#i need to take my garbage and recycling out but i’m so scared to run into my neighbor lol

[deklo]

ok. i finally think i’m starting to feel better :)

[elladescent449-artspace]

It Started With the Milk : Chapter 8 - Home Sweet Home

‘It’ wasn’t home. Once Leo got back to the lair, he could tell Raph about everything, come up with a plan, and they’d be able to fix Donnie before anything else happened. ‘Easy as pie,’ the ever-positive-mental-personification-of-Raph said, after another moment he heard him say, ‘you know how to make pie?’ Leo wanted to chuckle, he really did but he was too stressed to laugh. After landing in a surprisingly soft pile of garbage, Leo had considered scaling back up the fire escape to protect April but reconsidered. He trusted her, especially because there were times where she proved herself to be more capable than them, but his chest still ached and his mind still worried as he left through the alley’s manhole.

Below the surface of the streets the water was still high from the rain. A shallow layer of water covered the brick walkway that soaked his shins as he ran. Leonardo took a sharp left around a corner and he could see a distant light from the lair. He picked up speed and after a moment he could make out the silhouette that stood by the entrance.

Raphael turned to the sound of Leo’s splashing. Alertly, he shouted “Leo!” before running towards his brother.

Leo stumbled as he slowed. “Raph, I-” He was crushed in a hug before he could process the motion.

The hug was tightened even more as Raphael pulled him closer to his chest. “It’s okay.”

Leo could feel his brother's voice vibrate through him at the close proximity, it felt safe, and it felt familiar. Leo’s arms slowly trained up Raph’s back as he returned the hug. “I was so scared,” Leo’s voice finally cracked and he could feel a sting develop in his throat as he tried to fight the tears that welled in his eyes. “It happened so fast and Donnie- It almost got me.”

Raphael dropped to a whisper. “Leo, you’re fine, you’re safe.”

“I don’t think that I am, I don’t think any of us are.” Leo only had to push a little to get Raph to release the hug. He looked up to his face, his expression strained with anxiety. “Whatever it did to Donnie, it wants to do to me, and I think it wants to do it to all of us.”

“Let’s go sit down and we’ll talk about it.” Raphael placed his hand on Leo’s back as he began to guide him into the lair. The temperature of their home was stark in contrast compared to the cold sewer pipe. Leo felt a wave of warmth wash over him as he went from the dark shadows of the walkways to the painted light from the open ceiling.

They passed by the kitchen and into the central room, where fragments of wood were still scattered on the floor. Looking up, Leo saw a comically turtle-shaped hole in the vert ramp. He would usually laugh at something like that, maybe even take a picture and send it to April, but it only made his stomach quiver with anxiety.

As they passed the ramp, Leo started: “It’s Donnie’s body.” There was only silence in the lair as they walked. “It’s his voice, it’s his face, but It is not Donnie.” He looked to Raph, who listened patiently as they entered the TV room. “It’s taken over him and maybe it’s-” Leo began trying to find a plausible reason, he hadn’t thought about how it had blended so well into their family circle. He flopped down onto his beanbag and raph pushed over his own before sitting down, leaning forward to get close to his brother. Leo sucked in a sharp breath, “maybe it’s, like...downloaded his memories too, that explains why it's been able to replicate him so well.”

“I… see,” The doubt in Raphael's voice hit Leo like a hammer.

“I’m not lying,” he uttered.

Raphael brought his hands up with a calming gesture. “I know, I know you’re not-” “I’m not joking about this Raph,” Leonardo needed to convince Raph before it was too late, before that thing came home. “Please, this is serious,” he begged.

There was a second of silence as he cocked his head to the side and read Leo’s face. Everything that Leonardo was saying was sincere, but… Raph gave a sigh as he placed his hand on Leo’s shoulder. He made eye contact with Leo as he calmly said: “I know it’s not a prank, but…”

“What?” A prank. A prank.

Raph shut his eyes for a moment and grimaced before trying again. “Leo, don’t you think that’s a little out there?”

There was a moment of silence brought upon by Leo’s shock before he scoffed. “We’ve fought mutant pigs with tentacles for arms, stinky plant mutants, giant spider ladies, a hypnotist hippopotamus,” a dry laugh escaped him as he continued, “and you’re saying that a body controlling parasite is a little out there?”

“Hold on, what I mean is-”

Leo cut him off, his voice beginning to rise. “He hasn’t been acting like himself, Raph.”

“I haven’t noticed anything, and when I saw him earlier-”

“That’s the thing!” Leo sprung up, coming up to eye level with his massive brother, “nobody has noticed but me.” He pointed to himself as he continued, “I talked to Mikey about it, and he didn’t notice anything either, but I am telling you-”

“Leo…” Raph tried to interject

“It is not Donatello.”

“Let’s just calm down, okay?”

“Raph, please.” He began to plead, his hand motioning over his heart, “you didn’t see it, he intentionally lost a dance battle to me, Raph,” Leo covered his mouth as he gave a quiet yawn.

Raphael closed his eyes as he sighed. He brought his hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose, “Leo…”

Leo continued, his voice cracking under the emotional strain as he tried to make his brother understand, to make him believe him. “He practically recycled Shelldon, didn’t give a second glance when Mikey broke the tank-”

“Mikey broke the tank?”

“That’s not the point!” He shouted, surprising Raphael. “Don’t you realize what a mix of that means? Donnie would never. Ever. Disassemble Shelldon. That project is his pride and joy and for him to just open him up and leave him?”

“You saw Shelldon taken apart?”

“Well, no.” He stumbled over his own words as he realized what that sounded like,“but Mikey did!”

“Mikey knows about this?” Raph asked.

“Yes! But he didn’t believe me either,” he knew that he sounded frantic, but he continued, “this thing is a master manipulator, and it’s like it already knows everything about us from Donatello.”

“Leo-” Raph tried to interject.

“These facts have been building on eachother, “And then today he ghosted April, and attacked me!”

“What do you mean he attacked you?”

“I was trying to leave to go pick up April and he grabbed me, It tried to-” Leo’s voice cracked again. The memory of being pushed to the ground made his throat dry, “It tried to put a parasite in me, but I was able to get away before It did.”

Raphael sat quietly, listening to his younger brother's panicked words. He opened his mouth before shutting it again, trying to think of how he could possibly follow up. “How long has this been going on for?”

“Days Raph, it’s making my skin crawl.” A tear fell down his face and he quickly wiped it away. “I’ve been so- so panicked by all this that I feel like i’m losing my mind, I haven’t slept and I-” Another yawn ripped out of Leo as if on cue, making him stagger backwards as Leo covered his mouth. His brother stood. Raphael pressed the back of his massive hand against Leo’s forehead, effectively cutting him off and obscuring his vision.

After a few seconds, Raphael whispered, “you’re warm…”

Leo exhaled, “I was just running.”

Both of Raphael’s hands grabbed Leo’s face as Raph pulled him in, pressing his beak against his forehead. After a moment he hummed, releasing his smaller brother. “Leo, could you be running a fever?”

“No, I'm not running a fever!”

In an attempt to ease the conversation Raphael lowered his voice. “You don’t have to yell, i’m just making sure that you’re not-”

“Delusional?” Leo’s voice strained.

Frustration began to build in Raph’s demeanor as the conversation moved from rational to accusatory. “I’m not saying that.”

The tone was shifting in a way that Leo didn’t want. He was trying to make Raph get it, but the concept of this bad-thing-that-was-happening just wasn’t forming in his head. “Donatello” had integrated itself perfectly, it had taken days for Leo to notice something before he figured it out, so maybe if he took this from a different direction… “I’m sorry, a lot has happened today.”

Raphael’s expression softened. “It’s okay, look, let’s just talk this out, alright? I’m trying to understand.”

Leo folded his arms as he shifted his stance to something more comfortable. “I’m trying to explain this to you without sounding crazy,” he chuckled.

“Why don’t we start with the skate ramp,” Raph placed a hand on his arm. “What happened there?”

“Okay.” Yes, better. This was good! Leonardo would tell him his side of the story and maybe then Raphael would start to understand what was going on! Leo took a deep breath, he was going to tell Raph everything, from the attack, to April’s apartment, to everything It said and the parasite in the bottle. “I was leaving to pick up April and-” There was the sharp sound of pressurized air and then he felt a pinch strike him, and then Leo began to feel numb.

Raphael immediately noticed the fog in Leo’s eyes as he trailed off. Leo looked down and Raph followed his vision, spotting the brightly colored yellow dart in his thigh.

“Raph-” Darkness was already closing his vision. He took a step and his legs buckled beneath him. Leonardo tried to grab his brother, to use him to steady himself, only to find that his hands weren’t working anymore.

He couldn’t feel it, but Raphael caught him before he fell. After another second Leo lost consciousness all together, succumbing to the empty blackness. Raph looked up. On the second level of the lair, standing with a wide stance, Donnatello lowered the tranquilizer gun.

“Why did you do that?” When there wasn’t a response a familiar anger krept into Raphael’s tone. He repeated himself, “Donnie, why did you do that?!”

Donatello sighed and rolled his eyes in annoyance. “He was clearly showing signs of insanity,” he said matter-of-factly. He set the dart gun down to lean against the wall before he began to approach them. “Our best option would be to treat him for a level two fever before he infects anyone else, just give him to me.”

Leo was fully limp in Raph’s arms now, a few tears escaping from his peaceful expression. Raph didn’t know if that was an effect of the drugs or from the pain, or maybe if it was from the fear he felt right before he went unconscious. “Actually,” he twisted away from Donatello’s reaching arms, “I have a better idea.”

Donatello visibly twitched at Raphael’s response, “Raphael, as the smart one-

“As the leader,” the emphasis on that word was stronger than Donnie’s,“we’re going to treat him the same way we treat any sickness, Mikey, go get the plastic seals.”

“Roger that!”

“Micheal.” Michelangelo stopped in his tracks at the warningly low tone Donnie held in his voice. Looking at Raph with a dark expression, “what’s the big deal? I can just give him something in my lab and we can get this over with.”

“Look, he is terrified,” he held Leo just a bit tighter. “If it is a fever, it’ll pass in a couple of hours like it always does,” they weren’t cruel.

Through gritted teeth Donatello said, “he’s a danger, not only to himself,” he raised his tightly bandaged hand, practically shoving it in Raph’s face, “but to us as well!”

A pang of guilt and uncertainty pulsed in Raph’s chest, “you’re right Don,” a small smirk appeared on his purple brother's face, “but,” and the smirk disappeared, “He’s sick and he’s scared. We don’t want to make it any worse… and besides, you hate sick people in your lab.”

Donatello’s fist clenched for a moment and Raphael matched his brother's stare with equally narrowed eyes. His face still contorted with frustration, Donnie muttered, “fine.” He turned and left the room towards his lab, ripping the tranquilizer gun from the wall as he went.

The awkward silence that was left made Raphael feel tired. ‘Is this the right choice?’ he thought. His mind flicked over that short argument and he suddenly felt confused, since when did Donnie play the doctor of the family? Sure, he had enough chemicals to analyze stuff, but he had nothing in the medicine department. So why did he want Leo in his lab?

“Hey,” the soft tone pulled Raphael from his thoughts as he turned towards Mikey. Michelangelo put a gentle hand on Raph’s shoulder. “Don’t worry Raph, Leo’s gonna be okay.” And with that Michelangelo turned and left to get the plastic seal they would use on Leo’s door.

Raphael sighed as he rubbed a hand over his face. “I sure hope so.”

And here's the link! : https://archiveofourown.org/works/28420926/chapters/79888930

[lockefanfic]

Business Trip: Part 32 - Team

Zip ties were involved, which you weren’t quite ready for.

She wasn’t kidding when she said it wouldn’t be soft. She had cared little for your comfort when she dragged you into the parking lot and into the van that you had made your getaway in earlier in the day, shoving you harshly inside and onto your back on the van’s floor. After some digging in the van’s built-in shelving she’d retrieved some zip ties, which she used to quite literally tie your hands by the wrists above your head and to the base of the passenger seat.

“Jesus, Chaeyoung,” was all you could manage before she suddenly bends and crushes your lips with hers in a fierce kiss, her tongue wasting little time in invading your mouth, finding and duelling with yours, her small, tight little body straddling yours on the van floor.

“Too rough for you, you pussy?” She hisses, sheer lust in her eyes as she breaks your kiss to stare at you.

“Fuck no,” you answer, ridiculously aroused by her forcefulness - you’d never been with a girl so aggressive, so open with her lust and need - and how rough she was being with you in order to get what she wanted.

“Good. Because I’m gonna fucking use you, and you’re gonna fucking like it.”

---

Both girls took it differently - but the end result was the same.

 Jeongyeon was upset, initially, and it broke your heart to see it. She had thought that her relationship with you had turned the corner following the day’s events, and she had high hopes that the ultimatum she had given you that morning would lead you to choosing her. Her voice cracked when you told her, betraying her heartache even as she told you she understood how you felt. Telling her you weren’t ready to commit to a relationship with her, especially after she had put herself on the line for you earlier that day, might have been one of the most difficult things you’d ever done.

 Momo’s plan of avoiding you and concentrating on whatever she was doing with her team was working - until you quite literally needed to be rescued and you were thrown right back into her life. She had thought she was doing fine without you, but it was obvious seeing you again reignited her feelings for you. Despite the cold reception she was giving you, the invite to her room that night led you to believe what she really wanted was to have you back. You knew her well enough to know when she was putting up a front.

 But you knew that whichever door you knocked on that night that you would leave another girl utterly heartbroken. It wouldn’t have been fair to either of them; and so you chose not to knock on either.

 You called both on their cell phones, explained that you weren’t ready to commit to either, not when Irene was still on the loose. You’d told them both you’d choose once Irene was behind bars. 

 Both wished they weren’t alone as they cried themselves to sleep that night. It took you awhile to realize, as you sat on a picnic table outside the apartment blocks, that you were crying too.

 —-

 You weren’t sure how long you were sitting there, in the frosty Seoul evening, staring blankly at the concrete towers in front of you as though you were hoping to find the answers to your love life hidden in one of the many glass windows or wooden door frames. It’s only the sound of a tin can crashing into a nearby garbage bin that knocks you from your reverie. You hear hushed female voices nearby, and while they were speaking in Korean, there was no mistaking the friendly, semi-drunken tones of young girls joking and chatting idly a couple of cans of beer into their evening.

 A second can comes flying from around the corner of the apartment building, hitting the rim of the garbage bin and flying to the ground near you, where it rolls to a stop at the foot of the picnic table you now occupied.

 You hear what was probably a Korean swear word before a small form comes running around the corner to chase after the wayward beer can. It takes you a moment to realize who it was, given that she was wrapped in an oversized puffy winter jacket, but once she steps into the light you see that it is the getaway driver from earlier in the day - Chaeyoung was her name, if you remembered correctly.

 She is taken by surprise when she sees you, obviously not expecting to find someone sitting alone in the darkness on the picnic table. She lets out what could only have been a Korean curse word, clutching her chest as her mouth gapes open in genuine surprise.

 “Jesus,” she says, switching to fluent English when she realizes who you are, “you scared the shit out of me.”

 “Sorry,” you answer sheepishly as you bend to pick up the can and toss it back to her. She catches it with both hands.

 “What the hell are you doing out here?”

 You shrug, not quite knowing how to answer the girl. Where would you even start?

 “Just getting some fresh air,” you answer. Chaeyoung nods, although a smirk appears on her lips as you look up at her.

 “What’s so funny?”

 “Nothing,” she answers, “just that I figured you’d be balls deep in your girlfriend by now.”

 “She’s not my girlfriend,” you answer, almost routinely, as you add Chaeyoung to the list of girls who assumed you had some sort of relationship with Jeongyeon. You leave out the fact that you were, indeed, balls deep inside her just a few hours ago.

 “Hmm. Well if not her, I figured you’d be nailing the boss.”

 “The boss?”

 “Momo,” Chaeyoung answers, “I heard you have history with her.”

 “Maybe,” you answer after a short pause, not knowing what she knew about your relationship with Momo and not wanting to tell her more than she needed to know.

 “Must be tough, having to decide between which utterly gorgeous supermodel-level girl to fuck,” she says, that smirk still planted on her mischievous, cat-like features. You can’t help but smile in response. 

 “I think I might be on my own tonight,” you finally answer.

 Chaeyoung takes a moment to consider her response, playing idly with the beer can in her hands.

 “Whelp, I’m not a supermodel and I’m not gonna fuck you, but I suppose you could join me and my buddies for a beer instead of sitting out here alone sulking in the cold like some fucking loser.”

 The small girl tosses her can into the garbage bin - which you just now realize was actually a recycling bin - before reaching over to you and grabbing you by the forearm, dragging you around the corner of the apartment building.

 Around the corner are two other girls, both sitting lazily on two more picnic tables - the flight attendant and the third girl on Momo’s team. 

 They both begin to speak to Chaeyoung in Korean, perhaps asking her where she’s been, but their words are cut short when they realize who she brought along.

 The flight attendant gives you a look of suspicion, but the third girl’s face lights up as she gives you a warm, welcoming smile. 

 “Hi!” She says in friendly, only slightly accented English after Chaeyoung introduces you to them. It had occurred to you that you hadn’t been formally introduced to any of them. You give them your name and shake their hands.

 “I’m Kim Yerim,” the third girl says as she shakes your hand with a friendly smile. Her small, round face and bright eyes were striking, even in the dim light of the apartment block. She grabs a can of beer from the black plastic bag atop the picnic table and hands it to you. You accept it thankfully before turning to the flight attendant and offering your name and your hand.

 “Seulgi,” the flight attendant says, ignoring your offered hand and instead taking another sip of her beer.

 You are a little offended by Seulgi’s cold reception, but you decide to brush it off for now as you crack open your beer and-

 … Yerim. Yeri? And Seulgi…

 “Wait,” you say out loud, “Yerim? And Seulgi? Are you...”

 “Yes,” Seulgi answers in English as she finishes her beer and stands, “we’re who you think we are.”

 “You’re part of Red Velvet!”

 “No,” Seulgi answers, her tone suddenly dark, “we were.”

 She stands and gathers up the heavy winter coat she has left on the picnic table before beginning to walk away. Yerim stands and gives you an apologetic smile before she follows her friend.

 —-

 “Sorry about that,” Chaeyoung says once the two girls are out of earshot, “I don’t know what that whole thing was about. Seulgi gets pretty upset whenever Red Velvet is mentioned, whatever that is.”

 “You don’t know?” You ask, not knowing just how much Chaeyoung knew about your history with the SM group that Irene was leader of. She shrugs.

 “I don’t know much about anything around here - and I want to keep it that way.”

 You nod in understanding as you take a sip of your beer and a seat on the picnic table Seulgi occupied. There wasn’t much use in filling Chaeyoung in on what was going on, especially if she would rather be kept out of the loop. 

 What the hell was Momo doing working with two ex-members of Red Velvet? And what were Yerim and Seulgi doing, helping Momo presumably take down their ex-boss Irene? What was Seulgi doing on that plane, when she was apparently posing as the flight attendant on JYP’s staff flight from Hawaii to Seoul? There were too many questions, and not enough answers - your mind ran at a million miles a second, trying to make sense of this new revelation. 

 Chaeyoung snaps her fingers to get your attention.

 “What? Oh, sorry,” you apologize, “it’s just… that… those two being members- err, ex-members of Red Velvet is a pretty big deal.”

 “Hmm,” Chaeyoung says with another shrug as she takes a sip of the new beer can she had just cracked open, evidently neither understanding nor caring about the significance of Seulgi and Yerim’s history.

 “So what about you, Chaeyoung?” You ask, happy to change the subject for now, “what’s your role in all this?”

 “I’m just a gun for hire - I do on-site operations work. Transport, surveillance, some tech work, that kind of thing. Oh, and translation. As you know, Momo can barely speak Korean - or any language - sometimes.  She pays me at the end of the day and that’s it. I don’t want or need to know more about whatever plot you’re all involved in.”

 “Fair enough. Momo doesn’t tell you anything about why you’re doing what you’re doing?”

