complain for about the fifth time

He’s been scanning the brochure and making snarky comments the whole time you’ve been heading home.

“Hey, I’m just saying it’s a great way for you to erase your sin” he grins

“Why’d you even take the pamphlet, Jun? I get it, you don’t believe in god. Was it just to make sassy comments?”

When he doesn’t respond, you turn your face to him and he’s wordlessly focusing ahead, seeming adrift in thought.

You always marvel of what goes on in his mind.

“You do though, right? Believe in god that is” He starts

You nod mutely.

His orbs fix on you, and you blush at the amount of intensity you can spot in his spheres.

“You told me you believe in him, after I told you I don’t. Saying he gave you hope…I-We never had the luxury to examine someone like him completely since there was not a day that our lives were composed. But now they are. We’re calmly advancing towards our house, and not that horrid place we once dreaded coming home to. So why shouldn’t we take our time to learn about him now, see what all the fuss is about. It’s a fresh beginning and so we should keep our minds,” he winks, “and hearts open, no?”

Taking it all in, you close your eyes, feeling overwhelmed but not willing to show him so. For so long, all you’ve wanted is for Jun to have a peaceful conscious and it looks like here, it’s finally possible. God would help you two together.

But then you frown as you recall something, “Is it really that? Or is it that Joan lady?”

Jun becomes greatly confused, taking a moment to process what you said

“…what?”

You furrow your eyebrows at him, “Did you think I didn’t see? You shook her hand for way too long! And what was up with you ogling her?

“What the hell are you talking about? She’s a way older woman and she’s not my type, I like mine sexier not that she wasn’t sexy bu-”

“That’s disgusting!” You gasp, before crossing your arms and storming off ahead of him

“Wait come back I was joking! Where did this even come from?!” He desperately shouts, running after you with all the bags from the mall tangled around his limbs

-

After dinner you had offered to wash the dishes. Jun had seen right through you wanting to abscond the rest of the minor unpacking by doing the dishes, but he let it slide. Scrubbing and rinsing through the pots and pans, you hummed your favorite lullaby as a kid. The one Jun always serenaded you to sleep with. He was in the hindquarters rummaging around in his room with his door closed. Your room was just before his, on the other side of the narrow hallway.

When the last dish was in the rack, you threw down your rubber gloves onto the marble countertop next to the sink and booked it to your room. Baggage was pleasantly placed on the edge of your bed, untouched. You got giddy, feeling like they were presents. It was 9:30 pm, and Jun said he wanted you in bed by 10. Tsk, he still treats you like a child. Searching through your stationary, you start setting your backpack for tomorrow. FallHaven high school was the second largest building, after the church, in the town and you were agitated. I mean it’s a small place, and everyone probably knows one another since grade school. How is a newbie like you gonna fit in?

You get to your wardrobe and find the school uniform you had picked up before you even stepped into your new house, hanged and neatly ironed. Curiously, you pick it up and inspect it closely. It was the typical school uniform, with a navy-blue blazer, a bright bleached white button-up shirt, and a green plaid skirt. What was different though, was the attachable thin black ribbon around the collar, and as you picked it up with your fingers, you could see ‘FallHaven’ inscribed on the end of one side in yellow thread.

From the bottom of your closet, you pick up the only two pairs of shoes you own. A worn-out duo of sneakers, and the feminine flats Jun had gotten you for your birthday last year. Shit, you should’ve bought a pair of shoes rather than anything else. Choosing the flats and crew socks you quickly disrobe to put on your get-up. Tying the ribbon was impossible, so you just let it fall to each side of your collar. Walking up to the body mirror in the right corner of your room, you do a few twirls in place to check yourself out.

“Would you look at that”

You shriek as you hear someone behind you. There Jun stands with a smirk on his face, leaning into your entranceway with his hands in his sweat’s pockets. His tank top was drenched in sweat and his wet black hair fell over his brows. The exposing sleeves made you see how much his arms had grown, musclebound limbs taking up most of the capacity of your irises.

“Y-you scared me!”

“You scared me!” He responds with that stupid grin, “Look how cute you look, like a total princess”

“Oh, my g-god, you’re so embarrassing! Leave immediately!” You yell out with a red face, not bearing to consider his proactive display

“Not until I take a picture of you first! Where’s my camera?”

“NOOO!!” you run and push your door into the entryway to kick him out of view, but he pushes back

“Heyyy, don’t be shy, you look so great maybe I should keep you all to myself tomorrow,” He laughs

You feel your face burning up as you struggle to push the door

“Stupid! You’re so stupid! Go away”

“Alright, Alright,” he surrenders, letting go of the door and having it smacked in his face

Locking your door, you jump cranium first onto the bed-who’s springs squeak and grate

“So, I can’t even give you a compliment?” You could hear the teasing in his voice

“Shut up you big goof! Are you playing ‘Let’s see how annoying I can be’ suddenly?”

“I love you too, your majesty! Goodnight!” Jun brings his mocking to an end and you auscultate him walking away in the direction of the kitchen.

And even after getting changed into your pajamas, stealthily avoiding Jun by rushing into the shared bathroom and brushing your teeth, and placidly getting into your bed and pulling up the covers; you could still sense embers of feverous happiness crawling upon your neck,

“I love you goof, goodnight”

-

“Get up or you’ll be late!” Jun shouts

“Mmm five more minutes” You rotate to the side and pull your blanket around tighter

“Are you crazy? School starts in 45 minutes! Get up now!” he hauls the comforter off you and you fall of the bed on your derrière.

“Ooowww” you whine in your drowsy condition, while rubbing your butt

“Perfect, now hurry up and get dressed so we can have breakfast together, and remember the walk to school is 15 minutes”

He leaves the room, with his pink frilly apron on and spatula in hand while you crawl out after him towards the bathroom

After urinating, flossing, washing your face, fixing your hair and all that good stuff you put on your uniform in your room. You take a moment to sit on by your practically empty dresser, and once over your face. You’ve never been a makeup person, not because you didn’t want to be, but because life didn’t allow you to. There used to be this pink lip gloss you had as a child, that you really cherished however.

Even though you don’t desire it, fragments of an ancient memory arises in your vision,

The broken handheld was the only image of yourself you had. It was shattered and missing from the bottom, with a huge crack displayed in the center of the whole mirror. The broken side had begun to rust, and it was slowly raising its way towards the rest of the glass. Your tiny hand didn’t care though, holding it up to your face as you carefully applied the gloss on your lips, just like she does.

You hear another crash from outside the dark room, this one louder than the previous ones and it makes you quickly hide under your blanket on the floor while you breathe heavily. Closing your eyes, you try and think happy thoughts.

After some yelling and another crash, the door opens, before shutting again. You’re petrified by now and shaking in your spot, making the whole blanket vibrate.

“Hey,” someone puts their hand on your head over the blanket, “It’s alright”

It’s Jun

You take off the cover and grab onto him, “I-I tried thinking happy thoughts, b-b-but it didn’t work, I’m sorry” you snuggle onto his torso, your miniature body fitting completely in his larger frame

“No need to apologize princess, you didn’t do anything wrong” Jun pats your head to comfort you, with his other hand draped around you

He was stick skinny, and you could feel his ribs as you rubbed against his chest,

“Let me see your face” He asks you gently

You move off him to provide a view of your face. The room was shadowy, but there was a small window on the right wall lighting up the area moderately.

“Whoa, you look like royalty, why’re you so pretty?” He exaggerates his expression of surprise making you giggle

You clutched onto the gloss container inside your fist, afraid he’ll take it away if he found it

Jun solemnly places a digit on the purple under your eye, and you flinch slightly

“Does it still hurt?” He whispers

You give him a big smile, not insecure to show him your missing baby teeth “No! I like it”

“It looks like that paint those girls put on in the tv!” you beam

Jun gives you an unrecognizable look, putting his head on top of yours. You feel him start to shake and notice the gash on his shoulder, flaky skin ripped around the limb, as if someone stabbed him with something sharp and twisted the object in his flesh before ripping it off

“You’re too pure for this place-”

You jolt out of it as Jun shouts your name

“Coming!” You shout back, getting up and nabbing your backpack to swing around your shoulder

“What were you doing for 25 minutes?” Jun interrogates from the kitchen as soon as your steps become apparent on the wooden fabric of the dining room, with his back in view. He’s messing with something, but you pay no mind to it

“Where’s the food” You ignore his question

“Is it not on the table, cause I’m sure I put it on the table, the one with the food on it, that table right in front of you, with the food, you know th-”

“Okay, Okay, oh my god,” you say with a mouth full of toast, having already sat down to consume the jellied bread while he made his sarcastic remarks

“When are you going to work” you ask him

“At 9, I’ll be home by 4 alright?”

“Mmm” you respond with a mouthful of OJ

He appears out of the kitchen and plants a lunch box in front of you and smiles, putting his hand on each side of his hips

“…There’s no way I’m taking that” His smile fades

“Why not?!”

“Jun, they told you they offer lunch! All the other kids probably eat at the cafeteria, I’m not gonna bring this and look like a mommy’s girl or something!”

Jun seems offended and puts his hand over his chest, just to show you how offended he was, “I can’t believe you care about what other people think, rather than me, who lovingly made this lunch for you! I even made bunny apples!”

You scream out of terror “ARE YOU CRAZY?! Do you want me to look like I’m 5?

“Maybe I do! At least you were nicer than and didn’t insult my food THAT I LOVINGLY MADE FOR YOU!”

“You are so childish! Eat the lunch yourself!”

“I already made one for myself thank you very much, maybe you should learn to make food for YOURSELF!”

“MAYBE I WILL!”

“FINE THEN!”

“FINE THEN!”

You grab your bag and storm out the front door, slamming it shut.

-

You finally notice the evidence of rain as you stepped in your 6th puddle and zone out of your subconscious. It must’ve been pouring last night. Argh, I should really be careful with these shoes till Saturday, you internally scold yourself, moving to the barren side of the road.

Your guilt however justifies that you sort of deserve it, for being so mean to Jun. Sighing, you reflect on how he got up extra early to make you lunch and feel even worse. You hated fighting with him, and it wasn’t a usual occurrence, so happening on the first day of school gives you a bad premonition. Why couldn’t you just take it and hide it in your bag to spare his feelings?  And you love bunny apples, so what’s the big deal? But you also wish he’d stop treating you like a child.

It’s not about the lunch box, but rather every time he says he misses when you were younger. As if you’ve changed so much, he doesn’t recognize, doesn’t see…doesn’t like you anymore.

You hate it.

Before you know it, your ears detect the sound of other kids in the near distance. Perking your head off the ground, you see students in similar uniforms heading toward the large open front gate of the school.

Ok, just act normal, act normal, act normal. No one must know you’re a freshie, you’ll be fine.

Their necks snag your attention suddenly. All of them had perfect ribbon tied bows on their collars, while you just droopily looped your ribbon together once.

“Great,” you mumble, so much for not looking out of place

Making it to the front gate, you turn to see the building you saw Saturday. You’re in admiration again, and those same butterflies appear in your gut. It’s a large red-bricked school, with white decorative foundation linings, and a beautiful white roof cresting. A large mansard gable sits at the head of the building, adorned with fish scale shingles. There was a small religious cross finial at the edge of the top, and hooded windows on each side of the front of the structure, and one in the face of the roof. The school was well thought out and stunning.

You take a deep breath, before walking to the open double doors. There’s a man that stands right in front of the entrance of the school’s hallway. Towering over you as you pass him, you give him a little good morning and he nods at you. He’s eminently pale and has deep dark circles under his lifeless eyes. His hair is matted against his large square head, and he garbs like he’s going to a funeral. Not a good start, you contemplate.

“Okay, first period calculus, room 306,” you whisper to yourself as your feet guide you along the stairs to the third floor and the polished tile hallway

302, 304, oh there it is! You stop right in front of the chocolate door of the math class. This is it, you raise your sweaty palms toward the knob, here you go. A chance at a normal life, a new outset, a bett-

“Are you not gonna go in?”

Startled you bounce back with a yelp, hand motionless in mid-air. When you manage to locate the cause of your sudden scare, your jaw almost drops to the floor.

The first thing you see is red hair. Silky, beautiful red tresses, enclosing the fair face of a young boy about your age. Handsome was an understatement. He possessed deep, penetrating monolids, with the illuminated hallway polishing beneath his somber orbs. His plump doll-like lips seemingly out of place to his otherwise masculine features; the fuchsia hue expensing his labium’s canvas making him look softer, younger. The portrayed youth extended by his chiseled jaw line, and his skin’s flawless artistry with not a blemish in sight. Someone like this must be hand carved by the devil himself.

His vibe is inimitable, unlike anyone’s you’ve perceived before. Hands in his pockets, callous attitude, unshakeable posture, all of it reminds you of those bad boys in the 70’s flicks. He demands attention so effortlessly, and when he slightly shifts his otherwise immobile head to the side, is when you realize the fact that you’ve been gawking at him shamelessly.

“H-huh?”

“I asked if you were gonna go in or not”

“Oh, umm yes o-of course,” you hastily grab the knob and bare the entry way open for him, so awkwardly that you’re trapped behind the door while he walks in, not giving you another glance

You cringe internally at your stupidity while walking into the classroom. You were nervous that everyone was gonna glower at you, but you notice that the few kids filling up the classroom had their eyes on the guy who entered before you. He was walking en route to the back of the room by the window. Not wanting to draw any awareness at your person, you took that time to quietly go sit in the desk in the middle of the room.

The classroom was brightly lit, yet not to the point of straining and suffocating the students. Looking at your feet, you see the floor sustained by mini dim white tiles, and the clean desks were a soft tan, each one separated a few inches from the other.  Forward was a huge clean white board, with an enlarged welcome back written in black ink. It was so different from your old school, where the desks contained carved slurs, so you could barely write on them and the walls grew dark yellowed mold. Teachers wouldn’t even show up days at a time. You were in awe at the smallest things.

Sitting there absentmindedly, you watched the room start to fill in. After about 10 minutes, the capacity of the seats was complete, and students had begun conversing with one another. Fidgeting the slightest in your seat, you wished to one day be a part of one of the kids chatting since you never had many friends before. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw a girl to your right staring at you with her hand held up by her jaw. She’s probably just curious about if she’s seen you around before or not. You hoped she’d come strike up a conversation after class.

That’s when the bell rang making you sit up straight.

A minute later, in strolled a chubby instructor in a tan suit holding a large binder in his dextral arm

“Good morning,” he enounces, gathering his material by his table in the front

“Good morning Mr. Doug” the class replies in a faulty unison

The instructor makes small talk, and a joke that cracks up a few students in the first row. It seems like he already knows most of the schoolchildren, at least everyone in this class. There were around 200 kids in the whole school, so you wouldn’t put it past him. You were so grateful that this was everyone’s first day back from summer, and you didn’t randomly come here in the middle of the semester.

“Alright, as you all know this is your final schoolyear, I’ll explain what you can learn from this class and calculus in general” Mr. Doug unfolded his binder

As he’s about to talk again, the door expands open. It was a long-legged, extremely attractive man. He stepped into the room and bowed at your teacher. His elongated black coat making him look graceful and expensive. Then he turned towards the class, looking over you at someone behindhand,

“Master Jimin,” He spoke in a deep, respectful voice, striding past you making everyone’s head follow him, “I’m glad I found you, my apologies for not keeping up with your speed” he bows intensely with his hands folded on his thighs, at the good-looking boy you had met outside. “Jimin” doesn’t say anything, he glances at him, then back at Mr. Doug

“Start the lesson” the red head voices, in the same apathetic tone he used with you

“Oh! Yes, right away,” Mr. Doug scrambles to get back to his practice after the abrupt interruption

The remainder of the class goes smoothly, with you having some informative handouts by the time the dismissal bell resonates. Suddenly the room goes silent, and you become confused as to why they’re so still, when you hear the chair of someone behind you screech and two pairs of footsteps come your way. As soon as Jimin is in your line of sight, everything starts going in slow motion.

 Fleeting past you, he turns his head back to look at you. Out of nowhere you feel a spur of sparks underneath your skin, and the ambience converts into fire. You let out a loud gasp and gripe the material cloth around your chest. Perspiration appears on your brow and your breathing is heavy, you turn to look back at Jimin, bewildered and frightened at the pain you just caressed; to see him no longer looking at you…but not moving either. The black coat man is standing right behind him, just his coat in your perception. Jimin stands there with the back of his red head in your orbs. You’re unable to see his expression, but you don’t need to as he starts walking again, up and out of the classroom with that cold mask on his face and black coat man trailing.

Though you’re certain you peeked a frown on his ethereal features.

When you look around the room again, everyone had their eyes on you. Some look just as surprised as you, others were disordered. Even Mr. Doug gave you a strange face. You feel strangely exposed…and a sense of danger looms in the corner of your gut. Bit by bit, people get back to their business, gather their belongings and empty the classroom one by one, and sadly the girl who stared at you at the start doesn’t come up to you as you watch her walk out the door. Hiding your disappointment, you grab your things to head to your 2nd period class.

What happened in that room doesn’t vacate your mind for a second.

-

By the end of third period, it’s lunch time. The one thing you were dreading the most. You’ve watched movies, you know that the new student sits by themselves and watches all the other kids interact all noisily. Then suddenly the bully comes up and makes fun of the new kid and the whole lunch room laughs! Oh no. Biting your lip, you rigidly walk down the hallway until you enter the vast cafeteria.

You were right, it was noisy.

Kids took up the whole room, laughing and playing loudly. Boys making dumb jokes and girls leaning in whispering to each other, lost in their own world. Faded blue circular lunch tables accompanied the bright chalky chamber. Toward the end of the room, you spot a glass door that led to the outside, with more circular islands inhabiting the softly cemented pavement. That’s where you wanted to be. As quick as you can, you step up to the line for the lunch, left of the entrance. Grabbing a tray, you trace the person in front of you filling up your tray with items that you found pleasing

Contrary to the movies, the food looked delicious. Fancy school privilege maybe. There wasn’t even a “lunch” at your old school. You watch the person in front of you pay for his share of the meal and walk off and that’s when it hits you.

You don’t have money.

The fight with Jun had made you storm out in a rush, forgetting to ask him for change. He probably wasn’t gonna give you any anyway. You stand there, motionless; staring at nothing, while you feel the eyes of the cashier and the rest of the people in line, on you. Why do these things happen to you? What’re you going to do? You want to put your food back, but this doesn’t seem like the type of place you could do that without repercussions, especially social ones. Your worst nightmare is all at once coming true

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, n-

All of a sudden, someone puts a $5 bill on the section of your empty tray. You whip your head at them, wide-eyed, recognizing the familiar face.

It’s the girl from class…the one that caught your attention infirst period.

She smiles, “I got you, don’t worry”

You didn’t want to take her money, so you open your mouth to decline, but she slightly encouraged you up to the registrar with her palm, with a slight laugh. Paying with a heavy heart, you marginally move off the line to give the girl your thanks after she pays for her meal.

“Hey,” she greets you when she turns to see you obviously waiting for her

“Hi, umm-I’m so sorry you had to pay I’ll pay you back-it’s just I forgot my money because I was in a rush seriously I’m such an idiot”

“Okay, whoa slow down,” she giggles, “Come on let’s go sit first” She takes your arm in hers and you stiffen from shock at skin ship. Like stated, you never had many friends. And by many, you mean you only had one. No, it wasn’t Jun.

 She leads you past the lunch tables, through the glass doors to reveal an abundant atrium with cherry blossom trees, a checkered polished bluestone pavement, and open canvas windows in the surrounding building. The top sections of the building were surrounded by a terrace like roof, unlike the front of the school. They were closed off by a pointy white fence. It was beautiful.

“Holy fuck” you whispered, bending your neck to take every single detail in

“Right?” the girl snickers “I had the same reaction.” She sits you down in one of the empty lunch tables.

The girl had mid length caramel brown coils softly springing with her every movement. Her sepia soaked skin gleamed in the sunlight. Thin rimmed glasses sat on her nose, at the edge of which a small, unnoticeable mole resided. Irises were soaked in amber, alluring anyone who welcomed them with their own.

“Thank you once again,” you make out

She just angles her head to the side and gives you a wink, while you blush. Are all the students of this school magically hot?

Trying to focus elsewhere, you notice there weren’t a lot of people around, which had you bewildered. Why did they eat indoors rather than this fascinating space? Something was wrong.

“Umm, are we allowed out here?” you ask the stranger who’s already digging into her tray

“Well, technically you aren’t,” she says with a mouth full of sausage, “but I am” reaching into her shirt, she pulls out an id badge, “I’m with the honors society, and I can bring up to two people with me if I need.”

Underneath her name, which you now knew as Candace Angevin, in bold yellow ink stated ‘FallHaven Honor’s Society Pass Level B’

“Pass level b?”

“It means I’m permitted in some areas of the building most students aren’t. There’s pass level’s A, the most restrictive and pass level S, with that you can go literally anywhere. This school is a maze with tons of secret rooms, probably because it’s connected to the monastery”

“MONASTERY?!” You gasp

“You didn’t know? This town’s popularity is for that sole reason! See this side of building?” she points at the side away from the entrance “that part attaches to a far-flung horizontal structure, which leads to the back of the church”

Your mouth hangs open

She laughs out loud “It only leads to it, it’s not connected! But yeah, it’s built like that on purpose”

“Why?”

“There’s a tower in the middle”

At that exact moment, a quick breeze arises through the atmosphere, making you equally shiver slightly

“…A tower?”

“It’s called the angel’s tower and it’s a sacred place of prayer, for some of the higher-ups…some say around 120 years ago, an angel landed in that abandoned watch tower, with a grave warning to the village’s inhabitants. Apparently, babies were stillborn, disease plagued the town and crimes were at their peak. The famine was so great that some people had resorted to…cannibalism of their own kids”

You gulp and look at your tray of food, not very hungry anymore.

“But after that angel showed up, he gave the village folk a vision. With a major cautioning. It completely cured all their problems, and now FallHaven is the small yet profitable town it is today. That’s the reason everyone and their mothers here are so religious. Did you notice the absence of women in this town? Most of them live in the Monastery, to serve god and that angel”

“Wow…I can’t believe it”

“That’s cause it’s not true” she replies mischievously

“WHAT”

She laughs again “I mean I don’t know if it is. There are 9 different versions of this rumor, this is just the most popular one”

“Tsk” you pout picking up your fork

“Hey, I can’t help it if you’re too easy to fool hehe, what’s your name by the way hun”

You tell her your name while slurping on your noodles, “It’s nice to meet you Candace, I really am gonna pay you back”

“Shit don’t worry about it. I helped you out because I wanted to. Once upon a time I was in your position”

“You forgot your lunch money?”

“No, silly” she gets up from her side of the table and sits right by you, “I was a new student two years ago” She takes your ribbon in her hand, looping and tying the thin stable fabric around your neck appropriately. “There” she goes

You stroke your ribbon and smile. It feels exactly how hers is displayed.

“Thank you”

-

“Yes!” you shout reaching into your room and jumping on the warm cotton heaven that was your bed. “Mmm, I never wanna leave you again,” you muffle into the sheets

Hasteningly, you remove your shoes and socks, tingling your feet around. With the same energy you remove the heavy blazer and loosen your ribbon. Rotating in the bed so your eyes face the ceiling, you take in a breath and gleam. What a wonderful day!

Today went so, so much better than your brain made it seem like it would. You actually got to study, the teachers seemed all nice. Your history teacher told you a story about her cats, your sixth period teacher had donuts for the students, and there’s even a volleyball team you want to join in. And most importantly, you made a friend! Your very first official friend! Oh how exciting!