 “Nope. And I like it that way. All I know is that the central goal is to take down this Irene chick, whoever the fuck she is. From what I’ve seen she’s into some shady shit so I don’t feel bad about taking her down. It’s not like we’re taking down a saint running an orphanage, although for the right price…”

 You chuckle a little at her joke - or at least you hoped it was a joke. Chaeyoung was refreshing; she was clearly a bit of a rebel, if her colourful language, the short haircut and tattoos on her left arm and fingers were any indication; that on top of her gives-no-fucks attitude towards the politics and history clearly at play in the events happening around her. It was nice to talk to someone who didn’t have any real investment in what was going on, aside from the surely handsome paycheque she was getting at the end of the day for her efforts.

 “So you just do the job and get paid, huh? No questions asked.”

 “You got it,” she answers with a bright smile on her youthful features. The two of you take a couple of sips of your drinks in silence, until Chaeyoung breaks it.

 “You must be a pretty good lay if you managed to bag a chick like Momo,” Chaeyoung says suddenly. When you look up at her you liked what you saw in the sly mischievousness of her eyes.

 “She’s got a rockin’ bod. Those abs! Damn, I’d like a turn with her myself,” she continues, “I guess I’ve got a thing for Japanese girls. My last ex was Japanese. Anyway… Momo’s fucking hot.”

 “Sure, just make sure you let me watch.”

 “She’s clearly fuckable… but there must be a reason she fucked you for so long.”

 You smile before answering, “Maybe. You’d have to ask her.”

 “Or I can find out myself.”

 “Or you could find out,” you repeat, allowing a sly smile to appear on your lips.

 There is a moment of silence as Chaeyoung plays idly with the rim of her can of beer, a sly, naughty look in her youthful eyes. Her fingertips tease the edge of the aluminum can as she momentarily bites her lip.

 “It won’t be soft. I’m not the type that just lies there and squeals while the guy has his fun.”

 “I didn’t think you were. I’d like to find out what type you actually are, though.”

 Chaeyoung downs the rest of her can in one go before grabbing you by the wrist and leading you towards the parking lot, her steps full of confidence and more than a little lust.

 —-

 Zip ties were involved, which you weren’t quite ready for.

 She wasn’t kidding when she said it wouldn’t be soft. She had cared little for your comfort when she dragged you into the parking lot and into the van that you had made your getaway in earlier in the day, shoving you harshly inside and onto your back on the van’s floor. After some digging in the van’s built-in shelving she’d retrieved some zip ties, which she used to quite literally tie your hands by the wrists above your head and to the base of the passenger seat.

 “Jesus, Chaeyoung,” was all you could manage before she suddenly bends and crushes your lips with hers in a fierce kiss, her tongue wasting little time in invading your mouth, finding and duelling with yours, her small, tight little body straddling yours on the van floor.

 “Too rough for you, you pussy?” She hisses, sheer lust in her eyes as she breaks your kiss to stare at you.

 “Fuck no,” you answer, ridiculously aroused by her forcefulness - you’d never been with a girl so aggressive, so open with her lust and need - and how rough she was being with you in order to get what she wanted.

 “Good. Because I’m gonna fucking use you, and you’re gonna fucking like it.”

 Chaeyoung bends and crushes your lips with her mouth once more, and as she does so her hands quickly go to your belt, undoing it and unzipping your jeans with quick, deft fingers.

 “Let’s see what Momo’s been so thirsty for,” she hisses, yanking your boxers down and revealing your quickly hardening shaft. Her fingers, still cold from the frosty Seoul winter night, quickly grasp your warm meat, drawing a bit of a gasp from you. You look up and watch as Chaeyoung bites her lip.

 “Okay, I get it,” she says in approval as she works your cock to full hardness, “I bet Momo’s had tons of fun with this piece. What do you want me to do to you, hmm?”

 “Suck my fucking cock, Chaeyoung,” you hiss, the aggressiveness of your tone surprising even you with how eager you were for this girl to get started.

 Chaeyoung’s response is to slap you across the cheek with an open palm.

 “Big fucking words for a pussy who’s all tied up and helpless,” she hisses, before removing the heavy puffy jacket she is wearing, revealing a simple grey t-shirt underneath which she quickly rips off - leaving her topless. Her slim torso is tight with muscle, and while her breasts were small and humble, she nonetheless looked absolutely delicious in the dark light of the parking lot, her small pink nipples tight and taut with arousal.

 She bends over and brings her mouth to your ear.

 “What did I tell you earlier? This wouldn’t be soft. If I don’t get off, you don’t get off.”

 She raises her hips slightly and undoes her own belt, taking a moment to drag the denim off her hips and legs, taking her own panties with them, leaving her naked. She turns around on the cramped van floor until she is facing your cock, her crotch in front of your face, soft thighs on either side of your cheeks.

 “Fucking eat me,” she hisses, before she takes your rock hard shaft in her mouth.

 You are almost embarrassed by how loudly you yelp in pleasure as your cock enters her mouth for the first time, her full lips and wet, slick tongue feeling absolutely sublime as takes your hard flesh into her orifice. You almost forget that you too had a job, quite literally, waiting in front of you.

 Chaeyoung’s pussy looked absolutely delectable - her lips were glistening and pink, shaved clean. Her juices were already flowing freely - the intensity and spontaneity of the encounter was definitely getting her off. You want to grasp her cute little butt and bring her hips closer to yours, but you couldn’t with your arms tied above your head - but when Chaeyoung lowers her hips when she takes you into her mouth it also allows you to make contact with the wet, moist flesh between her legs.

 The girl lets out a soft, wordless moan around the cock in her mouth, one that sends delicious vibrations reverberating throughout the entire length of your shaft that drive you crazy with pleasure. With each long, slow lick of her pussy she gasps and moans around your cock, somehow managing to maintain the rhythm of her blowjob as she takes you in and out between those full, tight lips of hers.

 It is somewhat difficult with her squirming and writhing atop you, but you finally manage to find and locate her clit, and you capture it as best you can with the tips of your lips before quickly swirling the tip of your tongue around it with quick, light swipes - normally you’d have waited until a girl was good and ready before you got to this point, but Chaeyoung’s need, and the abundant juices flowing from her pussy, convinced you that she wasn’t really into waiting.

 “Oh, fuck!” Chaeyoung gasps, releasing your saliva-drenched cock from her lips and throwing her head back, “fuck, right there! That’s so good!” She moans, pumping your cock with her small hand as she does so.

 You redouble your efforts as best you can, assisted by Chaeyoung’s grinding on your face as she presses her pussy against you in an effort to seek more of the pleasure she so desperately wanted. You are happy to oblige her, continuing your assault on her pussy, eagerly drinking in the bittersweet juices that are flowing freely into your mouth.

 Chaeyoung tries her best to return to her blowjob, taking you in and out of her mouth, but the pleasure coursing through her small, tight form was quickly becoming too much to handle, and she resorts to pumping your cock with her hands as she hisses and moans in pleasure, her eyes shut as she relishes the feel of your tongue on her clit. You feel her press her cheek against your cock, and you feel the heat of her breath on your shaft with each moan and gasp she makes.

 “Oh… oh god, I’m… Oh god. Yeah… eat me… eat that pussy… Oh god!”

 Chaeyoung quivers and shakes almost violently as she orgasms, the force of it taking her by surprise as the pleasure becomes too much for her to bear. Her pussy releases a fresh flood of her delicious juices, and you lap it all up eagerly, drinking deeply from her body as you her fluids flow down your chin. You continue your work on her clit, but you slowly wind down, giving the length of her slick pussy a few deep licks as the orgasm continues to course through her.

 Just when you think you’d earned yourself a little bit of a reprieve, Chaeyoung quickly turns her body around so she is straddling you once more, her small body easily turning around in the cramped van, moving with a fluidity and grace that reminded you of a cat toying with its prey.

 She crushes your lips with hers once more, tasting herself on your lips and mouth. You kiss her back, fiercely, utterly turned on by the lustful, needy girl in your lap.

 “I want this cock,” she says, her dark, fierce eyes almost angry, “I want this fucking cock in me.”

 She reaches down and quickly grasps your hard, needy shaft before placing the tip at her entrance. You expect her to linger there for a bit, to prolong the delicious feeling of anticipation the same way other girls did - but Chaeyoung didn’t play by the rules of others. With a dip of her hips, you are suddenly inside her.

 To say she was tight was an understatement - perhaps it was her youth or her intense level of arousal - either way, Chaeyoung’s body felt like absolute heaven, all wet and hot and slick around your shaft as it speared into her small body. She lets out a long, drawn out gasp as you enter her, not caring at all about how loud she as being - not that she cared much about anything at all, really.

 “Fuck yes,” she says, “fuck yes. You’re… Mmm… so fucking big inside me,” she hisses as she takes you inside her to the hilt.

 You take a moment to savor the view of her tight, slim little body impaled on your cock, lit in the dim light of the parking lot coming in through the van’s side windows. There didn’t seem to be an ounce of fat on her - she was all tight, firm muscle. There was something intensely alluring about her breasts; you’d been with plenty of girls that were well endowed, but even though Chaeyoung was probably the smallest of the girls you’d been with recently, you couldn’t help but find yourself drawn to her little mounds and the utterly mouth watering nipples atop them.

 As if reading your mind Chaeyoung brings her hands to her chest, cupping them, her index finger and thumb teasing her stiff nipples.

 “You want a taste of these, you little pussy?”

 “Fuck yes,” you say, licking your lips in anticipation.

 “Tell me what you want.”

 “I want to suck on your tits, Chaeyoung.”

 The response is another slap across your face.

 It takes you completely by surprise, and it must have shown on your face as Chaeyoung responds.

 “You can suck on them when I let you suck on them,” she hisses, and you are about to respond when she leans forward, places her hands on your chest, and begins to ride you.

 “For now… ohh!” She hisses as she takes you in and out of her tightly grasping pussy, “for now just lie there… Mm… and be a good little cock for me to fuck.”

 All thought of her slap and the stinging of your cheek flies right out the window when she begins to take you in and out of her body, her tight, firm hips and waist working to throw herself against your crotch over and over again. The feel of her tightness wrapped around yours was utterly overwhelming, her pussy grasping tightly around your rock hard shaft with each entry and exit.

 “Oh, fuck!” You gasp out loud, almost embarrassed by it - but you needed to find some sort of outlet for the pleasure quickly building in your loins. Your bound hands squirm uselessly in their restraints. You would’ve given anything to have them free, to enjoy this young girl’s body the way you really wanted to.

 “You like that?” Chaeyoung gasps, “you like my pussy?”

 “Fuck… fuck yes!”

 “Good.. because you feel so fucking good inside me.”

 Chaeyoung redoubles her efforts as she rides you, taking a moment here and there to grind her hips against yours, mashing her wet flesh against your crotch before quickly returning to riding you, lifting tight little butt before smashing it back down again, driving your shaft into her body again and again and again.

 You are mesmerized by her, watching intently as she takes her pleasure from your body, and your wrists strain uselessly against the zip ties that are keeping them above your head. You would have done anything to grasp her by her small waist - or to grasp her small breasts as they bounce up and down alluringly, her nipples tight and taut with pleasure.

 For long minutes Chaeyoung rides you on the floor of the van - and while you’d had plenty of girls ride you before, none did so quite like Chaeyoung, who cared little for your own pleasure, focusing instead on finding her own. She grinded her clit against your wet crotch and reverted to pumping you in and out whenever it suited her, and the loud chorus of gasps and moans filling the interior of the van were a definite indication that she was getting what she wanted.

 You wanted her to stay riding you, or stay grinding you, not switching back and forth whenever she wanted - and you would’ve given anything to hold her hips down and make her ride you the way you wanted. But if one thing was clear, it was that she didn’t give a damn about what you wanted.

 It was frustrating, not being able to fuck her the way you wanted - but the tight, grasping heat of her slick pussy was more than a sufficient consolation prize.

 “Oh, fuck,” she says with a soft hiss, “oh fuck, you’re so big inside me. I’m gonna cum all over your fucking cock… Oh… Oh yes, oh yes, oh yes!!”

 When Chaeyoung orgasms it seemed as though the whole van was shaking, her tight little body squirming and quivering atop your cock as the orgasm courses throughout her body. She shakes violently, her nails digging deeply and painfully into your chest as she seeks some outlet for her pleasure.

 Her pussy tightens deliciously around your dick, pulsating at random intervals as she buries it as deep inside her as it would go, relishing every ounce of pleasure she was drawing from the hard length of cock buried deep inside her pussy.

 Eventually she comes down from her high, her body still quivering as she places her hands on your chest in an attempt to settle herself down.

 “Fuck… I guess I see why Momo’s still thirsty for this cock,” she says, squeezing you inside her as if to emphasize her words. You couldn’t help but shut your eyes momentarily as the pleasure of her slick walls tightening against your shaft courses through your veins. She grinds softly against you, not taking you in and out, just swirling her body around your cock, relishing in the pleasure she was causing you with every movement of her hips.

 “She loved it more when I came,” you hiss, eager to take your own pleasure from this girl’s body, now that she had taken hers. Surely she would let you go soon...

 “I see. You came in her all the time, then?”

 “In her, on her. Wherever I wanted to.”

 “In her mouth? On those perfect tits of hers?”

 “And her ass, once or twice.”

 “Momo liked it up the ass, huh? Interesting,” she says, bringing a hand to her chin and rubbing it thoughtfully, her actions completely at odds with the fact that she had a stiff cock buried inside her - one she was grinding on as she squeezed her walls around it.

 “She liked it most when I came inside her, though.”

 “Hmm,” Chaeyoung says, her lips smirking devilishly, “you like cumming in girls, don’t you?”

 “Fuck yeah,” you answer.

 “And if I undo these ties, you’re gonna cum in me? Toss me on my back, spread my legs, and fuck my tight little pussy until you fill me up with cum, just like your other girls?”

 “Fuck yes,” you answer, desperately.

 “You want to fuck me from behind, don’t you? I’ve been so mean tying you up like this and using you. But when I let you go, you’re gonna turn me around, shove this fat cock of yours inside my wet pussy and fuck me as hard as you can, aren’t you? You want to pull my hair and squeeze my tight ass and small tits while you shove in and out of me, until you fill my tiny little body with your hot, thick cum?”

 “Fuck y-“

 Chaeyoung slaps you across the cheek, this time striking the right side of your face.

 “Who said I’d let you cum in me?” She asks, her words suddenly challenging and tense, a wicked look in her eyes. 

 “In fact,” she continues, bringing a finger to her mouth and biting softly on her fingertip, “who said I’d let you cum at all?”

 It only takes her a few seconds, but before you knew it Chaeyoung had withdrawn herself from you, your wet, glistening shaft slipping from her tight confines before she gathers up her clothes and hops out of the van. In just a few more seconds she has thrown on her clothes, turning one last time to smile wickedly at you, still lying helplessly tied up on the floor of the van, your pants around your knees and your wet, slick cock still painfully erect.

 “Thanks for the fuck, you pussy,” she says, a devious smile on her lips as she shuts the van doors, leaving you there.

 —-

 It only took you a few minutes to get out of the zip ties Chaeyoung had used to tie you to the floor of the van - she had probably intentionally left them relatively loose. It only took you a few seconds after that to finish off what Chaeyoung had started - the memory of that tight little body riding you was enough to get you off quickly, even if the thought of jerking off alone in a dark parking lot was a little sad in retrospect.

 You managed to grab a couple of hours of sleep in your room before you dragged yourself to the cafe in time for your scheduled meeting with Momo and her team. 

 Jeongyeon was the first to show up, her eyes red with recent tears even as she put up a brave smile and greeted you with a good morning. You weren’t sure how she would react to the events of last night, and you were glad to see she was at least willing to be civil.

 “Jeongyeon, I-“

 “It’s okay,” she says as she sits down next to you and offers you a weak smile, “It’s okay. Really. I understand. I’m okay,” she continues, although she was probably trying more to convince herself she was okay rather than you.

 A couple of tense moments of silence pass between you, and you are almost thankful to see Momo and her team enter the cafe, if only to distract you from the tension between you and Jeongyeon.

 Before Momo, Chaeyoung, Seulgi and Yeri reach your table, Jeongyeon turns her face, looking at the space between you and her.

 “I’ll wait for you,” she says softly, each of her words heavy with emotion, “and one day soon I hope it will be my door you knock on.”

 —-

 “When I left your team, JYP gave me the directive to go after Irene, along with whatever resources I needed.”

 Momo wasted little time in getting down to business. The second she and her team sat down - and after Chaeyoung had given you a wicked wink and smile - Momo had launched into the explanation you were looking for. 

 “He must’ve wanted another team working the Irene case, maybe from a different angle,” Jeongyeon noted, “in case we missed anything.”

 “Either way, I gathered a team and we were in the middle of an operation when your little cop friend showed up, waltzed into SM HQ and forced us to rescue her ass, and yours.”

 “Hold on, Momo,” you say, “what exactly were you working on? And how the hell did you end up with two members of Red Velvet on your team?”

 Yeri, looking nervous, shares a look with Seulgi, who looked cold and distant as usual. They were both evidently happy to let Momo explain.

 “I did some research when it came to recruiting people. I picked up Chaeyoung as an on-site hand. But I needed others for the more in-depth work, preferably others who knew Irene and what she was capable of-“

 “-which is what led us to her,” Seulgi finishes, looking up to make eye contact with you, her gaze cold and steely, “We found out she was looking to take Irene down. We reached out, and here we are.”

 “But Irene used to be your boss. You two were part of Red Velvet, along with Joy and Wendy,” Jeongyeon asks, her face quizzical, “why are you two working to bring her down?”

 Yeri and Seulgi share another look, but eventually both look down blankly at their laps or the table in front of them.

 “We have our reasons,” Yeri answers, softly, for the first time lacking the upbeat charm that had pervaded her personality to that point.

 “Either way, we were in the middle of an operation we had to interrupt to save you,” Momo says, eager to change the subject, “and we were on the verge of something huge, too.”

 “And what was that?” You ask.

 “We were going to lure Irene into a trap,” Momo answers, “we were minutes away from taking her.”

 “Taking her,” Jeongyeon says slowly, “you mean, like kidnapping her? That’s a fucking crime, Momo.”

 “I don’t give a shit anymore,” Momo spits, “did her goons consider that it was a crime when they kidnapped you and Choa? What would you two have done had Jihyo and Seoul PD not found you? What would have happened to you? What would they have done to you?”

 “That’s stooping to her level, Momo. We need to take her down legally. We have evidence now that Nayeon retrieved-“

 “And so what?” Yeri says suddenly, the small, young girl surprising everyone at the table with her tone, “Irene doesn’t give a shit about what’s legal or not. All she cares about is doing her job, even if it means taking people out using less-than-clean means.”

 “Blackmail, bribery,” Seulgi says, crossing her arms, “even kidnapping.”

 “And that’s why we never got close to getting her when I was on your team,” Momo finishes, “we always followed the rules. Irene plays dirty. If we want to catch her, so do we.”

 There are a few moments of silence as you and Jeongyeon digest Momo’s declaration. 

 She looked so different now - not just with her new hairstyle; with the way she talked, the way she acted. She was almost a different person now, a far cry from the air headed but loving young woman you thought you had fallen in love with.

 Momo stands, and the rest of her team takes that as a cue that it was time to leave. Yeri and Seulgi do so without any further action - Chaeyoung offers you only a careless shrug and a smirk before following them out the door.

 “I’m going to take her down,” Momo declares as she begins to turn away from you and Jeongyeon, “and I don’t care if you like the way I do it.”

 —-

[hrbshrb-rat]

My demons don’t scare me.

I know who I am,

So I don’t feel the need to rush

when shampoo is lathered in my hair.

There’s no escape,

no where to run;

unfolding origami flowers,

we blossom to who we’re destined to become.

I am not who I was.

I am not who you are.

I have grown from my trauma.

So thanks, I guess,

for the sleepless nights

from your drunken fights,

and our tumble down the stairs together.

You don’t deserve me

You don’t deserve my family

And you should be grateful for any inch given

Because your fucks were always limited.

And now that the tables are turned

I’m the bad person?

What? Should I be grateful that you fucked?

Fuck you.

You were never a father.

If we pass in the streets in another life

Just keep on walking.

The best thing you can do for us is to do what’s best for you.