You told her about Joan and joining the church, which it turns out she’s already a member of! This way you can see her throughout the week a bit more. Being so happy makes your whole body flounder on the mattress, which eventually leads you to hitting the soles of your feet on the side rail, hard.

“Ow!” you scream, sitting up and applying pressure on the pain.

That’s when you recollect your first class, the pain you felt on that desk…the raging fire ripping your skin apart from your muscles…What was that? It happened when that Jimin guy looked at you.

Jimin…

Candance had told you about him. His name was Park Jimin and he was some kind of royalty and lived in the mansion in Votum Valley, which is located east of the school. It’s a hill-side area connected to FallHaven, where some rich people live.

“If you think this school is pretty, you should see Votum valley”

“What was up with that black coat guy” you ask her, gathering your things to leave lunch

“That’s his assigned special guard, all the three royalties have one. The school lets them do whatever, since they’re the main donors. You know how that stuff works. They could get teachers fired and fried, if they wished”

“There’s three of them?”

“Basically, they aren’t hard to spot, but one of them skips school relentlessly and the other is gone for the week on a special trip. They are a huge deal on campus, like have you seen their faces? It’s funny because all three of them hate each other and avoid the other at all cost”

Walking along the corridor to your next classes she becomes solemn “Hun…what happened in the morning with Jimin?”

“I don’t know! That was so strange, I was so confused. He looked at me and everything became painful,” you reply, shaking at recalling the incident

You both stop at an intersection where you had to part, she gives you a concerted look

“Just be careful alright? They’re all dangerous and it’s not a good idea to get involved with them”

“Dangerous, huh?”

You stare at your foot, lost in thought, when the front door opens. That’s most likely Jun.

Tipping to the edge of your entryway, you peak at the entrance and watch him take off his shoes. His hair’s a mess and he had black marks on his gray jumpsuit and hands. Your heart feels a pang. When he has his back towards you, putting his shoes on the shoe shelf, you quietly step up behind him and engulf his broad shoulders in a hug

“…Hi”

“Hey…rough day?

“Not really,” he sighs, “It’s the same work it was in that place. But better too.”

Peaking at the petty incisions on his fingers, you let out a heavy exhale.

“I’m sorry” You mush your face into his back

“Me too,” he turns and gives you a gentle smile, before mussing up your hair, “I shouldn’t have been so childish”

“No, I was the one!” you stop him, “it’s just that…Jun this is my first time at a normal high school. There’re actual people there! I’ve never…even once…” you shut your eyes, “…I just don’t want to mess this up, and my brain is telling me all these crazy things an-”

“Hey, Hey, hey,” he cups your teary face, “it’s okay, I understand…better than anyone…and since your lunch is still in the kitchen, now I won’t have to make dinner”

You smile in his palms “You’re such a goof”

He laughs and moves towards his room “I spoke with Joan today” he shouts back at you

You didn’t like hearing her name so casually from his mouth “Joan?”

“Yeah, that church lady,” he turns to you, “I’m serious about joining that church you know. Almost everyone in town is a member, and this is a good thing to build some friendships in the community. She’s asked us to come talk to the head board member this Saturday.”

“This Saturday? What about the shopping?”

“We can do both princess, don’t worry,” he winks, “now get dressed, we’re gonna go buy some fresh produce from the farmer’s market before they officially close for the season. Uncle Alp recommended it. I’m gonna go take a shower”

He walks into his room and you sigh. Moving to a novel town is such hard work

“Well, if uncle Alp recommended it”

-

A secular section in the center of the town had a detachable farmers market installed for the season. Summer was officially over next week, so this was the last day the farmers would contribute crops for the year. You and Jun wandered around through many colorful umbrellas and stalls. The fruits and vegetables were way larger than you’ve seen in grocery stores and uplifting. There were a few stands selling homemade items, such as jam or achar bottles. People crowded the center on the last day of the market, and every alleyway was jammed with products. The nearby shops were also getting attention, and everyone was loud and boisterous.

“How much is a carrot,” Jun asked, holding up the orange stick. He had already bought a bunch of other veggies and fruits and had a cloth bag full of them. Before leaving the house, he kept bragging about how he always came prepared because of said bag.

“$1 per pound,” shouted the heavy-set older man, in a gruntled tone while helping other customers in the rush

“A whole dollar!? Did you lose it? Have you seen your carrots? One of them could easily be 3 pounds”

“Then that’s like 3 carrots! Where’s the problem?”

You rolled your eyes and backed away from them arguing. You were about to step away altogether when-

“Look out!”

Suddenly a small white ball of fluff started roaring towards you and you screamed and hid behind Jun. The small ball started yapping right in front of Jun, while he laughed, and you held him in front of you as a shield.

“Hey little guy”

“Oh no I am so sorry!” you peek behind Jun to see a 30 year-old man in a white panama hat push through the crowd and face Jun. He bends down to pick up the monster and it turns out to be a little dog

“I am so sorry,” the man says again in a thick accent, “my mojo is very hyper, but he’s harmless!”

“It’s not a big deal,” Jun smirks, “I have someone like that myself,” he grabs you from behind with his arm and drapes you to his side

“You are very pretty miss! I’m sorry my dog scared you,” Says the man in white

“Thank you and it’s alright” you blush

“My name is Hector from Spain, and I am here with my crew!” Just then, a few other men holding camera, lights and other gadgets appear from the crowd, “we are here shooting the beauty of FallHaven!”

“Hello, Hector from Spain my name is Jun, and this is ____,” Jun reaches out his hand for a shake and Hector gladly obliges, “Why’d you choose FallHaven so far from home?

“Oh, my father came here when I was once a boy! He was in a scout of missionary men invited by the head of the church, he loved it here so much and always talk of it. After an illness, he had to move back to Spain and now that he’s in the last stages of his life I want to document the life and style he saw here and show it to everyone home!

“That’s amazing, your father would be so happy”

“I’d think so too, would you both like to be in my documentary?”

“Oh, we’d love to,” Jun scratches the back of his head, “but we aren’t really FallHaviens yet. We just relocated here three days ago.”

“Marvelous! How do you like it here so far?”

Hector introduces his crew and talks to Jun for a while. You stare at the messy little Pomeranian in the man’s arms and how it kept getting reckless. His petite legs kept flopping everywhere, trying to get loose. You hoped it wouldn’t run off again.

But looks like the world never listens to you and it jumps off Hector, barking and running into the crowd.

“Oh no not again” Hector shouts, and you all sprint after it. You end up getting separated from Jun in the immense crowd, but you are too focused on looking for the little dog on the ground. All you see are people’s limbs, so you huff and look around the atmosphere. In the spur of the moment, you spot a small ball type figure moving in one of the alleyways, making you rush towards it.

“Mojo?” you call once you’re in the alley, “here doggy”

Silence

You call it a few more times wondering around the passage with your hands cupped around your mouth. Bending to investigate small nooks and crannies, you expected to see shaky white fur, but there was nothing in sight expect a few bugs, which creeped you out.

Frustrated, you turn to step out the way you originated when you jump and let out a yelp.

There was an old lady standing at the spot you came in at the edge of the alleyway, just staring at you.

At a lost for words, you gaze at her, a bit too aware of how alone you were in the empty lane. The day’s become a bit dimmer, yet you can still make out her emergence.

She’s so old the skin of her cheeks is drooping down her face. Wrinkles swallow her skin, and her lips have protruded into her mouth long ago. Her stature’s short and stubby and her head is covered by a silk bandana tied to her chin. The hair peeping out of her bandana is slicked back, aged white, and looks fizzed.

Yet what really scares you is how full of life she looks. Her lips are hauled into a straight line, and her eyes are opened so wide, it looks like they’ll pop out of her skull. They have an immense hold on you and you’re terrified by her glare. She doesn’t even blink.

“I-is…Is everything okay ma’am,” you say quietly, shaking in your spot. She doesn’t respond.

Did I do something wrong you wonder

“Um-are you lost?” You take a minute to look around the alleyway, maybe her family’s nearby and she wandered off

But no one’s around, not even a kid. You were sure there were people here when you came in. The path had become darker, and it looked like here were dark clouds lining the sky, when you remember the sunny nature of the market just a while ago. It was eerie and strange. Your heart was beating in your ears.

Sighting silence, you turn back to face the woman and scream. She’s closer. So close, that the tip of your shoes is almost touching her bare toes. Looking at you through huge eyes, she stands as still as a statue in your space.

“Um-uh…ma’a-” You start stuttering before she grabs your wrist. You shriek at her sudden action and try to pull your hand away. Her fingernails are long and grimy, yellow and chipped, stabbing into your wrist with outstretched force. She tightens her grip as you struggle, and you feel tears clouding your eyes.

“Ha-saw-tawn ‘ohebh `azab zo'th e-rets” She speaks in a foreign tongue, with a menacingly measured voice which displays her rotten black tines

“Please stop,” you cry, trying to pry off her grasp with your other hand. But she’s too strong, and your wrist feels like it’ll crack in two. You’re full out balling right now, scared to death as she keeps repeating her sentence

“Ha-saw-tawn ‘ohebh `azab zo'th e-rets”

“WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?” Jun barges into your vision and pulls the old lady off you. Quickly discarding her to the side he steps up worriedly to your horrified face. He eyes you holding your wrist and gently places his hand on yours to silently ask you to let him see, he could feel you quivering as soon as he touches you.

You take your hand off to reveal a hard-red bruise forming around your wrist. “Fuck” Jun mutters. He places a finger on it and you wince, making him livid. You see his enraged face turn in the direction of the old woman still standing there with the same manifestation. Balling his fist, he makes a step towards her, when you clutch onto the back of his shirt.

“P-please let’s g-go,” you say through tears. Jun looks back at you with tenderness, but doesn’t move his stance, so you say it again

“Please”

He physically deflates and closes his eyes to gather his thoughts. Taking you under his left arm, he guides you away from the place, trying not to make eye contact with the old woman because that’ll make him furious. Leaning into him, you shut your eyes to shut out her face mentally.

As you guys start walking she says something which makes you jump again, but Jun ignores her and keeps moving

“A-vad”

She keeps repeating the same word and turns her face as you both brush past her in the narrow passage way. Jun says nothing, and you can see his jaw clenched. He stops a few feet from her to pick up his bags of produce he had dropped, and you take this time to look at her. The old woman had turned her whole body to face you, while she reiterates her word,

“a-vad…a-vad…a-va-“

“Let’s go”

You gasp, as you turn to face Jun. He takes you in his arm again when you nod and leads you out of the alleyway, and eventually the center. She never stopped repeating the word until she was out of your sight, and you wonder if she stopped at all.

[metamorphicrocky]

You Are Okay, Right?

um I guess I decided fuck it and this is getting posted now. the other side spoilers are ahead so beware of that because this takes place right after the episode ends. anyways, enjoy some emotions during this emotional time.

also this is on my AO3 of the same name if ya wanna check it out there

Gary watched in agony as Little Cato briskly slipped past the group to go to his room, wanting to ask again if he was okay, but knowing that it wouldn't change what the kid had been through. He was at a loss. For words, actions, everything.

"Fox?" The teen's attention was grabbed instantly by Gary shattering the silence that fell over the ship after Little Cato's footsteps faded away. "I need to switch rooms with you for a little while, to keep an eye on him. If that's okay."

"Um, yeah. Yeah, of course...," Fox said, trailing off uncertainly at the end.

Gary released a shuddering breath, his hands shaking as he rubbed them along his face. He never really knew what he was doing with Little Cato, or how to properly take care of him and help him deal with everything he had been through. But after today? Oh boy, he was in deep.

He needed to...to...check up on him. Yeah, Gary should check up on him. He could do that and work from there. Gary quickly walked toward the Ventrexian's room, slight panic encompassing him the closer he got.

And oh wow he was already there. Okay, that was quicker than he expected. To be honest, Gary was ridiculously worried, so he might have started running at some point. His heart beat wildly in his chest, not knowing what to anticipate behind the door. It was quiet, and Gary knew from experience that silence like this spelled trouble.

He was scared, to say the least. What position would he find his Spidercat in? The possibilities ran through Gary's mind, but he was just stalling at this point. It was time to go in.

Without thinking any further, Gary opened the door to see...Little Cato, limbs splayed across his bed as he slept.

"Oh, thank god," Gary said, collapsing into the desk chair with a thud. He took in a deep breath and ran his hands through his hair roughly. Oh boy was he not ready for any of this.

"Chookity?"

Gary whipped his head up to see Mooncake hovering right in front of him, a sad look in his eyes. Gary motioned for him, and his little friend instantly snuggled up against his chest.

"Mooncake, Avocato never should have let me take care of his boy. All I ever do is mess it up," Gary whispered. "I don't know if I can fix this, or if there even is a way to do that. But now, Little Cato is...."

He choked on his words and folded himself over Mooncake, trying to breathe deeply and avoid waking up the traumatized boy to his right. Traumatized was an understatement, and that only made Gary feel like even more of a failure.

The blond leaned back in the chair, staring aimlessly up at the ceiling. His vision blurred ever so slightly, but he blinked the tears away as quickly as they came.

"I just want him to be happy, Mooncake, but he keeps on getting hurt from just being around me," Gary said miserably.

Mooncake hummed sadly, nuzzling into Gary in an attempt to cheer him up. He smiled sadly and gave his buddy's head a stroke, and that was when he noticed eyes blinking sleepily at him.

Gary shot up, startling Mooncake, and just watched in silence as Little Cato's eyes opened more and more, to finally focus on Gary's face. Seeing the man must have startled him, because the boy shot up as well and shut his eyes. His small hands quickly covered his face, and Little Cato muttered, "Go away."

The human blinked in confusion. "What?"

"I know this is a dream, so just go away. I don't want to see him right now," Little Cato explained, further hiding himself from view.

"This isn't a dream, Little Cato. I'm really–"

"No, you're not!" Little Cato cut off exasperatedly. He moved his hands away, and Gary saw the pain in his eyes as he looked at him. "I know the difference between reality and a dream, and Gary is dead. So, go away, because you're not gonna convince me."

Little Cato's voice cracked at the end, and so did Gary's heart. How often did the kid have to deal with things like this that he immediately would brush Gary off as a dream? Oh, Gary was not the right guy for this, yet it didn't matter because he was the only one there to do it.

"So, this is all a dream?" Gary asked softly.

The kid's ears flopped over sadly as he nodded.

"Okay," Gary said. "Just because it's a dream, that doesn't mean I have to go away, does it?"

Little Cato flicked his eyes toward Gary miserably and shook his head as he folded into himself. God, he looked so small sitting there like that. This was the Little Cato who was alone for sixty years, and not the ball of energy Gary was with mere hours ago. The blond didn't necessarily want to think about how his Spidercat was in complete isolation for over half a century, so he focused on helping the kid instead by speedily climbing the bunk's ladder to sit next to Cato.

"I'm sorry," Little Cato whispered.

Gary shuffled closer to him. "Why are you sorry?"

"I'm just some dumb kid who you got stuck with, and you died because of me. It took me sixty years to make any progress on something to save us. I'm nothing like you, you would have been able to do it so easily, and–!"

"Hey, I'm gonna cut you off right there. You don't need to get started on that guilt train, okay?" Gary demanded softly. Little Cato twisted his tail in his lap, staring down at his distraction intently. "And, I'm gonna need you to look at Gary."

The kid followed the instructions, and Gary felt his chest constrict the moment he saw the tears slowly streaming down his face. His hands immediately went to Little Cato's cheeks, his thumbs wiping away the tears as the young Ventrexian leaned into Gary's touch.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Little Cato cried, trying to push Gary off without any actual desire for the touch to stop.

Gary sighed deeply and quickly shushed Little Cato, his voice pitched to a comforting tone, "Hey, no, stop that, little buddy. Now, listen to Gary. None of this, and I really mean none, was your fault. You do a great job with everything you do, and I am so proud of everything you've accomplished, okay?"

The kid nodded and sniffled, and Gary nodded back. "And neither of us planned on being together like this, but I would never think of it as being stuck with you. You're my Spidercat, and I wouldn't change that for anything. Understand?"

"Yeah," Little Cato said, wiping away some of his tears.

"If you get those thoughts again, tell me so that me and Mooncake can beat them up for you." Gary smirked and threw his fists around, pretending to punch something that wasn't there. It made Little Cato laugh wetly, so a small, genuine smile grew on Gary's face as Mooncake snuggled up against the kid for a hug.

Gary took this opportunity to pull the boy close to him, hugging him against his chest, a hand carding through the fur on the back of his head. Little Cato scrambled for purchase on Gary's leather jacket, and he let out a shuddering breath. Gary felt his head land on his shoulder, and the blond repositioned them so that the kid's head sat in the crook of his neck.

This was how they sat for several minutes, Little Cato trembling in his guardian's arms as Gary tried his best to keep the kid as calm as possible, until Little Cato interrupted the silence.

"I don't want to be alone again," Little Cato said, the words muffled by Gary's jacket. "I miss you, Thunderbandit. I wish this was real."

Gary squeezed the kid once for reassurance and ran his hand up and down his back quickly. Hearing Little Cato talk as if all of this would be forgotten when he woke up absolutely crushed Gary's heart. "As long as I draw breath, that will never happen. We'll get through this together, as a team."

"As a squad," Little Cato finished.

The kid wasn't okay now, but Gary would make damn sure that he was soon.

"Go back to sleep, Spidercat. And I'll still be here when you wake up."

Gary leaned against the wall to act as the kid's pillow for the night, so Little Cato quickly got comfortable enough to drift off to sleep again after he spent all of his energy. The man smiled sadly as he watched Little Cato curl up next to him, Mooncake contentedly being held in his small arms. The gentle rise and fall of his Spidercat's chest assured Gary that the kid could push through this with a little help, as well as luring Gary into a calm that allowed him to fall asleep, his head pillowed gently on top of Little Cato's.

So, when Nightfall came in to check on them later, she just smiled and laid a blanket across the boys to avoid disturbing their much needed rest.

[axelsagewrites]

Simon Lewis*Human

Masterlist HERE

Wattpad HERE

Set before Simon was a daylighter

According to the Oxford, dictionary vampire has 3 definitions 1.    a corpse supposed to leave its grave at night to drink the blood of the living by biting their necks with long pointed canine teeth. 2.    A small bat that feeds on the blood of mammals or birds using its two sharp incisor teeth and anticoagulant saliva, found mainly in tropical America. 3.    (in a theatre) a small spring trapdoor used for sudden disappearances from a stage. And I’m not in a theatre and I’m not a bat. I’m a corpse. The shadowhunters consider us as diseased and broken; cast offs. Mundanes are-well were terrified of us, till a certain film franchise. But still, if they would get scared if they saw us in real life. The one thing no one seems to see us as is human. We were born human, raised human, turned vampire. If you had cancer that doesn’t make you cancer itself. You’re a person with an illness. You can still feel things. Sure, we’re closed off by nature, but we have reasons. A, we literally died which is traumatic enough, B we know we’ll outlive our families, C shadowhunters hate us, D we’re forced to be nocturnal. And that’s the short list. Due to our sleep schedule and the sun we’re kinda forced to be friends with our own. Mundanes are dangerous to befriend as a vampire, shadowhunters hate us, Werewolves despise us, Faeries hate everyone. That leaves us with warlocks I suppose but they’re not nocturnal. Being alive for so long and not aging hurts. It does. You see people around you age and die and you can’t help since you don’t want them to suffer as you do. That takes its toll on you. I make the best of a bad situation. Or I try. I’ve made a few warlock friends and a few more vampire ones. A lot of vampires become closed off though, so those friends are only so good. Raphael was always closed off but he’s still one of my closest friends. Magnus Bane is another. He’s a peculiar person, to say the least. We met at his parties and since he’s a decent person if a vampire visits him he puts up enchantments, so the sun doesn’t leak in. Our friendship was a fun one. Parties, a similar humour, and a carefree life. He’d seen a lot in his time but never made you feel less of a person. He was like a brother who wouldn’t leave me. I had the option to stay in the dumort, but it was grim, to say the least. Sure, I could move into an apartment but it's hard to rent a mundane one due to our odd hours and downworlder landlords always have another tenant waiting for every room. Magnus had seen my predicament and told me I could stay with him for the time. Being roommates with Magnus was great. He could conduct his business in the day without me disturbing him and I could help at night and hang out. Originally Magnus said he would look for  a place for me, rent it in his name, and I’d pay him, but honestly, we had so much fun together we decided to just be roomies. Well, it was fun at first. Our friendship was always strong, but my mind wasn’t. part of the reason Magnus was reluctant to let me move out as he was worried. I couldn’t blame him. I’d lived the length of an average life with the same amount of pain if not more. But I was still alive and still suffering. Sometimes when warlocks get old they become emotionless or crazy. Although not a warlock I think us vampires get the same thing. Mundane medicine doesn’t work on vampires and therapists don’t often see clients after dark. Magnus had helped, so had Raphael, but it still hurts. It’s no one’s fault but that doesn’t mean theirs a cure. I was still alive however and I did my best. I would put on a face if I had to. Somehow Magnus befriended a group of shadowhunters. It was during the day they normally met so our paths never crossed. When Magnus started dated one of them I had a mix of feelings; nervousness, happiness, and curiosity. It wasn’t till then I began to get to know them. I got on fine with Alec, Isabelle, and Clary. Jace and I had a strange hatred yet friendship, swapping insults but not hits. He was okay, to be honest. Then there was Simon. Simon wasn’t Magnus’ friend but he was Clary’s friend who was Jace’s girlfriend, who was Alec’s parabatai. Sometimes it’s like living in a mundane high school. It’s not that I didn’t like Simon, it’s that Simon didn’t like me. According to Raphael, he didn’t really click with other vampires, viewing us as evil or bloodsuckers. I can’t blame him, I was the same at first. Simon would never sit next to me, never talk to me, never even really look at me. When I talked to Magnus about it he said I was paranoid. We were never left alone so it was okay. Till now. It was daytime and everyone had decided to go to Magnus’s for lunch. The apartment was enchanted so the sun didn’t affect vampires unless a window was open. While everyone was talking amongst themselves Alec got a call. You could see him holding back a groan. “Okay. We’ll be right there,” He sighed and hung up, “Some Mundanes went into an old vampire den. They're okay but apparently, we need to survey the place first,” Jace groaned but forced himself up of the couch. “How long do you think it’ll take,” “Not long,” Alec said, “We’ll be back in like 20, 30 minutes,” They said a quick goodbye before going. When 30 minutes had passed there was a slight bit of worry, but we all knew despite Jace’s antics you could trust them. When 40 minutes past it was worrying. Clary decided to phone Jace. When he picked up he didn’t say anything, but you could hear them. There was clearly commotion going on. “Hey!” Jace yelled before the phone call ended. The group looked at each other. Isabelle was already on her feet, grabbing her stuff. “Come on,” she told Clary. But Magnus also got up. “Magnus-“ “He’s my boyfriend. I’m coming with you,” He said. Isabelle nodded in understanding  and they all began to rush out, Simon following. Isabelle turned and stopped him, “It’s daylight outside. You stay here.” “But-“ “Stay,” It was final. The door closed behind them and it was silent. Simon walked back to the sofa and sat far away from me. They’d be fine. They always were. 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes. Nothing. Simon was pacing, “Aren’t you worried!?” He lashed out. I looked up from my phone, “Yes,” “You don’t look it.” he crossed his arms and glared at me, “They could be dead for all we know,” I held back an eye roll, “They’re not,” I told him, going back to my phone. “You know this is why I can’t stand you, vampires. You just don’t care about anyone but yourself do you?” “News flash Simon, you’re a vampire,” I lash out. His eyes narrow on me, “Not like you,” “Enlighten me, Simon,” I say, standing up. “What did I do? Huh? What did all of us vampires do to piss you off so much?” The look on his face is incredulous, “For starters turning innocent Mundanes! Killing them for blood! Not caring about anyone! You are all monsters,” I shake my head in disbelief, “Wow Simon. Wow. Guess what? We were Mundanes once. We weren’t born like this! We didn’t ask for this! I don’t like blood, but I don’t want to die, again! For crying out loud you're mad at us for existing!” at this point I’m yelling. “We were human too at some point,” “Doesn’t seem like it. Your friend could be dead for all you know!” “You think I don’t know this! He’s over 500 the fact he isn’t dead already is amazing. Simon, it’s not just parabatai who know if someone’s in danger. if Magnus dies then the wards here go down meaning we will be toast. So, get off your high horse and see other people’s side!” Simon sits down, still glaring, “You all don’t get it. I’m not like you. I didn’t want this. You’re all-“ “Monsters?” I cut him off. He nods, “Simon you don’t get this, we’re all the same. We all went through it. I would do anything to go back to that night and tell myself to turn left and not right. Not to fall into that trap.” I sit down on the other end of the sofa,  he shuffles away, “You can’t even sit on the same sofa as me. Do you realise how bad that is?” I shake my head in disbelief and begin to walk to my room, “Vampirism is a disease. It doesn’t make you less human unless you let it,”

Silence echoes through the apartment, deafening me. Laying on my bed, I just stare at the ceiling. Am I human? Am I a bad person? Is it my fault? Theirs a knock at my door. I glance up as Simon walks in. He’s looking at the floor turning his phone over in his hand, “Clary called. There okay but they're going to the Institute for treatment. Magnus is okay but he wants to stay with Alec,” I nod from my bed, not looking at him. He doesn’t leave so I turn on my side away from him. “I’m sorry. I know you didn’t ask for this,” I hum in response, “It's just all the other vampires are so…cold. I-I’m sorry,” He goes to walk away. “Simon,” I say, and I hear him stop, “You are right. We are monsters. But I’m still human enough to feel pain,” “I know. And I’m sorry. I really am,” “It’s okay. Your scared, I get it,” Simon scoffs, “I’m not scared” I sit up to look at him, laughing slightly, “Yes you are. We all are. Especially when were first turned. It’s a new world  to adjust to. It's okay to be scared,” “But I’m not,” I roll my eyes “Simon you are. I still am. You need someone, we all do. Just don’t burn all your bridges with immortals and vampires. We’re all you’ll be left with,” He nods but doesn’t leave. This silence is somewhat awkward. Simons eyes dance around my room, inspecting it. it's not the tidiest but it's cosy? His eyes land on a poster and his eyes light up, “You like that show too?” Somehow Simon and I manage to have our first proper conversation and its on my bed geeking out for angel’s sake. When Magnus gets back I check him over myself, not trusting the shadowhunters. When he sees Simon still here when the suns down he gives me a look. “I’ll explain later,” Alec had come back with Magnus but had gone to bed not long after. Simon left with an awkward goodbye. Once the door was shut Magnus looked at me, “Okay you gotta explain,”

[mrslittletall]

Title: Keeping it together (Chapter 15) Fandom: Dark Souls Characters: Dragon Slayer Ornstein, Lord's Blade Ciaran, Dusk of Oolacile, Great Grey Wolf Sif, Artorias the Abysswalker Word Count: 2.601 AO3-Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16328084/chapters/41647877 Previous chapter: https://mrslittletall.tumblr.com/post/182428199914/title-keeping-it-together-chapter-14

Summary: Ornstein spends his last day in Oolacile.

(Author's note: Oh wow, I managed to sit down and write this chapter in around two hours! I am amazed. How did I do that? I hope you enjoy ^^)

As soon as Ornstein had set foot into the mansion, he got greeted by Dusk and her maidens. He politely refused when asked if he wanted some dinner, his stomach still feeling upset from the events of the day. Instead, he decided to listen to the requests of Dusk's maiden and told them some stories about the dragon war. It certainly helped him to get his mind off Artorias and the beast he had seen in the chasm. While he was spending time with the maidens, he could see that Dusk sat a bit away of them, staring into nothingness. After a while, she stood up and went into the garden. Ornstein excused himself to follow the princess.

She was sitting in the grass, staring at the moon high up in the sky. Ornstein joined her, raising his head to stare in the moon likewise, saying: “They are watching over us, you know?”

Dusk winced, as if she hadn't even noticed that he had been there. “Who?”, she asked.

“Dark Sun Gwyndolin, our current lord of Anor Londo.”, Ornstein answered. “They are doing their very best, following the footsteps of their father and sister.” Inwardly, Ornstein knew that Gwyndolin desperately wished for their siblings to return, especially his master, who had been banished a long time ago.

“Oh, yes, I don't doubt that...”, Dusk said. “I am just worried what will happen to Oolacile now.”

Ornstein stayed silent for a good while, glancing at the princess for a bit, before he finally spoke: “...I can ask Anor Londo to send you supplies to help rebuild your kingdom.”

“That is a gracious offer, but...”, Dusk folded her hands in her laps and lowered her head. “I fear that it might be too late for Oolacile...”

“Princess Dusk, and that after all Artorias has done for you.”, Ornstein nearly shouted. Strange, did he already became used to that lie? It had come so easily over his lips. “Do you already want to give up?”

Dusk raised her head again, tears staining her face. “...No...”, she said, “I know I have to at least try... but when I see how many citizens are still alive... and when I look at the state of the township... We have been lucky that the mansion still stands. I wanted to open it up for the townsfolk, but Elizabeth said it would be better for me to not having to care for their needs right now, after this traumatic experience... But shouldn't I be with my folk right now? I feel like I lost my right to be their leader...”

Dusk started to sob into her gloves and it soon turned into wailing. Ornstein didn't feel like the right person to comfort her. Seeing the princess like this reminded Ornstein to much of himself, of the breakdowns he faced when it got all too much for him. He felt that he should do something or say something, but he didn't know what. He never had been the comforting type. That always had been Artorias' job. That was, when he remembered Gough's word.

“Princess.”, he started. “A friend recently told me that it is alright to feel weak once in a while. That you don't have to face it all alone. I am sure when you talk to your folk, you can figure a solution. I will make sure that Anor Londo is behind you.”

Dusk sobs slowly ceased. She rummaged for a while and then wiped her tears with a handkerchief as white as her gown. “Thank you.”, she said. “Thank you for not judging me.”

“You are welcome.”, Ornstein said, staring back into the sky. Tomorrow he would return to Anor Londo and he shivered a bit thinking about all the work that would await him after his absence. And then he had to explain Artorias' death to his silver knights, if Gwyndolin hadn't already done it. At least with Ciaran at his side, he was sure to manage the work load quickly and be able to return to his usual duties in a flash.

“I hope my maidens didn't bother you.”, came the voice of Dusk all of a sudden. “They just try to distract themselves. They have been a few of the lucky ones, but some of their relatives haven't been so lucky... I think they try to be so upbeat and jolly for my sake. But that still doesn't excuse their flirty behaviour. So, take my apologies at their behalf.”

“Oh, don't worry, princess, I am perfectly used to it.”, Ornstein answered to the Dusk's monologue. “Our Lord Gwyn used to throw a lot of feasts and the woman would naturally flock around me and Artorias. I just... never had any interest in them, that is all.”

“Are you into...”, Dusk asked.

“Yes.”, Ornstein answered before she could finish the sentence, lowering his head.

“I am glad.”, Dusk said. “Cause for me, it was the same. All these princes gathering around me, wanting me to be their queen, while I just wanted to reign with another princess at my side.”

Ornstein looked at her and despite having his helmet on, he had to smile at Dusk when she smiled at him when they shared this moment of solidarity.

“It is late, we should head to bed.”, Dusk said and stood up. “You have to return to Anor Londo tomorrow and probably should get up early.”

Ornstein nodded: “You are right. Let me just escort you back inside.”

“These few steps? You are a true knight.”, Dusk chuckled, but allowed Ornstein to walk back in with her.

“Have a good night, Sir Ornstein.”, she said once inside. Ornstein watched her departing to her room, joined by her maiden's and turned around to go to the guest room he occupied, his body seemed to be very eager to get some sleep.

Ornstein found Artorias sitting leaned against a tree in the forest. The wolf knight looked so peaceful in this scenario, as if he was at ease with himself.

“There you are.”, Ornstein said. “I was wondering where you went.”

“Hm? Oh, Ornstein, why don't you join me?”, Artorias said upon noticing the dragon slayer.

“Joining you in what?”

“Being one with nature. Sometimes I just need a break from all the fighting. Spending time in the forest, listening to all the noises, watching the animals, is perfect for this.” A wide grin adorned Artorias' face. “Why don't you try it for yourself? You are always so tense.”

“It is hard to not worry when my master's and my lord's fights are getting worse and worse lately.”, Ornstein said, sitting down next to Artorias, laying his spear horizontally over his legs. “And what now?”

“Close your eyes and just listen. Let your mind be washed away.”

Ornstein did as he was told. At first he didn't notice much, but after a while, he understood what Artorias wanted to show him. The forest around them was brimming with life, he could hear all these little noises, from the small animals, the birds, the bugs, the rustling of the wind in the leaves, even Artorias' breathing. And it made him feel calm, as if nothing bad could happen anymore.

“Huh, fascinating.”, the dragon slayer said upon opening his eyes.

“I know, right? I normally come here before we have to go back into battle. To unwind a bit. I mean, every fight could be our last.”

Ornstein felt a pang in his chest. He knew that. He knew that one of them could fall in battle any given time. But he didn't want to think about this yet.

“Don't worry, Artorias.”, he said instead. “I will make sure to come to your aid when you are in trouble. No dragon will be able to get you.”

“...But Ornstein, you didn't come to my aid...”

Huh? That was strange. Ornstein slowly turned his head to look into Artorias' face only to see that his hood was filled with black tar, as if he was melting.

“You left me all alone in this abyss, against this beast...”

Ornstein started to shiver. “No, stop...”, he said between clenched teeth. “I trusted you. I knew you would be able to do it.”

“But I didn't... and you weren't there. Weren't there to help me. Weren't there to stop me. You left me all alone... I even had to die alone, killed by the hands of a stranger...”

“Stop it, please...”, Ornstein said, rattling so much that he could feel it to his very core as he saw the darkness engulf Artorias, a horrible set of glowing red eyes opening around him.

Ornstein jerked up in his bed, making a dash outside, but wasn't able to make it to the outhouse anymore. Whatever he managed to puke out, what wasn't much anymore, felt like it was bile only. It made his throat burn. That dream had been... scary. Now that he thought about it, the first part had been a memory. It just had... changed after Ornstein had said to Artorias that he would always come to his aid. He remembered that Artorias had given the promise right back to him, but that has been such a long time ago.

Now Ornstein was on his knees in some flowerbed, shivering, long red messy hair dragging on the ground, his night shirt wet from sweat, staring at a puddle of bile, unable to get up, with a nightmare still fresh in his mind.

It felt like a good hour had passed before Ornstein felt able to get up. Luckily nobody had been out there at this time of night, he didn't knew how he would have reacted had someone seen him like this. He returned to his room and searched his belongings for a fresh night shirt only to discover that he was wearing his last clean one. Oh, fantastic, now he had to sleep in the nudes, a thing he hadn't done anymore when the master left, but he really didn't want to keep that wet thing on. He got rid of the night shirt and cuddled back into the blankets, closing his eyes, only to discover that he couldn't fell asleep anymore. The nightmare was still haunting him. That red eyes... they had belonged to the beast. Had it been a mistake to come to the chasm? He tossed and turned for a while before giving up and just stared at the ceiling, then realizing how thirsty he was and downing the jar of water at his night stand far too quick and almost forget to put on some clothes when he had to go to the outhouse because of it.

After he was done, Ornstein decided that he could very well stay up now. He went back to the room and packed his things together, although very slowly, with a lot of breaks in between when his legs felt like failing him. He was in the process of packing the drawings he had made, when his gaze fell upon that unfinished one of Ciaran praying in front of the make-shift grave. Did she still sit next to Artorias' proper grave? He hadn't seen her return to the mansion... He should ask Princess Dusk about this once she woke up.

With nothing better to do, Ornstein decided to finish the drawing of Ciaran. He didn't need any reference, he perfectly knew how the assassin looked in her armour. He took his time with the drawing, trying to get every line to perfection when the sun started to rise. He put the drawing away and put on his armour.

Even though Ornstein still didn't feel like he had a particular appetite, he knew that he had to eat something now, he needed the strength for the return trip. He joined Dusk and her maiden's at breakfast, but didn't said much. He only asked if Ciaran had returned to the mansion somewhen in the night and got a negative answer. Ciaran... did she still sit next to the grave...?

After breakfast, he fetched his personal belongings. Dusk awaited him in front of the mansion. “Princess, thank you very much for your hospitality.”, Ornstein said, bowing to her.

“It has be my honour.”, Dusk answered with the proper bow of a princess. “Please tell Lady Ciaran my thanks.”

“With pleasure.”

Ornstein turned around, attempting to raise a hand to wave to her, when he heard Dusk talk: “Farewell, dragon slayer. I don't think we will see each other again.”

Huh, that had sounded strangely final. Ornstein turned around to ask her what she meant, but Dusk was already gone. He shrugged and made his way to Artorias' grave.

Sif shot up when she heard his footsteps, but relaxed instantly. Ornstein came over to her and gave the wolf puppy a few firm pets. “Ciaran?”, he asked. Sif turned around and led him to the back of the gravestone, where the assassin was sitting.

“Ciaran, have you sat here the whole night?”, Ornstein asked.

“It's none of your business where I spend the night.”, she answered.

“I am just worried, that is all. Ciaran, it is time for us to return to Anor Londo.”

“I am not coming.”

“Excuse me?”

“You've heard right. I am not coming. I am staying here.”

What... did she mean it? Was she really serious about that? That changed everything... All this time Ornstein had assumed that at least two of the knighs of Gwyn would return to Anor Londo.

“But Ciaran, what about your lord's blades?”

“Tell them they are disbanded. Gwyndolin doesn't need them. They have their dark moon blades. I have trained every single one of them myself. I am sure they can find a way in life.”

“So, you really mean it.”, Ornstein declared. “You won't come back.”

“Someone has to stay with him...”, she said. “So he won't get lonely.”

He's dead. Ornstein had almost spilled this over Ciaran. He wanted to believe that Ciaran was just confused, that Artorias death had hit her that hard that she couldn't think straight anymore, but he knew that she was dead serious about this. Or she wouldn't have told him to disband the lord's blades.

“Ciaran, you know that this means.”, Ornstein said, head lowered, his stomach was stinging with pain. “You are quitting the duties of a knight of Gwyn and that means you can't ever come back, even if you want to.”

Ciaran just nodded. “I am aware of the consequences.”

“Then let me give you a last order...” Ornstein raised his head and searched firm eye contact with Ciaran, at least he stared a the point where he knew her eyes would be beneath the mask. “Protect him.”

“Orders are taken and will be executed.”, Ciaran had stood up and now bowed before Ornstein. “Captain, it has been an honour fighting by your side.”

Ornstein returned the bow. “It has been an honour to fight at your side, too, Lord's Blade.”

They stayed a while longer like this, until Ornstein took up the word. “Well... guess, I need to get going... I will come back to visit his grave, Ciaran, so we surely will see each other again... Also, I shall deliver you Princess Dusk's gratitude.”

Ciaran raised a hand to wave at him.

“Goodbye, Ornstein. May the flames guide your way.” (Author's note: 15 chapters and Ornstein still hasn't it made back to Anor Londo ^^')

Next chapter: https://mrslittletall.tumblr.com/post/182760646054/title-keeping-it-together-chapter-16

[peopleandrhythm]

Episode Four: Stay Awake with Me

The sun long set, Hayley paces the length of their living room, phone in hand. She hasn’t spoken to Hope since she called from New Orleans, hasn’t wanted to distract her from her drive home. Her mind is bouncing from topic to topic—River, Hope, Malraux venom, Klaus—and she can’t keep still. Relief comes when the bright flash of headlights crosses the far wall, signaling the arrival of a car. Hayley scrambles out the front door, descending upon the car in a flurry. Hope doesn’t even have the chance to turn the car off before the door is ripped open and she’s being yanked out, wrapped tightly in her mother’s arms.

“Thank god you’re safe,” Hayley breathes into her hair. Hope tries to mumble something, but it’s unintelligible against her mother’s shirt. Hayley holds her daughter at arm’s length. “If you ever do anything like that again I will kill you myself, do you understand?”

Sheepish, Hope nods. “I’m sorry for just taking off—”

Hayley’s eyes blow wide. “You are covered in blood!” She unceremoniously tips Hope’s head to the side to inspect the wound on her neck. “You were bitten—”

“Mom, please—”

“I am going to kill Vincent for dragging you into this—”

“Mom!” Hayley finally falls silent. Hope grips her hands. “I am completely fine. Please do not worry about me.” She takes a deep breath. “I’ve got him.”

Hayley peers over her shoulder into the backseat. “You’ve—wow.”

“Yeah.”

Slowly, Hayley walks to the back door of the car and opens it. She looks down at the father of her child, face unreadable. “Welcome home, Klaus.”

Marcel enters his penthouse, clothes still soaked in blood. He tosses his torn jacket onto the nearest chair with a heavy sigh and makes his way into his bedroom, where he’s surprised to find someone waiting for him. “Didn’t expect you to be here.”

Theo’s outstretched and comfy on Marcel’s bed, wearing only one of his dress shirts. “Thought I’d come and see how things went with the Mikaelson girl. The witches have been in a tizzy all day.”

“Well…” Marcel grips the back of his shirt and tugs it over his head. “No one told you to tell them.”

Theo’s eyes trace the shape of Marcel’s body. “The witches share information. It’s how we’ve managed to stay alive all these years.” She gets off the bed, slinks up to Marcel. She runs her fingertips over his arm. “Whose blood is this?”

“Klaus’s sirelings decided to show up and pick a fight. They lost.”

Keeping her face unreadable, Theo asks, “What did they pick a fight about?”

Continuing to undress, Marcel answers, “Someone told them that Hope was here to spring Klaus free, and they tried to stop us.”

“Us?”

Down to just his underwear, Marcel collapses onto the bed. “I ended up helping her. I just…after all these years of me talking a big game about protecting kids, I kept one kid from having her father.”

“Yeah, well…” Theo sits beside him. “Her father is a psychopath.”

“And I’m not arguing that point. Still…I’ve thought about her a lot over the past fifteen years. What she’s like. How it must feel not to have him. I’d be lying if said I didn’t have regrets.”

Theo chooses her next words wisely. “Yeah, well…I get you wanting to…fix what you broke, so to speak. But I’d be careful how chummy I got with Hope Mikaelson if I were you.”

Marcel rolls his head to the side to look at her. “What do you mean?”

“The vision I had of her? Last night? It wasn’t just of her arrival in New Orleans.”

Marcel sits up, puts a hand on Theo’s knee. “What did you see?”

Theo bites her lip. “She’s a threat, Marcel. To the balance of this city. If she stays here she will fracture the already fragile peace that you have built.”

“Care to be a little more specific?”

“Think about it, Marcel. She’s a New Orleans witch descended from a New Orleans wolf and one of the vampires who founded New Orleans. She is the ultimate weapon for the Mikaelsons to come in here and dismantle everything!”

Marcel’s quiet for a long while, mulling things over. “Well…maybe you’re right. Doesn’t matter. I sent her back to where she came from earlier today. She shouldn’t ever come back here.”

“And exactly how long do you think you’re going to be able to keep Klaus Mikaelson away from this city?”

“…If he knows what’s good for him? Forever.”

Hayley lays Klaus onto the couch as gently as she can. Once he’s sorted, still staring unblinkingly at the ceiling, Hayley pauses, looks down at him. “Fifteen years is a hell of a long time.”

Hope’s standing just off to the side. Her eyes won’t leave her father’s body. “What if…what if he’s not who I thought he was?”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know. I guess…for my entire life, I’ve had this image of him in my head. What he’d look like, how he’d sound…the kind of person he was. I didn’t realize how…attached I’d gotten to that image until the moment arrived when I was faced with the reality.”

“Hope…” Hayley wraps an arm around her daughter. “Look, he’s never going to be able to live up to the dad you’ve built in your head.”

“No, I know that.”

“I know you do. But…just, just try to keep an open mind, okay? There’s a lot I’ve kept from you about your father, and for good reason, but if you’re going to know him, you’re going to have to get to know the bad parts, too. So I want you be prepared for things to change.”

Hope takes a deep breath and nods. “I’m ready.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Hayley lets go of Hope and leans over Klaus. After a moment, she pulls a hand back and plunges it into Klaus’s chest. Hope winces violently at the sound of cracking bone and squishing tissue, but it only lasts a few seconds before Hayley’s ripping free of the gaping hole, her hand glowing shiny red and gripping a long, curved blade.

The house trembles menacingly, with lights flickering and china rattling in the cabinets. Rebekah has to grip the kitchen counter to keep herself on her feet. Abandoning the wine glass half-full of fake blood, she calls out, “What the bloody hell is going on?”

As soon as the disturbance started, it stops, leaving an eerie quiet in its wake. Freya rushes into the kitchen, frazzled. “Are you hurt, sister?”

“I’m fine, as long as this damn house doesn’t collapse on top of us!”

Before Freya can respond, Elijah and Kol enter. Kol is fuming. “What is this, Freya? Are you trying to kill us?”

“This isn’t my doing, Kol.”

“Like hell it—”

“Kol.” Elijah’s voice is quiet but firm. He walks over to his elder sister. “Please explain, Freya.”

Her face is impossible to read. “Something has happened. In the real world.”

“Something like what?” Rebekah asks. “The only one of us who isn’t in here is—”

No one says it. Each of them is all too aware that their lives are linked to Klaus’s; if he dies, they all die. Kol says hotly, “So what does it mean? If the Chambre de Chasse is deteriorating—”

“We’d know if Niklaus was dead,” Freya insists. “Well, more accurately, we wouldn’t know it, because we’d all be dead too, so he’s not.”

“Then what is the cause of the tremors, sister?” Elijah asks.

With a little shake of her head, Freya replies, “I don’t know. But if something happened to Klaus strong enough to shake this place…we are either about to get very, very lucky, or very, very not.”

Hayley’s sitting on the coffee table, bent forward so her forearms are resting on her knees. Papa Tunde’s blade is still in her hand, most of the blood wiped off into the pile of paper towels teetering beside her. Hope can’t sit; she’s leaned against the wall, leg jigging with anxiety. “How long will it take him to wake up?”

“Could be minutes, could be hours. He’s had this thing in him before, but never for this long. Plus, he’ll be starving.” Hayley twists her head to look at her daughter. “I want you to prepare yourself to see him be bloodthirsty. He hasn’t had any in fifteen years, but he’s strong. If you have to, subdue him with magic.”

Hope nods, and they fall silent again. The clock on the wall is deafening. After a few minutes, Hayley asks, “Why didn’t you tell me, Hope?”

Hope doesn’t have to ask for clarification. “I didn’t have time. I only found out right before I left for New Orleans.”

With a heavy sigh, Hayley begins to think out loud. “I don’t know what to do. She’s just a kid. She’s going through the most traumatic event in her life right now, and yet…” She runs a hand through her hair and laughs humorlessly. “And yet all I can think about is getting her venom.”