So do it.

And let me live in peace.

We were never worthy of your love

so don’t act like you care.

We were nothing more than piled up garbage that you couldn’t stay sober enough to take out.

But I’ve learned to recycle

Repurpose and transform my trash to something new

The only thing you’ve taught me

Is that I don’t want to end up like you.

So thank you for the abuse.

Thank you for the model

of how not a be a partner or a parent

because apparently I’m a better person for it.

I’m ready to take control of my life

And if you are inspired to do the same

You can view me as a role model

But please keep your distance

I don’t need to see your progress

Just do better.

I’ve moved on, so should you.

[mycatshuman]

The Emo Who Stole Christmas

Chapter 2: A Secret Relationship and Truths Revealed

Word Count: 3,634

Warnings: crying, misunderstandings but they are resolved, talk of past bullying, discrimination against hair color for being "unnatural", and an asshole mayor, cursing, let me know if I missed any.

Pairings: Pre-established Prinxiety and Logicality and Demus

Masterlist | Previous | Next | More Chapters

Thanks again to the wonderful @icequeenoriginal for being such a marvelous co-creator. This fic exists because of her so send her some love. 💜

❄🎅🎄❄🎅🎄❄🎅🎄❄🎅🎄❄🎅🎄❄

Emile frowned as they pulled up to their house with their dad. The house was dark and looked intimidating compared to the houses around it as they were lit up with lights of all colors and sizes. "No lights on. Your Pa must be out shopping." 

A head popped up on the roof. "Oh! Good! I'm so glad you're home!" Emile and Patton looked up to see Logan up in the roof, wrapped in a long coat as he held a strand of lights in his arms. "I can feel it, Patton!" He exclaimed. His eyes alight with determination. Emile frowned as they watched their father. "When the town asks who has the most spectacular of lights in Whoville, they're going to say, 'Mr. Logan Lou Who!!' This is the Year!!" 

Patton chuckled fondly at his husband. He glanced to the side and noticed something a bit concerning. He reached forward and lifted the object carefully. "Is this the Chandelier from our dining room!?!??!" Emile's frown deepened. They found their unease about the holidays taking root deeper. 

"Its all for the cause, Honey," Logan called out. He had to be superior, he just had to be. "Oh! Emile, Honey bee! Could you be my little helper and unscrew the lightbulb from the fridge?" Emile blinked rapidly, trying to determine if their father was in fact serious. "I somehow missed that one." 

Emile peered closer at their dad and noticed his tie tucked firmly in place and decided their father was in fact serious. Emile forced a smile onto their face as they walked inside carrying a small stack of presents. 

"Every. Single. Year." Logan muttered as they grabbed light strands and began moving them trying to set them up. "Mr. Roman May Whovier has the best lights. But not this year! This is the year I am going to defeat that prim, perfect, prissy little prince-" Logan was interrupted by the man himself. 

"Logan! Hello!" Roman called out dramatically. 

Logan looked over to see Roman in a deep holiday red Santa dress with white trim, Santa hat and matching red boots, tights, and gloves. Logan frowned. "Roman." 

Roman chuckled. "I've never seen so many fabulous holiday lights, Nerd!" Roman shouted from his spot on his front porch. He was just a little disappointed that he was stopped momentarily from his journey but couldn't help but tease his next-door neighbor. 

"I'd probably blow every single fuse if I tried to keep up with you, Roman May!"

Roman smirked and picked up a beautiful sparkling antique. It looked almost like a large heart-shaped Christmas tree ornament, though it was missing the top. Each part sparkled individually when moved. At the very end, there were large gold tassels that Roman ran his fingers through. "Isn't this darling? It's handcrafted and near 100 years old!" 

"Oh! Wow!" Logan muttered to himself, sarcastically. "I'm really impressed!"

He set it back down in its gift box carefully and turned to something covered in a sheet. "However, this is new." He turned the machine on and aimed it towards his house. Then he shot a stream of lit holiday lights up at his house and they quickly caught onto the house and strung up in a perfect line, giving his house a magazine perfect look. He walked around and blew out the smoke. He turned back to find Logan barely concealing his dropping jaw. He smirked. "Well, good night Logan!" He shot Patton an unseen sympathetic smile and snuck off with a box. 

---

Logan rushed to answer his phone as Patton came behind him with a candle. "Hello?" He asked. 

An unfamiliar voice answered, "Is your sub-zero chillibrator running?" 

"Hold on, let me check." Logan paused and listened and heard the slight hum of their refrigerator. "Yes, my sub-zero chillerator is indeed running." 

Virgil snickered, "Well then you better go catch it!" He yelled into the phone and hung up the payphone. (On the other end Patton snorted as Logan stood frozen, the dial tone blaring out from the phone speakers.) Virgil turned to Remy with a smile, "I think I broke ‘em." He chuckled. "Alright, let's go home." Virgil and Remy climbed into a trash chute. Virgil hit the side of the chute and the two of them were sucked through the chute as the lid slammed shut. As they tumbled through the tube leading up to the top of the mountain, Virgil groaned. "There has got to be a better way to do this." Soon they fell out into a pile of garbage. Virgil huffed. Then they heard rumbling from the chute. "Oh, wonderful! More trash!" Three bags fell into his lap and he rolled his eyes. He grabbed a bag as he stood up. "What is that stench?" He asked nobody. "It's absolutely fantastic!" He exclaimed sarcastically. He grabbed another bag and began dragging them behind him as he began walking home. "Come on Remy, let's go home. We can come back for the rest later." He huffed. "It's amazing just how much the Whos throw away. They really could do a lot better with recycling." 

He sighed. "But it all falls to me, as always." Remy frowned in his own cat way. His father was so depressed. And he wished he could do more to help him. 

------

Emile sighed as they looked around their room at all the holiday decorations and frowned. "Where are you Christmas?" Emile sang to themselves softly. "Why can't I find you? Why have you gone away?" Emile moved over to their window and looked out at Mountain Crumpet. "My world is changing. I'm rearranging. Does that mean Christmas changes too?" Emile sighed and moved to their desk where a letter for Santa sat unfinished. "Where are you Christmas? Do you remember? The child you used to know? You were so carefree! Now, nothing's easy. Did Christmas change? Or just me?" Emile hung their head and moved to get into bed, A fitful night ahead of them. 

----

Virgil sighed as he opened the door to his home. He set the two bags of garbage he grabbed onto a catapult and pulled the lever. The bags slammed into a blown-up poster of Mayor Anton Who. Virgil smirked. He really did not like the Mayor. He moved away and hung up his cloak on a hook. He used his homemade elevator to get to the ground floor of his cave. "The first floor, factory rejects." Virgil stepped off the platform and moved behind a screen to get changed. He pulled off the suit and pulled on sweats, a t-shirt, and his favorite hoodie. As he walked past his phone, he checked for voicemails. "Any calls?" 

"You have no new messages," the voice from his phone said. 

Virgil frowned. "Odd. Better check my outgoing." He flipped a switch and his voice with a hint of Tempest Tongue came out through the speaker. "If you utter so much as one syllable, I'll hunt you down and gut you like a fish!!!" Virgil blinked. "If you'd like to fax me, press the star key." Virgil shrugged. He ran down the stairs and jumped into his couch and picked up a bag of chips. "I don't know why I ever leave this place, Remy. I have all the company I need right here." 

Remy rolled their eyes, a strange feat for a cat but the amount of bullshit that came from Virgil's mouth, half the time Remy was so in need of an eye roll that the laws of anatomy had to be defied. Virgil opened the chip bag and stuffed them in his mouth. "Am I just eating because I'm bored?" 

"Oh, you’re bored? I can change that~" a husky voice whispered in Virgil's ear, causing him to jump a mile high. Roman grinned and came around the couch and hopped into Virgil's lap. 

"Roman!" Virgil coughed out. "Don't do that!!" 

Roman chuckled and snuggled into Virgil's neck. "But it's so fun. And you look so flustered!"

At this, Virgil's blush only went darker. "Roman!" He exclaimed, his voice an octave higher. 

Roman grinned and pressed a kiss to Virgil's neck before pulling away. "I got you something today." 

"Ro…" 

Roman huffed. "Yes, I know what you're going to say. But I really, really, want you to have this!" Roman quickly pulled out a box and set it on his lap. Virgil sighed but pulled his arms away from their place around Roman's waist. Roman pouted slightly at the loss of contact before holding his breath as Virgil pulled out the antique he had shown Logan earlier. Virgil's eyes widened as he realized how fragile the gift his love had given him. 

"Roman...this is…"

Roman bit his lip. "Do you like it?" 

Virgil gulped, wanting to look at Roman to answer but too scared to look away from the gift for fear of dropping it. "I love it...but-" 

Roman shook his head. "I didn't, as you would say, "waste any money" on it. Although, how can anything be a waste of money if it's for you~" Roman said with a wink towards Virgil. 

Virgil raised an eyebrow and smirked. "So you stole it then?" 

Roman made an offended Princey noise. "No!" He exclaimed and then calmed down. He looked down at his hands and fidgeted. "I-um…This was in my family for decades. And it was passed down to the firstborn and they are supposed to give it to the person they want to marry." 

Virgil blinked as he tried to process what exactly was happening. "Wha….are you…." Virgil blinked rapidly as he felt his eyes getting watery. "Are you? Is this a marriage proposal???" 

Roman bit his lip. "Maybe," he whispered. 

"I-" Virgil paused. "Can you take this?" He asked as he handed the gift back to Roman. Roman blinked rapidly. Is he saying no??!

Virgil picked up Roman and set him on the couch gently before running off to grab something. He came back to find Roman in the same position only with tears running down his face.  "Love??" Virgil asked and he kneeled in front of Roman. He reached forward and wiped away Roman's tears. "Why are you crying, Ro?"

"Are ...are you saying 'no'?" 

Virgil's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "No! I'm not-" Virgil groaned and facepalmed. He brought out a small box. "I'm- not." 

Roman looked down at the box and let out a gasp. He carefully set the antique down as quickly as he could. He picked up the box with trembling hands and opened it to find an extravagant ring with a blood-red ruby and gold plated band. It looked like something out of a fairytale. Tears streamed down Roman's face as he put the ring on his ring finger and launched himself at Virgil, tackling his lover to the ground. "Yes!! Of course, I'm going to marry you!!! Yes!! Yes!!! Yes!!!" Roman exclaimed as he planted kisses all over Virgil's face. 

Virgil giggled as he held onto Roman's hips to stop him from falling over. Once Roman stopped, he laid down on top of Virgil as the other's arms came up to wrap around his boyfriend-his fiance's torso. Roman sighed. "I love you, Virgil."  

Virgil smiled dreamily as he snuggled closer to Roman (if that was even possible) and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. "I love you too, Roman."

Eventually, the two moved to the bed and cuddled underneath the covers as they fell asleep to the soft hum of music. 

-------

Emile sat at their desk as they frowned. They had many questions in their curious heart. Why did the Grinch hate Christmas so much? Where did it all start? They had their Pa's blabbacorder and they had used it to gather as much information of the Grinch as they could.

Emile pressed play and was taken back to earlier that day when they stopped to talk to the elderly couple who had raised the Grinch. 

*Flashback*

"In your own words, please tell me all that you know about the Grinch." 

The couple in front Emile shared a glance, not used to being asked about their son. "Well," they started. "First, you should know we didn't name him Grinch. We named him Virgil," Remus said as he knitted a green sweater. 

"Virgil?" Emile asked. 

Damien nodded. "Yes. Virgil. Now, he came the way all the Who children come." Remus perked up about to say something only for Damien to cut him off. "On calm nights, Baby Whos drift down from the sky in their own pumersellas." 

"So that's how it works!" Emile exclaimed. 

Damien nodded and elbowed Remus to stop him from shaking his head. Remus frowned but nodded and picked up where his husband left off. "It was Christmas Eve, and a very strange wind blew that night! It was tasty!" 

Damien rolled his eyes fondly at his husband. "We were having our annual holiday get-together, while Virgil landed right at our doorstep. Nobody realized he was out there until morning came. But when we saw him, we knew right away he was special."

"How did you know?" 

"Well, his hair was the most vibrant purple we had ever seen!"

"Purple??" Emile asked. It was not a natural hair color for Whos. 

Remy's nodded! "Yeah! Very purple! And that morning, we tried to give him cookies! We came over with some cookies on a Santa plate. Then he said Santa!! His first words were Santa! And then we let him hold the plate and he took a bite out of it!!" 

Damien rolled his eyes. "It near gave me a heart attack but he didn't get hurt and he actually tried the cookie and he liked that better. After that Remus learned how to cook and made things into weird shapes and Virgil would eat it so I was very grateful for it." 

"We raised him the best we could." 

*End Flashback*

Emile paused the recording and switched to a different one, trying to listen in a different order than they had first heard them. They pressed play and they were taken back to when they first talked to their neighbor, Roman May. 

*Flashback*

"The Grinch?" Roman asked Emile. Emile nodded. Roman bit his lip. "He...was a very quiet child. I hardly remember him though. I was way too busy with my studies to socialize." A memory of Roman staring at Virgil in class dreamily flashed through Roman's mind. He bit his lip. "The class we were in was going to have an annual holiday gift exchange…"

*End Flashback*

Emile paused the recording and switched to another one. They remembered their interview with Mayor Anton Who.

*Flashback*

"The Grinch...he liked Roman. Now, Roman was my boyfriend." Emile kept their face as passive as they could, but they found it hard to believe that Roman really was the Mayor's boyfriend. "You know, I really dislike discussing this Grinch business so close to Christmas…But maybe if you hear the truth, then you can understand why…" Anton stopped and glared down at his assistant who was cleaning his shoes. "Put your back into it!" Anton turned back to Emile found it really rude of the mayor to treat his assistant so cruelly. "I took the Grinch under my wing." 

*End Flashback* 

Emile paused the recording and unpaused another one. Damien's voice came out through the recording.   

*Flashback* 

"Virgil told us that he was picked on by most of the students In his class. He told us Anton Who was picking on him the most for his crush."

Remus frowned. "He told him, 'You don't have a chance with him. You're 8 years old and you have purple hair!' It really upset Virgil." 

*End Flashback*

Emile frowned. They paused the recording and skipped to a moment they remembered in the Mayor's interview. They pressed play and the Mayor's voice came through again. "He had this…unnatural hair. It wasn't right." Emile paused the recording again. They turned back to the recording of their interview with Roman. Emile was transported back to what happened during this part of their recording. 

*Flashback*

"Did I have a crush on the Grinch??? Of course not!!!" 

Emile raised an eyebrow. "I didn't ask you that." 

Roman panicked slightly. "Right…..umm" 

*End Flashback* 

Emile stopped the recording. I think I'm on to something! They quickly pressed play on the recording with Virgil's parents. Remus's voice came through the speaker. "Virgil came home that day before his classes gift exchange and he was even more in the spirit of gift-giving than before."

"It's not that he doesn't like Christmas," Damien's voice broke in. "It's just, he doesn't like how commercialized it has become. And that whole evening, he worked on creating a gift for his crush. But the bullying from Anton made him buy cheap brown hair dye. He came home that day, just before we all moved up into the mountain-" 

"You moved up into the mountain?" That was their voice. 

"Yes," came Remus's voice. "Just until he was old enough to live on his own. But he told us that his teacher had asked if everyone had given their gift, Virgil called out that he hadn't and stepped out where he had hidden behind the coats."

"He had a bag over his head to hide his hair and the teacher told him to take it off. He did and hid behind an open book. She told him to set that down too. And then she told him to take off the hood on his hoodie. After that, everyone laughed at him. Even the teacher." 

Emile stopped the recording and switched to Roman's. "He was so upset. He ended up throwing the gift he made for me, it smashed into the wall. Then he picked up the tree and threw that as well!" Emile paused the recording as he remembered something the mayor and his assistant had said about this moment. "The anger." That was the mayor.

"The fury!" said the assistant. 

Emile frowned and pushed play on Roman's recording again. "The muscles!" A pause. "It was such a horrible day. They were so cruel to him." A barely concealed sob. "I could hardly bear it … that was the last time anyone ever saw him. The very last time." 

Emile stopped the recording. "I need to talk to Roman again," they said as they stood up and prepared to go talk to Roman again. 

-----

"Emile?" Roman asked as he opened the door. "What are you doing here? Did you forget to ask a question?"

Emile shook their head as they stepped inside and Roman closed the door. "No, I was curious." 

"About?" Roman asked as they sat down across from each other. 

"What..what do you really think about Virgil?"

Roman froze. He subconsciously played with the ring on his finger sitting beneath his gloves that he had hurriedly pulled on before answering the door. "I-" Roman bit his lip, debating with himself before he pulled off his gloves.

Emile frowned, unsure how this was relevant but paused as they noticed the ring. "Did-did the Mayor give that to you?" 

Roman sighed and shook his head no. "Virgil did. I...lied earlier. Virgil is…" Roman sighed as he got this far way dreamy look in his eyes. "Virgil is the only man I could ever love. Unlike most of the Whos in this town, Virgil sees me. Actually sees me. I'm not just some pretty face or voice. Virgil loves me for me." 

Emile's eyes widened. "So...are you saying the Grinch isn't bad??"

Roman frowned. "Grinch! Ugh! It's such a horrible name! One that Mayor Anton started. Virgil is the kindest person I have ever met. He just wants to be left alone. And he likes being our local cryptid." Roman sighed, starstruck. "Isn't he the greatest?" 

Emile smiled softly. "You really love him."

Roman nodded. "I do. We-" he looked down at his hand. "We're engaged now!" 

"Congratulations!"  

Roman smiled. "Thank you." 

"When…did you see Virgil again after that day?" 

Roman sighed. "It was sometime 8 or 9 years later. Anton had asked me to the school dance. And I was so furious with him. I would much rather go with Virgil. Plus, he had played a big part in driving him away. So right after school, I grabbed the gift Virgil had made me, I had kept it in a box all those years, and I marched up Mount Crumpit in the hopes I would be able to see where he might have gone. And then I found a door. I knocked, and his parents opened it." 

Roman paused. "I was in such a shock. And I asked to talk to Virgil and they, although suspicious, let me. And Virgil fixed the gift after I apologized for not standing up for him. After that, we just…kept in touch. I would visit him at least once every week. And eventually, after his parents moved back to town for good, we went on a date. And…” Roman smiled fondly. "The rest is history I suppose." 

Emile smiled. "I think...I might want to make him the holiday cheermeister."

Roman blinked. "Oh hun, I don't know. He has anxiety and probably won't accept." 

Emile shrugged. "It's worth a shot." 

“You’re right about that…” Roman grinned. "I'll help you convince him!" 

"Thank you!"

"You're welcome." 

Emile stood to leave only to pause before they reached the door. "Where's the gift he made you now?" 

Roman smiled softly. "Its sitting right beside my bed." Emile smiled and nodded before leaving. The Grinch wasn't bad. He wasn't even a Grinch after all. He was just a victim of bullying. As Emile walked home, he decided he was going to make the town see the real "Grinch". 

❄🎅🎄❄🎅🎄❄🎅🎄❄🎅🎄❄🎅🎄❄

Everything Taglist: @spxced-oxt @superwholocked-for-life @mirror2thespirit @aroundofapplesauce @lyditist @little-euro-girl @unicornofdarknessstuff @maryann-draws

The Emo Who Stole Christmas Taglist: @logical-princey

[imagine-avengers]

Biker Part Two- Clint Barton Series

This is Part Two of my Biker Clint Series, part one is listed on my masterlist as will all other parts once they come out. As I stated in part one, this series hasn’t been finished as of July 12, 2020 but I am working on finishing it.

-

Bucky had left Olivia to fend for herself after a while, seeing as he had things to take care of that involved the club. Olivia stayed at the bar staring at the wall for a while before moving behind it and searching for the coffee so she could make a fresh pot.

“Clint?” Olivia’s voice carried through the clubhouse and over to Clint, though he hadn’t heard her without his hearing aids. Walking towards him, and stopping in his view, causing him to turn his full attention to her. “Coffee?” She signed desperate for the caffeine, though she was tired, she knew sleeping would only bring the nightmares. “For fucksake Barton, turn on your damn hearing aids.” She spoke causing him to chuckle as he read her lips and turned on the hearing aids.

“I’ll see you guys tomorrow.” Clint set down the pool stick and headed towards Olivia. “Come on, we’ll stop at the diner and grab coffee and then go home.” Olivia nodded and took the hand Clint offered her.

The ride to the small diner in town was relatively quiet. Clint had agreed to drive with Olivia in her car as she had all her things in it. Pulling up at the small diner which the two had frequented for years. Clint offered to go in and grab them both a coffee before rejoining her in the car.

“You still have Lucky?” Olivia asked softly, speaking of the dog Clint had saved from a rival club years before.

“Yeah, he missed you.” Clint spoke looking at her. “Doesn’t much like my cuddles like he liked yours. It was hard on him after you left, hard on me.” Clint muttered the last part.

“I’m sorry.” Olivia spoke as they pulled up to the small suburban house.

The outside was a pale green, and had a small front yard, a path up the middle from the sidewalk to the front porch. To the side of the house was a garage, which the roll door had been broken since the couple had moved in, and to the side of that sat two garbage cans and a recycling bin. The backyard was large, a small swing-set that sat in the corner of the yard had been there since the previous owners, the picket fence that Clint and Bucky built the week the house was bought, was painted a bright white, with flowers, bees, birds, and butterflies, the gate was slightly crooked from the time Clint and Olivia had gotten drunk at a barbeque and after everyone left they ended up having sex against it. What Oliva smiled at was the small mailbox that sat at the end of the pathway was painted a white, with Clint’s and Olivia’s handprints along with Lucky’s pawprint.

“Welcome home.” Clint spoke as he climbed out of the car. Olivia stared at the house before noticing Lucky in the front window wagging his tail.

“Lucky.” Olivia spoke climbing out of the car herself and pushing passed Clint and into the house. “Hi baby boy.” Olivia spoke to the lab as she fell to the floor and hugged him, the dog jumping on her and licking her face which caused her to laugh. “Oh, I missed you baby.” Olivia kissed his face whilst she pets him. “You’ve been such a good boy for daddy, haven’t you?” Olivia smiled at him. “Has daddy been giving you treats?” This caused Lucky to start jumping around and wagging his table. “You want a treat huh? You want a treat baby?” Olivia stood and headed to the kitchen where Clint had them. Olivia gave Lucky a treat whilst Clint shed his kutte and locked the doors. “You redecorated the living room.” Olivia noticed there was a new couch, it was light beige and not the white that they used to have.

“Yeah, the couch needed an upgrade, Bucky and Nat stayed here when their place was being fumigated for termites and they broke it.” Clint shrugged as he watched Lucky go and lay in his bed that sat in the corner of the living room.

“Clint?” Olivia asked. “Why’d you pull away from me?” She asked softly. “Before I left, after we got married, you became distant, you were never home. Why?” Clint sighed and moved to sit on the couch before taking a drink of his coffee and patting the spot next to him.

“Come sit.” Olivia moved and sat next to him, Lucky immediately moved from his bed and laid on Olivia’s lap. “It wasn’t because I didn’t love you Liv, I love you more than anything, except maybe Lucky,” Clint rubbed the dogs head. “I pulled away because I was scared Liv, we were just married, and there were threats against the club, I didn’t want to pull you down with us, I tried to put some distance until everything passed and by the time it did, it was too late to fix things. I found the divorce papers on the kitchen table and you were gone, the only things left, your ring, a picture from our wedding, the divorce papers and a note telling me to send the papers to the lawyer once I signed. You didn’t even tell me you were leaving.” He spoke.

“You never gave me a chance to talk to you Clint, you were never here, and when you were, I was at work.” Olivia spoke. “When did you want me to tell you I wanted a divorce? Skip work and tell you? Come to the club and announce it in front of everyone? You never gave me a chance.” Olivia’s voice dropped as she looked down at the dog. “You abandoned me emotionally for three months, we came back from our honeymoon talking about wanting to start a family and not a month later you were pulling away from me. You thought pulling away was what you needed to do, but what I needed you to do was talk to me because we came back and I thought, I thought you changed your mind about me, about wanting a family. I went three months having to watch people with families going in and out of the store, having something I would never have. I left the divorce papers because I thought it was what you wanted.”

“It wasn’t.” Clint interrupted her.

“How was I to know that? Anytime I tried to talk to you, you would mumble and go lock yourself in another room. I cried myself to sleep thinking I was no longer good enough for you, that you’d found someone better. My implant was scheduled for removal because we wanted to start a family, I had to explain to my doctor why I needed a new prescription for it, do you know how humiliating it was to basically tell her I was getting a divorce cause my husband lost interest in me? Do you know how humiliating it was to have to call my dad for help? Tell him I needed money because you didn’t love me anymore? I was broken Clint, for years.” Olivia moved to stand, Lucky moving off her. “I left because you stopped acting like my husband, you started acting like a roommate, not the love of my life and I won’t apologize for leaving, it bettered me. I have a degree and a sense of respect for myself.” Olivia moved and threw her coffee cup away. “I tried to save our marriage for months Clint. I planned dates, I planned nights in, I tried to talk to you, I tried everything, it was never enough.” She said softly. “You told me you didn’t want to have kids with me.” Olivia had tears streaming down her face at this point, refusing to look at him. “That was the last straw Clint, you coming home and telling me you didn’t want children with me. Do you understand how much that killed me? How hard it was for me to hear those words from you? Did you really think I’d stay after that? After I had my heart ripped out again and again by you? Because if you did, then you’re an idiot.” Olivia said.

“Livvy.” Clint spoke as he followed her. “It was never you that was the problem, I was scared for your life.” Olivia spun around towards him.

“You should have told me Clint, talked to me about the FBI being in town, that’s what a marriage is Clint, talking to your significant other! Communication.”

“I know, I’m sorry Liv, please.” Clint stepped towards her and reached into his pocket pulling out her wedding ring. “Marry me again, we’ll do things right this time.” Olivia shifted on her feet, four years away and Clint still made butterflies erupt in her stomach.

“We’re already married you doof.” She rolled her eyes at him.

“Well remarry me, we’ll renew our vows, have Lucky be my best-man again, please Liv?”

“You need to communicate with me Clint, on everything, club related or not.” Olivia spoke as Clint nodded. “Lucky.” Olivia looked towards the golden lab that had one eye. “You think mommy and daddy should get remarried?” Lucky jumped off the couch wagging his tail. “Yeah?” Olivia looked up at Clint. “Our son has spoken.” She whispered as Clint grinned before slipping the ring on her finger.

“Gods I love you.” Clint spoke before crashing his lips to her. “I didn’t mean I didn’t want kids with you Livvy, gods do I want to see kids of our own running around, but at the time, we were young, and with the FBI and the threats against the club, I just meant it wasn’t a good time to be trying.”

“Why didn’t you just tell me that?” Olivia asked. “I would have understood if you said you wanted to wait, but you told me you didn’t want kids,”

“I know what I said. I worded it wrong, I want kids with you, and only you Livvy.” Olivia stared into his eyes a moment and nodded.

“Okay.” Olivia spoke softly and the two spent the night recounting everything that had happened and worked through their issues, for the most part.

-

“Barton Mechanic’s, how can I help you?” Olivia spoke as she answered the phone at the mechanic shop that Clint’s dad had owned before he passed away. “I can have a tow truck your way in say twenty minutes?” Olivia spoke whilst typing a request for the tow. “Thank you so much, we’ll see you soon.” Hanging up, Olivia made eye contact with a boy, no more than sixteen. “You must be Peter, Clint said you’d be stopping by.” The boy didn’t speak at first before he began stuttering.

“Pete.” Another boy, the same age spoke as he elbowed him. “Sorry about him, I’m Harley.” Shaking Olivia’s hand, the boy winked. “Clint said there was a car to work on.”

“Yes, the red Honda.” Pointing towards the car that was sitting on the lift. “Needs breaks and the fuel lines flushed.”

“Clint didn’t mention who you were.” Harley spoke as Olivia smiled.

“Olivia Barton, Clint’s wife.” She spoke. “You guys are Tony and Pepper’s kids right?” Olivia asked as Harley nodded just as Clint came walking in from grabbing coffee, Lucky running straight for her.

“There’s my baby.” Oliva moved around the couch and began cooing at the dog. “Oh, did daddy get you a treat? Yes, he did my love oh you’re such a good boy, yes you are.” Olivia made kissy faces at the dog.

“Hey where’s mine?” Clint whine as Olivia stood up and pressed a kiss against Clint’s lips before taking the coffee from his hand.

“God, I need like four more cups.” She spoke taking a drink of the coffee. “Thank you, sweets.” Olivia winked at Clint as she began typing on the computer again. “We have a tow truck out picking up a car that broke down on the freeway, you want to handle it or Luke?”

“Luke can, Bucky and Steve are coming over to go over the details of a ride, plus I think Bucky wants to talk about your parents coming for a visit.”

“Both of them? At the same time?” Olivia asked.

“He thinks they should come to the renewal.”

“You told him about that! Clint do you want to be shot by my brother, again?”

“God no.” Clint rubbed his arm as Olivia said that. “But he thinks they’ll be able to handle it.”

“Clint, mom left dad because of the club, mom doesn’t approve of Bucky being in the club or me marrying you the first time, the only kid of hers that she’s proud of is Rebecca.” Olivia sighed as Clint chuckled. “Hell, she doesn’t speak to Frances or Mary either.” Olivia spoke of her younger sisters; she was the middle of the five children.

“It’ll be fine babe. I have some work to do.” Clint kissed Olivia before he went to his office, leaving Olivia working whilst Lucky laid in his bed near the garage door. Around thirty minute later, the tow truck came in with the minivan and Luke came out from under the truck he had been working on. Olivia looked up from the computer, her eyes falling onto a pregnant woman’s stomach, she couldn’t have been more than three months.

“Is Clint around? He’s an old friend.” Olivia recognized the voice and looked up, eyes locking with the same blue ones she shared with her brother.

“Rebecca.”

[archadianskies]

and we will never be afraid again

@dbhrarepairs Friday Day 5: Crossover / Unexpected Rescue; during the revolution ST300/Tina Chen

To be perfectly honest, she's still on the fence about the whole android thing: she’s not like Gavin Reed who absolutely loathes them, and she’s not like Mack Wilson who ever since being rescued by the prototype detective has nothing but high praise for them. She’s sort of always just been in the middle in the sense that if she minds her business and they mind theirs, then she doesn’t have to think about them. 

Only the social climate is rapidly changing in Detroit and the dirty word is ‘deviant’ and the city seems to be crawling with them. The DPD’s always worked with androids; like every other establishment in the city they have android janitors and receptionists, with the unique addition of police units- but now instead of looking at them as machines, she’s starting to wonder if they should be seen as something different. Something more. Someone alive.

Central precinct has three ST300s at the front as receptionists, and a human security staff to oversee them. They’ve been there for five years now and Tina’s really never bothered to pay attention to them. One of them, the one that sits closest to Gary’s post, always says good morning to her, every morning, and Tina’s always figured it’s some sort of social programming. Last Spring when she found some lost kid and reunited him with his mother, the woman had given Tina a bouquet as a token of her gratitude. Not really knowing what to do with them, she’d given the flowers to the ST300 and told it to put the flowers in a vase. Flowers belonged at reception anyway; better to be admired by the public than to wilt away on Tina’s desk inside the bullpen. Ever since then, ever since the bouquet of flowers, the ST300 never fails to greet her daily.

*~*~*

It’s a fucking nightmare and she can usually tolerate Gavin’s brashness and vulgarity but not today. She’s gritting her teeth and powering through cramps, and there’s a gaping void in her chest because a case went south and it had been her knocking on the door and telling a parent their kid totaled their car and wasn’t coming home. She can hear her mother’s sigh in her head, her ‘I told you you’re wasting your talent there, you should be a doctor like your cousin’ as if a doctor didn’t also have to tell parents their kid wasn’t coming home when something went south.

“Officer Chen?” The ST300 is at her desk, holding out a cup of coffee. “Your stress levels are incredibly high. You should take a moment to eat and drink something.”

“Uhhh thanks?” She accepts the coffee and the android goes back out to reception.

*~*~*

Her neighbour is the lovechild of Kate Bush and Stevie Nicks, and Tina admires her absolute rejection of social expectations and maybe even envies it a little.

“Teeny!” She greets with a gasp. “I have a present for you! I know your birthday was two weeks ago but I’ve been bathing her in moonlight and making sure her aura was glowing before giving her to you.”

“What, you’ve magicked me a girlfriend Tessie is that it?”

“Oh no no, you can’t force love onto a person.” She seems mortified Tina even suggested it, and her expression makes her laugh loudly in the hallway. “Don’t you vanish into your apartment yet! Hold tight!” She slips back into her home, all shawls and fluttery layers and the scent of herbs, before emerging with a sweet blooming cactus. “Here you are! Happy birthday!”

“Oh my god that’s so fucking cute.” Tina looks at the small plant cupped in her palms. “Fuck Tessie this is adorable , thank you!”

“I knew you’d love her!” She gives a little bounce as she claps her hands excitedly. “Keep her at work. Your desk is lonely.”

“How would you know that?” Tina narrows her eyes suspiciously as her neighbour shrugs.

“Vibes.”

If she’s being honest, she doesn’t trust herself with greenery- even the desert kind. The cute little cactus sits at her desk for all of a week before she’s fretting over it. Can’t water it too much or it drowns and rots, can’t not water it or it dries out. She doesn’t trust her very human brain to remember the proper schedule to maintain a cactus and so she figures that an android certainly won’t forget. And flowers belong at reception anyway, where the public can admire them. The ST300 smiles brightly when she hands her the cactus and promises to take very good care of it. It’s then that Tina realises she has freckles dusted across the bridge of her nose and the tops of her cheeks and that they crinkle when she smiles and she’s very very cute.

*~*~*

There’s a revolution underway, right here in Detroit, and she’s caught in the thick of it. The safety of Detroit’s citizens falls to the DPD, and it’s up to them to uphold the peace. But it doesn’t sit right, doesn’t feel right, to see the androids being rounded up. To see shipping containers converted into temporary recycling plants to deactivate and dismantle them one by one like some morbid de-assembly line. They look very real, they sound very real, and they seem to feel very very scared. When the order reaches the DPD, there’s a conundrum: all androids are to be turned over for immediate destruction, but without the android police units there’s not enough police presence to get the job done. And the police are still working with the prototype detective. Captain Fowler compromises and says the police units stay, the prototype goes back to CyberLife, and the rest of the androids get turned over for destruction.

She considers herself a by-the-book kind of officer but she’s fucking noping out of this one. No thank you. No siree. Anyone who knows her would say ‘impulsive’ is at the bottom of the list of words to describe Tina Chen, but the situation calls for it.

“We have to go.” She grabs the ST300 by the wrist. “Come on.”

“My shift isn’t finished, I-” Her LED flickers red as the other two androids look over at them. “I can’t leave.”

“You can, and you will.” Tina tries to tug her but she stands firm. “You have to come with me or they’re going to take you away to be destroyed.” The panic is rising in her throat and she fights to keep it down. “I heard the captain, you have to leave. Now .”

“Officer Chen, my place is-”

“You’ll die! I don’t want you to die!” Tina nearly shouts, and the android’s LED turns a bright solid red, so red it looks like it’s burning. She winces, her hands trembling as if she’s fighting something, wrestling with herself, before she freezes and opens her eyes again.

“I don’t- where will we go?” She hadn’t really thought that far ahead but Tina just tightens her grip on her wrist and runs. She can hear the FBI prick, can hear the Lieutenant swear at him and the sound of a sudden scuffle, and she runs . She runs until they’re in the carpark, and then she’s shoving the android into her car and then she’s nearly dropping the key before shoving it in, turning it, and driving off. She’s highkey panicking now but the thought of her being taken away, of not hearing her good mornings or seeing her brights smiles or receiving her little plant update photos on her phone overrides all the panic. Tina brings her to the apartment building, making the perilous climb up the fire escape which is more hazard than escape, and then she’s knocking rapidly, near pounding on her neighbours window.

“Tessie I need you to hide her please I’m begging you you can’t let them find her they’ll take her away and-” her neighbour just holds out her hand to the android before shooing Tina away and Tina nearly collapses in relief as she heads back down the fire escape and vows silently to buy her neighbour whatever the fuck she wants in return.

*~*~*

The revolution happens and the androids win. It’s not some Skynet horror story that leads to the genocide of humans. It’s actually the complete opposite and despite humans treating them like garbage, they want to be a part of society alongside them. It’s an odd but not unwelcome turn of events. Tina’s glad she chose their side because really, when she thinks about it, they’re living sentient beings. They’re not just machines, they’re alive. They experience fear and sadness and happiness and joy too. They experience a sense of accomplishment when they take their post again and are told they did a good job. They experience a sense of pride when the little cactus produces another bloom. They experience a sense of relief and camaraderie when a human officer addresses them by their chosen name, like a human instead of a model number like a machine.

“Good morning Officer Chen.”

“Good morning Stephanie.” Tina smiles. “How’s Eddie doing today?” She gestures at the echinopsis cacti, and the android smiles.

“Ready to take on the day.”

[kwrittink]

Nothing Is What It Seems 2

Pairing: Im Jaebum x Hybrid!Reader

Genre: Fluff

Warnings: language? mentions of violence, mentions of abandon, threats and attempted blackmail

<ONE                                                                                THREE>

It had been two weeks since you first met Jaebum. The jacket, even if it had given you soundless nights, also was the root of some fights and stealing attempts, since it was something that really gave off the vibe of being really expensive. Well I think now no one will want it, you snickered, looking at the huge knife-inflicted gash in the back from the last fight you had for it. What mattered that it was still wearable thought, so you wouldn't have to throw it away - not that you would even if it was in shreds, you'd still recycle it into a pillow or something. 

Another thing you've noticed is that the food you found in the alley looked slightly better, for at least one or two bags of food you dug from the garbage per day were barely untouched, as if someone had just mixed the contents together and thrown them out, but you didn't dwell on it too much, because it was edible and you could only thank your luck. Hell I ate a whole fish this morning and I could even sell leftovers from yesterday and got myself new socks, you snickered, looking down at your figure, that now had a really oversized wool grey shirt, some jean shorts, the new thigh high fuzzy socks you bought and - of course - your lucky leather jacket. You weren't a model or a fashonista but that was enough to keep yourself warm then you didn't care how it looked like.

 "Look what we've got here, Kitty's got a new cover," The voice beside your ear didn't startle you more than usual, but still made you irritated as your spiked tail and nape hair indicated. 

 "Geojong, I told you to stay away from me." Your tone was calm, only to not attract attention from the humans surrounding, but your eyes rolled as far as they could in annoyance at the presence of the rat hybrid. 

 "Oh, but you know I can't stay away, dear. What would be of me without you? What would be of you?" He whispered at he side of your face, fingers tapping your shoulders lightly. You sighed, wondering what could he possibly want that time. 

 "You'd be probably dead, which in my opinion would be so good for the environment," scoffing while shaking his hands off and glaring at him, you crossed your arms hiding the bread you had just found among the leftovers of the nearby bakery - it wasn't usual for you to walk to other alleys but that one seemed empty for sure - since your go-to alley was in an unusual balance day. 

 "Oh don't treat me so coldly Y/N... After all we've been through-"

 "Don't start with that crap because we both know that when someone need to go through something you're the one who's suddenly miles away." You sneered, relishing on the way he stepped back at your clipping tone. Yeah, he was trouble and definitely taller than you, but you could handle him. You had handled worse than that. "Now tell me, what do you want?"

 Looking away from your squinting expression Geojong cleared his throat and once more put a cocky expression on, leaning on the wall behind himself. "Well, I was curious. Word has it you're with new clothes and selling shit for other hybrids and as I can see put on a little weight... So I wanted to know what's going on, you've got an owner again?" A smirk grew on his face and you couldn't help but blush at the mention of your weight gain. You only knew the effects of eating better and often because it was harder to feel cold these days and winter had been approaching quickly that year.