Hope can’t imagine what this must feel like for her mother. For her entire life, the family entombed in the attic, the coffins chauffeured from city to city, was more idea than reality. She wanted desperately to know them, to be the always and forever her mother told her stories of, but even now, minutes away from meeting her father and closer than ever to reuniting with her aunts and uncles, she can’t help but think that for her, River is reality.

Her mother’s reality is Elijah. She’s never said it out loud, of course, never said, Klaus Mikaelson is your father, but it’s his brother I’m in love with. She’s never had to. Hope’s always been observant, noticed from a young age the way her mother’s eyes would soften when she spoke of Uncle Elijah, the way she skirted conversation about him in favor of talking about Rebekah or Freya. Fifteen years separated from the man she loves. Hope can’t fathom the pain.

“What do I say to her?” Hope finally asks. “I don’t…this isn’t something I can fix, she’s…she’s killed someone. I don’t know what to do.”

“Be there for her. Listen to her. Hope, this is…this is the worst thing. The worst thing she could do, and she’s seventeen. And to have the wolf curse on top of it…just be there for her.”

Hope’s leg stops its jigging. “And what about her venom?”

Before Hayley can answer, she and Hope are both startled by a loud, deep gasp as Klaus shoots upright, suddenly very much awake.

River’s curled up on the couch, eyes staring unfocused at the television. She’s wearing her comfiest pajamas and wrapped tightly in a blanket, even though it’s sweltering. When her mother walks in, sets two mugs of tea on the coffee table, and clicks the TV off, River doesn’t even react. Rachel sits on the couch, pulling her daughter’s feet into her lap. “How you doin’, baby girl?”

“Fantastic,” River says, voice dry and raspy.

“I know, I know.” Rachel leans forward and nudges the mug of tea to her daughter. “C’mon. Drink up. You’ll feel better.”

River begrudgingly drags herself into an upright position, keeping the blanket taut around her shoulders. “I don’t think tea’s gonna make me feel better, Momma.”

“Probably not.” Rachel waits for River to take a few sips. “Wanna talk about it?”

“About what? About how I killed a guy, or about how killing him turned me into a…” She can’t say the word out loud.

“Your daddy and I went back and forth on this forever. Should we tell you, should we not. In the end, we thought…” She shrugs. “We were runnin’ for our lives. No reason to have you grow up afraid of somethin’ we thought would never touch you.”

“I’m not mad at you for not telling me,” River says softly. “I’m…I’m mad at myself. Or, mad at him. I don’t know.”

“Hell, I’m mad at him, too. Puttin’ his hands on my little girl? He’s lucky he didn’t come across me, I’d’ve done a lot worse than push ‘im into a wall.”

“Can we not?” River asks, pleading. “I don’t…I don’t want to talk about him.” She brings the tea to her nose and takes a deep sniff, letting the aroma work through her. “Tell me about home.”

“Honey, we are home.”

“I mean Texas. What was it like? And why did we leave?”

Rachel takes a deep breath. “Well…the Malraux pack was never really big. Always out in the deserts of Texas and New Mexico, sometimes up into Colorado. Kept to ourselves, mostly. Actually, not many of us had triggered our curses, so the pack was more of a community than an actual group of wolves. Still, they were all our family. They were just tickled pink when you were born.”

River’s surprised. “Really?”

“Oh sure! There had been a rash of baby boys born in the years before you came ‘round, so when your daddy and I had a beautiful baby girl, everyone was so excited.” She sighs. “You were right, earlier. It was home. I miss them every day.”

Hesitantly, River asks, “What happened?”

“What happened is what always happens. Vampires.”

River’s eyes widen dramatically. “Vampires?”

Nodding, Rachel says, “There’s a lot you don’t know about…about the supernatural world. We kept it from you to protect you, to give you a life outside of the fear and chaos. But vampires are real, and they hate wolves.” Rachel’s eyes fall into her mug. “You were so young when they attacked. Descended upon our town like a plague sent from God. Tore us all to pieces. We only just got out in time.” She looks back up at her daughter, who’s looking back with fearful eyes. “You’re the only Malraux wolf left in the world.”

The reality of her family’s legacy settles on River’s shoulders heavily. Everything feels too much, a family of wolves, the existence of vampires, genocide—two days ago she was a recent high school graduate with a shitty job and a cute girlfriend. Since then her world’s been torn open and she worries she may just fall through. “So…werewolves and—and vampires. Is that it? No zombies, no ghosts?”

“Well…” Rachel sets her now-empty mug back onto the coffee table. “No zombies, but there are witches who are pretty good at bringing people back from the dead when it’s convenient for them. And ghosts, spirits, whatever you wanna call ‘em—they’re real. Magically linked between this life and the next.”

“Witches. Wow. Okay.”

Rachel’s face sobers quickly. “Listen to me, baby girl. Don’t worry about witches or wolves. They’re not your enemies. The real enemy, the ones who want to hurt you, are the vampires. They’re killers, demons, the worst monsters on this earth.”

“Why do they hate us so much?”

“Some of it’s fear. Our venom is one of the only things in the world that can kill a vampire, and there’s no cure for it. But a lot of it is just sport. We’re only dangerous to them when we’re wolves, so every other night of the month, we’re just game for them to hunt.”

River’s heart is pounding. “That’s terrifying.”

Rachel grabs her daughter’s hand, rubs the pad of her thumb over her knuckles. “I don’t wanna scare you, baby girl. I just want you to be aware. Be smart. Live your life. We’ll get through this wolf thing together. Seems like Hope’s momma’s gonna be real helpful with that, thank the Lord. But you promise me, right now, that if you ever meet a vampire, you will run away, leave them behind—or, if you can, kill them. Promise me, baby girl.”

“Okay, Momma,” River says, nodding. “I promise.”

Hope’s pressed against the wall, staring at her gray-skinned father as he continues to gasp for air. Hayley abandons her place on the coffee table to grab at his shoulders. “Klaus! Klaus!” she shouts, trying to calm him down. “Klaus, it’s me! You’re okay!”

Hope sees the glint of something dangerous in her father’s eyes right before he opens his mouth, fangs bared, and lunges for Hayley’s throat. Without thinking, Hope extends a hand and gives him a short, rapid succession of aneurysms, dropping him to his knees. Hayley and Hope exchange a worried look, both of them missing Klaus’s glare at the witch causing him pain. Before Hope can repeat her spell, Klaus appears before her, eyes red with rage, and right as he opens his mouth once more, Hayley bellows, “Klaus, that is your daughter!”

Everything freezes. Hope’s heart is beating so fast she can hardly breathe. Slowly, so slowly, Klaus takes a step back, eyes wide and horrified as he takes in his daughter’s terrified face. They stare at each other for a long moment, Hope’s breath coming in shudders, before she blinks and Klaus has disappeared.

Hope stares into the open fridge, letting the cold wrap around her. She’s supposed to be getting blood bags, sees the opaque white plastic shoebox labelled For Mom on the top shelf, but can’t bring her body to move. Instead she stands under the interrogation light of the fridge, actively not thinking about what just happened in the living room.

Because of her lack of focus, she doesn’t notice her mother in the doorway, leaning up against the jamb. “You okay?”

Hope flinches at the sound, quickly wipes at one of her eyes. “Yeah. Just, um.” She forces a hand up to grab the shoebox and pull it down. “Just getting the blood.”

Hayley looks over her shoulder, then back at Hope. “He’s back. Just went outside for a minute to…get himself together. He needs blood, though.”

“Yeah, I got that.”

“Hey.” Hayley walks over to daughter, rubs a hand up and down her arm. “If this is too much for you—”

“No.” Hope closes the fridge door. “No, it’s fine. Just…not the most encouraging start to a father-daughter relationship, you know?”

“Your father would never hurt you, Hope. What happened out there…fifteen years without blood, in a constant state of pain? I can’t say I wouldn’t go after the nearest living thing, too. Well. Sort-of living.”

Hope nods. “It’s fine.” She reaches into a nearby cupboard and pulls down a glass. “Let’s go.”

Klaus is unsteady on the couch, staring at the swirling wood of the coffee table. His teeth ache with the need for blood. When there’s movement at the entrance to the living room, his head snaps up. He stares in awe at the redheaded girl there, white box in hand, who makes her way over to him, leaving her mother in the doorway. He can smell the blood, can smell her blood, and roots himself to the couch. Hope sets the box onto the coffee table and pries open the lid. She picks up the blood bag on top, rips it open with her teeth, and pours the viscous liquid into the glass. Once it’s full, she sets it on the table, and then wordlessly pushes it toward her father.

Klaus looks at the glass, then up at Hope. Her face is unreadable. Caving to the thirst, he falls forward and grabs the glass with both hands, downing it in two gigantic gulps. Immediately the gray leaves his face, returning him to his normal complexion, his veins disappearing from view. The pain of hunger remains—it will take a great deal more than one glass of B- to remedy fifteen years of starvation—but his shaking stops, his breath comes more calmly. He sets the glass back onto the table with a heavy clunk, and then stands. The tension in Hope’s muscles is evident as he rounds the coffee table to stand before her. She’s trembling ever so slightly.

Before he can stop himself, Klaus wraps his daughter up in his arms, pressing her against his chest. He can feel her breath come out in shaky gasps as her own arms move to hug him back. He can scarcely believe it; the last time he saw this girl, she was just barely toddling around, easily picked up and held. Yet here she is, a woman in her own right, falling to pieces in her father’s arms for the first time in her life.

When Hayley asked him if he wanted to visit his siblings, Klaus didn’t know what he was expecting. But as he stands in the cramped attic of this tiny home, surrounded by silver coffins, a sorrow settles over him like the darkness of night. He picks one and opens the lid. “My poor Rebekah…”

Hayley stands hunched beside the opening in the floor where the ladder will lead them back down. “I’m sorry that I haven’t finished what Freya started. I’ve gotten almost everything we need—”

“Do not blame yourself, Hayley.” Klaus’s voice is quiet. He looks away from his little sister. “You were raising our daughter.”

Hayley nods, and gives a little half-smile. “She really is amazing, Klaus. Smart and kind and talented—you should take a look at her art. Could give you a run for your money.”

“I’d expect nothing less,” Klaus says with a grin of his own. He opens Elijah’s coffin. His older brother lays still and cold. “It can’t have been easy for you either, I suppose.”

“Well, being a single mom was never on the bucket list, but I like to think I didn’t do too bad.” She shuffles over to Elijah’s coffin, touches his face briefly. “Yeah. It got lonely.”

“Whatever else we must do to rescue my siblings from this…limbo, know that I will move the earth to do it.”

“Well I have Freya’s cure, and the spell to siphon the hex from the Rebekah. As for the ingredients for Elijah and Kol’s cure, we’re still missing the venom of one wolf pack.”

“Which pack?” Klaus demands. “I will find them wherever they are.”

Hayley hesitates for the briefest of moments. “Malraux. But all of my sources say the pack is extinct.” The lie feels thick on her tongue, but she can’t out River like this. “Believe me when I say I’ve been working on it.”

Klaus lays a hand on her shoulder. “We will finish this task together. Don’t forget, we make a pretty good team.”

Hayley hums in humorous agreement, and then says, “Don’t worry about Hope. Tonight…freaked her out a little, sure, but she’s been dying to get to know you her entire life. Just…give her some space to figure it all out.”

“Is that why she disappeared tonight?”

“No.” Hayley looks back down at Elijah, a wistful look in her eye. “Tonight she has somewhere she needs to be.”

Hope doesn’t even knock, just walks through the front door with a tote bag slung over one shoulder. She makes her way through the dark house, the light from the TV in the master bedroom flickering through the hallway. She stops outside the last door on the left and just gently pushes it open. Curled up in a ball on the bed is River, staring blankly at the flickering candle on her nightstand. Not looking up, River says, “Mom, I just want to be left alone.”

“Tough,” Hope answers, stepping in and closing the door behind her.

River lifts her head off the bed. “Hope? What’re you doing here?”

“I came to see you, dummy.” Her bag slips off her shoulder and onto the carpet. Then Hope walks over and sits on the bed. “C’mere.”

River lets herself be wrapped in Hope’s arms. “I’ve had a really shitty couple of days.”

“Yeah,” Hope sighs. “Me too. I’m sorry I couldn’t be here for you.” She kisses River’s forehead. “Wanna not talk about it?”

“Please.” They curl up on the bed together, not talking, as the candle slowly burns out.

[verdigrisprowl]

July 10 Dancitron Movie Night - Breaking the Magician's Code: Magic's Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed 2-4

Prowl continued to figure out most of the solutions before they were shown. So did Whirl, but Whirl was kind of annoyed whereas Prowl was enjoying himself. Swoop continued to be disappointed at the lack of deadly battles.

Prowl and Soundwave had more feels after the show. Soundwave even kicked Primus out to facilitate the feels. Prowl was flattered.

It got emotional.