 "You're crazy if you think I'd let anyone own me again. It's just luck and a lot of walking around. You could put some meat on those dry ass bones, but I know for a fact that you don't work a day for anyone, even for yourself..." You trailed off, head tilting with a sarcastic smile on. 

 "So good to see you still know me so well, Y/N!" He chuckled, not even offended of being practically called lazy, probably still wanting to be on your good side to get things. "Don't say I don't walk though, I've come all the way here to see an old friend and share a meal with them... I might be lazy, but I would never forget you." 

 "You want a meal? Then come and buy it at the park like every other stray. You must know I'm hanging out around there in the afternoons-"

 He winced slightly, immediately cutting you off while once again, his hand came to grab at your shoulder. "Ah but you wouldn't do this to me, hm? Making me pay for food when you know how much you owe me-" I knew he'd try to act cute with me.

 "Do I? I believe is quite the contrary, dear rat. But I'm going to let it go by the sake of our... Friendship, okay?" A hiss passed your lips as you grasped him by the ragged shirt, pressing him back to the alley wall. After everything he made you go through, Geojong still had the balls to make those kind of claims like your memory had been completely scrambled? Still, seeing his eyes as big as plates with fear - you were his predator by nature anyways - you released his shirt, huffing through your nose. He's just another being trying to survive with what had been given to him. "Now if you don't have money or anything exchangeable with you, piss off." 

 Even after you stepped back, he didn't straighten up right away and a pang hit your chest at the sight of him which had tried to help you, even if being a bastard all the steps of the way, and to whom you'd been so grateful before. It was a shame Geojong only cared about the money, if he had a shred of remorse for what happened to me, I'd even think about forgiving and helping him... You missed whatever the rat hybrid said after, only noticing he was moving when his slumped form started walking away, towards the exit of the alley. Not only that, you also noticed how battered he looked and - even if you were being sarcastic before - how thin he was. Before he used to be really well dressed, with stuff his men gathered for him... I've heart things had gone awry for Geojong but not to this extent...

 "Hey," You almost whispered, but knew he had heard you as soon as he stopped walking. Picking the loaf from the floor - it landed on a pile of wrapping paper, so it was still pretty much edible - you threw it towards Geojong, which scrambled to grasp it, mouth falling open with surprise. He glanced up for an explanation. "Just because I don't want to see you in a ditch somewhere."

 "You've got a heart of gold, Y/N-nyan." At the term, you took a deep annoyed breath, rolling your eyes once again. 

 "Don't get used to it." 

 --

After your meeting with Geojong you were spent, counting the few coins you've got from your business that afternoon you sighed knowing it was little - you wouldn't charge a lot for some leftovers anyways, sometimes... Most of the time even a item could be exchangeable for food - but at least enough to even ask for a small coffee to warm you up before searching for a place to nap before getting dinner. 

 You were actually happy that things for you were good - even putting on weight as Geojong kindly put it -, and even if you didn't want to think about it to avoid jinxing, it was inevitable to deny that if you kept saving up, in little to no time you could move cities, somewhere far and start over, maybe even try a job and get into a republic-like shelter. I've read something about it, and my brother wanted to go there at first...

 At the memory of your brother you halted your steps, ears drooping with sadness. It had been a very long while since you've seen your little brother Jimin, you wondered how he was holding up, if he was being treated well, if he was even alive. You didn't blame him for not looking out for you if he was well, because those things were like that and cat siblings were usually emotionally unattached but you wished to see him, even if from afar just once more. He had been through a lot before.

 "Oh look what we have here... Are you sad kitty? Want me to pet you?" The disgusting and creepy tone of a guy behind you made the hairs at your nape stand up and you hissed at the insinuation. Can't let my guard down in this town... Before he could try to grab you you twirled away as fast as you could, being careful to take your tail out of the way and avoid it being yanked, since it wasn't something you enjoyed a lot and took off running to the opposite direction, having the man screaming for you to be held down, claiming you had stolen his wallet. To your surprise, people made way for you as you ran, not giving attention to the shaggy man, making you wonder if he was someone that was actually pretty dangerous. Better avoid that place then.

 Late in the night you were dozing off after a good meal - this time you ate spicy noodles and though they weren't your favorite, they were pretty nice -, sitting with your back against the wall and using the leather jacket as a blanket, when you heard steps in the alley.

 Now, you weren't keen on sleeping in that alley because that place, even if it was good for finding food, was very frequented by couples that got out of the club which one of these walls belong to - and men waiting for easy preys like you - but after that heavy meal you got so sleepy it didn't seem so bad to nap for a bit in there. Hope it's no one harmful, I was really enjoying my nap... Staying as quiet and still as you could, you peeked through hooded eyes at the dark figure and frowned, wondering why it looked so familiar...

 Until a cold breeze went through the alley and made you shiver and your shuffling was noticed by the apparently stranger that halted his steps, turning towards your shrunken body.

 "Holy shit you scared the hell outta me!" As the other took a step back when locking eyes with you, the voice was immediately recognized as that man from the other night, Jaebum. You sat up, head tilting and ears standing straight in attention to his presence, amused that he had that kind of reaction seeing you.

 "Jaebum?" You half-whispered, straightening your torso a bit so you could lean on the wall. The tall man gave you a sheepish smile as you took a good look at him and noticed the food bag on his hands. Does he work around here or...? 

 "Hey you there, Y/N wasn't it?" He asked, and you snickered while nodding a bit. "You still have my jacket, that's nice. I hope it's keeping you warm?" He inquired, not even trying to step closer. Your grin widened a little more as you once more nodded. 

 "It's very warm yes thank you," usually you weren't this thankful to strangers, but he had been the only person that had given you things - good things - without asking for anything back. There wasn't much people like that in the world and you weren't about to take his kindness for granted. "Do you work near here?" 

 "Yeah, I actually work at the restaurant beside the club, I own that place with a friend of mine." His smile was soft as he placed the bag on the floor, leaning on the wall nearby. 

 You hummed thoughtfully, then tilted your head to look at him. "You're the co-owner yet you're taking out the trash? How odd..." You pondered, more to yourself than anything, but he heard what you said, eyes turning wide and mouth slack as he tried to find a way to explain what exactly he was doing.

 "Uhh... Yeah that well..." The man muttered and you frowned at his actions, wondering why he was having such a hard time to say something, when suddenly two and two clicked together. Oh, he works at a restaurant hm? And this is the alley where we met so maybe... A small smile broke on your lips as you eyed once again the bag with food in his hands. It was only logical to understand then why you've been finding food more often and in better quality in that particular alley because he was the one putting it there just for you. 

 As he noticed your understanding a heavy sigh passed his lips, hand going to scratch at the back of his neck awkwardly. "Yeah, that's what it looks like. It was more wishful thinking that maybe you'd come by to eat again, so I wanted you to have at least better food..." At his explanation, you had to purse your lips to stop the wide grin from spreading on your face and got up, walking towards him slowly with the jacket slung over your shoulders and shielding you from the night breeze. He straightened up when you got closer like he was nervous and you relished quietly on the smell of him, having the already worn out gifted leather jacket lost most of the original owner's scent. 

 "You already left food for me today though? Is that my breakfast?" You tried to be funny, ignoring how your stomach churned once Jaebum grinned a little, opening the bag of slightly messed up food in clean styrofoam packaging, which he'd probably throw over some plastic bags and brown paper. 

 "Maybe dinner - if I recall correctly there wasn't much noodles earlier... And you have to prepare for winter right?" 

 You snickered, crossing your arms over your chest, impressed at his basic knowledge regarding hybrids. Maybe he owned one before? "Wow, you know how to treat a lady don't you?" 

 At that you could swear he blushed, but the poor lighting and the hand going to scratch the tip of his nose avoided confirmation. "Well I'd offer you to eat at the restaurant but I know you wouldn't accept so I had to improvise."

 "Yeah you got that right..." This time you let the corner of your lips curl up, chin tilting towards the objects in his hands. "What you got there for me?" 

 "Uh fish croquet and rice. There was a team of children's baseball there and the kids didn't eat everything. Hope you don't mind-" Your ears perked up immediately upon hearing what was being offered, taking a sharp breath in surprise. Jaebum halted a little alarmed, looking up at your face and trying to figure if your reaction was good or not. 

 "Are you kidding me? Fish croquet is one of my favorite food!" Approaching, you thumbed at the bag, eyes wide as you searched for a piece and popping it into your mouth, humming delightedly. The man in front of you snorted and you decided to care later about what image he got from you.  

 You started nibbling eagerly, even if you weren't nearly hungry yet. It had been a long while since you've eaten that treat, perhaps from when you were just a small kitten in the shelter. It reminded you of safer and kinder times when the only thing you could worry about was if your brother had stolen your squeaky plushie again. Your eyes prickled a little. 

 Jaebum snickered softly, making your eyes snap up at him, cheeks warming up a little after realizing how it might have looked. "I'm sorry I was staring, you just looked so cute," he barely muttered and the fondness in his eyes made your face feel even warmer, despite the cold breeze constantly in that alley. 

 "Kinda creepy you watching me eat," you countered with a small pout, straightening up and licking your thumbs discreetly. He nodded a little in agreement, not able to meet your eyes and you found it a bit endearing that he was still embarrassed for being caught feeding you indirectly. "And now I don't think I should take that, I can't repay you at all..." As in, there are very few things I could give you in exchange.

 "Then maybe we could have coffee?" Jaebum proposed with a small smile, and you pursed your lips in disagreement. That kind of suggestion would mostly go one way, and it was quite a shame Jaebum was asking you that. I was starting to like him.

 "I thought you were already aware that I wouldn't go-"

 Eyes widening with the realization of your misunderstanding, he put one hand in front of his body to interrupt you. "No I mean, I could come here tomorrow morning with coffee and we could have breakfast together..." Explained, and your mouth gaped open, a sound of understanding leaving your lips. "That is if you don't mind, I don't want to sound-"

 "So, like some sort of date?" It was your turn to cut him off, and effectively in a way that your words this time did bring a blush on his cheeks as you chuckled inwardly. 

 "What? No, uh just- Not that I..." Jaebum stammered and you couldn't help but laugh at his desperation, and seeing that you only meant to tease, he also chuckled a little embarrassed.

 "Sure, if you don't mind sitting on this floor... But perhaps make it brunch, I like to sleep late." You advised with a little tilt of your head. Jaebum nodded with a giggle, looking satisfied for achieving that small step closer to you, and deep inside you were also feeling a little giddy, but had mixed feelings because it had been a long time you let yourself be around humans so carefree. I just hope I'm not wrong. 

 "Sure, I'll bring the special and your lunch for later then. Any preferences?" He asked and your mouth fell a little agape, surprised that he was actually letting you choose. Your chest felt warm.

  "Don't you know? Beggers can't be choosers." You quipped at him and saw him snort - you'd admit that it was cute later on - at your attempt of a joke, shaking his head afterward. 

 "But that's the thing, you're not begging for anything, so..." At his response you could only roll your eyes, reaching to grab the bag from his hands, quickly fishing some croquet and stuffing your mouth. You were a little frustrated and your cheeks were on fire for some reason, unable to find the voice to speak at him, since he was being so nice. It had been a while you've been treated with such equality it almost made you stumped. 

 "Whatever's fine" You started around a mouthful, then peering up to look at his face. "Maybe... Something warm?" 

 "Okay then, I'll make something tasty." He smiled once more, turning to walk away. You watched as Jaebum walked all the way across the alley, before turning and catching your eyes still on him. "How do you like your eggs thought?" 

 You hoped he couldn't see how flushed your face felt from that distance. "Scrambled?" You heard yourself practically whisper, and caught his nod before you decided to finally turn away and eat your food. 

 “Then it’s a date.” 

[slapshot-to-the-heart]

Step On It - II

Alrighty friends, I have finally emerged from my hole of spotty-Wifi summer jobs to deliver the very, very overdue second part of Step On It! Once again, this was based on an idea from @mendeshoney​ and I’m so grateful for the chance to get to bring it to life. Please reblog and let me know what you think! 

Baby wasn’t exactly sure where it started, but somewhere along the line he had become not only the getaway driver for whatever crew Flint had put together, but was put in charge of getting everyone’s coffees before strategy sessions. And that term was used loosely; more often than not, it just consisted of everyone in folding chairs around some dusty table listening to Flint talk about whose jobs were what. Questions were almost nonexistent— Flint wouldn’t have hired someone who didn’t have the business down to a science. And he’d be damned if anyone had ever been able to get away with suggesting things should go in a different direction. You didn’t mess with the boss, and you absolutely did not mess with his plans. Nobody knew exactly how long Flint had been in the game for, and everyone was always a little scared to ask. Longer than Baby had been alive, definitely, but it wasn’t what he had always done. One of the few pieces of personal information anybody knew about him was that, before he had started the whole ‘freelance crime boss’ life, he had been in real estate. Commercial. 

So, needless to say, Saturday morning found him walking into Rooster Coffee House, popping one earbud out when his place in line reached the front. There was one morning, when he was running late, that he had forgone the usual small hipster shops he tended to try out and stopped at a Timmie’s. It was a mistake. When he had gotten back to the meeting house, Needles, one of Flint’s more volatile agents, had taken one look at the cup, grabbed it, and thrown it straight into the garbage can. Baby thought it was a little harsh; sure, the drinks wouldn’t win any awards, but he didn’t see an issue. Being fond of his own life and well-being, however, he had never brought that particular brand again, saving it for himself. 

“What can I get you?” The barista asked, not unkindly, but clearly a little caught up in the morning rush. 

“Uh, four,” Baby paused a moment, remembering himself, “five medium coffees with room?” He wasn’t sure why he worded it like a question. It wasn’t a question, it was a statement. He was ordering five coffees, not asking what artisanal roaster the beans were sourced from. 

The barista nodded once. “Name?” 

“Baby.”

He got a strange look, but he was used to getting strange looks. “8.75.”

Baby pulled out his wallet from his back pocket, fishing out a ten dollar bill and handing it over, dropping the leftover change into the tip jar. Two or three minutes later— Baby wasn’t paying particularly close attention— the coffees were up, nestled into a cardboard carrying case that he hefted into his hand before walking the four blocks to the warehouse. One hand holding the case, the other was tapping along to the rhythm of the new John Mayer album. Unlocking the door and swinging past the half-draped painter’s canvas still left hanging from the ceiling beams, Baby slipped into the main room. He slid a cup in front of each of the four other crew members present, taking the last for himself and settling in his seat towards the back—  Flint wasn’t a coffee guy. 

Baby didn’t want to be here. He wanted to be writing a new song, putting together another mixtape, back at the diner finally getting that waitress’ name, anywhere apart from the cold, dark, uninviting warehouse Flint had adopted as crew headquarters. And he really didn’t want to be sitting in the room while Flint described his newest heist plans, this one involving some kind of shipping or office supply store. It would have been more than a little out of the ordinary; these types of stores weren’t typically rolling in cash, but the manager of this particular place seemed to dabble more than a little bit in money laundering and fencing, and Flint wanted in. He always wanted in. Baby thought that he must have fancied himself a sort of Robin Hood, what with the whole ‘stealing from the rich’ act, but while nobody knew exactly what anyone did with their share of the money, Baby knew Flint wasn’t exactly known for his charitable spirit. It wasn’t like his duties ever really varied much. Get the crew there, stay where he was needed, and get them the hell out of there. Not much to it. The way Baby saw it, every job he worked was one closer to freedom, one closer to the day he’d never have to do anything for that man ever again. So he listened. He listened while Flint described how they’d pull up on LeTorneau, the crew— who this time consisted of Checkers, Wilson, Moose, and Angel (whose name was deceptive, she can and would go toe-to-toe with any of the guys on the crew) would go in through the side door, two would stand guard at the hallway, and the others would break into the vault in the manager’s office. Baby’s job was to loop around the block twice— exactly twice, no more, no less— and pick them up once it was all finished. If everything went to plan, it would take exactly five minutes and twenty seconds. And Flint’s jobs always went to plan. 

It was a day later, and Baby was slumped over in his car, head in his hands, having just returned from the warehouse and the job at the shipping store. A few stacks of bills were haphazardly stuffed under the passenger’s side seat, his share of the spoils from the day’s activities. With a weighty sigh, he glanced out of the window and recalled what Flint had told him as he handed over the cash. 

“This is the last of it,” he had said, still keeping half a hand on the stack of hundreds. 

Baby’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”

Flint withdrew his hand. “What I mean,” he said, somewhat exasperated, “is that this is it. You’ve paid it back. You’re all squared up.” And just like that, he walked away, leaving Baby with a million questions and exactly zero answers. 

So needless to say, it was all more than a little overwhelming. It was the first time in over five years that he was truly free from Flint’s grasp, that he was no longer under his thumb. It was incredible, it was liberating, and it was a feeling that Baby never wanted to forget. But it left him with a strange sense of emptiness. It wasn’t a life that he had ever wanted, and certainly not one that he would have chosen for himself, so in truth he was just overcome with a pervasive sense of confusion. What was he going to do now? What was he supposed to do now? It’s not like he really had any relevant job experience, and he was pretty sure that “Getaway Driver— did lots of illegal and ethically questionable stuff” wasn’t a good resumé builder. But he could finally work on his music, finally try to get some demos done and songs written without the looming threat of Flint’s next call hanging over his head. Baby clicked in his seatbelt, shoved the car into gear, and got the hell out of whatever parking lot he had pulled into. 

On the elevator ride up to his and James’ apartment, Baby commenced with his semi-regular rationalization of his behaviors. It obviously wasn’t a shocker that he didn’t want to be doing what, until recently, had essentially been his job. Every time he was sent out with whatever motley-crue cast of characters Flint had rustled up, he had to remind himself that he wasn’t doing this because he wanted to. He was doing it to survive. Baby had become something of an expert at compartmentalizing, somehow able to shut off the part of his life that was filled with making James sandwiches and writing music and getting lunch from pretty waitresses from the one consisting of guns and breaking dozens of laws and secret meetings in dark warehouses. It wasn’t something he was proud of— one of the most poignant memories he had of his mother was when she drilled into him the importance of always being himself and always being truthful to others— but it was something he had to do, or he wasn’t sure how he could function. As he closed the front door behind him, James turned his head towards him. Must have seen my shadow, Baby thought. 

Aren’t you early? James asked. 

Baby sighed, leaning down to the loose floorboard and throwing the last of the money under. They said I’m done. 

Done as in?

Done. Baby said, nodding his head for emphasis. I don’t have to work for them anymore. 

What are you going to do now?

He shrugged, noticing an empty cup for Rooster in the recycling can. Music. Try to get a job. Try to be normal. 

                                                        ---------

The next day, Baby woke up bright and early, walking to the library to print out a few copies of his resumé. It now said “Private Driver” and emphasized his people skills (which were, in actuality, pretty minimal). He figured that was probably a good move. After dropping it off at a few different places, he stopped back by Fran’s. Now that he was off of the crew, maybe he could finally get her name. 

Baby slid into a booth, grimacing when he realized that he didn’t even know if she was working that day. And he didn’t even have her name to ask. He fiddled with his phone for a moment before a voice interrupted him. 

“Back again?” It was her. Baby nervously sat up in his chair, running his hand through his hair. His eyes immediately flitted to her breast pocket, where a bright, shiny silver nametag was pinned. Rhiannon. 

“Yep, you know me. Baby. Not like I expect you to remember me, you’ve probably got dozens of customers every shift, I just thought—”

She cut him off with a laugh, a sound that Baby was pretty sure had just become his favorite thing in the world. “Hey, hey, Baby. You’re fine. Don’t sweat it, okay? I remember you, and not just because of your name.” He blushed, dipping his head and pretending to be looking at the menu. “So are you off from work?”

He tilted his hand from side-to-side. In a manner of speaking. “You could say that. I don’t work for the same people anymore, found out that the career,” he paused for a moment, “wasn’t for me.”

She scrunched her nose. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

He shook his head. “Don’t be. Seriously. It wasn’t a great place to work, moreso one of those places where it just seems impossible to quit, you know?” 

“Only too well, tell me about it,” she said, huffing slightly. “So what can I get you this time?”

“What’s best?” 

She cocked a gentle smile. “Why don’t I show you?”