Orion Pax 8:04 pm What a curious tune! ItsyBitsySpyers 8:05 pm *Soundwave looks at the first to arrive as he sits down on his usual seat, surprised to see a Pax. Well... as long as he isn't bringing a war behind him.* [[Greetings.]] Bevel 8:06 pm *very nearly turns right the frag around upon seeing the only guest in the room. she'll just sidle over toward Soundwave like y'do* Orion Pax 8:06 pm No war here, stranger. Pax is a peaceful one, made all the moreso by being born after the War, and the only weight upon his shoulders is that of a dreamy mind. "Hello!" Tilisha 8:06 pm Hello~ Whirl 8:06 pm Oh damn, I can't believe it. You're actually playing MUSIC this time. Windchill 8:07 pm *APPEARS* Orion Pax 8:07 pm "What sort of event is this, pardoning a chance to enjoy some lovely music~?" Bevel 8:07 pm *oh good whirl's here* Hi, Whirl! FakeProwl 8:07 pm *appears. claims usual seat. immediately slouches.* Whirl 8:07 pm What's up, Shovel? *he will take a seat, and wait for his footstool to approach* Windchill 8:08 pm WELL HOWDY DOODY? Bevel 8:08 pm *grins* I made a new automaton. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:08 pm [[He has been known to from time to time.]] [[And it is a simple social event, Pax. We usually devote these evenings to holovids and human movies, but tonight is a continuation of a series.]] Windchill 8:08 pm *Walks real slow like a turtle in Whirl's direction.* Whirl 8:09 pm It's a miracle. *bobs his head at Bevel, indicating one of the seats at his table* An automaton? ItsyBitsySpyers 8:09 pm ((starting in seven, get your snacks and drinks)) FakeProwl 8:09 pm ((i want you to know im literally picturing windchill on all fours like a turtle)) Whirl 8:09 pm ((BEAUTIFUL)) ((now u gotta draw it tho)) Windchill 8:09 pm (( He would, he just hadn't thought of it tonight.)) (( DAMN U I do. Along with Aberrant Titan Chill and Naruto Run Chill.)) Killstreak 8:10 pm *Killstreak silently takes his spot up on the ceiling, powerful taloned pedes digging into the metal paneling with ease, anchoring his upside down form to the ceiling above.* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:10 pm *Looks up* [[We have seats. You do not need to ruin his ceiling.]] Orion Pax 8:10 pm "Oh, a series? I do hope it is self explanatory, as I am not the most familiar with Unicronian media." He brought extra snacks, tho! Tilisha 8:11 pm I got snacks~ Bevel 8:11 pm Yeah. It is a non-sentient machine that operates by itself. Like when clocks have bellstrikers. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:11 pm *And belatedly tips his helm to Prowl* Whirl 8:11 pm Well, I'm familiar with the term. What did you make it for? Bevel 8:11 pm Fun. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:11 pm *Soundwave's plating seems to tamp down an inch or two at the description of human media as Unicronian* [[...Do not worry. The magician will explain himself.]] Whirl 8:12 pm Oh. Pfft. Seems as good a reason as any. Windchill 8:12 pm *Finally sits down next to Whirl, as usual.* FakeProwl 8:12 pm Unicron's not associated with the filmmakers. They're just squatting on his back. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:13 pm [[Unfortunately.]] Windchill 8:13 pm Whirl, my Beloved Bundt Cake. Did you miss me? ItsyBitsySpyers 8:13 pm *"Totally Not Unicron" wants to join his room. Squint.* Windchill 8:13 pm *Is he coming on too strong y/n* Whirl 8:13 pm *leans back and promptly props his feet up on Windchill* FakeProwl 8:13 pm *well, he SAYS he's totally not unicron. sounds safe.* Absolutely not Unicron 8:13 pm WHAT IS UP FELLOW MORTALS. Whirl 8:13 pm Hmm. Lemme think... Killstreak 8:14 pm *Looks down at* »The silent seeker feels more comfortable high above the crowd below« ItsyBitsySpyers 8:14 pm *Oh, Primus is here too. Very well.* Whirl 8:14 pm Nah. I need about two weeks to start missing you. Orion Pax 8:14 pm Aaaand there goes, clunked over in panic. *there goes Pax boomtank 8:14 pm -trots in finally- Whirl 8:14 pm Pfft. Speak for yourself, stranger. I'm Unvincible. FakeProwl 8:14 pm *is pretty sure that literally nobody in this room is a mortal* Absolutely not Unicron 8:14 pm DID ANYONE BRING ENERGON? BECAUSE I RAN INTO A MAGICK SHIELD THAT, UH, DETONATED ALL THE ONES I BROUGHT. Windchill 8:14 pm Hmm. *Scratches his chin.* I suppose you have heard my angelic voice within that time. Absolutely not Unicron 8:14 pm I HAD LOTS OF SNACKS boomtank 8:14 pm ......... Absolutely not Unicron 8:14 pm BUT THEY'RE ALL EXPLODED. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:14 pm ((oh my god i'm just... going to let soundwave not hear that.)) FakeProwl 8:15 pm Stop shouting. Absolutely not Unicron 8:15 pm CAN'T SHOUT IF YOU DON'T ACTUALLY TALK. MAYBE YOU SHOULD STOP THINKING I SOUND LOUD. FakeProwl 8:15 pm Stop doing whatever the hell you're doing so loudly. Regulate your volume. Absolutely not Unicron 8:15 pm NO. OH I KNOW THAT ICON Bevel 8:16 pm *puts her hands over her audio processors* Windchill 8:16 pm *He's going to ignore all of this.* Whirl 8:16 pm For what it's worth, I want you to shut your trap, too. Killstreak 8:16 pm *Covers his sensitive audials with a quiet ex-vent* Bevel 8:16 pm Stop. boomtank 8:16 pm Knock it off! Absolutely not Unicron 8:16 pm IT'S NOT ME IT'S YOU. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:16 pm ((USUAL PRE-CONTENT WARNINGS: If you don't wanna know how a bunch of magic tricks are done, don't watch. Also there's the occasional gross comment about the assistants from the narrator because these were broadcast on Fox in the late 90s.)) Absolutely not Unicron 8:17 pm OOOOOOH, MAGIC. ARE THERE DRAGONS? I LIKE DRAGONS. DRAGONS ARE MAGICKAL RIGHT? FakeProwl 8:17 pm ... *gives soundwave a helpless look.* Absolutely not Unicron 8:17 pm DRAGONS ARE DELICIOUS. FakeProwl 8:17 pm *your guest is being both psychic AND noisy in Prowl's head, please do something about him.* Whirl 8:17 pm Lord. Can *I* bridge him out of here, if you won't? Absolutely not Unicron 8:17 pm I KNOW WHERE THAT IS. IT'S ON MY AFT. WHERE ALL THESE PARASITES CAME OUT. boomtank 8:17 pm Be QUIET! ItsyBitsySpyers 8:17 pm [[And you. Cease broadcasting psychically and turn your volume down or you will be removed.]] Windchill 8:18 pm *Stops ignoring conveniently* Primus 8:18 pm [maGICS Killstreak 8:18 pm *Nods his helm in agreement with Whirl.* Windchill 8:18 pm *Leans over to Whirl, and whispers.* boomtank 8:18 pm Primus! Your brother is HERE Windchill 8:18 pm He pooped them out. Like gut worms. Whirl 8:18 pm What? Primus 8:18 pm . . . . . Whirl 8:18 pm Who's pooping what? Worms? Absolutely not Unicron 8:18 pm "Would you prefer Megatron's... lit, then?" Whoops, his voice actually sounds terrible. That's all the rust. "Also hello brother." Whirl 8:19 pm Please don't give us Megatron's anything. None of us came here to suffer. Primus 8:19 pm *Squints* Windchill 8:19 pm *Snickers.* boomtank 8:19 pm -over to Primus. Using as shield- Killstreak 8:19 pm *Watches the program with rapt attention.* Primus 8:20 pm [*is only half paying attention, mun is in wow*] Absolutely not Unicron 8:20 pm "Do these organics not emote? Their faces are horrifically solid." Bevel 8:20 pm *going to use Soundwave as a shield from totally not Unicron in case he starts being horribly loud again* Primus 8:21 pm *Oi. Is a shield again* Whirl 8:21 pm *looks to Bevel briefly, and returns his attention to the screen. Well, he offered* boomtank 8:22 pm -deal with it- Absolutely not Unicron 8:22 pm Siiiiiiits right next to his brother. Maybe he's a little close, but whatever. His brother. His. He had him first. Primus 8:22 pm *Looks at "not" Unicron. Immediately pokes him in the side of the helm* Whirl 8:22 pm So, usually we watch movies. This is all about illusions or something? Wait. *stares* Unicron...? boomtank 8:22 pm -scoots to the OTHER side- ItsyBitsySpyers 8:23 pm ((Okay, now I'm actually paying attention I'm going to reminder: Unicron is IC incapable of reaching Soundwave's club, even if he does not have dark energon on hand. If he is there, he must absolutely be a holo of some sort, and I should already have had Soundwave catch on and ban him and spend the rest of his night in a panic, but i'm not going to. Please adjust per stream rules.)) Primus 8:23 pm [curse only having one screen, wanna watch magics but get these stupid wq done] Tilisha 8:23 pm i am loving this show~ Whirl 8:24 pm A twi--yep. Absolutely not Unicron 8:24 pm "I'll behave, I'll behave! Goodness, eat a few mechanicals and traumatize a Warlord and no one wants your company. YOU want my company, don't you brother?" Windchill 8:24 pm Same as the last film. *he nods.* Whirl 8:24 pm I missed that one. Windchill 8:25 pm It was okay. Primus 8:25 pm "Long as you're like me, and just a hard-light avatar. Otherwise I'll be kicking you off the planet." Whirl 8:25 pm Oh my god, show, WE GET IT. Why do we have to see it eight times? Absolutely not Unicron 8:26 pm "You don't ~need~ to do that, you know." Curls his wings nicely around Primus' shoulder, keeping just enough space so the touch doesn't scald. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:26 pm *Soundwave settles in and pays attention to the crowd and show at last.* Windchill 8:26 pm *Did you just say the word eight, mate. * Whirl 8:26 pm *he did* Windchill 8:27 pm *Perks up.* You wanna play a game, Whirl? boomtank 8:27 pm -hard light or not, Blaster is scooting closer to Primus at that. Don't touch him either!- Windchill 8:27 pm *He's trying to ignore the narration.* (( The narrator arrest him it's so bad. )) Whirl 8:27 pm Depends. Do I need to be drunk to play it? 'Cos I'm fresh out of booze. Windchill 8:28 pm No, I don't think so. Absolutely not Unicron 8:28 pm "Why must these organics wear so little covering?" Primus 8:28 pm "I'd do it to protect those here. You're not a popular mech." Wouldn't be bothered by the touch. He's not that sensitive, Unicron. Windchill 8:30 pm You just have to count, that's all. *It's more than he can do, but you don't need to know that.* Whirl 8:30 pm *peers at suspiciously* O-kaay... I have a feeling that this is going to end in something stupid, but I'll bite. Windchill 8:30 pm It is. Very stupid. I learned it from humanity, if that tells you anything. Whirl 8:31 pm I dunno, I've met humans that're smarter than some Cybertronians. Windchill 8:32 pm Not these humans, bro. Absolutely not Unicron 8:32 pm "Popular or not, don't /you/ desire company? These mortals are not as... entertaining as I, after all, nor as innately satisfying." He's the sensitive one, really. Whirl 8:32 pm Okay. I start at one? Windchill 8:34 pm Well, I'm teaching you so normally I would start, but you can start if you want. Whirl 8:34 pm *gestures with a claw. By all means, go ahead* Primus 8:35 pm "When it is good company, of course I want it." Flexes his own bladed wings behind him, bumping into Unicron's. Killstreak 8:35 pm C???????l??????e????v???e?r???????... *Came the static filled voice of the normally silent mech.* Res 8:35 pm *meanders in* Whirl 8:36 pm Eeey, SWOOP. Res 8:36 pm Hi! Windchill 8:36 pm Okay, so I start with a phrase and a number, and you repeat with the next number, and we take turns until the game ends. *Swoop the Not Poop.* boomtank 8:36 pm -Just going to casually scoot himself into Primus' lap- Whirl 8:36 pm All right. Got it. Res 8:37 pm What is? Absolutely not Unicron 8:37 pm "... and they berated ME for being /loud/." Grumble grumble. "My company is always good. You simply have difficulty recognizing such kindness." Aaand then he, very kindly, reaches over to try and shove the mortal off his brother's lap. Bad mortal. He's using this, thank you. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:37 pm *Actually interested in this one, since humans have had stolen Cybertronian tech and all.* boomtank 8:38 pm -ducks the shove, scowls at- Whirl 8:38 pm This announcer is dreadful. Windchill 8:38 pm He is. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:38 pm ((#5 is even worse, if you can believe it. I'm not gonna show that one.)) FakeProwl 8:38 pm ... So far they aren't even good. Res 8:38 pm Him bad at sword keheh Windchill 8:38 pm Okay, I will go. *He rests his hand over his spark.* Dead 'con in the road, I one it. FakeProwl 8:39 pm They're all obvious. Whirl 8:39 pm Yeah. For once I agree with Smiles McFuntimes over there. FakeProwl 8:39 pm This one is going to have someone hiding behind the door. There it is. Whirl 8:39 pm *looks to Windchill* Two? ItsyBitsySpyers 8:39 pm *Looks over at Whirl and Prowl* [[You're both welcome to guess at the tricks. He'd enjoy it.]] Windchill 8:40 pm No no, "I two it." Whirl 8:40 pm Ohh. Okay. I two it. All right, I'll give it a shot, then. Windchill 8:40 pm I three it. Whirl 8:40 pm I four it. Primus 8:40 pm "Kindness, huh? And what kindness are you supposed to be showing me?" Swats at Unicron. Bad Unicron. Blaster can stay in his lap. "Especially given how long it has been since I've seen you." Res 8:40 pm Door stuff, no door stuff. That bot bad at sword. Lose either way. Windchill 8:40 pm *He can't even count but he's memorized this sequence of words, pfft.* I five it. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:40 pm [[He's certain they're not meant to actually use the sword well, Swoop.]] Whirl 8:40 pm I six it. Primus 8:40 pm [be nice to make this stupid box bigger to type in ><] Res 8:41 pm Why not? Windchill 8:41 pm I seven it. Res 8:41 pm Him get different weapon Killstreak 8:41 pm *Nods in agreement with Swoop.* Windchill 8:41 pm *Waits.* Res 8:41 pm Him bad at sword, Him no get sword Windchill 8:41 pm Cocked and ready, like me. Whirl 8:41 pm Wait. He's putting the arrow IN the gun? ItsyBitsySpyers 8:41 pm [[...He's pretty sure arrows aren't put in rifles.]] Windchill 8:41 pm *Interrupts the game just to say that.* Res 8:41 pm Me Swoop put pebble in Ironhide gun one time Whirl 8:41 pm God, Windchill. You're lucky I don't kick you for that. Res 8:41 pm Lots of trouble keheh Windchill 8:41 pm *Grins.* Primus 8:42 pm *Power muskets, amusing* powder** boomtank 8:42 pm -On the lap he is going to stay- Killstreak 8:42 pm *Shakes his helm in amusement.* Whirl 8:42 pm The arrow's connected to a wire, I'll bet FakeProwl 8:42 pm ... *shakes head. Can't figure out this one.* Whirl 8:42 pm Or, something is. And it's pulled--yeah. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:43 pm [[Then where does the other arrow come from?]] Res 8:43 pm Her back Windchill 8:43 pm She farts it out. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:43 pm [[...Painful.]] Whirl 8:43 pm I missed the arrow, but I knew there was SOME kind of wire involved, 'cos who's gonna hit a bullseye EVERY time? FakeProwl 8:43 pm ... ah. Whirl 8:43 pm ...PFFT. probably spring loaded in the target or something. Res 8:44 pm Her Carly say "flowy shirt" for hiding things. Her steal grenades before. Keheh. And bring drinks for Sparkplug and Chip and Spike. Whirl 8:44 pm Nice. Windchill 8:44 pm *Waits.* Whirl 8:44 pm Your friend Carly sounds like she knows how to party. Res 8:44 pm Yah. her cool Her engineer Whirl 8:44 pm Oh, yeah. Absolutely not Unicron 8:44 pm "All time is relative, brother, and time makes the eventual rejoining all the sweeter. Just as your presence is pleasant, mine must be to you." "As rare as these meetings are, one would think you would use the chance to enjoy it. As I am /attempting/ to." Whirl 8:45 pm I eight it. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:45 pm [[This seems like it would work better the farther away someone is from the stage.]] Absolutely not Unicron 8:45 pm Ever had the Devil glare at you, Blaster? Because that's what's going on right now. Windchill 8:45 pm *SPITS and cackles.* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:45 pm [[The arrow, that is.]] Whirl 8:45 pm Yeah, Soundwave. Windchill 8:45 pm You ate it? Whirl 8:45 pm *stares at Windchill* Res 8:45 pm Soundwave, why all You movies have people bad at killing stuff? Whirl 8:46 pm You nine it. FakeProwl 8:46 pm ... Is this another one where the bottom of the bag unzips. boomtank 8:46 pm -stares right back. Yes he has- ItsyBitsySpyers 8:46 pm [[Because he would like a break from war, if that is all right by the gathered company.]] Whirl 8:46 pm I'm not... really [paying attention to this one. Windchill 8:46 pm *Squints, trying to think.* Absolutely not Unicron 8:46 pm Staaaaaaaaaares. >:C Killstreak 8:46 pm *Killstreak glanced down at Unicron and Primus from his spot upside on the ceiling, noting the glare the Chaos Bringer was giving Blaster.* giving Blaster.* Windchill 8:46 pm No no, you ate it. Whirl 8:46 pm No, no, you nine it. Windchill 8:47 pm No no no, little buddy, you ate it. Whirl 8:47 pm The box probably has a false back. Res 8:47 pm Break from war means bad killing? Primus 8:47 pm "We still feel it while in mortal bodies. I'd enjoy your company more if we were not in public. And if you would stop trying to displace Blaster from my lap." Pokes Unicron in the side of his helm. Avatars could still interact with each other. Res 8:47 pm Oh, that good trick Absolutely not Unicron 8:47 pm "... is this supposed to be entertaining?" Res 8:47 pm Him sneaky bot. Like Bird! And Soundwave. Sneaky, keheh FakeProwl 8:47 pm ... when the executioner circles around the back during the dance. Res 8:47 pm But bad at killing. Stab first time, no problem keheh. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:47 pm [[There, you see. There is entertainment without death.]] A nod. [[And yes. Like us.]] [[...Though he's never tried his hand at illusions like these.]] Res 8:48 pm Why? Whirl 8:48 pm Never really got into illusion stuff myself. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:48 pm [[Historically, magicians spoke.]] *small tremble* Res 8:48 pm This one not talking Him no mouth Whirl 8:49 pm ((brb, guys)) Windchill 8:49 pm (( HAVE FUUUUUN. )) ItsyBitsySpyers 8:49 pm [[Humans do find ways unusual ways to do things.]] Pause. [[And the timing in this trick is impressive, for creatures without internal chronometers.]] Res 8:50 pm Him crush birds? Windchill 8:50 pm We saw that last week. Res 8:50 pm Like other movie Dead ItsyBitsySpyers 8:50 pm [[...He hopes not.]] Windchill 8:50 pm I don't think these will die. FakeProwl 8:50 pm Humans have laws against killing animals for entertainment now. Windchill 8:50 pm *Nods.* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:50 pm *Points* [[It's the lid.]] FakeProwl 8:50 pm If they WERE going to die, it wouldn't be on TV. Res 8:50 pm Him face have wiggles on it FakeProwl 8:50 pm It's still in the lid. Absolutely not Unicron 8:50 pm "Yes, well, you are not the easiest creature to isolate either. Perhaps, if you were not so inclined towards the company of those who develop shielding that harm those who you adore." Windchill 8:50 pm Wiggles? Res 8:50 pm wiggle wiggle Whirl 8:51 pm Also. Windchill 8:51 pm Like...worms! Whirl 8:51 pm LITTLE buddy? Excuse you. Res 8:51 pm yah FakeProwl 8:51 pm The lid itself is another box. We didn't see the bottom of the lid when it was removed. Whirl 8:51 pm I'm huge where I come from. Windchill 8:51 pm You are little, buddy. You're little to ME. Res 8:51 pm ((How tall is Whirl?)) Absolutely not Unicron 8:51 pm "All of you are tiny." ItsyBitsySpyers 8:51 pm [[He knows this trick. He's used it with his arms to... never mind what for.]] FakeProwl 8:52 pm ... Your arms have secret compartments? Killstreak 8:52 pm *The seeker shook his helm in amusement at "Not" Unicron's words.* Whirl 8:52 pm ((dealing in absolute numbers is kinda weird, but he's like... TFP Soundwave stands just under his gunboob)) Killstreak 8:52 pm words.* Res 8:52 pm This easy for us. Subspace. Humans don't have. Carly tell Me Swoop so. Windchill 8:52 pm *Snickers.* Whirl 8:52 pm Anyway. Get on with your punchline, Windchill. Yes. I ate it. Bevel 8:52 pm I am not little where I come from. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:52 pm [[They don't need to.]] Soundwave tucks his thumb in. It's set higher up his arm than his fingers, so it disappears quite well. Whirl 8:52 pm No matter how physiologically improbably that might seem. Res 8:52 pm ((Swoop is Soundwave-ish sized so he is a babby burb :V)) Windchill 8:52 pm You did. Whirl 8:53 pm They're angled. The daggers, at least. FakeProwl 8:53 pm ... Is it the same as the other one? The swords just barely dodge her head? Whirl 8:53 pm BEHIND her head. Absolutely not Unicron 8:53 pm "Mortals have terrible concepts of awareness." Whirl 8:53 pm Or in front. Primus 8:53 pm "They've good reason to do so." Wraps one arm around Blaster. The other moves to scratch under Unicron's chin. "I'm not that hard to find if you know where to look. I do wander off of Cybertron." FakeProwl 8:53 pm Or maybe there's an unseen helmet around her head and the knives bend. Killstreak 8:53 pm ((Then theres just the 24 ft tall weird hang upside down from the ceiling XD)) Res 8:53 pm Him bad at stabbing and Her bad at pretending stab. Whirl 8:53 pm Whirl is very Lorg boomtank 8:54 pm -hums and settles down- Whirl 8:54 pm ...)) Res 8:54 pm No energon blood Whirl 8:54 pm ((that's ooc)) Windchill 8:54 pm I think these tricks need more fire. It would be cooler with fire. Res 8:54 pm ((does this mean swoop could perch on the gunboob?)) ItsyBitsySpyers 8:54 pm [[Yes. The illusion would be more complete with pained noises and the like. It is difficult to believe she's --]] FakeProwl 8:54 pm Only one sword went— hff. A long box with a fake door. Res 8:54 pm Them stab her real. Then her know how to pretend. Whirl 8:54 pm Ma, the solution is even lamer than my guess. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:55 pm [[Ah! A small elephant.]] [[The trick with the netting and bars.]] FakeProwl 8:55 pm I thought the sword was important. Killstreak 8:55 pm //Food! Brb, sushi's here!// Whirl 8:56 pm Oh, they are angled. Still lame though. Windchill 8:56 pm More fire, more fire! *Throws his arms up in the air.* Res 8:56 pm Me SWOOP can fire! Whirl 8:56 pm ...so, 'Chill. Windchill 8:56 pm With real fire? Res 8:56 pm YAH Whirl 8:56 pm What was the whole... point? Res 8:56 pm Me Swoop am DINOBOT ItsyBitsySpyers 8:56 pm [[Please, no fire in the club.]] Windchill 8:56 pm *Looks at Whirl with one eye.* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:56 pm *Amused huff at Whirl* Absolutely not Unicron 8:56 pm (( aaand there goes unicron Res 8:56 pm No fire? : < Absolutely not Unicron 8:57 pm * fuck. there goes unicron's muse. )) (( switching back to orion. )) FakeProwl 8:57 pm Oh, I know how this one works. Primus 8:57 pm [Whoops. Muses be muses? Windchill 8:57 pm You should show us fire another time! Res 8:57 pm This boring. Them break legs. Then him stay. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:57 pm [[...Are you sure you're an Autobot creation?]] Whirl 8:57 pm I don't have any fire, but I DO have a plasma-thrower. You've seen it, Windchill. Orion Pax 8:58 pm "... what a horrific trick this is! How could anyone enjoy the possibility of someone being harmed?" Res 8:58 pm Yah? Windchill 8:58 pm And, Whirl, "I ate it" was the point. I told you it was dumb. We both knew. Orion Pax 8:58 pm Munches through some crunchy energon. Whirl 8:58 pm Soundwave, I'm surprised. You know ME and you can't believe HE'S an Autobot? Res 8:58 pm *points to the autobrand on his beak* Whirl 8:58 pm I'm so, so much worse than Swoop. Windchill 8:58 pm Oh...yeah I have. Bevel 8:58 pm *pointed look at Soundwave, you've met her creator yes* FakeProwl 8:58 pm He drowns to death, and then his teleportation clone emerges from behind the curtain. *poker face* Whirl 8:58 pm *SNRK* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:58 pm [[...He supposes it--ha.]] Primus 8:58 pm *Prowlplz* Res 8:58 pm *bounces at Whirl* Worse? kehehhe. Worse? Whirl 8:59 pm *nods* Not THE worst. But Pretty bad. Res 8:59 pm How bad? FakeProwl 8:59 pm ... Seriously though, he's probably in an air chamber inside the tank. The water pouring over the top is pumped out as he's lowered. Whirl 8:59 pm Yeah, prowl's right. Orion Pax 8:59 pm And he's gnawing nervously at his treats. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:59 pm [[So he is.]] Windchill 8:59 pm Whirl, have you... ever been lit on fire? Orion Pax 8:59 pm He knows this is a trick, but it's still nerve wracking. The concept of a human being hurt irks him. Whirl 8:59 pm Yep. Res 9:00 pm Fire no big deal ItsyBitsySpyers 9:00 pm *Soundwave nudges Bevel and gestures to the screen. Has she ever thought to design these kinds of things?* Whirl 9:00 pm Came with the job description back when I joined the Wreckers. Windchill 9:00 pm Oh. *He blinks coquettishly.* Res 9:00 pm What you do WORSE than Dinobot? Windchill 9:00 pm I bet you looked really hot. Res 9:00 pm Duh Windchill 9:00 pm *Yes, it's the same joke as last week.* Whirl 9:00 pm *SNRKS again* Res 9:01 pm Cheating Whirl 9:01 pm To everyone else? No. To you? Apparently. Res 9:01 pm Him break for real next time ItsyBitsySpyers 9:01 pm [[Of course he's cheating. It's a trick.]] Bevel 9:01 pm *only briefly during last week's show, she still wants to borrow Rumble* Windchill 9:01 pm *Blinks just for you, Whirl.* Whirl 9:01 pm And I've done lots of stuff, Swoop. I'll tell you sometime later. Res 9:01 pm When later? Whirl 9:01 pm Later. Res 9:01 pm :S Orion Pax 9:01 pm "... humans have peculiar hobbies." Whirl 9:01 pm When I'm not being distracted. Maybe over some drinks. FakeProwl 9:01 pm ... Huh. More clever than I expected. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:01 pm [[They do indeed.]] Res 9:01 pm kaay Swoop like stories Whirl 9:02 pm Hey, 'Chill. Windchill 9:02 pm Hmm? ItsyBitsySpyers 9:02 pm *Leans forward. A bed of spikes? ... He's going to assume they mean the torture device.* Orion Pax 9:02 pm "... is that all? Are we going to have to watch more of humans being exceedingly dangerous?" Whirl 9:02 pm Do you got a beast mode you've never told me about? Windchill 9:02 pm *He's going to assume something else.* Res 9:02 pm Keheheh, dangerous? What DANGEROUS here? It fake stuff. Windchill 9:03 pm *You're welcome for that mental image, Soundwave.* Orion Pax 9:03 pm "Yes we are. Lovely." Res 9:03 pm Them use real stuff. Then dangerous. Then fun. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:03 pm *Primus, Windchill.* [[...Now that is a useful trick.]] Orion Pax 9:03 pm Settles down next to the bright-sparked giant holding Blaster. Whirl 9:03 pm ((PFFT)) Windchill 9:03 pm *He had to.* Um...no? FakeProwl 9:03 pm *mumbles* I know a couple of tanks I'd like to make disappear. Primus 9:03 pm *Only half paying attention* Windchill 9:03 pm I'm only a little bit beastly. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:03 pm *Glance at Prowl. Now, now.* Whirl 9:03 pm Are you SURE? Res 9:03 pm *if it helps Soundwave any, Swoop's imagining someone getting murdered on a spike pit hellboy style* Windchill 9:04 pm ...Why? Whirl 9:04 pm I could've sworn you had another mode, and that it was a beaver. 'cos DAAAAM. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:04 pm *Oh yes, that helps quite a bit. Thank you, Swoop.* Whirl 9:04 pm *there. Take that* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:04 pm [[That means you, Swoop.]] Res 9:04 pm ?? Bevel 9:04 pm Bet they retract. Windchill 9:04 pm *Gives Whirl the most dead inside, half lidded look of disdain he can muster.* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:04 pm *The not trying these at home.* Whirl 9:04 pm *preens* FakeProwl 9:04 pm There's a lot of gaps between the spikes. Res 9:04 pm :V Why not? Me Swoop could break whole thing. It not scary. Windchill 9:05 pm I suppose that was...my just desserts. Whirl 9:05 pm Yep. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:05 pm *Light nudge to Prowl. That answers his questions about the assistants from last week* Windchill 9:05 pm *Nods.* FakeProwl 9:05 pm Oh, so they switched him out so they don't reveal his true identity, but they don't care about revealing the assistants' true identities. Res 9:05 pm Slag try to gore bots aaaaaallll the time. This thing not CHASE, keheh. boomtank 9:05 pm -is kinda falling asleep where he is- Windchill 9:05 pm Now we're even. Killstreak 9:05 pm //Back.// ItsyBitsySpyers 9:05 pm [[They may not be actual assistants.]] Windchill 9:06 pm You know what else we have in common, Titty Boob? Whirl 9:06 pm What? Windchill 9:06 pm We can't pick our noses. Bevel 9:06 pm Trap door. Res 9:06 pm Them want to fake, trick. Them get blood to SPLAT. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:06 pm [[If this is not their job, it would hardly matter if others wanted to ban them from performing other magic shows.]] Res 9:06 pm Then it exciting. FakeProwl 9:06 pm Random actresses from other fields that they trained to perform the tricks? ItsyBitsySpyers 9:06 pm [[Quite possibly.]] FakeProwl 9:06 pm He rolls in between the spikes. Or behind them, and then gets on top. Whirl 9:06 pm Yep. Neither of us got them. Windchill 9:07 pm *Thinks.