Rhiannon wasn’t sure if it was party of Baby’s strategy, but he always managed to come in right after the lunch rush had left and before the dinner crowd made their way in. Not like she was complaining, she had been borderline enamored with the gorgeous boy with the strange name since he wandered in a week or so ago. It was a stroke of luck that they had met in the first place, and let alone run into each other twice; Rhi only picked up a few shifts a week, the rest of her time was generally taken up with her studies. She was a psychology student at University of Toronto, with far-fetched dreams of becoming a trauma therapist. Far-fetched because success didn’t come to girls like her. She was from a small town in Saskatchewan, about thirty minutes outside of Regina, and she hadn’t even been out of her province until high school. Far-fetched because she had been raised by a single mother after her father had died in a construction accident when she was seven. Her mother did her best, balancing a full-time job at the only bank in town with raising her daughter, but there were things that slipped through the cracks. Far-fetched because out of her graduating class of 96, less than half went to college, and only a handful left the province to do so. Two to University of British Columbia, one to a college in California, one to McGill, and two to Toronto. Noel and Rhiannon has been close enough in high school— having a total school population of under 500 necessitated that— but had held onto each other as a sort of lifeline since leaving the lackluster and snowy confines of Lumsden, Saskatchewan. The two were thick as thieves since arriving in Toronto, living together their second year and into the third. Far-fetched because while her mother paid for what fees she was able and she received some financial aid from the school, there was still a gap that she had to make up. So she worked, she found a job that would give her a change, she came with a plastered smile three shifts a week and remained pleasant and apologetic to customers who couldn’t be ruder if they tried. Baby’s presence was a more-than-welcome distraction from the usual sorts of folks she’d get in the afternoon. Fifteen minutes later, she slid a toasted sandwich in front of him, piled high with Swiss cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, mixed greens, and what she was pretty sure was three separate types of meats. “People seem to like this one,” she said with a smile. 

“I’m sure I’ll love it,” Baby said. 

As much as she hated to leave him, Rhi still had other customers to keep an eye on, though in between trips to and from the kitchen window she checked her watch, praying that Baby would stick around for the thirty minutes until the end of her shift. Which he did. What she hadn’t caught was the fact that he had finished his sandwich ten minutes ago, but decided to wait for her, banking on the fact that her shift would finish at the top of the hour. He finally finished the last crumbs, leaving a twenty on the table, and catching her just as she emerged from the back after changing into her street clothes. “Hey, uh, Rhiannon?” He asked. 

“Mm?” 

“I was just wondering, if you, you know, have plans for the rest of the day? Totally get it if you do, just thought I’d ask.”

Rhiannon cut him off quickly. Too quickly, maybe? She wasn’t sure, but she didn’t want to be rude. “I don’t have anything planned, really. Have to do some grocery shopping, but that’s pretty much it. Do you want to maybe come along?” She asked hesitantly. Why would someone want to come along for her errands? She certainly wasn’t an expert on human behavior, but was nevertheless pretty confident that putting flour into a bag at a Metro was nobody’s idea of a great weekend. 

“That actually sounds great,” Shawn responded. 

An hour and a half and five bags of groceries later, Baby and Rhiannon sat in the front of her eight-year-old Honda, breaking into the carton of blueberries that they bought. They hadn’t moved in twenty minutes, and for exactly nineteen of those minutes, all Shawn had been thinking of was how much he wanted to kiss her, but there was no way she could catch on, there was no way he’d let her. Frank Sinatra played softly in the background — Rhiannon was a big oldies fan, he had learned — and the mischievous grin she had while trying to throw a blueberry into his mouth wasn’t helping the situation. 

She stopped a minute later, closing the container and reaching around to place it back in one of the many bags. She was looking at him, and Shawn couldn’t quite place her expression. “What’s on your mind, Rhi?” He asked, reaching out and tucking a loose piece of hair behind her ear. 

“Tell me something about you that I don’t know. Something you wish I did. I know that you live with your foster dad, I know your folks aren’t around anymore, I know you’re a ‘driver,’” she said, adding air quotes, “but I know there’s something else. Something more.”

Shawn swallowed hard, leaning forward almost imperceptibly. “You want to know something, Rhiannon?”

“Tell me.”

“There’s nothing I want more in this moment than to kiss you.”

Her breath hitched. “Then what’s stopping you?”

[nookishposts]

Shifting

As far as I can recall, I did all the things one is supposed to do when encountering black ice. But I lost control of the lightweight little Ranger, even with bricks in the back for stability, and the safest bet was the ditch. There was a lovely fresh skiff of snow this morning, I watched the chickadees dust their perches on the feeders as I had my coffee and toast, ready to leave for work. I stopped at the end of our driveway to put recycling and garbage to the roadside, and on my merry way, began the short drive down our dirt road out to the highway, like every other day. The road has a couple of bends and rises, but nothing challenging. Yet it was a small combination of the two that got me. I was just under the speed limit. The bed of the truck started to slide sideways and I gently corrected but it slid even further the other way and for the life of me I could not, for the very first time ever, get the wheels back where they needed to be. I did manage to keep from rolling or hitting any signs, trees, or mailboxes, coming close to doing all three, but instead landed sort of backwards in a shallow ditch. I checked that all parts of myself and the vehicle were still attached. And then,no matter what I did, I could not seem to get it back on the road. I finally after 10 minutes of swearing, called my Beloved to come drive while I pushed, while  a kind neighbour stopped to offer assistance as well.

It all came out okay, and but for a stiff neck I am just fine, as is the truck. But the experience shook me up a lot more than I would have predicted. I am used to being the calm and collected friend that other people can call on when they are in a spot. But my legs trembled and my hands were not steady and I was rattled. It was daylight and there were people around. The best circumstances one could hope for. Of all the silly things I’ve done in my life, how come this little blip was the one to actually scare me? Not so much scare but unnerve and  make me feel suddenly very vulnerable. Everybody and everything turned out fine. Except me.

I am a fairly level individual with a reasonable head on my shoulders, a pretty strong body, and a few well-functioning brain cells at my disposal. I’m the one you want in a crisis; if I am going to fall apart, it will come well after the crisis is over, the dust has settled and everybody is safe and sound. But this little incident has left it’s mark. I called work to explain, and then came home. A short walk with the dog and a fresh cup of coffee did nothing to soothe me. I am not an alarmist, but somewhere in me, a warning bell is still clanging. This is the new bit.

When we are kids we are all but fearless, willing to fly face first into every new experience and if we should fall, well, there’s usually somebody there to catch us,; we recover with a hug and a dust-off, are soon off and running to the next fresh hurdle. As teens we knowingly push our boundaries, test our limits, compete in an arena of hormone-fuelled acts of derring-do, pretend to laugh in the face of risk. We feed our physical and social and intellectual muscles as we venture onto the threshold of adult responsibilities. And for a while, we are so consumed by the practicalities of setting up a home, getting a job, buying a car, dating and mating, that we just assume (short of a freak accident or illness) that we are reasonably together.

Then a day comes when doing something physical that used to be routine, becomes more of a challenge. The laundry basket gets heavier, the stairs get steeper, the snow shovel reminds you that you have a lower back, and staying out till the wee hours has lost it’s appeal. So, we get a little more mindful, pledge to exercise, eat better, get more rest, and that helps considerably. We are back on the ball. We joke about getting a little slower , a little older. We count our blessings when contemporaries are suddenly all caring for their parents and having knee surgeries and wearing bifocals. It begins to dawn on us that we will not bounce back from everything as we once did; that no matter how smart or fit we happen to be, our bodies and our perspectives are changing. We begin to realize as well just how much we have to lose, and how precious it has all become.

I had a little wipe-out on the road. Big whoop. But I could not seem to get myself out of it and the more I tried, the more I found I was spinning my wheels unhelpfully. I kept thinking “I can do this”, except that I couldn’t. And the spin-out didn’t bother me nearly as much as the recognition that I was stuck and couldn’t fix it myself. I suppose ego plays a role, but the fact that I did all the right things one is supposed to and none of them worked, pissed me off, and then really hit home. That’s when my knees began to dance and I fumbled my phone, and I slipped getting out of the driver’s seat. Metaphorically, I felt for a minute like there was no real drivers’ seat;  not a victim of anything, just the recipient of a body-check of reality.

When I called work and their first reaction was to make sure I was okay, I humbly blessed them. Then they told me to go home and take care of myself. I am the white-haired one on the temporary project team. Given a bit of latitude I suspect. And kindness. But for today, my share  of the heavy-lifting can go to the younger ones, the ones who do it every day for a living. I am content to sit this one out, just this once, quietly, in some recovery hours with tylenol and a hot pack. While I think about how best to respect and make something useful of my newest experience in vulnerability.

[sabrinaprotectionsquad-blog]

AU Yea 4 - Ladybloggier

@auyeahaugust

Day 4 - Enemy

After Chloé gets booted from the Ladyblog she has the brilliant idea to make her own better version. Of course that means Sabrina has to actually do all the work.

Story on Ao3 https://archiveofourown.org/works/15566118

To: Chloe@bourgeois.com From: Ladyblog@gmail.com Subject: contest winners! Dear Ladybug#1fan

Congratulations!

You placed second in the Ladyblogs Ladybug Competition!

Your prices will be shipped to your address and the winners event will be on June 2. At 16:00 where Ladybug has promised to show up and meet up with fans.

Love and congrats from the Ladyblog

To: Ladyblog @gmail.com from Chloe @bourgeois.com Reply to: contest winners! Subject: There must be some mistake

Dear Ladyblog

There must have been a mistake, I clearly won that competition. I saw the other entries and none of them were even close in quality, in pose nor costume.

I’m sure it’s a simple error and will be rectified immediately.

Love

The rightful winner

To: Chloe@bourgeois.com From: Ladyblog@gmail.com Reply to: contest winners! Subject: no mistake

Dear Ladybug#1fan

No mistakes I’m afraid. While I appreciate that you put a lot of effort into this contest, and wish you the best of luck for the next one, this contest was a poll and you came in second. The fans have spoken.

Love the Ladyblog

To: Ladyblog@gmail.com from Chloe@bourgeois.com Reply to: contest winners! Subject: recount

I demand you recount the votes! Rose’s costume is atrociously amateurish! She cannot possibly have gotten more votes than me! MY costume was made by Ják Custouve and is a perfect replica!

To: Chloe@bourgeois.com From: Ladyblog@gmail.com Reply to: contest winners! Subject: no

No mistakes. Many of the fans found it distasteful that your costume was made by a professional, they like the personal touch of Juleka and Rose’s work, plus they are adorable.

Move on and be glad that you came in second.

To: Chloe@bourgeois.com From: Ladyblog@gmail.com Reply to: contest winners! Subject: are you kidding me!?

Chloé I’ve just been informed that you’ve been harassing Rose and Juleka!

I can’t believe you! This will not be tolerated!

To: Ladyblog@gmail.com from Chloe@bourgeois.com Reply to: contest winners! Subject: stop being childish

I’m not saying anything that isn’t true.

They just can’t take criticism.

To: Ladyblog@gmail.com from Chloe@bourgeois.com Reply to: contest winners! Subject: WTF

You banned me from the site!?

ALya what are you five years old!?

Let me back in the site or youll regret it!!!!!!

To: Ladyblog@gmail.com from Chloe@bourgeois.com Reply to: contest winners! Subject: I mean it

Alya I mean it!

To: Ladyblog@gmail.com from Chloe@bourgeois.com Reply to: contest winners! Subject: this isn’t funny

ALYA YOU CAN’T IGNORE ME!

To: Ladyblog@gmail.com from Chloe@bourgeois.com Reply to: contest winners! Subject: .

Alya?

Akuma attacks, it’s a sad fact that they’ve become a natural part of Parisian life. It’s always different yet the same, you’ll find the red-suited heroine doing damage control and fighting off whatever monstrosity stands before her. Her black clad baton-wielding partner distracting the foe.

Often you’ll also find a brunette journalist snooping around, taking pictures and videos from a (relatively) safe distance.

Lately, there’s been a new player, a red-headed girl whose determination to get the perfect footage does little to calm her fragile nerves as she walks into the maw of danger. All she can do is attempt to stop her shaking hands long enough to ensure a good picture or video.

Alya looked on from the sideline as Sabrina continued walking closer to the titanic garbage monster being fought by Paris’ finest. The red-headed girl looked white as a sheet but continued walking closer, phone held out, trying to get a good angle.

Alya looked on in horror as the girl climbed up on a knocked over car, leaving her clearly visible and completely exposed.

The garbage monstrosity flailed around wildly, its putrid tentacles hammering into buildings and knocking off large pieces of debris which scattered wildly into the air at dizzying speeds.

The monster started yelling something about recycling as it continued wreaking havoc on the open street.

Alya saw the akuma’s singular eye falling on Sabrina, readying itself to slam its appendages at her, absorbing her like many others into its being.

Sabrina seemed oblivious to the danger, busy with filming Ladybug.

The grotesque tentacle pierced through the car as though it was a paper crane. Ladybug looked horrified down at the civilian, sipping down with slim hopes of saving her.

Ladybug found Sabrina lying next to the car, scraped but otherwise unhurt under Alya, who had managed to tackle her out of the way at the last moment.

Alya groaned in pain holding onto her elbow but quickly gave Ladybug a thumbs up. The superheroine gave a quick nod, swinging back to defeat the monster.

“You alright?” Alya looked over Sabrina, still locked in her arms, to see if she’d been injured by the fall. She kept feeling a powerful sting running down her own arm but decided to ignore it.

Sabrina got off of Alya, getting her bearings “I’m fine. You made me miss my shot!” she said in a childish accusing tone.

Alya smirked at her getting up and brushing herself off, finding that she had trouble moving her right arm properly, it hurt like hell too. She hoped Ladybug would use her magic to fix everything sooner rather than later.

“Would it have been worth it?” Alya motioned over towards the car which had been torn asunder by the attack.

Sabrina swallowed as she saw the destruction that almost hit her, she looked towards Alya, her lip quivering as she tried saying something that wouldn’t quite leave her mouth.

Alya rolled her eyes, grabbing around Sabrina’s wrist with her good arm and pulling her inside a nearby house.

The two women locked the door behind them, standing in the living room of an evacuated (or captured) stranger’s house. It was strange, seeing someone else’s house, abandoned and unlocked, this was the nature of Paris now.

Alya thought about how easy it would be for someone to use this to their advantage and steal from these houses while the akuma distracted and drove out everyone. She hated the thought of the akuma alert that she’d worked so hard to perfect being used for such awful ends.

Alya’s train of thought was ended as Sabrina began moving back outside. “Hey! It’s not safe, we should stay in here for now” she told the red-headed girl.

Sabrina scoffed “I’m not scared,” she said defiantly, still noticeably pale, her fingers still fidgeting in her trembling hands. “You film monsters all the time, so why can’t I?” Sabrina took her matter of factly tone, which Alya had long since realized was the voice she made whenever parroting Chloé.

“I’ve learned that sometimes you have to make sure it’s safe before you go outside. You have to be smart and you have to be careful” Alya warned.

“Yea right, why would you help me? You just want the best pictures”, she crossed her arms, scowling at Alya.

Alya shook her head exasperatedly; the blonde girls lackey seemed more like her ‘friend’ than Alya would have hoped. “no, I just don’t want you to end up like a concrete crepe. Especially not if it’s because you tried copying me. I made a ton of terribly stupid mistakes when I first started, I don’t want you to do the same.”

Sabrina rolled her eyes, pushing past Alya to get outside. As she moved against Alya, the brunette journalist winced in pain, holding against the arm that Sabrina had pushed.

Sabrina paused, giving Alya a worried look “are you alright?”

Alya nodded “think the fall broke my arm, it’s alright, I’ve had way worse from doing this. The Lucky Charm will set things right.”

Sabrina swallowed, looking at the fearless woman with a mix of fear and admiration “way worse than breaking your arm?”

Alya shrugged with an embarrassed smile “yea, broken legs, head injuries. I’m pretty sure I might possibly have legally died for a few minutes one time. But Ladybug always set it right so I’ve never had to deal with it for long.”

Alya rubbed against her bruised arm with a melancholic look “still, one day she might not be able to fix everything and then I’d be screwed. Besides, it’s not fair to put that extra pressure on her, she’s got more than enough to worry about without a bunch of reporters running around needing her to save us.”

Sabrina looked at Alya’s arm, then up at Alya with a thoughtful expression. She reached out and touched it to Alya’s surprise, inspecting it against Alya repeating ‘ow’.

Alya quickly realized that Sabrina wasn’t just fumbling with her, but rather seemed to know what she was doing. “I don’t think it’s broken, but it’s definitely sprained.” Sabrina concluded, she left the room silently and Alya feared for a moment that she’d be left alone with her pain.

To her surprise Sabrina reentered the room holding a bag of peas, she gently placed it over Alya’s arm, looking up at Alya with a sad expression.

“Hey, it’s ok! I’m sure it’ll be alright, Ladybug will fix it and I’ll be right as rain. Nothing to worry about” she smiled reassuringly.

Sabrina sighed, finding a chair and making Alya sit down in it “you got hurt because I was being stupid…”

“Oh… well, if it helps I might have gotten hurt even if you weren’t there, I’m dangerously reckless” Alya beamed, hoping to help the redhead feel better.

Sabrina scoffed “seriously, how do you keep doing this? No one is making you” she sat down in front of Alya, her legs still shaking from before.

“If someone was making me do the Ladyblog I’d have quit a long time ago” she chuckled “It’s important to me, it’s important to the city of Paris, and it’s even important to Ladybug and Chat Noir. I always wanted to be a hero you know? This way I feel like I can do my part if only just a little.”

Alya held her hand gently over her arm where she’d been hit “I just hope I can be more help than burden…”

Sabrina looked stunned, she was staring down at her hands, unable to meet Alya’s gaze “I guess… I always sort of thought when people said they did things for noble reasons that they were just fishing for attention…” she muttered.

“That’s awful!” Alya blurted out, “not that you’re awful just…”

Sabrina shook her head “it’s ok, I think maybe I am awful, which is fine, some people just are right?” she shrugged sadly.

Alya could feel herself slowly growing hot with rage “what!? No! Why would you say something like that!?”

“You don’t have to be nice, I’m sorry I shouldn’t have said that it’s not a nice thing to say.”

Alya felt her heart sinking looking at the morose redhead “do you really feel that way?”

Sabrina shrugged “why wouldn’t I? Whenever I try to be nice people just walk all over me, and I always end up doing some really awful things”  Alya felt like crying for the girl, mostly because she seemed completely unwilling to cry for herself.

“You’re just doing what Chloé tells you to right?” Alya tried.

Sabrina’s head tilted “I guess, but it’s not like I ever say no. I enjoy helping Chloé, even when I know it’s wrong.”

Alya furrowed her brow “what do you enjoy about it?”

Sabrina curled up defensively “it’s kind of hard to explain.  I don’t think you’d understand”

Alya gave Sabrina an encouraging smile “I’d like to try.” She looked at the nervous girl, understanding that she had a hard time doing things for herself, Alya struggled with that too. Thankfully it was possible to help a bit by changing the narrative “I’d like to not be alone right now.” She admitted, “it hurts a lot and… I think I need someone here right now. We can talk about something else if you want.”

Sabrina’s eyes lit up with sympathy, Alya almost grinned at the girl who claimed to be a bad person and was so ready to help others. The redhead bit her lip “I’m not sure what I should say…”

Alya shrugged “how about what in the world you were doing in the first place. Why the sudden interest in photography?”

Sabrina looked off to the side with a nervous expression, playing with her hair.

Alya chuckled “let me guess, Chloé decided she’d make her own Ladyblog?”

Sabrina’s expression clearly told her she’d hit the nail on the head. She defensively brushed hair behind her ear, looking away from Alya a little embarrassed “yes well… what was she supposed to do after you banned her?” she accused.

Alya stared down the mousey girl, making her immediately shrink back “Chloé was harassing others on my forums, I have clear rules on the site and she broke them. She got her own damn self thrown off of the site”

Sabrina swallowed “sure she broke the rules but… you didn’t have to be so mean about it. You have to be gentle when dealing with Chloé, she feels rejected easily. It’s easier for everyone if you just hear her out and well…” Sabrina trailed off.

Alya gave her an unamused look “and just do as she says?”

Sabrina gave a shrug and a sad smile “I guess it doesn’t sound so great when you say it that way. Still, I wish you’d dealt with Chloé in a better way.”

Alya smirked, “because you think I did the wrong thing or because you have to deal with it?”

Sabrina’s shoulders fell as she groaned miserably “I’ve never made a blog before! There’s so much to do and learn and it has to be perfect, or Chloé’s going to be so mad at me!”

Alya couldn’t help but laugh at the poor redhead, her arm hurt every time her chest rose but she barely cared.

She smiled sympathetically at Sabrina, who was pouting at her, not happy to be laughed at. “Do you want a hand with setting it up properly? I’d offer two but I don’t think that’s happening anytime soon” she smirked, the pulsing pain continuing to beat at the back of her mind.

Sabrina smiled nervously, unable to laugh at the girl's injury. “Why would you help me?”

“I’m punishing Chloé for being a c-word, it’s not fair that you’re the one dealing with the consequences. Besides, badly designed blogs make my heart weep” she winked at Sabrina, finding her cell phone.

“Is there a working site online? What’s it called?”

Sabrina swallowed “um… The Real Ladyblog…” she whispered, causing Alya to break out in a small laughing fit.

“Hey quit it… it’s not her fault that you already had the perfect name!” Sabrina defended, cringing to herself as Alya found the poorly designed site that she’d worked so hard on.

Alya skimmed over the site with a critical look for a few moments while Sabrina stood there fidgeting, feeling naked as her baby steps towards web design were being judged.

“There’s some good stuff here” Alya concluded.

Sabrina scoffed “you don’t have to be nice, I know it’s bad.”

Alya shook her head “well, it’s got some problems but it’s about the same as when I first started out. It takes time to learn this stuff.” She scrolled curiously on the site, reading off tabs “how to get your hair like your favorite hero or akuma. Which akuma are you? Learn to pole dance like Chat Noir…?” she cocked an eyebrow at the blushing Sabrina.

“Well, I had to make a lot of stuff pretty quickly ok!” She shrunk, her hands tugging at her arms as though she was trying to disappear into herself completely.

“Pretty quickly is an understatement… you’ve made this stuff in no time at all! This is really impressive.” Alya was tabbing on the screen, looking amused. “oh! I got Lady Wi-Fi, this is actually a really cool quiz!” she giggled amused, reading the little blurb of text describing her own akumatized form.

“So you’re not mad that Chloé made a rival site?” Sabrina looked at her with a perplexed expression.

Alya snorted “level with me, using a percentage number, what on this site was Chloé’s work?”

Sabrina paused for a few moments “I guess the name was her idea?”

Alya laughed “thought as much. Sabrina, you’re really good with this stuff. The Ladyblog is really formal, akuma alerts and databases and speculation you know? It’s the stuff I love, but I’m sure people would love a site that was much more well… this!” she motioned towards the screen, smiling enthusiastically.

Sabrina blinked with surprise and confusion “it’s just a dumb thing I threw together. The algorithm is really simplistic” she scratched the back of her head embarrassed.

“The Ladyblog was just a dumb thing I threw together too, then I started putting real work into it and now it’s this big thing.” Alya looked out towards the still fighting heroes, barely visible through the windows. “I love some of the stuff others make as well and I’m so grateful that people still look to my site for a lot of information. But I would really love to help you with this site if that’s something you want to do.”

Sabrina froze, she tapped at her black screen distracting. She had a thousand yard stare, looking down past her phone onto the floor, contemplating everything.

“Something wrong?” Alya asked with a worried tone.

Sabrina shook her head “I guess… I just realized I couldn’t really remember the last time someone asked if I wanted to do something.” She said deep in thought.

Alya fought back the need to tell her how awful that was, to jump out into the streets, find Chloé and literally kick her ass. Instead, she sighed deeply, looking at Sabrina with an encouraging and empathetic look “so what do you want?”

Sabrina swallowed, looking like she’d never thought about it, as though the concept of making her own choices was completely lost on her. “I guess I had a lot of fun coming up with the things on the site” she admitted, “I don’t want to make Chloé mad, but working on the site with you actually sounds really fun!”

Alya smiled “so do both, we’ll work on the site and I’ll help you not only make it, but make sure to throw some traffic in your direction. I can do that you know” she pushed up her glasses in a sarcastically high and mighty way, making Sabrina giggle.

Sabrina’s smile faded “but Chloé and you loathe one another”

Alya wanted to argue but couldn’t “you’ve got me there. But just because we can’t stand one another doesn’t mean I don’t like you.” She shrugged encouragingly “if it helps, I’ll gladly promise to keep it a secret from your queen bee.”

Sabrina smiled at the idea but it was clear that something still nagged at her. Her cold words weren’t accusatory, she simply believed them to be fact “why would you be so nice to me? You’ll end up using this to hurt Chloé eventually right? That’s your plan isn’t it?”

Alya felt her heartbreaking for the girl, she couldn’t imagine the kinds of things she’d been through to make her automatically think that way. She scattered her brain for a way to convince the sweet idiot that she wasn’t going to betray her.

Alya sighed, an idea popping into her head, it would work but it would require her to entrust the girl with something truly precious. Alya looked at the morose redhead, she’d never done anything for Alya, in fact she’d done some really awful things. Still, Sabrina didn’t seem like a bad person, just a person with little self-esteem who desperately needed a friend who didn’t constantly berate her.

Alya groaned, realizing that she was going to risk sacrificing her work for the sake of this girl, she cursed herself for being a nice person and warned herself that it was going to end badly. She looked at Sabrina’s vulnerable eyes which were so desperate for someone to take care of her, it made her hopeful that the girl could change.

“here” Alya typed a message and send it to Sabrina which pinged moments later. Sabrina looked at it and then at Alya, looking like one big question mark. Alya sighed “it’s the login code for the administrator of the Ladyblog.”

Sabrina looked down at it with widening eyes “why would you give me this?”

Alya shrugged “mutual destruction I guess. With this you could do real damage to the Ladyblog, but of course I desperately hope that you don’t. So now if I were to try and cheat you and use our friendship against Chloé or you, you can hurt me back. That way we both know the other won’t do anything funny right?”

Sabrina’s mouth was slightly agape as she looked between Alya and her phone “but… how do you know you can trust me!?” she blurted out.

“I don’t, but I get the sense that you need someone to trust you. I hope it doesn’t come back to bite me. But I don’t think it will. You don’t have to resign yourself to being Chloé’s worker bee forever y’kno. School is a lot more fun if you spend it chilling with your friends instead of scheming with your… I don’t know, mistress?”

Alya gave Sabrina a joking smile which froze as she saw tears slowly rolling down Sabrina’s face. Alya panicked for a moment, the familiar panic of seeing anyone cry, but realized these were (probably) good tears.

“um… it’s ok girl, do you um… need a hug?” she barely finished talking before the redhead's arms were wrapped tightly around her. She felt intense pain rushing through her as pressure was applied to her damaged arm. She bit the pain back, knowing that this was important to Sabrina.

Sabrina spoke in between gulping sobs “Thank you *hick* I’ll *hick* I’ll make up for the awful *hick* things that I’ve done! *hick* I promise!” the hulking sobs echoed out against Alya, assuring her that she’d made the right decision in sharing her password.

Alya felt intense pride and joy knowing she’d done the right thing. It was slightly offset by the intense pain that kept screaming from her arm. She had to end the hug early, feeling the horrible throbbing pain jamming into her arm and somehow shoulder. She winced in pain, it seemingly kept getting worse.

“I’m so sorry!” Sabrina yelled out, realizing the pain she’d caused. She looked at Alya with apologetic tear-filled eyes.

Alya suddenly felt an intense breeze shoot through her as literally hundreds of thousands of ladybugs flew past her. She’d never get used to the sensation of breathlessness as the magical insects seemingly shot through her very soul. It was cool and almost aggressively pleasant if there could be such a thing. Like the feeling of being tickled just enough that it’s not uncomfortable, but somehow vastly intense.

Alya gasped as the ladybugs left as quickly as they came, she inspected her newly healed arm for a moment.

Sabrina looked to have been cleaned up as well, no longer crying and in a more stable mood, apparently, the powers could do that as well? Alya shook her head in amazement of her favorite superheroine.

She took Sabrina into her arms for a proper hug, feeling the slightly smaller girl shrink to her touch, but slowly unfold against her as she allowed herself to be comfortable, hugging Alya back.

The two girls hugged it out for a moment before the door was opened by a red-suited heroine, looking inside with a worried expression. She was immediately relieved to see the two girls safe and sound. She paused for a moment, confused by their hugging.

“Everything alright in here?” she asked sincerely.

Alya smiled and nodded “everything’s great”

Sabrina walked forward to Ladybug, cautiously standing before the almost godlike heroine. She fidgeted, trying to find the confidence to speak “um… Ladybug, do you have any comments about today’s fight?” she asked hesitantly, surprising everyone in the room.

“um…” Ladybug started, a little unsure how to respond.

Chat Noir entered through the door as well, looking into the room “ah, good to see you lovely ladies getting along” he smiled.

“Chat Noir, I have some questions if you have a minute!” Sabrina almost stumbled over herself, walking up to him.

Chat Noir looked surprised at Sabrina then at Alya, then at Ladybug “there’s two of them now?” he asked with joking worry.

Ladybug chuckled “looks like it” she shrugged.

“And here I’d just gotten used to one” Chat Noir turned his head up in an overly dramatic fashion.

“Oh you just need practice kitty, you go ahead and take care of the press, I’ll see you next time” Ladybug winked and zipped away, leaving Chat Noir with the two hungry reporters.

Chat Noir held out a hand after Ladybug, hoping to make her stop but it was much too late, she was long gone. He dropped his head, crestfallen.

“So Chat Noir, is it true that you’re an experienced pole dancer?” Sabrina asked without a hint of irony or embarrassment.

Chat Noir’s eyes went wide “uhhh… where’d you get an idea like that?” he chuckled nervously.

“The way you often descent your staff. Is it true or not?”

Chat looked at Sabrina with a frozen smile “oh! Will you look at that” he held his ring up to his ear “oops gotta go, see you around, stay safe!” he dashed outside into the streets and soon disappeared over the roofs.

Sabrina stood there with a disappointed pout. Alya put a hand on her shoulder, chuckling to herself “you’ve gotta dampen your enthusiasm a little when dealing with them” she smiled.

Sabrina frowned “so I messed up?”

Alya shook her head “not at all! That was great! I’m gonna enjoy working with you partner” she chuckled, holding out her hand in a fist, doing her best impression of Ladybug’s usual pose.

Sabrina beamed, pressing her knuckle against Alya’s “pound it” they said in unison, giggling to one another.

[couldnt-think-of-a-funny-name]

I want (need) you to expand (tell me everything) about that post about It and the 2016 Creepy Clown Crisis. (Really, if you have anything else to say about it I want to hear it)

Yes, take my hand and join me in what will probably be an incoherent ramble about something that is most likely not true, my love.

OKAY, SO:

I’m sure we all remember those #iconic Creepy Clowns™, but as a refresher- Creepy Clown sightings are actually something that have been like, an urban legend phenomenon for Y E A R S. Like, a very long time. I used to do a lot of reading on the subject seeing as I was that kid™, but now you just get a million and one results from 2016 and I’ve had too much wine to wanna bother fighting through that. But anyway, this has always been a thing. Just, like, sometimes you’d see a creepy clown in the dead of night, but the clown doesn’t fucking do anything and you move on with your life. I actually saw one in like, 4th or 5th grade? Didn’t die, it wasn’t a huge deal. But anyway, in 2016 things just SPIRALED THE FUCK OUT OF CONTROL. Personally, I maintain what happened was that your average urban legend phenomenon was happening but since social media is so prevalent now a lot of creeps got inspired and the whole thing got blown up because of that…but that’s not the theory we’re focusing on in this post, so whatever. 

Now, as I’m sure you’ll also remember, there were HUNDREDS of conspiracy theories swirling around the whole clown crisis- everything from demonic possession, to a ‘clown purge’, to people thinking Hillary Clinton had hired the clowns to freak out America even more so she could get fear votes. I’m not shitting you, those were all things I heard daily. But another, tamer, theory was: this was all a mass promotional stunt for the IT reboot. 

The IT reboot was highly anticipated and very debated- fans of the work were well aware that they had been trying to get this movie made for years but kept running into issues. When they finally started filming, they shot from June to September in 2016. The clown sightings ran from August to October 2016. This theory made sense- it’s not hard to believe that a studio would pull something like that, thinking it’d be a fun publicity stunt but then not really wanting to take credit once it got out of hand. That’s literally happened before, like the Montauk Monster and that Dear Charlie ghost thing.  Anyway, a lot of people thought this couldn’t possibly be a coincidence- like, I’ve even seen the actors asked about it in interviews (like they’re on the marketing team??), but none of them had much to comment. This will be the theory we focus on…just with a bit of a twist. 

Now, if your reading this and you’ve only seen part one of the 2017 movie and don’t know much about the book or miniseries 1) you’re a valid fan, I love you bitch, and 2) I’m sorry, but spoilers are coming immediately and every time I try to put one of those ‘read more’ cut offs my screen glitches and I loose all my writing bc someone out there is against me. So read at your own risk. 

Okay, as part of the ‘adult’ storyline, they go back into It’s lair in Derry and find out that It has laid eggs and set to work destroying them. There’s a whole fuck lot going on with this plotline, like Eddie and the Turtle™ are dead and Bev’s barely doing shit and Ben’s smashing babies while Bill’s trying to get inside the monster and Richie mourns his bf, it’s all a Mess okay, but the point is: eggs. 

Now, the notion that not all of the spawn were destroyed is actually…not new at all and somewhat debatably relevant in some of King’s other novels, but stick with me here. As far as the Losers know, they killed everything. The scars on their hands go away. It’s all very symbolic and they forget everything, whatever. 

But.

The 2017 reboot wasn’t exactly…that close to the book. Like, they kept enough in there, and they had a bunch of really small things that were Fun Little Call Backs For Book Fans (all the turtle stuff, Bev throwing that rock in slow motion with awesome precision, Pennywise taunting Richie with that decaying doll, stuff like that, you know?). But so it’s not completely out of left field to assume that Chapter Two would be very different as well? It’s not crazy to assume that the movie would end with like, a dramatic ass lingering shot of a few hatching eggs…Or even, say, a subplot that sounds like ‘the eggs hatched around the same time It woke back up out of hibernation and now there’s crazy attacks all over the place instead of Derry, but maybe if we kill the Main Beast that’ll kill them all’ (like a hive mind. you know what I mean.).

It’s not crazy to assume that. My wine glass and Shitty Writer Imagination That Never Lets Me Rest And Makes Me Over Analyze Works Of Fiction have 100% assured me of that. 

So, remember that theory that the clown sightings were just a fun promotional stunt that got out of hand…? What if- it was a promotional stunt, and setting the scene for the sequel (that still got out of hand bc humans are garbage people actually got hurt)

I don’t think anybody getting hurt was ever in the intention, but making headlines because Creepy Clowns are lurking outside schools, in cemeteries, seen trying to lure people into the woods, going out of their way to scare people and be seen as threats even if they don’t actually do anything wrong?? I can absolutely buy that as a promotion stunt…and I can absolutely see, oh, I don’t know, maybe the movie including some recycled Actual News Clips covering the events, taking advantage of all the crazy videos people posted online, stuff like that. Like, in the book and miniseries and 2017 part one, no one outside of Derry knows shit about what’s going on…but you can’t really justify something like that flying under the radar in the age of social media. You can’t. Kids would start turning up dead left and right and you’d sign onto tumblr and see a fucking ‘since the media doesn’t care enough and no one’s talking about this, let me tell you what’s going on in my town’ type post. You’d absolutely hear about it. There’d be twitter campaigns and all types of shit, there’s just no way around it. That Creepy Clown Crisis went viral for a reason. 

But Molly, you say, It didn’t always appear just as a clown! People weren’t harassed by anything other than the clowns in 2016! 

Well, my love, let me point something out to you- It is millions of years old. It’s got shapeshifting and fear manipulation down pat. Could you possibly hold new born babies to that standard? No. Do we know for a fact that It literally prays on children and likes to take the form of Pennywise the Dancing Clown simply because it’s easier? Yes. 

People weren’t that afraid of the clowns when the sightings first started. But then more and more kept popping up, and do you know what we had on our hands? Mass hysteria. Mass hysteria sounds like a perfect way for a bunch of inexperienced little hive mind monsters to get the hang of the hunting with fear thing. 

Not to mention Georgie died in September/October…which means It probably usually wakes up out of hibernation around then…I’m just s a y i n g. And the sightings mysteriously stopped around November…a good timeline for the Loser’s to have killed It and thus stopped the clown crisis…I’m just s a y i n g.

Like, can I definitely prove that the studio was behind that mess as a means to set the stage for the sequel while getting some fun promotion out of it? No, I can’t, and honestly I doubt it’s true, this was just a fun thought that came to me lol. But honestly…it’s so easy to see how well a type of plotline like that would work with the film, so at the very least, if they don’t take advantage of the Clown Crisis…I will severely Judge Them, because like, it’s all right there. It’s writing itself. Damn. 

The end, until, 2019, I guess. 

[fakesurprise]

Small Favours: beyond the pale

The shop is nothing special. A small sign outside, a couple in the windows telling people what they might find within. The interior is neat and tidy, with curious and general used items for sale. It feels nice, and the person behind the counter smiles, offers a greeting and barely pauses when I ask to speak with Minou.

“I am afraid I have no idea who you’re talking about; my name is Cam, and I run this shop.” “My name is Kris. He knows me. Please?”

Cam lets out a breath. “Go outside, around back. The door to the back room is open.” Nothing else. Not how I know the fae, not who I am, not asking why I am here.

I head out and around the building, finding the open door easily. The back room is clean as well. Tables for testing items, tables of priced items, garbage and recyclable. Minou is putting a toaster together, gloves on his hands, and blinks once when I enter.

“Kris.” His voice is even. His shadow is not, writhing behind him like a living thing.

“Minou. I won’t tell you who Gabe and I found for allies, or where we are in the fight against our family. You did more than we could have asked. You did – far more than I thought of asking.” The fae nods, his expression unreadable.

“I’ve seen a little of what you really look like. You showed more to my family. The Underwoods are –.” I shake my head. “Even with a few who were not there and can heal minds, the terror you invoked. You broke over two hundred magicians. Even the other fae never really saw you, did they?”

“No. Athel knows me of old. Almost no one else knows – what else I can look like.”

I move closer. The fae doesn’t move. “You do that, and then you just... return to working in a shop? Let yourself loose and then rein it in?”

“I have been.”

“And that’s why you’re back here and not dealing with customers?” Minou doesn’t move. He sets a screwdriver down slowly, looking almost surprised he’s bent it in half. “You are not helping.”  I take a deep breath, hold out my right hand. “This is for you.”

Minou walks over, picks up the small piece of red rock, fingers it slowly. “A piece of rock.” “A piece of the hate the Qis had for you, and for what your kind did. It isn’t much, in terms of healing. But we’re trying.”

Minou doesn’t drop it. He’s too old to lose control of himself. He pockets the piece of stone slowly, his dark eyes bright with stars behind them. “Thank you.”

“It is – not much, but all Gabe and I have managed so far. I doubt we’ll manage more, not in a lifetime. Gabe will live longer than I will, tied to the Qis, but none of us know how long. And you never need to thank me. Not after everything we’ve been through.”

“Does your brother need you?” Minou asks quietly as I reach the door.

I turn. “Pardon?”

“The family you are aiding to damage your own, your brother: do they need your power?”  “Why do you ask?”

“Because there is a new Court in the twilight lands that could, perhaps, be an ally for your new family as well. And you a bridge between them.”

“I –.”

“I can open up a door there when you need it. You wouldn’t be able to come back to earth, and move beyond the pale to survive there. I can give yo glamour enough for that, but your life would still be a human life, measured in human years.”

“The other Courts would hate that.”

Minou smiles. “I know.”

I thank him, get back into the waiting car outside and return home.