* FakeProwl 9:07 pm Behind, most likely. Whirl 9:07 pm Well, technically, you have two horrific nostrils on your head. FakeProwl 9:07 pm Behind. Whirl 9:07 pm And I've got... whatever-it-is in my mouth. Windchill 9:07 pm I do, my secret shame. *He's not ashamed in the slightest.* I bet I could pick Gigantor's nose, though. Whirl 9:07 pm Eugh. Lose your whole arm up there. Windchill 9:08 pm He'd probably let me. Whirl 9:08 pm That's more about you and your junxy's love life than I wanted to know. Res 9:08 pm Magician do fake, cheat thing. What person who do real thing? Windchill 9:08 pm You're welcome. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:08 pm *Soundwave vents.* [[This one would not be difficult for him.]] *Stretch arm, leg.* FakeProwl 9:08 pm Pff. Res 9:09 pm *cocks head at Soundwave* *stares* *thinks* *transforms into robot mode and reaches over to touch* Killstreak 9:09 pm *Twitters in amusement.* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:09 pm *Neat dodge and withdrawing of limbs* FakeProwl 9:09 pm Are there other assistants hidden behind the doors that get in and out as the doors slide open and close? Res 9:09 pm Keheh Soundwave! Soundwave Windchill 9:09 pm I assume so. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:09 pm [[What.]] Whirl 9:09 pm That'd be my guess, Prowl. I can do THAT, though. Bevel 9:10 pm She is just moving. That is easy. Res 9:10 pm You bigger, smaller, same... *vague gestures* as Swoop Whirl 9:10 pm get my head on the floor like that, with my feet. FakeProwl 9:10 pm ... You can see someone's hand outside the box on the far left. Whirl 9:10 pm That's not hard. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:10 pm [[That's the assistant on the side.]] Res 9:10 pm *grabby hands* FakeProwl 9:10 pm No, that's... yes, it is. Res 9:10 pm *wants to measure with grubby baby hands* Windchill 9:10 pm Show me, Whirl. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:10 pm [[She was on the stool for part of it. There was no reason for it to be there otherwise.]] Windchill 9:11 pm You can't say things like that and not prove it. Whirl 9:11 pm *removes his feet from Windchill's lap* Windchill 9:11 pm *This is gonna be good.* Res 9:11 pm *goes again for Soundwave's foot* Whirl 9:11 pm *shifts a bit in his seat. Puts one foot on the tabletop first. Then the other* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:11 pm *Scoots closer to Prowl and away from Swoop.* [[Desist.]] Tilisha 9:11 pm i think i've seen this trick before. Res 9:11 pm Me Swoop want to see ItsyBitsySpyers 9:12 pm [[See what?]] Res 9:12 pm Skinny! Killstreak 9:12 pm *laughs softly at the Dinobot's shenanigans.* Res 9:12 pm *gestures at Soundwave, gestures at himself* You bigger or smaller than Swoop Whirl 9:12 pm *shifts a bit, spreads his legs enough for his cockpit to fit through, and then, ina positively nauseating display of flexibility, lowers his torso until his head is flat on the table, next to his feet* *his backstrut looks like it's made of rubber. it's wholly ridiculous* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:13 pm [[You have more material because of your wings. He has longer lim...bs...]] Whirl 9:13 pm *stares at Windchill solemnly* Windchill 9:13 pm *APPLAUDS.* Amazing. I could never do that. Unless I was dead, maybe. Res 9:13 pm Lim. Bs. Bevel 9:13 pm I could do that. Windchill 9:13 pm You look vulgar right now. I approve. Res 9:13 pm *reaches out with his foot to touch Soundwave's foot* Whirl 9:13 pm There's nothing VULGAR about being flexibl. It's good for fighting. Bevel 9:14 pm *thumbs up at Whirl* Windchill 9:14 pm It is if you have a dirty mind like mine, Whirl. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:14 pm [[Congratulations. It is most impressive.]] FakeProwl 9:14 pm Well. After that last display of dexterity, I'm afraid I must face the fact that I'm never going to be cut out for a career as a magician's assistant. Whirl 9:14 pm *raises a claw and clicks it at Bevel. He's not moved out of the position at all yet* Bevel 9:14 pm They go through from the back like the arrow? ItsyBitsySpyers 9:15 pm [[You could design tricks, he's sure.]] Whirl 9:15 pm It IS impressive. I don't know why more mecha don't go for it. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:15 pm [[And he likes your idea, Bevel.]] FakeProwl 9:15 pm I'm not creative. Whirl 9:15 pm Everyone insists on being built like a brick wall. Windchill 9:15 pm *Raises hand* Not me! I'm built like a dumpster. Res 9:15 pm Whirl is skinny. And Swoop. And Soundwave. Who littlest? Who little. *bounces* Whirl 9:15 pm Same difference. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:16 pm [[The functional part of it. Designing the safe portions and timing and things like that.]] FakeProwl 9:16 pm Is it like the arrow—flips down from the top? Whirl 9:16 pm Soundwave's got a decent frame, he looks like he could pretzel his way out of danger if he needed to. Res 9:16 pm KEH! This not hard. Me Swoop throw knives for fun lots of time. Bevel 9:16 pm *looks like a brick wall* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:16 pm *Surprised by the compliment, nods at Whirl* Res 9:16 pm Soundwave is pretzel. Keheh. FakeProwl 9:16 pm I'm not an engineer either. The... *silence* Whirl 9:16 pm *it is merely the truth. Sort-of-nods. he's still head-and-feet on the table* Orion Pax 9:16 pm He's back! Had to attend to something. "What did I miss?" ItsyBitsySpyers 9:16 pm *Soundwave extrudes his feelers and forms a pretzel shape.* Whirl 9:17 pm *snrks* Bevel 9:17 pm *giggles* Killstreak 9:17 pm *Pfft* Windchill 9:17 pm ....Do you get kinks from sitting like that? Res 9:17 pm *grabby hands at pretzel* Whirl 9:17 pm Nope. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:17 pm *...He has no idea why the silence, but it probably wasn't good. He'll keep quiet.* Windchill 9:17 pm *Don't ask what kind of kinks me means.* Wow. FakeProwl 9:17 pm ... I prefer solving mysteries to creating them. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:17 pm [[So noted.]] [[Well done, Bevel.]] Whirl 9:18 pm I've made a lot of modifications over the years. *at last, he uncoils, and dits back up like a normal mech again* Bevel 9:18 pm *grins* Res 9:18 pm *scooches over to Whirl* Windchill 9:18 pm *Drumrolls in his lap. Get back up here!* Res 9:18 pm *grabs for an ankle* Little Whirl 9:18 pm *KICKS* Res 9:19 pm :V ItsyBitsySpyers 9:19 pm ((except sometimes it's not a trick and people get sent to the hospital on tv 😄 )) Res 9:19 pm Keheheh Whirl 9:19 pm Reflex. Res 9:19 pm Kicky bot FakeProwl 9:19 pm ... did they say they do the trick with flaming objects? Res 9:19 pm *holds up his ankle by Whirl's to compare* FakeProwl 9:19 pm Humans are sticking flaming knives in their coat pockets. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:19 pm [[He believes so.]] Orion Pax 9:19 pm "Humans are a young species, their culture barely a single lifetime of a Cybertron, and yet they display so much creativity. I wonder if Cybertron's culture had so many popular tricks and slights of hands prior to the War." ItsyBitsySpyers 9:19 pm [[We won't know now, will we.]] *Tries not to be amused by the Egg* FakeProwl 9:20 pm So the same principle as the fishing line, just with rubber bands. Orion Pax 9:20 pm "Knowledge is easy enough to find once one identifies those who are aware." Scooches closer to Soundwave. Whirl 9:21 pm *whirl's leg design is actually very odd, in that he sort of has TWO ankles; his legs are very skinny, though* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:21 pm [[Most of those mechs are dead. Identification will not help.]] Bevel 9:21 pm ... Orion Pax 9:21 pm "You are still alive, are you not?" Res 9:21 pm *wiggles his toes and giggles* Bevel 9:21 pm *squints at house* Res 9:21 pm Both little Him Soundwave big feet but little leg Windchill 9:21 pm Are you two playing footsies over there? WITHOUT ME?! *Offended.* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:22 pm *Looks down at himself. You call all this leg little?* Whirl 9:22 pm He does. No offence, Soundwave, but you've got a little everything. You're kinda small. Bevel 9:22 pm That house is smaller on the inside than it is outside. *building things and earlier tricks have made her pay a little more attention* Res 9:22 pm *babbu isn't going to identify which direction he is measuring but, yes, you a skinny boy* Whirl 9:22 pm And yep. You're not invited. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:23 pm [[He is on the taller side in his own timeline, thank you.]] Windchill 9:23 pm *Covers his face and makes crying sounds.* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:23 pm [[And proportionally, he is rather leggy.]] Res 9:23 pm *bounces up and down in place* Me Swoop am very very tall! At home! Orion Pax 9:23 pm The commentary on size has made him feel all the smaller. The teeniest of Primes curls up a little bit on himself, gnawing on his treats. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:23 pm *Bevel's catching up here.* FakeProwl 9:23 pm It's probably being stored in the roof, but I don't know how it works otherwise. Trap doors opening and closing—? ... All right, I should have seen that coming. Bevel 9:24 pm I like this trick. Orion Pax 9:24 pm "It must be horrifically uncomfortable in that little enclosure." ItsyBitsySpyers 9:24 pm [[Yes. You are also tall at home. It is a wonder you do not bang your helm on things.]] Res 9:24 pm Me DO Kehehehh Live in cave, you hit stuff lots too Bevel 9:25 pm *is taller than Soundwave. and much wider* FakeProwl 9:25 pm The bullet's already in his mouth, the glass is rigged to break independently from the gun. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:25 pm *YOU are a much bigger size class.* Windchill 9:25 pm *Are we still having a size contest because.* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:25 pm [[...That was quick.]] Whirl 9:25 pm Yeah, I'm really big where I come from. FakeProwl 9:25 pm I'll figure out the other details when I see the rest of the trick. Orion Pax 9:26 pm "Oh, the speeding bullet trick is very simple. The magician is holding the bullet within his teeth already, and the glass is cracked via a inner force such as a sudden course of energy." ItsyBitsySpyers 9:26 pm *Has a moment of just. Looking at Prowl. Soundwave wants to feed him a million mysteries and listen to him go.* Windchill 9:26 pm Prowl already said that. Bevel 9:26 pm *and she can technically transform into a taller bot because so much of her mass is currently focused on making her so wide* FakeProwl 9:26 pm *doesn't notice. he's watching the next illusion. Res 9:26 pm Me Swoop wings big. And beak big. But rest little. Swoop littlest Dinobot :> FakeProwl 9:26 pm The radio is attached to the tray. It's—yes. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:27 pm [[...He has an important question to ask those of you in timelines where this is possible.]] Whirl 9:27 pm *looks over his shoulder at the bar* I could use a drink. Is it self-serve tonight? FakeProwl 9:27 pm He must have a piece of cardboard or something in the fabric. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:27 pm *Points at the screen.* [[Has his alternate ever done this.]] Windchill 9:27 pm Nice. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:27 pm [[And yes, it is. Ravage is away for the evening.]] Whirl 9:27 pm Not that I know of. Res 9:27 pm Do what? Whirl 9:27 pm And, all right. I can bring payment on Wednesday. Res 9:27 pm *flops on his belly on the floor* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:28 pm [[The radio trick, Swoop.]] Res 9:28 pm That easy. It cheating. Anyone can do. Windchill 9:28 pm *Uh oh, is Swoop getting bored?* Bevel 9:28 pm We saw this one in the movie with the clones. Windchill 9:28 pm Cock...the rifle. Whirl 9:28 pm Don't fuck the gun, Windchill. trust me, it's not worth iut. Windchill 9:28 pm But Whiiiiiirl. Orion Pax 9:29 pm "... is it typical for female assistants to dress in this manner?" FakeProwl 9:29 pm He's too good a shot for a random magician. That was probably a fake shot too. Windchill 9:29 pm You can't tell me what to do. I'm gonna frick the gun. Orion Pax 9:29 pm "Please don't." Res 9:29 pm Frick ItsyBitsySpyers 9:29 pm [[It absolutely was. He has shot enough people to know the difference between bullet entry and exit sizes.]] [[It went the wrong way.]] FakeProwl 9:30 pm I didn't see a moment where he could have palmed the bullet. So there must be a second one. Whirl 9:30 pm As someone who has been there, done that, I will say again: not worth it. FakeProwl 9:30 pm Did it go the wrong way? The image is too blurry for me to tell. Windchill 9:30 pm *Whiiiiiines.* Did you shoot yourself? ItsyBitsySpyers 9:30 pm [[Yes. They will show it again.]] Windchill 9:30 pm *This sounds like a story.* Res 9:31 pm Yah her aim high Whirl 9:31 pm It's a long story. But trust me when I say I learned three important things that day. FakeProwl 9:31 pm ... That part probably would have been obvious if I knew more about Earth weaponry. Windchill 9:31 pm Yeah? boomtank 9:31 pm -Blaster fell asleep a while back- ((because mun has been out of it Res 9:32 pm Aim REAL high Whirl 9:32 pm One: Always listen to Springer. Two: Always double-check your loadout. Three: NEVER fire an energy-based weapon in the air in an electrical storm. *now he stands and trots over to the bar* FakeProwl 9:32 pm *squints at the paper. still can't see it well enough to tell which way the paper is going. Oh well. He'll trust Soundwave's optics.* Windchill 9:32 pm Wow, thanks for the advice. boomtank 9:33 pm ((and going out now, g'night! Thanks for the stream FakeProwl 9:33 pm *... IT WAS A MAGNET* Windchill 9:33 pm *By that he means a checklist of how to frick a gun, amazing.* Res 9:33 pm Her almost miss glass all the way ItsyBitsySpyers 9:33 pm ((night blaster!)) Res 9:33 pm Everyone suck at weapons here Windchill 9:33 pm ...On the show? Res 9:33 pm Them go fast in real fight Yah show Windchill 9:33 pm Okay. I almost got offended. On Whirl's behalf. Res 9:33 pm Soundwave say no weapons for PEOPLE here Windchill 9:34 pm Whoops. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:34 pm [[Why would anyone want water to become ice.]] [[He isn't even ill.]] Windchill 9:34 pm Figures. FakeProwl 9:35 pm ... I was trying to figure out how they made a trap door work with water. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:35 pm *Hard tremble* FakeProwl 9:35 pm I guess a sponge works like a trap door for water. Bevel 9:35 pm *giggles* Whirl 9:35 pm *he's gonna poke around; he has no idea how to make a gaugebuster so whirl's just puttering around back there, opening bottles and sniffing them* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:35 pm *Just... just don't blow the place up, Whirl.* Res 9:35 pm Him cut her up? :V ItsyBitsySpyers 9:35 pm *Whatever you mix together.* Res 9:35 pm Cool Whirl 9:36 pm *he'll try. No promises* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:36 pm [[Ah. Snack size portions.]] Res 9:36 pm Her duck fast keheheh FakeProwl 9:36 pm Hff! Bevel 9:36 pm Fffff Windchill 9:36 pm She crouched in the bottom? Res 9:37 pm How come them no fake blood? Trick better if blood everywhere kheheh. Windchill 9:37 pm Yeah, more blood would be more convincing. FakeProwl 9:37 pm Hm. The blades look to be too wide to pull the same trick as the one where they cut her in half. Windchill 9:37 pm Fake. FakeProwl 9:37 pm The thighs look fake. For the rest, she could just be standing up or ducking. Windchill 9:38 pm *Nods.* My god. Res 9:38 pm Him put her together mix up, kehehehhehe, that BEST trick FakeProwl 9:38 pm ... Except the blades ARE still in there. Hm. Killstreak 9:38 pm //Welp, this mun has to go now, little cousin just came into my room because of a nightmare and wants to sleep with his "big brother" (he prefers calling me that for some reason). Good night guys, thank-you for the show Wave! Night night! X3// ItsyBitsySpyers 9:38 pm [[He doesn't see why it should matter if she's in the wrong order. He supposedly made a disassembled suit of armor come to life again.]] ((aw, night!)) Whirl 9:38 pm ((aww, gnight my dude! :3)) FakeProwl 9:38 pm Either mirrors or photos hidden in the box. Killstreak 9:38 pm show wave!// Windchill 9:38 pm (( Bye! )) Bevel 9:38 pm [[night! FakeProwl 9:39 pm I'll go with photos. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:39 pm [[...They hollowed out human parts?]] Res 9:40 pm Them steal feet? kehehehhehhehh Whirl 9:40 pm *he's lining up bottles. Whirl's got A Plan* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:40 pm [[Oh, they were spinning them. He sees.]] FakeProwl 9:40 pm Hm. I was on the right track with the photos. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:41 pm [[Look. A trap door.]] FakeProwl 9:41 pm ... Even the blades have trap doors. Bevel 9:41 pm So many trap doors. Windchill 9:41 pm Amazing. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:41 pm [[He's beginning to feel like his life suffers from a distinct lack of trap doors.]] [[Whirl, what ARE you doing.]] Res 9:41 pm Her just be tough next time. Break blades. Beat up magician. Kehehheh. Then HER show. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:41 pm [[Are you getting a drink or did you get lost?]] Windchill 9:41 pm *He has to look and see what Whirl is doing, too.* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:41 pm *Soundwave nods at Swoop, amused* Windchill 9:42 pm ...Is it a shooting gallery? Whirl 9:42 pm I'm making a cocktail. Bevel 9:42 pm You should put a trap door by the door so you can open it under bot's feet. Res 9:42 pm Drop in ocean :V Then disappear Bloop! Heavy. Whirl 9:42 pm *with all the care of a mad scientist, he hunkers down over the bar and gets mixing* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:42 pm [[That, Bevel, is called a space bridge.]] Windchill 9:42 pm *HAND SHOOTS UP IN THE AIR.* I volunteer to test the trap door. Unless it's a space bridge. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:42 pm *Prowl's been waiting his whole life for this.* Whirl 9:42 pm *adopts his Teacher Voice* Yes, Windchill? Oh. Res 9:43 pm Warpath Whirl 9:43 pm Well, can't help ya there. Windchill 9:43 pm ...You want me to think of a question for you? *His hand is still there, might as well take advantage.* Res 9:43 pm Bzoow! Keheheh. Warpath weird. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:43 pm *Thinks of chains on another tank. Glows about 2 degrees brighter for five seconds.* Bevel 9:43 pm ...mirrors? Primus 9:43 pm *Blinks and looks around. Sort of fell asleep there* Oh, the tank... Windchill 9:43 pm Kinky. Res 9:44 pm Him transform. Run away. Whirl 9:44 pm Nah. I'm good. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:44 pm [[It's not a tank like our kind, Swoop. It's non-sentient.]] Windchill 9:44 pm Well, alrighty then. Bevel 9:44 pm ....trap door Res 9:44 pm Someone else transform. Pick it up and run away. FakeProwl 9:44 pm Trap door. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:44 pm [[Primus.]] Primus 9:44 pm . . ? FakeProwl 9:44 pm ... Either that, or an underground catapult. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:44 pm *He's laughing so much tonight. He's shaking again.* Bevel 9:45 pm *giggles* Whirl 9:45 pm Nukes. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:45 pm [[An underground - a - what.]] Res 9:45 pm Skyfire take Windchill 9:45 pm *Gasps.* FakeProwl 9:45 pm The tank is going to crash land five miles away. Hah! Whirl 9:45 pm *his masterpiece is nearly complete. Anyone near the bar can probably smell the fumes. It smells like a disaster waiting to happen* Primus 9:45 pm *Snickers* Windchill 9:45 pm *So, it smells like Whirl.* Primus 9:45 pm Well. I wake up just for this madness, Windchill 9:45 pm *Delicious.* Res 9:45 pm That trick dumb Just running away Them melt tank next time ItsyBitsySpyers 9:46 pm [[He liked the catapult more.]] Bevel 9:46 pm The building is closer. Whirl 9:46 pm *yep* FakeProwl 9:46 pm So do I. It actually gets rid of the tank. Whirl 9:46 pm *there may or may not be thin curls of vapor rising from it* Res 9:46 pm That not work on Sludge. Him large object. Him get confuse. Ask what happen, where everyone go. Come walk over. Keheh. Windchill 9:47 pm *Scratches his chin, trying to decide if he knows any tanks.* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:47 pm *Contemplates having one installed near Dancitron for Tarn reasons* [[The point of that one was a broadcast trick, he thinks. Not a "come walk over" one.]] Windchill 9:47 pm *Nope, no tanks. He's pretty sure.* Whirl 9:47 pm *carefully puts the bottle away, and holds up his glass triumphantly* I think I've outdone myself. Windchill 9:48 pm You're gonna undo yourself with that thing. Bevel 9:48 pm Install a trebuchet. Those are neat. Windchill 9:48 pm Don't worry, I'm here to support you. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:48 pm [[He's absolving himself of responsibility if you poison yourself and melt a hole in your tanks.]] Res 9:48 pm Dinobots buried alive before. Not Swoop. Older Dinobots. Whirl 9:48 pm Your only responsibility--*dryly* Is throwing the party I'm sure everyone'll wanna throw if that happens. FakeProwl 9:48 pm (("our magician might be an illusionist, an actor... OR EVEN A WOMAN" oh shut the fuck up and go away)) Res 9:48 pm Wheeljack save. Windchill 9:49 pm It's called a funeral, Whirl. Whirl 9:49 pm *returns to his seat; the drink smells something like particularly strong coffee mixed with black pepper and a hint of vinegar* Windchill 9:49 pm *GAGS.* Whirl 9:49 pm No funerals. Res 9:49 pm *curls his nose* Whirl 9:49 pm It's on my will, even. Res 9:49 pm *leans closer to sniff at the gross stuff* Windchill 9:49 pm ...You have a will? ItsyBitsySpyers 9:49 pm [[Please, do not purge on his floor again.]] Res 9:50 pm Me Swoop puke here before! Windchill 9:50 pm Yes, it was messy. Res 9:50 pm Yah :> Whirl 9:50 pm All mine, Swoop. Windchill 9:50 pm *Shakes his head.* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:50 pm [[Sloppy work.]] Whirl 9:50 pm And yeah, when I was really sick, I ahd to draft up some last wishes. Windchill 9:50 pm Oh, yeah. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:51 pm [[Another bag that isn't a bag, he's sure.]] Res 9:51 pm This dumb way for tying up. Them smash hands. Save time. FakeProwl 9:51 pm Either that or it unzips from the inside. Primus 9:51 pm [FINALLYICANFLYderp FakeProwl 9:51 pm Like the one with the executioner. Whirl 9:51 pm *he holds the drink aloft and takes a nice, long pull, tossing his head back to swallow like a bird* Res 9:51 pm *claps for Whirl* Windchill 9:51 pm *Stares.* Glug, glug, glug, glug! *Chants.* Whirl 9:52 pm That's pretty good. Primus 9:52 pm ... Res 9:52 pm ??? Whirl 9:52 pm Mellower than a gaugebuster, not as spicy. Res 9:52 pm What burning? Primus 9:52 pm of course it is on fire Whirl 9:52 pm Has a nice full flavor, kinda like midgrade. Res 9:52 pm That weird place for gas tank Windchill 9:52 pm Finally, some fire. Bevel 9:52 pm The car did not even get crushed all the way. Res 9:52 pm Inside cab gas tank? FakeProwl 9:53 pm Maybe he slid out the other end of the car and the only thing left in the bag was an automaton. Primus 9:53 pm Or a pre-recorded video Bevel 9:53 pm 😃 Res 9:53 pm This not engineering. Wheeljack engineer. Whirl 9:54 pm They make a big deal about their masked man, but I'm pretty sure the only people who care are the folks who made the show. I bet he's some nobody. Windchill 9:54 pm *Nods.* I certainly don't care. Res 9:54 pm Lots of people have mask for face. Windchill 9:54 pm Um. Res 9:54 pm Wheeljack. Soundwave. Windchill 9:54 pm *Wow.* Whirl 9:54 pm And some of us don't have faces at all. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:54 pm [[He doubts that. The Prestige movie showed that they were protective of their secrets.]] Res 9:54 pm Yah Whirl 9:54 pm *gestures to self* Primus 9:55 pm [creepy Windchill 9:55 pm *That was some visual.* Res 9:55 pm It no big deal Bevel 9:55 pm *could make a much better automaton* FakeProwl 9:55 pm I got half of it. Windchill 9:55 pm These tricks seems expensive. Wasteful. Res 9:56 pm Cremation is fire thing! Swoop can Windchill 9:56 pm Cremation is my only chance of having a smoking hot body. Like Whirl's. Res 9:56 pm Whirl not on fire keheh Windchill 9:56 pm *And so that same jokes rises from the dead in the same night.* *Just...gives Swoop a look.* Whirl 9:57 pm *snorts and takes another long pull* Res 9:57 pm *cocks head* Windchill 9:57 pm *Shakes his head in disbelief.* Res 9:57 pm *is basically sideways* Windchill 9:57 pm Anyway. FakeProwl 9:58 pm He could have slid out the back. Windchill 9:58 pm *He's struggling to not make gas jokes. Someone help him.* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:58 pm *Waits to hear those three special words* Tilisha 9:58 pm gas it up and blow it out~ FakeProwl 9:58 pm The fire might be only on the lid. Res 9:58 pm Keh! That fake too. Body not burn like that. Fast, no big smoke. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:58 pm *That's eight words, Prowl.* Windchill 9:58 pm Yeah, we finally get fire and it doesn't even burn anything! Res 9:59 pm Nuh uh not NEARLY long enough for ASH FakeProwl 10:00 pm *nods* Slid out the back. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:00 pm *Close enough.* Windchill 10:00 pm *Gasps.* FakeProwl 10:00 pm *what three special words? "trap door" is only two.* Windchill 10:00 pm I didn't tell you guys what my spawn did. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:00 pm *Well, he assumed there'd be an "a" in front of it.* FakeProwl 10:00 pm *fair* Res 10:01 pm ((he's a headmaster)) ItsyBitsySpyers 10:01 pm ((LOL)) Whirl 10:01 pm What did she do now? Windchill 10:01 pm Tried to eat somebody. Tilisha 10:01 pm *tries hard to not make an off color joke* Res 10:01 pm That not very sharp. Them see Grimlock teeth. THAT very sharp. Those rounded. FakeProwl 10:01 pm I'd rather not know who the magician is. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:02 pm [[Oh?]] Whirl 10:02 pm Good gal. FakeProwl 10:02 pm I'm sure I won't recognize him and therefore it'll be a letdown. Whirl 10:02 pm A kid after my own spark. Yeah, same, prowl. Windchill 10:02 pm *Nods.* FakeProwl 10:02 pm The big reveal: this unknown magician is, in fact... an unknown magician. Windchill 10:02 pm Had to pry her off of Eros' hand. Res 10:02 pm ((Can we get a new narrator? Thx)) FakeProwl 10:02 pm ((yes plz)) Whirl 10:02 pm ((thirded)) Bevel 10:02 pm [[srsly Tilisha 10:02 pm It's really hard not to make a joke here.... ItsyBitsySpyers 10:03 pm ((I really wish I could change the narration y'all.)) Windchill 10:03 pm *SPITS.* Whirl 10:03 pm ((it's not your fault!)) Tilisha 10:03 pm they're making it so hard... Whirl 10:03 pm Ah. Tried to eat that, did she? Windchill 10:03 pm P-penetrating. Well. She bit it. Res 10:03 pm Blood? 😕 ItsyBitsySpyers 10:03 pm *That would be easy to reproduce. Just get a phase shifter.* FakeProwl 10:03 pm They're all real except for the ones that would go through her. Those retract as they touch her back. Bevel 10:03 pm Yeah! Windchill 10:03 pm Latched on like, in Riot's words, a leech. Whirl 10:03 pm *just get impaled, you'll live* FakeProwl 10:04 pm There are fakes inside of the wall that protrude. Tilisha 10:04 pm GOD FUC! one of you's gotta make a joke now XD Windchill 10:05 pm Please. Tilisha 10:05 pm i'm dying here. Res 10:05 pm Her not even scream or blood Bad trick Windchill 10:05 pm Yeah yeah, dildo, that's the joke. Whirl 10:05 pm What? About spikes? Res 10:06 pm There lots easier ways to dead 😕 ItsyBitsySpyers 10:06 pm [[We still have burying and flames in the air to go.]] Windchill 10:06 pm Why don't we just punch him? FakeProwl 10:06 pm ... How well was the masked man walking? Maybe it's a mannequin that was being guided by the others. Windchill 10:06 pm No tricks, just flat out punch him. Res 10:07 pm Gun, forehead. No trick. All done, bye. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:07 pm [[Then you have no more magician, Swoop.]] Res 10:07 pm Get BETTER magician! Windchill 10:07 pm No loss, indeed. Res 10:07 pm All magician FIGHT then BEST magician left Whirl 10:08 pm *gets chugging; he needs to get drunk fast and sips too slow* Windchill 10:08 pm A magic battle would be way cooler. FakeProwl 10:08 pm *got the concept, if not the exact details* Windchill 10:09 pm No. Res 10:09 pm No Windchill 10:09 pm JINX. You owe me a punch in the face. Res 10:10 pm Kay! *rears back to punch* Windchill 10:10 pm *Waits for it as innocently as you please, almost as if he doesn't know it's coming.* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:10 pm [[If they were Cybertronian, he'd assume it was a bridge.]] Windchill 10:10 pm I'm ready. FakeProwl 10:10 pm Temporary trap door. Whirl 10:10 pm *finished, setting his drink down and turning to watch* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:10 pm [[To where? He's buried.]] Res 10:11 pm *throws all his weight into cracking Windchill in the side of the head* FakeProwl 10:11 pm No. Space bridge—temporary trap door. Windchill 10:11 pm DOOF. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:11 pm *Ohhhh. Huffs. Yes, good.* Res 10:11 pm Kehhhehehehh Windchill 10:11 pm *Wobbles.* Tilisha 10:11 pm without knowing this is a magic trick, the narration could be taken as a bad fanfiction. Res 10:11 pm Swoop win Windchill 10:12 pm Owie. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:12 pm [[The narration could be taken as many bad things.]] Windchill 10:12 pm He's beating me up! Whirl 10:12 pm *toasts windchill with his empty glass* You literally asked for it. Windchill 10:12 pm *Raises his arms to shield his head and legs into the chair to cower.* Res 10:12 pm *cackles* Windchill 10:12 pm Please, have mercy! *Hit him again, in other words.* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:13 pm *Wonders if he'll be in the vehicle.* Primus 10:13 pm ... Res 10:13 pm *unlike Soundwave, cannot read minds and considers this a battle won* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:13 pm ((They're telling the truth about past deaths btw. Someone fucked it up just a few years before this show.)) Windchill 10:13 pm (( Goodness. )) Res 10:13 pm *plops on his butt and pulls out his remaining rations to nibble and hopefully witness a death* FakeProwl 10:14 pm ... secret tunnel? ItsyBitsySpyers 10:14 pm ((These people are 3000x braver than I will ever be)) [[Hm. A good idea.]] Windchill 10:14 pm *Stretches back to sit in his seat like a normal person, defeated.* FakeProwl 10:15 pm He probably escaped during the digging and stood to the side as they dumped in the dirt. Whirl 10:15 pm *staring at his empty glass* Windchill 10:15 pm I couldn't do that. I'd die. Probably. Res 10:15 pm Probably! Windchill 10:15 pm I don't do well in underground spaces. Res 10:15 pm Me Swoop live in cave Windchill 10:15 pm Me too, kinda. Whirl 10:15 pm You live underground. FakeProwl 10:16 pm Trap door. Res 10:16 pm ((Do you know how the person who died fucked up, cro?)) Windchill 10:16 pm *Shrugs.* Doesn't mean I do well. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:17 pm ((Usually the people who do it, try it without coffins for some stupidass reason. They get crushed or can't get out in time.)) Whirl 10:17 pm Faor. ...Fair. Just cos you live smewhere, doesn't mean you have to like it. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:17 pm ((And a few have had to be dug up in emergency.)) Windchill 10:17 pm Yeah. I'm getting better at it. Whirl 10:17 pm At what, 'zactly? Windchill 10:18 pm I can walk downstairs with my optics open now! *That's an achievement okay?!* And not backwards. And by myself. Most days. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:18 pm [[Door.]] Res 10:18 pm KEHHEHEHH Dead Fire and fall Whirl 10:18 pm So, getting better at... dealing with it, you mean? Res 10:18 pm Dead Windchill 10:18 pm Yes. Whirl 10:19 pm *toasts him with his empty glass again0--MMMM looking away now* Res 10:19 pm Wheeljack do that keheheh not purpose, accident FakeProwl 10:19 pm Fake thumb. Whirl 10:19 pm *gonna stare straight down at the bottom of his glass* Obviously. Windchill 10:21 pm *Fakes a yawn.* I'm ready to be terrified. Tilisha 10:21 pm *hands whirl popsicles* Whirl 10:21 pm ...*sloowoly swivels his helm at look at the popsicles* How the hell am I supposed to eat that, you idiot? Windchill 10:22 pm *Snorts.* FakeProwl 10:22 pm ... Why does the magician have to suffocate for two minutes during the coffin trick? Windchill 10:22 pm (( I almost typed snots. )) FakeProwl 10:22 pm Why can't he put an air tube in his mouth that leads into the hidden room? Tilisha 10:22 pm wait for them to melt, then slurp it up. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:22 pm [[They would see the tube while he was walking around, he thinks.]] Windchill 10:22 pm Flaming spikes? Wow. I'm gonna remember that one. FakeProwl 10:22 pm He can take it out before he climbs out of the dirt. Whirl 10:22 pm What, off the table? You making FUN of me? Tilisha 10:23 pm nope~ they're in the little plastic tubes. Windchill 10:23 pm *Forget the spikes, he's gonna watch Whirl now.* FakeProwl 10:23 pm And before he goes into the coffin, he doesn't need the tube. He can stick it in his mouth after he leaves the coffin. Whirl 10:23 pm Keep it. Tilisha 10:23 pm okies~ ItsyBitsySpyers 10:23 pm [[True. Perhaps they've thought of that by now.]] Whirl 10:23 pm *eyes her suspiciously; he still thinks she's trying to make fun of him* FakeProwl 10:24 pm Well, he's clearly not on that board. Res 10:24 pm KEHEHHEHHHHEHHEHE Tilisha 10:24 pm if you want, you can throw it at someone. FakeProwl 10:24 pm I wasn't paying attention as they attached him, he probably rolled off the table somewhere. Whirl 10:24 pm No. *makes a shooing motion* FakeProwl 10:25 pm Trap door. Tilisha 10:25 pm *is shooes away* Bevel 10:25 pm Trap door! Whirl 10:25 pm I don't take gifts from Cons, anyway. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:25 pm *He would sell so many drinks if he made this into a drinking game.* Windchill 10:25 pm *Except Windchill.* Whirl 10:25 pm *you don't count* Windchill 10:25 pm *Fair.* Tilisha 10:25 pm *makes frowny face* FakeProwl 10:25 pm Of course it's really gasoline! It's in gasoline canisters. I thought he was being sarcastic about the water. Windchill 10:26 pm His voice is such a dull drone it's hard to tell. FakeProwl 10:26 pm *oh right. most people rely on tone.* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:26 pm [[No, no. The different canister colors mean things to humans.]] Res 10:27 pm What magician code? Whirl 10:27 pm Who wants to make bets. I bet he'd nobody I recognize. Tilisha 10:27 pm *noms on popsicle in the corner* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:27 pm [[They know red is gasoline. They probably believe blue means water.]] Windchill 10:27 pm I'll bet you my whole butt. Whirl 10:27 pm ...of course, I don't know any magicians except for The Amazing Randi and Penn and Teller. I'll take that bet. I also bet my whole butt. Windchill 10:28 pm Okay. A butt for a butt. Butt buddies. Tilisha 10:28 pm XD Res 10:28 pm sooouuundwave Whirl 10:28 pm Of course, I don't have much of one to offer. Res 10:28 pm all you movies talk talk talky forever talk No fight Whirl 10:28 pm I'm not suffering under any delusions that I have a butt. Windchill 10:29 pm I'll take whatever butt you've got. Assuming I win. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:29 pm [[Try Blurr's if you want more death and fighting.]] Res 10:29 pm Me Swoop want see Bird 😶 Windchill 10:29 pm Or we could go watch fighting movies later. Res 10:30 pm Bird better than talky movie Bird better than action movie Whirl 10:30 pm No idea. Your butt is mine. Windchill 10:30 pm *Snickers.* I owe you a butt. A whole butt. Whirl 10:30 pm Ohh. Windchill 10:30 pm My butt, specifically. Whirl 10:30 pm You know. I'll give you a bit of wiggle room. Give me A BUTT. Doesn't have to be yours. I'll let you kno w when it's accepted. Windchill 10:31 pm ...You are suggesting that I steal someone else's butt? What's wrong with my butt? Res 10:31 pm Him face boring. Mask better. Whirl 10:31 pm It really belongs to Riot. FakeProwl 10:31 pm ... Well, I was right. I didn't know who he was. Interesting philosophy, though. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:31 pm [[Agreed.]] Windchill 10:31 pm My butt belongs to MEEEEE. Or, well. It used to, before I lost it in a bet. Tilisha 10:32 pm *scoots off to the side* Res 10:32 pm Soundwave, where Bird? Bevel 10:32 pm That was fun. Whirl 10:32 pm It belongs to Riot. One hundred percent. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:32 pm [[Working, as usual.]] Windchill 10:32 pm ...How much is a hundred percent? Whirl 10:32 pm My butt's still free. Free as the wind Windchill 10:33 pm Is that like all of it. Res 10:33 pm Swoop can work with Bird? :< Primus 10:33 pm [hey sneeeeek Whirl 10:33 pm Yep. Primus 10:33 pm [can I suggest a sooong? Windchill 10:33 pm *Wails.* Whirl 10:33 pm *streeetches* Tilisha 10:33 pm *is still trying to resist making wiseCRACKS about butts and wind* Whirl 10:33 pm ... *but pauses because of the fish* Windchill 10:34 pm Cool. Like sniper fish. FakeProwl 10:34 pm Huh. Water gun. Res 10:34 pm KEHEHHEHHEHEH Windchill 10:34 pm I've seen them in documentaries before. Res 10:34 pm Fish beat up insecticon FakeProwl 10:34 pm ... VERY impressive. Whirl 10:34 pm Kinda cool. Tilisha 10:34 pm fishies~ Windchill 10:35 pm *squints at Swoop, albeit briefly.* FakeProwl 10:35 pm What's the name of this fish, again? ItsyBitsySpyers 10:35 pm [[Archer fish.]] Windchill 10:35 pm Archerfish? Res 10:35 pm Soundwave move and glow Whirl 10:35 pm Oh, a worm. Res 10:35 pm fish shoot soundwave Whirl 10:35 pm Oh god. Windchill 10:35 pm Wait, so if I stand by one of these rivers I can get shot in the face? Tilisha 10:35 pm cute worm~ Whirl 10:35 pm Looks like of like your girl. FakeProwl 10:35 pm Archer fish. *next time tarantulas asks what prowl would want to be if he were a chimeracon, that's what he's saying.* *ballistics expert indeed.* Windchill 10:35 pm Mine is cuter. Whirl 10:35 pm Holy-- Well. Tilisha 10:36 pm *is biting fist to try and avoid jokes* OMFG Windchill 10:36 pm ...She can't make a projectile mess like that, though. Whirl 10:36 pm Not yet. Tilisha 10:36 pm holy fuc! Windchill 10:36 pm Not yet. Tilisha 10:36 pm i'm dying here. Whirl 10:36 pm Well. Windchill 10:37 pm Please, die then. Tilisha 10:37 pm dying of laughter Res 10:37 pm That pretty good way to die Exploding better Windchill 10:37 pm Yeah, gotta go out in style. And having a good time. Whirl 10:37 pm Hey. Reminds me of Trouble. Windchill 10:38 pm Wow. Almost as hot as Whirl. Bevel 10:38 pm Cool. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:38 pm [[Impressive.]] Whirl 10:39 pm *snorts* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:39 pm [[Who had a music suggestion, again?]] Whirl 10:39 pm You're never gonna let that go, are ya. Windchill 10:39 pm Not tonight. Primus 10:39 pm [Snek. :3 Windchill 10:39 pm The mantis shrimp is cool, too. FakeProwl 10:39 pm *prowl supposes he's glad for whirl and windchill that they're so into each other, but they really aren't subtle about it, are they.* Whirl 10:40 pm *PFFT* Well. It's been fun. Thanks for the show, Soundwave. Res 10:40 pm Soundwave Whirl 10:40 pm *he was hoping that the drink would cheer him up, but he's feeling kinda low, now; best to do these things out of the public eye* Res 10:40 pm Swoop want play with Bird :< ItsyBitsySpyers 10:40 pm [[Quite welcome, Whirl.]] Windchill 10:40 pm It punches so hard it kills things instantly. Tilisha 10:40 pm it really have been fun~ Res 10:40 pm :< :< :< Whirl 10:40 pm See you losers later. And tell me what Ravage wants in exchange for the drink. Res 10:41 pm Not thaaaaaaaaaaaat bird ItsyBitsySpyers 10:41 pm [[Very well.]] Windchill 10:41 pm Byeeee sucker. Res 10:41 pm That wrong bird :< Whirl 10:41 pm *turns and trots on out* Windchill 10:42 pm *Watches the butt he lost go.* *Goodbye, dear butt.* Is this a tongue marathon? Res 10:43 pm Keh! Me Swoop go FIND Bird. Windchill 10:43 pm I feel personally attacked. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:44 pm [[It is a whatever he can remember hearing about marathon. Or whatever others suggest.]] FakeProwl 10:44 pm ... Hm. I suppose humans wouldn't know what it's like to see in two directions at once, would they. Windchill 10:44 pm *Points into the air, imperiously.* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:44 pm [[Likely not.]] Windchill 10:44 pm Mantis shrimp! Res 10:44 pm *wanders off, a pterodatyl on a mission* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:45 pm *Quietly hopes Swoop does not find Bird. She's on A Mission. He'll have to send her to hang out with Swoop afterward.* Windchill 10:45 pm Such talent. Res 10:45 pm ((l8r)) FakeProwl 10:45 pm *is not going to ask for a video about a tarantula.* Bevel 10:45 pm Mleh Windchill 10:45 pm *No beetles either.* Primus 10:46 pm Heh... Sleeping hummingbird Make even Laserbeak jealous she isn't that adorable when sleeping ItsyBitsySpyers 10:46 pm [[If she were here, she would inform you that she is always adorable, awake or recharging.]] Primus 10:47 pm True. Sleeping hummingbirds that snore, however. FakeProwl 10:47 pm *tries to think of something to share* Primus 10:47 pm Are something to be reckoned with Windchill 10:48 pm *Chants shrimp, shrimp, shrimp.* (( Versus piranha what. No. )) ...This is not a punching video. But the colours are cool too. Windchill 10:50 pm That's a lot of years, right? ItsyBitsySpyers 10:51 pm [[Two of him, he believes.]] *Nods to Prowl* Windchill 10:51 pm I don't know what that means. FakeProwl 10:51 pm What? *wasn't paying attention* ... Did they say something about ten million years? ItsyBitsySpyers 10:52 pm [[The cheetah has held Earth's living land speed record for ten million years, at 75 miles per hour.]] [[Windchill asked if that was a long time.]] FakeProwl 10:52 pm Ah. Windchill 10:53 pm Fast. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:53 pm [[Quite. He wonders if Blurr can turn like that.]] Primus 10:55 pm [asld that was suddenly loud ItsyBitsySpyers 10:56 pm ((sorry)) Primus 10:57 pm [-shakes fist as video- [I swear some are ALWAYS louder than others Windchill 10:58 pm *Stretches.* I'm out. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:59 pm *Nods.* [[Farewell. Try to find your creation a teething object.]] Windchill 10:59 pm Besides her uncle? FakeProwl 10:59 pm *... an object with teeth protruding from it?* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:00 pm [[Yes. Something less... alive... to chew on.]] Windchill 11:00 pm I'll think of something. Getting her to let go is my responsibility anyway, it seems. *He's not sure why. Smaller hands, maybe, more charisma, likely.* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:02 pm *Maybe he isn't as tasty?* Windchill 11:02 pm *Possible. He also have more experience with sparklings than...almost anyone.* *points* Rhino. And antelope. Cool. Okay, I'm going. Got enough wild animals at home. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:03 pm [[Good luck taming.]] Windchill 11:03 pm *Rolls onto his feet.* Eh, not taming. Bye, punks. *He go.* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:06 pm *Pulls his legs up onto the sofa and settles in. He'll be enjoying the music if anyone needs him for anything.* FakeProwl 11:08 pm *... almost pulls his legs up as well—but there are still other visitors, aren't there?* Bevel 11:10 pm *is gonna leave now actually* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:10 pm *Nods goodbye* *Mentally nudges at Primus. Has he lapsed back into one of his godly sleeps over there?* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:12 pm *...Doesn't know why he thinks that matters. It's Primus. They're on his surface. Prods Prowl with his foot.* FakeProwl 11:13 pm *glances at* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:15 pm [[You were good at working out how those illusions functioned. And he remembers the silica story. It is... he admires your skill.]] Withdraws foot. [[It reminds him that he still owes you a paint chip.]] ItsyBitsySpyers 11:21 pm ((also i'm counting his brackets just bc idk if primus is still here or not, if they're not, assume it was a text equivalent)) Primus 11:21 pm Hrm? FakeProwl 11:21 pm ((works for me. implied txt)) Primus 11:21 pm [hi, what'd I miss [hunting boxing in wow ItsyBitsySpyers 11:22 pm ((not much, just them two curled up on a couch. mostly done)) FakeProwl 11:22 pm ... Ah. *looks down at his hands* I—thank you. *He should say something back. Return the compliment, somehow. There was plenty to compliment. His patience, his brilliance, his ability to work out encryptions in days that had Prowl stumped for months—* Primus 11:22 pm [snugglebugs FakeProwl 11:22 pm *oh, thank—well, thank Primus, apparently. for waking up. it saved Prowl from having to think up a reply.* Primus 11:23 pm *Looks over at the pair. Cute* FakeProwl 11:23 pm *GONNA. SIT UP A LITTLE STRAIGHTER. and act like he's paying very close attention to the video.* *ah yes look at that human in the baggy brown-gray suit bob vaguely* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:25 pm *Quiet huffing* (txt): Primus sees, knows much. Secret not secret. Recommendation: relax. Primus 11:26 pm *Honestly Prowl. Like you need to act in front of him. He's the one who should be doing that with all the "bad" answers he's given from his own frustrations* FakeProwl 11:26 pm «But we're being WATCHED.» «There's a wide gulf between being known about and being actively observed.» ItsyBitsySpyers 11:27 pm *Considers this.* Primus 11:27 pm *Half tempted to be OBSERVATION INTENSIFIES to be that aft* *Soundwave can throw something at him for that* FakeProwl 11:27 pm «Did Decepticons not speak more freely when they weren't in your presence even though they all knew that you were listening?» ItsyBitsySpyers 11:28 pm (txt): Point understood. *Soundwave turns to Primus and dips his helm.* [[If it does not offend, he requests privacy.]] FakeProwl 11:30 pm *slowly stares at Soundwave* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:30 pm *...What?* Primus 11:30 pm *Privacy to "shoo" privacy or just "ignore us" privacy?* FakeProwl 11:31 pm You just kicked out god for me. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:31 pm *Of the leaving them to their own devices sort. These moments are uncommon. He will come see the Well soon to make up for it.* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:34 pm *Soundwave tilts his helm. He supposes so.* [[He thought it a polite request, not a boot. Was he wrong?]] *There goes Prowl's point, right over his helm. Nyoom.* FakeProwl 11:35 pm No, no, I mean—yes—it was a polite request. *I* thought so, at least. Primus 11:35 pm *Chuckles and gets up. Stretching, he gave the pair of them a bow* Recharge well, you two. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:36 pm *Tiny tiny tiny huge flood of gratitude broadcast in Primus' direction. He'll make good on that visit.* FakeProwl 11:36 pm *nods politely* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:36 pm [[Thank you.]] FakeProwl 11:37 pm *apparently Primus thought it was polite too. good.* Primus 11:38 pm *No rush, Soundwave. Enjoy your time with Prowl and vice versa. He'd send a soothing wave to Prowl too, but, best not invade Prowl's space* [and awaaaay I go to throw limitless back on tv. x3 see you two FakeProwl 11:39 pm ((night!)) ItsyBitsySpyers 11:39 pm ((night! thank you for coming 😃 *sends an ask later* )) Primus 11:40 pm [Thank Blaster for inviting me. I'm, like, never on tumblr anymore. >n>;;; ItsyBitsySpyers 11:40 pm ((ooh! will do 😃 )) Primus 11:40 pm [workworkwork FakeProwl 11:41 pm I'm just—flattered. That you prioritize my company so highly. *humor tag* Primus 11:41 pm [As I leave, I imagined mechs doing this in the bar, ahaa ItsyBitsySpyers 11:41 pm ((LOL)) ItsyBitsySpyers 11:43 pm *Takes a second or two to work out why. What's so weird about wanting Prowl to be c-- oh. Oh, yes. The whole god thing. ... He wonders if that goes against his prioritization list.* *...Probably not. Primus wasn't actively in danger.* FakeProwl 11:44 pm *Prowl's mainly amused. but he IS a little flattered.* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:47 pm (txt): Primus: always here. *Gesture to ground.* (txt): Prowl: not. Also, Soundwave not Primus' companion. That, blasphemy. #humor FakeProwl 11:49 pm Hf. Is it? ItsyBitsySpyers 11:51 pm *Slight shrug.* (txt): Unknown. Assumed. Regardless, Primus: not personal interest, attachment source. *He has the feeling he killed the humor somehow. Looks up at the ceiling.* FakeProwl 11:51 pm Hm. ... Somebody needs to tell Astrotrain. *... #humor* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:52 pm *Sloooooowly looks back down at Prowl* *...Smiley on visor. Tiny huff.* FakeProwl 11:52 pm *slowly looks back at. quick smile.* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:54 pm *Content rumble.* FakeProwl 11:58 pm *... now that they're alone, pulls his knees up to his chest and wraps his arms around them.* Yesterday FakeProwl 11:58 pm *and leans on soundwave.* ItsyBitsySpyers 12:01 am *Wraps arm around and leans back. If Prowl wants to talk, they can talk; if not, he'll probably stay like that until he snoozes.* FakeProwl 12:04 am *leans on EVEN MORE* ItsyBitsySpyers 12:05 am *...Test pull toward the side?* FakeProwl 12:07 am *lets himself be pulled* ItsyBitsySpyers 12:10 am *Yes, good. Prowl's gonna get nuzzled hard before Soundwave collapses back and stretches out. Come, you.* (txt): Perhaps next time, Prowl discovers object: apartment berth reveal switch. (txt): Space comfort level: higher. FakeProwl 12:12 am *uncurls enough to lay down with Soundwave* Mm. A proper berth. It sounds nice. ItsyBitsySpyers 12:15 am (txt): Confirmed. Soundwave tested. Similar design example: berth in traded post self-service image. *Something about his statement causes him to huff again. He settles back into quiet not long after though* FakeProwl 12:16 am *thinks about that a moment.* *... quiet engine rev.* ItsyBitsySpyers 12:16 am (txt): Prowl approved. Pleasing. FakeProwl 12:17 am Very much approved. ItsyBitsySpyers 12:21 am (txt): Then second possibility: other hidden spots uncovered during switch location process. (txt): Until then, Prowl, Soundwave: rest. FakeProwl 12:22 am *slides hand to rest lightly on Soundwave's chest* ItsyBitsySpyers 12:23 am *Watches it. As long as it doesn't try to dig in over the big glowing spot he'll rumble again.* FakeProwl 12:24 am *no, it's just going to rest there* ... I wish I could feel this better. ItsyBitsySpyers 12:26 am *Gonna try to rest a hand on Prowl's side. He's not certain where else is okay to touch, and all.* (txt): ...Soon. FakeProwl 12:27 am *optics dim. is it?* ItsyBitsySpyers 12:27 am *He's trying to make it so.* ItsyBitsySpyers 12:33 am *Light rubbing of the spot under his thumb.* (txt): Maintain hope. Watch. Seize opportunity, when presented. *Moves his arm (thank you long limbs) and touches the chin block that still fascinates him instead* (txt): Prowl: worth patience before, now, later. ItsyBitsySpyers 12:34 am *And that is dangerously close to his current expression limits, so he'll go quiet again.* FakeProwl 12:36 am *face screws up for a moment. he forcefully smooths it out again* ItsyBitsySpyers 12:36 am *...He must have said something wrong. Puts his hand away, back at his own side.* FakeProwl 12:37 am I—wish I didn't—cost so much patience. No, no, don't— *he reaches for Soundwave's hand again* ItsyBitsySpyers 12:38 am *Will let him have it, if he wants it.* (txt): Soundwave also costs. FakeProwl 12:39 am *tries to tug Soundwave's hand back to its original position* ItsyBitsySpyers 12:40 am *Side or chin? Doesn't matter. He'll follow, now that he can see he's not ruined something (too much).* FakeProwl 12:41 am *side* FakeProwl 12:43 am Not nearly as much as I cost. I know what I've been like. ItsyBitsySpyers 12:54 am (txt): Not competition. *Gentle squeeze.* (txt): This, passing event. Partial familiarity, understanding, source: deployer losses. Function desire lost after last incident. Medical intervention required. Pain... warping. That, known. (txt): Recent behaviors: piece, not whole. Admission: difficult. Still worthwhile. ItsyBitsySpyers 12:57 am *Neither of them have tried to kill themselves or each other. For him, that's a miracle.* FakeProwl 1:00 am *He says it's not a competition, and then he pulls out something thousands of times worse than—* *No. It isn't a competition. He moves his hand from Soundwave's chest to his waist, pulling him closer and holding him tighter.* Why did you change your mind about functioning. *Which he realizes is as good as an open admission that he hasn't changed his.* ItsyBitsySpyers 1:22 am *He wasn't expecting that, but he won't try to wriggle out of it. He will, in fact, return it. And try not to crush the avatar to pieces. He's been wanting to do that since Prowl started his downward slide. More so now that he has that almost open admission.* (txt): ...Initial reason: denied choice. Spark preserved despite failure assurance attempt. (txt):When conscious again, Laserbeak presence remembered. Soundwave recalled chosen role: protect, assist, guide. (txt): Repeat failure, target: other deployers... painful, exhausting, disheartening, similar. Pattern noted, probability duty failed again: high. However, Laserbeak needs: protection, assistance, guidance. Laserbeak, self abandonment: unwanted, impossible. (txt): Soundwave: imperfect. That, accepted. All other failures kept close, remembered well. Maintained hope: Soundwave learns, performs role better. Occasional errors noted. However, Laserbeak protected. Now, others. Soundwave: content. Self-termination: undesired, -- unnecessary. FakeProwl 1:25 am *So. Ultimately, because somebody needed him; and because even after everything, he could still perform his original function.* *Prowl's expression doesn't change.* ... I'm glad you stayed. ItsyBitsySpyers 1:26 am *Soundwave would argue that at the time, he wasn't sure he could. The point was that he tried to do it anyway.* FakeProwl 1:28 am *he had no choice but to try to do it anyway; Laserbeak depended on it.* *Prowl has no choice but to NOT try.* ItsyBitsySpyers 1:29 am [][][]I'm glad you stayed.[][][] *Sometimes Prowl's expressionlessness confuses him. He has no idea if this has helped any. Maybe he's made it worse. He doesn't know. But he doesn't have anything else, damn it.* FakeProwl 1:30 am *it confuses most people* ItsyBitsySpyers 1:30 am *Despite his determination to learn how to read past it without telepathy, was meant.* ItsyBitsySpyers 1:32 am *Anyway, Prowl missed the first thing Soundwave said if he thought Soundwave had no choice. He told Prowl he blatantly tried to ignore Laserbeak's needs and die.* FakeProwl 1:33 am *he didn't mess it. it just isn't relevant because it doesn't have to do with Soundwave's choice.* ItsyBitsySpyers 1:35 am *It absolutely does. If he hadn't been revived against his will it would have been his _only_ choice. The decision to help Laserbeak came after he was prevented from going through with it.* *But that's an argument that's going to circle itself.* *Not that it's actually being argued. Narration.* FakeProwl 1:37 am *Prowl doesn't want to know why Soundwave didn't die. He wants to know why he decided he wanted to live.* *What he found that was worth it.* ItsyBitsySpyers 1:38 am (txt): ...Apology delivered. Perhaps Soundwave extends self past boundaries again. FakeProwl 1:38 am No. You didn't. FakeProwl 1:39 am ... Why do you think you did? What did I do? ItsyBitsySpyers 1:46 am (txt): Emotional confession dislike remembered. Those-- *Resigned puff.* (txt): Personal. Main concern: Prowl's well-being. If unhelpful, then inappropriate. FakeProwl 1:46 am ... I *asked* you for one. ItsyBitsySpyers 1:47 am (txt): After original mention. FakeProwl 1:51 am Would I have asked for more if the first mention had been past acceptable boundaries? ... I apologize. That was— That sounded... I'M the one that's out of bounds, if either of us are. I'm... /emoting/ everywhere. *he should let go and leave soundwave alone. for a moment, his embrace wavers. then it tightens even more.* ItsyBitsySpyers 1:54 am (txt): Prowl needs. Cannot contain all. Should not. *Tightens back. Please, don't go.* FakeProwl 1:55 am That doesn't mean you should deal with it. ItsyBitsySpyers 1:57 am (txt): Then other frustration outlet found after rest. Stay. FakeProwl 1:58 am ... I'm not leaving yet. ItsyBitsySpyers 1:59 am *Small nod. Good.* ItsyBitsySpyers 2:00 am *Where's the hand that was on him? He's gonna move it to his visor for a second.* FakeProwl 2:01 am *Strokes thumb along the edge of Soundwave's visor.* ItsyBitsySpyers 2:05 am *Contemplates an affection ping. On the one hand, it might be too much after earlier. On the other hand, he'd rather Prowl know he hasn't changed his mind.* *...Yeah. He'll risk it for the second.* *Ping.* FakeProwl 2:09 am *Face almost screws up again. Forces it back to neutral—albeit a strained neutral—and shuts his optics tight. But he tilts Soundwave's face toward his, and leans in to tap their helms together.* *Ping. Ping. Ping.* ItsyBitsySpyers 2:12 am *He doesn't know what the tightly shut optics mean, but for once in his life he doesn't have it in him to ask. He'll just take (and return) the tap and the pings for what they seem to be and leave his mind there for now.* FakeProwl 2:23 am *At any rate, Prowl is still here. That's what matters.* ItsyBitsySpyers 2:31 am *Agreed. And as long as that holds true, Soundwave will slowly slide off into recharge with that hand back where it was and his own clutching Prowl close, albeit mostly through the power of an arm gone dead weight and not a tight grip.* FakeProwl 2:34 am *Prowl's hand eventually slides from Soundwave's visor back to his chest, and then back to wrap tightly around his waist. He's not sleeping. Not even dozing. But he's not going to leave, either. At least not tonight.*

[eyez-ff-blog]

○○ eyez | forty-seven

“So—how are we doing this week, Beija?”

Dr. Masri’s office seemed to be almost identical to Dr. Hill’s—the soft and calming colors of the walls were something almost sedative to the senses, and considering the woman’s line of work, she probably did that on purpose. Photos of her past work around the world aligned the walls, from working with children and women traumatized by war in the middle east to working through philanthropic efforts in Eastern Asia and Africa. Her furniture, unlike the soft and creamy walls, were pops of bright oranges and teals. She seemed just as warm as her furniture—she was short and shapely, only being a couple inches taller than Beija. Her long hair was always braided down her back but today, it was piled on her head in a bun. Her rich brown skin and round cheeks gave her an almost youthful look, but judging by the numerous college degrees upon her walls, she was more than likely in her mid-50s at the least.

“We’re doing okay. Been doing he morning meditation as you asked me to. I still take my quiet times during Janiya’s naps. I stick to my medication and I pretty much write down everything I need to,” Beija held up her notebook that served as her journal. “I finally made my decision about having more children with Jermaine,” She added.

“Oh? And what did you tell him?” The woman asked.

“I decided that I was ready. It was never a question of whether or not I wanted more children...it was if I was mentally ready,” Beija sat her notebook in her lap, looking out the window at the flurry of buildings that cluttered the downtown area. The rain was trickling down, leaving a soft and rhythmic patter against the floor to ceiling window. The sky was a murky grey color, and the sun seemed to struggle to push through the swollen clouds. Even with such gloomy weather, Beija’s mood didn’t align with it. Her neutrality seemed to be pushing through for the moment.

“I remember we spoke of this last session. You had a complicated delivery with your daughter and you said that you feared going through that a second time,” Dr. Masri reminded.

“Yes. I also fear that something bad will happen even if they are born ‘correctly,’” Beija admitted.

“And this is caused by the loss of your brother, right?” Beija nodded at Masri’s assumption, and the woman wrote down some more notes. “We’ve already established that you have a fixation with control—how have you been able to deal with that?” She asked.

“I have been relying more upon my faith, mostly...” Beija began before she tucked some hair behind her ear. “I have been praying more. I talked to my mother and my friend about this; my mother told me something interesting. That some trials are for God to teach me something and no0t just to inconvenience me. That not everything is Satan trying to hurt me,” She responded.

“I find that to be an important piece of advice! Some people do believe that when bad things happen, an even force must be blamed for it. Sometimes it’s really just the universe trying to build you up for something better,” Masri explained, taping the end of her pen against her thigh quickly. “Also, it’s good to trust yourself in situations like this. We let the chatter of science and probability get in the way of the human body. We are intricate beings...we can do so much more than we could ever imagine,” She said.

“Hm...I’m sure that’s true. But even with that said, I still have to deal with my depression. Even if everything goes right, there’s a chance that I might slip into another episode. Even though I’m already going through motherhood, my mind can still mess with me,” Beija said softly. “I’m trying to lean more upon my husband because I know he will be there for me, but...”

“But?”

“I can’t help but to feel like I am putting too much on him,” Beija ran a hand over her hair before she huffed. “And I get it—we exchanged vows, so we made the promise to each other to carry each other’s burdens. But there’s so much that he may be feeling that he won’t tell me,” She said.

“He keeps secrets from you?” Masri asked, and Beija shook her head slowly.

“Well not...secrets,” She began. “He recently put out an album—it’s our story. It’s things he felt about me from when we met, to when I told him about Rashaad, my suicide attempt, our wedding, our daughter...everything we went through, good and bad,” Beija looked out the window again. “I am an advocate for honesty, so I’m not angry with him about that. But I felt like I was the ‘last’ to know. I experienced his emotions when everyone else did. I feel like I should be his diary—sure, his music is his own therapy...but I’m his wife, right? I should know,” She sighed.

“Maybe Jermaine doesn’t want to feel like he is placing too much upon you either,” Masri wrote down some more notes as she spoke. “From what you tell me and from the group sessions that we have had, you two are very alike. That can sometimes serve to you two clashing,” She said.

“Okay, I mean that’s fine but I’m almost 29 years old. He’s about to be 34. We’re not children—I’m not a child. I don’t need to be coddled. If he feels something, I want him to express it to me,” Beija sighed softly. “But that’s something I have to speak to him about. I can’t expect him to depend on me either if I won’t depend on him,” She said.

“I think that’s truly insightful—you can’t ask for anything you can’t give,” Masri said before she glanced down at her watch. “Well, that’s all we have for this session,” The two women stood up before shaking hands. “You’re doing a great job here, Beija. Same time next week?”

“Same time next week.”

Beija left the office before she approached the nurse’s desk, paying for the session and setting up the next appointment. She fixed her purse upon her shoulder before she took her umbrella from inside it. Once she walked outside she opened her umbrella, glancing around before she hurried to her car. She slipped inside before starting up the car and once she was secured, she headed through the slick streets before she made a stop at the hair salon that she usually went to. She had an appointment to get her hair done, so now it was time to fulfill that.

She stepped out of the car and headed inside before she took a look around, walking over to the receptionist. “Hey Leona,” Beija greeted the woman at the desk.

The head full of blue and black rope braids glanced up before giving Beija a bright smile. “Hey, girl! You here to see Mia?” She asked, and Beija nodded. “Her last client just left so go on in,” She said, and Beija gave a smile before she waked through towards the main salon area.

The salon wasn’t full of people as usual due to the weather, but it was just enough to seem like there was some life inside the place. Beija laid eyes on her usual beautician, and she smiled before the two shared a hug. “Hi there Mimi. How are you?” She asked.

“I’m great, despite this fucking weather,” Mia flipped her hair over her shoulder as Beija took a seat, sitting her purse in her lap. “So what are we doing today? Deep condition and a twist?” She asked.

“Uhm...” Beija bit her lip for a moment as Mia turned her chair so that she was facing the mirror. “I want you to cut it,” She said.

“Wait...what? Like, all of it?” Beija nodded, and Mia sucked her teeth. “Lady, are you out your mind? I haven’t seen anyone with hair as healthy as yours! You’ve been growing this for how long?” She asked.

“Nearly 29 years now,” Beija said, and she licked over her lips before she shook her head. “But maybe that’s the problem. I want something different. I can grow it back if I choose to, but I wanna cut it...” She nodded with finality. “Chop it off, Mia.”

“Well...you’re the customer,” Mia shrugged. “What style, boo?” She asked as she decided to grab the clippers first.

“I was thnking like Toni Braxton...maybe like her first album. Or...shit, maybe like Nia Long? I don’t know,” Beija laughed softly. “Wait...no. Do Toni, but when she got older. I need just enough that if I wanna slick it down, I can. Or if I want curls, I can have that,” She explained.

“Good choice. Let’s do this!” Mia exclaimed.

Once Mia cut Beija’s hair, she washed, conditioned, and curled it properly. Once Beija got to look at her hair, she was floored at how different she looked—she realized just how round her face was, but the cut seemed to compliment the shape of her face and head. She had spent so many years growing her hair, and it was a staple of her being. But maybe this was what she needed. She wanted to do something different and this was one way to do it. After paying for her haircut and style, she went by the local spa and got a facial, manicure and pedicure before returning home. She just felt like taking care of herself for the day.

Once she returned home, she walked through the garage door, hearing Janiya and Gina talking to one another. “Gina? I’m home,” She called out.

“Oh, hey! I just fed Janiya some lunch and...oh wow!” Gina squealed in excitement when she saw Beija’s hair. “You look gorgeous! I can’t believe you cut your hair,” She laughed.

“Yeah,” Beija ran a hand over the side of her head slowly, looking up in the mirror before smiling lightly. “I like it, though. It’s always good to change it up. What do you think, Niya?” She asked her dau0ghter, who was staring up at her.

“Wow,” Niya had learned a new word, and just like Jermaine, she stretched the word out dramatically. Beija laughed before she pecked the girl off of the couch to hold her. “Pretty,” She smiled.

“Thank you,” Beija laughed before kissing the tip of her nose.

Once Beija paid Gina for her time, she spent some time hanging out with Janiya before she laid the girl down for a nap. During that time, Beija got to work on the first event for the ‘Forever Boy Project.’ As she had told her mother, she wanted to make a charitable organization to bring relief to the families of victims of police brutality and violence. It was a bit easy to get it started due to it being a subordinate to the Dreamville Foundation, but the overall success would be up to Beija herself. She already had event planned—a masquerade event for Halloween, a Food Drive before Thanksgiving, and a Toy Drive before Christmas. But the two big events that Beija had to bring together for the new year was a weekend festival for the end of March, and the ‘Freedom Festival,’ the Fourth of July celebration that she had spoken to Alisha about. She wanted everything to go perfectly, and with the resources she had acquired, she was slowly getting everything together.

“Babe?” Her ears perked up when she heard the door open and the sound of Jermaine’s voice.

“Living room,” She said, and she stayed quiet as she continued to type away on her laptop.

“I wasn’t sure if you ate so I swung by the seafood spot and got you that alligator plate you liked...wow,” Beija looked back at Jermaine, who was staring at her as if he had just seen a ghostly figure. “I...wow. Your hair,” He walked over and sat next to her.

“What do you think? Not too bad, huh?” She said before she ran her hand over it briefly. “I wanted something new, and...I’ve been growing and caring for my hair literally all my life. It was time for something more...grown up,” She laughed.

“Shit...I do like it. It’s just a shock,” He chuckled a bit as he gently tugged at her ear. “You got round ears. And a round face. It’s cute,” He teased, laughing when she smacked his chest.

“Fuck off,” She laughed before she opened up the bag of food, and took a whiff of it before she grabbed a piece of fried alligator before popping it into her mouth, chewing quickly. “Okay so—here’s all the plans I drew up. We can have a charity masquerade ball on October 27th. Then the Food Drive the day before Thanksgiving, then the Toy Drive about two weeks before Christmas,” She explained.

“That sounds legit. This is for FBP, yeah?” He asked, and she nodded. “And what about for the 4th nest year? I need to know so I can take those days off the tour,” He explained.

“I got the groundwork done for the Freedom Festival. I was also thinking we could have another festival in March—Coachella is cute and all but fuck all that. I want to have something for us...something we can host, and it can be for charity. I already called up Shawn, Bey, and Robyn; they said once the plans are finalized they’d be on board. If I can get some more big names it’d definitely have a huge turnout,” She said.

“I fuck with it. I like all these ideas, baby. I’m proud of what you’re doing already,” She smiled as she felt J’s lips against her cheek. “How was your day, though? Did therapy go well?”

“Yeah, it went as good as it could go,” Beija sat back against the couch as she pulled her food carton into her lap, popping a French fry into her mouth before she glanced up at him. “I know I don’t usually talk about my sessions but...I wanna talk to you about something. It’s kind of been bothering me,” She said softly.

“What’s up?” He asked as he draped an arm around her shoulders.

“I feel like...why didn’t you tell me everything you were feeling? Like, from the album,” She began. “I know you said that you can’t always voice what you feel the way you want to but—I felt like I was blindsided a bit. I found out how you felt like the rest of the world. I felt like I was being treated like a fan and I kinda feel some type of way,” She explained.

“I didn’t know you would feel like that...” J trailed off before he sighed. “Look, I’m sorry for that. I didn’t know that would hurt your feeli0ngs. Sometimes I just don’t feel like bothering you with shit like that. You already go through enough, and—...”

“And that’s the problem right there,” Beija cut him off. “I know that I’ve been through a lot; I was there. I experienced it. I know you like to think that you can imagine what I feel or what I am really going through, but you can’t. Even if I told you everything I felt from top to bottom, I still can’t make you0 fully understand. Even with that said, Jermaine—I am your wife. Despite all that I endure, I exchanged vows with you...I deserve to be told what is wrong with my husband if he is bothered with something,” She frowned before shaking her head. “I’m not the same 24-year-old that you met...you’ve known me long enough to know that at this point in our relationship I feel entitled to your truth, no matter how ugly it is,” She explained.

“Okay, that’s fair. So I want to be granted the same courtesy, then. You don’t tell me everything either,” Jermaine argued.

“Okay but...what you deal with and what I deal with are two different things...I mean, I get what you’re saying completely, but you have a whole career to worry about,” She said.

“You’re basically upset with me for doing the same thing you are doing for the exact same reason though, Beija. That doesn’t make sense,” J tilted his head as he looked at her. “You have a career just like I do, baby. You work just like me. And to add to that, you have a mental issue—I take all of that into account when I decide what to tell you or what not to tell you. I know how you are and how you think, so I stay considering you. That’s the only reason why I look to the notebook to spill everything. The notebook can’t react,” He explained.

“What’s that supposed to mean, Jermaine? Like you’re almost making it seem like I can’t handle the truth,” Beija was becoming a bit offended. Even if everything Jermaine was saying was true, she still felt as if she was being fed a sugar-coated version of the truth and it didn’t sit well with her.

“I didn’t say that. Don’t put words in my mouth,” He countered. “You know exactly what I mean. If I tell you something, who’s to say you won’t spiral because you think it’s your fault? You blame yourself for things that aren’t your fault and you do it often, so sometimes it’s hard to determine what is safe to tell you. I do not want to be the reason your mood dips or you have an episode, so I try to keep that in mind, Beija. That’s really the beginning, middle, and end of all of it. It ain’t got shit to do with what I think you can and can’t handle,” He said.

“Are you absolutely sure?” Beija’s tone came off snarkier than she intended.

“If I wasn’t sure you could handle the truth, I wouldn’t have married you,” Jermaine returned the attitude before he stood up from the couch. “You’re in a shitty mood now, so I’mma give you your space for right now. I’m going to take a shower.”

Beija sighed softly before she silently ate her food, shaking her head before she sank into the couch. Even if Jermaine was right, she still felt like she deserved the truth about his feelings. What was she going to therapy and doing all this extra shit for if he couldn’t do the same? That’s all she could think about as she sat and ate her food. Maybe there could have been a different way to approach him about it, but at the moment her mood wouldn’t allow her to see it any way else. Lord knew that she loved that man, but he could be such a hardheaded mule at times.