*

Fighting a magical war takes magic. Weeks. A month, two and I’ve used up every bit of magic within me. Everything I’d never used, a lifetime of energy spent trying to destroy the Underwoods. We’ll win, the family Gabe and I have joined, but it’s going to take time to break an empire. Time and alliances. I am dropped off two blocks away from the shop, and walk. It is almost not a surprise to find Minou walk up beside me and hand me a coffee.

“You have two people who were following you. The shop has been staked out since your last visit,” the fae says softly. “Cam doesn’t know. I’ve been dealing with them, and waiting.”

“Thank you.” He smiles. His shadow looks like just a shadow again, the smile slow and sad. “You won’t be able to return to earth, with this glamour on you.”  “I figured as much. This isn’t a talent you have.”

“Not at all. But I’ve had over a month to make sure it will work. What do you wish to look like, as a fae?”  “Me.” And I show him how I see myself inside my head, with the last of the magic I can call forth.

There is no judgement. Not from Minou. Just a nod. He finishes his coffee as we walk, waits until I finish mine, and holds out a hand. “Unless you wish to wait, Kris?”

“No.” I’m scared to wait. So much of me wants to stay, but I can do more, from the twilight lands. I can help the fae, I can help humanity.

“You can be yourself,” Minou whispers, as gently as his nature allows.

“Thank you,” I get out again, and I hug him. The fae actually stops dead at that, and waits until I am done, and pushes me lightly.

One step. A second. There is a flash of pale light, and then the sky is nothing but twilight. I can hear the river they made the far Court at, and look down at my body. The same colouring as the last glamour Minou made for me. No eyes that see for miles, no, but I have four arms because who wouldn’t want those, and I walk easily toward the Court. I’m just outside it, feel the energy of it as I enter.

I walk for almost a minute before wind blows about me that wasn’t there a moment ago.

“Bus?”

The wind ruffles my hair, and then the rest of my body in a moment. “Kris? You sound like Kris?”

“It’s – me. A better me. I try and explain, but Bus is gone between moments, the fae off to tell the others. They haven’t changed, of course. Fae don’t change, not as humans change. Trul pokes my tail lightly, asking why I wanted it.

I shrug, “I didn’t see many fae with tails. I wanted to stand out a little still.” That wins a soft laugh in reply.  

The others say hello, slightly wary. I explain why I am here, and to what end. Druul winces at what the other Courts will think, but Fury is definitely amused and Bus giggles softly about us.

“You’ve lost your family,” Fury says later, after food hasd been had and a place found for me to sleep.

“I’ve gained friends. I consider it a good trade.”  

The fae studies me, fire dancing lightly in his eyes. “Even losing your brother?” “He’s – something other than human now, and can embrace that. We talked. We don’t like it, but – we have to atone for what our family did, to fight them any way we can. This is the best move I can make now, and when they learn about it, it’s going terrify them.”

And Fury asks nothing else, and pushes nothing else. Fae live a long time, and questions can wait for a longer time to them.

Minou returns, sometimes. He passes information from the the other Courts, and from earth to us and back. Time does not pass in the twilight kingdoms as it does in the human world. There are no seasons as such. Just twilight sky, sometimes rain. Snow so rarely it is celebration.

It is only when Minou makes a comment about Starbucks on one visit that I begin to understand.

“When did Starbucks go out of business?” I ask before he returns back to earth.

The fae turns and looks back at me. “Some years ago,” he says warily.

“How long will this glamour – you said I would only have a human lifespan.”

“I know. It seemed a lie you needed to hear.”

“How long will I live?”

“As long as your friends, I think,” he says. “I can promise that much.”

“Minou.” I wonder what it is costing him to do this. But I know he’ll never tell me.

“Some costs are always worth it, Kris. You left Gabe to help human relations with the fae, and have done so. And terrified the Underwood’s so much they are in hiding, and your name is a tale they tell to frighten children, even more than mine.”

I don’t ask if Gabe is still alive. I’m not sure I could bear that. I watch him leave, and wonder if he knows that I could him among my friends as well.

[jolteonjordansh]

Thoughts on Digimon Adventure tri.: “Coexistence”

Alright, I kept telling myself I was going to give a day to let my thoughts on “Symbiosis”/”Coexistence” (I'll go with Coexistence generally just to clarify) sink in, but I cannot get my mind to shift on anything else so let's just get to it. If I miss anything, I’ll make an additional thoughts post or something, but I feel like I’ve covered everything here for the most part. So, how did this go as we’re nearing the end of Digimon Adventure tri?

Oh boy, where do I even begin?

Let me lay this down straight: “Coexistence” isn't absolute garbage and is not the worst thing I've ever seen. I still think other series like Digimon Frontier are far worse than tri as a whole so far, but... “Coexistence” pretty much puts a lot of tri's flaws all in one big package.

The "padding" of this movie wasn't so unbearable that I wanted to shut the thing off, but I can certainly say that for 3/4ths of the movie, I was so bored. Not ready to die bored, but questioning "When the hell does all of the material this movie kept pressing so hard before release supposed to show up? Where's Kari's development? Where's Ophanimon Falldown Mode? Any answers to all of the plot threads you've left open? Are the Digimon going to regain their memories? The 02 cast? Anything?" There were cute moments here and there, but I felt that the payoff wasn't good enough to sit through so much of this. This isn't to say that the payoff wasn't good at all--I'll get to that towards the end. Let's get the bad stuff out of the way first. Other than the music anyway; that was as good as always.

The animation, while mostly okay, had some weird moments. I know it's happened throughout tri, but the size inconsistencies of the Digimon were especially obvious in “Coexistence”. Maybe I just never noticed it until now, but there were so many moments where I was thinking things like "Agumon isn't that small," or "Why did Patamon suddenly shrink from one frame to the next?" Also, there were a good number of stills used here for some reason. Why? I have no idea, but it looked bad. There was also this one shot of Piyomon flying that was really choppy, yet Patamon's flying animations looked as fluid as usual just a few seconds later. Are they trying to save all their budget for the last movie? Come on guys, this isn't “The Scuffle of Legends” for crying out loud. The animation was at least good where it was supposed to be, especially towards the end (the scene where the ground was falling apart were super quick and fluid? I'm not sure if it was just me, but it stuck out to me as looking really well-animated and flowing compared to the rest of the film).

There's sadly not much fighting to talk about animation-wise either. It looks good when it happens--I personally thought watching Alphamon and Jesmon duke it out was awesome. The Digimon from the DigiDestined, other than Tai and Matt who manage to bring together Omegamon, sadly don't get to do much. But hey, the animators learned to put all of the Digivolution animations together in one shot instead of making us watch ten minutes of Digivolution animations! I mean, I love watching them and all, but sometimes you have to cut to the chase, and this was one of those cases. I just found it funny that the one Ultimate Digivolution we hadn't seen, WereGarurumon, gets boxed. But I was sad to see MetalGarurumon's boxed. I mean, his pose and everything looked awesome so I would have really liked to see it in full! Hopefully, we'll get to see it in full in the next film. I mean, come on! I demand to see my metal puppy with some shiny awesome Digivolution animation! Omegamon also got a... sort of Digivolution animation, but it still looked neat! I just wish it was even flashier since, you know, this is a Mega/Ultra level Jogress Digivolution. It deserves to be insanely flashy!

I know I've been saying "towards the end" a lot in these thoughts so far, but...  that’s because, sadly, you don’t really need to watch the first three episodes except for like, some exposition about Meicoomon. You know what the rest is? Meiko wondering and whining and mulling over what to do with Meicoomon. Over. And over. And over. If you weren't tired of it the last couple of movies, you will be absolutely sick of it by the end of “Coexistence”. I cannot stress how I tried so hard to give Meiko a chance. I tried to look at things from a sympathetic viewpoint. So many times, I was ready to just give up on her character, but I came into this movie thinking, "Okay, I'm going to try one more time. This might be where Meiko gets interesting. Maybe after all of this 'development', it will actually pay off into something really great."

That didn't happen. We got the same kind of thing with Meiko as we did with the rest of tri. The self-doubt, the crying, the blush stickers, the "Why was I chosen!?" subplot which was already done so much better with Joe, the pity party, attempting to take responsibility for things only to rinse and repeat everything I just mentioned--anything you have seen of Meiko in the last four movies of tri, you will see here (except maybe blatant fanservice) but it is done for three full episodes. It was tiring, it was frustrating, and I just wanted to see the movie focus on something besides Meiko for five minutes. I mean, we get some nice bits with the DigiDestined like them reaching out to their parents as they're unable to go home--but of course, most of these are silent and the one that gets the most attention is Meiko's.

I hate to go on and on and on about Meiko as much as I am, as I understand some people like her. However, I wouldn't be going on as much about Meiko as I am if tri wasn't focusing on her so much in the first place. My biggest issue with all of this focus on Meiko is that these attempts to "develop" her and make her more likable are far too little, too late. These are things that we should have been seeing in “Determination” and “Confession” for us to understand and connect with Meiko as a character. Instead, they wasted time with her being unrealistically socially awkward and fanservice-y, and then being outright whiny and insufferable in “Confession”. And the writers expect us, more than half-way into this series, to truly invest in her and care. This might have been doable at this point if it was in small increments with balance with the rest of the DigiDestined rather than focusing so hard on her because the writers realized they were running out of time, but that's not what they did.

There were things they could have done to make her more likable and human throughout this series. There was the potential of her father being an abusive asshole father to at least explain how shy and scared and shut-in she was, except he... wasn't really that terrible. He was just a workaholic who asked Meiko to let Meicoomon be experimented on, and... that was about it. Suddenly he started caring about her in this film like he woke up one morning and said "Oh shit, I'm a bad father." It was more like a parody of the asshole dad than an actual use of the trope, with little execution applied. There's also this tick Meiko has of having a Tottori accent, which was only used a record time of once in “Determination” to show she had this quirk and for the cast to giggle about. Suddenly, after a phone call with her father and crying about Meicoomon again, Meiko starts speaking with this accent, likely forgetting her habit of speaking so formally around everyone. This is honestly a minor thing, but it did give more flavor to her character and had she grown more comfortable to use it more often around the DigiDestined cast, I would find her character to be more believable. She just shifts around from being uptight and formal to suddenly open and willing to cry her whole heart out to them. There's no gradual development. What was also weird to me is that, with all of flashbacks Meiko had, we don't really hear her using this accent she supposedly has in her childhood (at least as far as I could tell?), so yeah... we also have inconsistency issues! Yay!

I also simply cannot bring myself to like Meicoomon either. I get it, I'm supposed to sympathize for this poor Digimon who was basically born as an outcast and technically did nothing wrong. But... She barely has a personality other than "Mei! Mei! Mei!" and how am I supposed to care about a Digimon who serves as nothing more than a plot device and flipflops from being a cutesy kitty to a devastating killing machine? This was something Digital Monster X-Evolution did infinitely better with Dorumon. Now, we do at least finally get an explanation as to why Meicoomon freaks out so much without Meiko and why she's so uncontrollable in the first place. And... it's one of the dumbest asspulls this series has had.

Meicoomon was basically born from a fragment of Apocalymon's data. I've seen some people point out some things foreshadowing this, but they're super filmsy to me and nowhere near convincing enough for me to really follow as something the writers really thought through. It feels like some lazy excuse the writers came up with to try to connect Meiko and Meicoomon back to the original Adventure series in some way, when really it just makes their whole existence feel all the more hamfisted. I've tried to avoid the "blatant self-insert Mary Sue OC" label with Meiko as much as I could with how overused it's been applied to her by so many people who watch tri, but if anything made her fall under this label, it would be this. She has a Digimon formed from a fragment of the original Big Bad's data? Seriously? Let that sink in. Did that really sound like a good idea on paper to someone? If that's not enough, this is literally recycling the plot of Ryo and Monodramon from the Tamer games on the Wonderswan, where Monodramon Jogress Digivolved with the Big Bad Millenniummon and ultimately became his partner after being reborn, which led to the Ryo we know with his berserk Cyberdramon from Digimon Tamers. Hell, Battle of Adventurers did the whole "leftover fragment of Apocalymon" thing a lot better. It's just shameful how lazy this whole thing is put together when the writers have been building up the plot for, what, five movies over the course of three years? I guess this also explains how Meicoomon was the special snowflake who wasn't affected by the Reboot at all, but... whatever. I barely even care at this point. Meicoomon and Meiko are special snowflakes and that's just how the writers are going to treat them.

What makes this special treatment of Meiko all the more frustrating is when you look at the DigiDestined constantly comforting her and acting like she's been with them for years, saying things like "We're with you because we're all DigiDestined!" and were even willing to depart from their own moral compasses (referring to Tai's willingness to kill Meicoomon as Meiko wishes when he just said in the previous episode that he didn't want to kill a friend) when... they're completely ignoring the Adventure 02 cast. I get it, some people are tired about people questioning where they are, but when the writers have been waving teases at the audience like showing them being "killed off" in the beginning, Gennai taking on the Digimon Kaiser disguise, Kari and T.K. being concerned for their whereabouts a record one time and bringing back the freaking Dark Ocean (because, you know, that went so well in Adventure 02!), you have to question the cast's lack of concern. Adventure 02 has not been de-canonized, or these little things wouldn't exist. So I hate how the Adventure cast is constantly catering towards Meiko's needs when they've maybe known her for a couple of months at best, but don't even show a wink of concern for the Adventure 02 cast who they have probably known for years (I imagine they kept some contact over time) and both T.K. and Kari went through a whole series of adventures with them. It really does make it feel like the cast are written in a sort of bad self-insert fanfic whenever Meiko has any sort of presence as if the world revolves around her.

Once again, I get that a lot of my problems surround Meiko and Meicoomon, but the problem with this movie is how freaking heavily it focuses on them. A lot of this movie before the last episode is simple padding like the cast trying to get back to the real world, telling ghost stories and having other cutesy moments. I didn't hate all of these, but when we're getting so close to the end... I want this time being spent on the writers finally tying up loose ends. There's one movie left, and yet here they are continuing to add even more questions to the plot and not enough answers and then otherwise wasting time with things that do not answer these issues. I am not against filler--I was fine with most of “Determination”'s because it was the beginning of the series, things were still rolling in, and there were still increments of development happening here and there (Mimi's narcissism and Joe's questioning of his identity as a DigiDestined). But this late in the series, it's time to cut that down and focus on ending the story. Instead, “Coexistence” does a whole lot of nothing with terrible pacing issues, retreading on things we already know/are tired of hearing about, and just adding more instead of answering more. The writers have dug themselves in a big hole and bit off more than they could chew, and it is the most apparent in this movie.

So I must hate this movie then, right? Actually, no. Even though I think three of the four episodes are tough to sit through, with only cute moments to salvage them, the fourth episode was good and finally gave me what I was hoping for in this movie.

Because it's a minor thing, yes, Himekawa had some of her insanity breakdown. Not as much as I wanted, but I still ate up the nonsense she was saying and... she got a gun out of nowhere? What? When? How? I don't know, but it's hilarious. I swear, she's ready to kill someone who speaks a word to her. What's even weirder is that the guns she has changes between scenes. One moment, she as a BFG or some sort of grenade launcher, the next she had a handgun. What, did she find some Weapon Shop in a village somewhere? I have no idea where she's going or what she's going to do since she ended up in the Dark Ocean, but I hope if she shows up, she's just off the walls laughing like a maniac bonkers when we see her next. Insane Himekawa is the best Himekawa.

We also get a little bit of the OG!DigiDestined, like a shot with Nishijima's partner Bearmon. Dawwwwww!

But the best parts are when this movie finally decides to get to the focus I was personally waiting for in this movie--Kari Kamiya. While unfortunately it got nowhere near as much focus as I wanted (because apparently a certain other character really needed it more for some reason...), what we got was damn good. I love that Kari, with all of the times she's been possessed by Homeostasis, finally stood up to a fucking deity of worlds. She wasn't taking any of that shit, and she stood up for it. And I love that if tri has done anything, it's given Kari far more character than Adventure or Adventure 02 ever did. While she isn't forceful or rude, she does not take shit when people spew things she can't possibly bring herself to agree with. She has a firm ground, and she's willing to stand on it. Much like the scene where she talked some sense into Joe in "Determination", it was damn good to see.

And then there was her breakdown. Man, what a breakdown. While we all know Tai isn't really dead (if the Adventure 02 epilogue doesn't count to you, he's on the freaking poster of the next tri movie--he's not dead guys), there was no better way to break her. We've seen that Tai and Kari are close like in some bits of the Dark Masters arc in the original Digimon Adventure, so what else could they take from her but what's most important to her? And the way she just breaks is incredible to watch. Dead silence. Disbelief. Broken sentences. She is in such despair of Tai being gone that she just wants the rest of the world gone. While I wish Gatomon had been a little more involved, with the Dark Digivolution just sort of... happening, it was still a damn good lead-up. But man, is it a terrifying one.

While my personal favorite Dark Digivolution moments still go to Takato and Guilmon and Marcus and his Agumon, Gatomon to Ophanimon Falldown Mode and then Jogress Digivolving with Raguelmon to... whatever terrifying Evangelion experiment they combined into, was just horrifying, down to the body horror. It gives the whole "Coexistence" title double meaning (along with the whole coexistence of the Real and Digital Worlds), and just... seriously, look at that thing! If that's not a destroyer of worlds, I don't know what is! And it's basically a living embodiment of Kari's will and feelings after seeing her dear brother "die" before her eyes. Even after this whole thing happens, she's just a living shell just sitting there. You can really see just how broken she is after that.

While I still want to see more of Kari breaking, like how she'll deal with this whole situation and cope with her brother's "death" until he returns, it was still just good to see her develop in some way. And I will say, yeah, the cliffhanger is pretty dirty when the whole movie felt like a set-up for the last one while still doing a lot of nothing until the end. "Confession"'s cliffhanger, while absolutely painful, still felt more genuine than "Coexistence"'s just being there for the sake of set-up. And I think part of the reason it's so frustrating is because that... again, this movie didn't do a lot, so leaving it at that just when it was starting to finally get moving is aggravating.

This is still easily the weakest entry in the Digimon Adventure tri series though. And while it was frustrating at many moments, I would still call it... okay. I think it could have been even worse. The last episode did make it worth a watch, but the rest did make me want to bash my head into a wall at times. At this point, there's no way tri will be able to possibly tie all of its loose ends in a satisfying way. Hell, we may never even get an answer for things like the Digimon's memories or the Adventure 02 cast (though I certainly hope we do). But there is some good set-up here... So if we can at least get some answers, some awesome fights, and good character development and interaction, I am going to look forward to seeing Our Future, though with some optimistic skepticism. Here's hoping, to what little tri has left and how much going against it... that it pleasantly surprises us somehow.

[feverhalo]

Anon prompt! I did Voltron:Legendary Defender for this.

Contains vomiting, minor anxiety descriptions, and cheesiness. Its set in the start of the Garrison time when Lance, Hunk, and Pidge all meet up. Using he/him for Pidge because thats what was used for them at the time in series. Im putting the readmore before the fic starts this time because it goes into the content pretty quickly. Its just shy of 1500 words (or just over after some editing)

“Thats it. If you throw up one more time we’re going to the hospital” Any pairing/person you can think of is all good with me, thank you so much in advance!

Hunk coughed harshly and spat into the sink. The lingering taste of sick was turning his stomach still, but he had promised himself he would be quick. Nobody needed to have their schedule thrown off because of him. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, it had been a rough week. Garrison training really ramped up this semester.

He cupped a handful of cold water to rinse his mouth with before washing his face with haste. When he turned to leave, his newly assigned teammate was standing behind him, staring- or glaring? Whatever he was doing it was making Hunk’s palms sweat with anxiety.

“You okay?” That was it. Hunk waited a second, staring blankly. No berating came, no scoffing, no ‘if-you-can’t-take-the-training-leave’ spiel like he got from some of the others when he threw up during the pacer test.

“Uh, yeah. Sorry.” His voice stung and was thin and cracking from the abuse of being so violently sick just a few minutes ago. He cleared his throat. “Yeah. I’m okay.”

“Cool. Um, I’m Lance. It- we didn’t really get properly introduced.” He smiled at Hunk, a thousand kilowatt smile that made Hunk’s own face crack into a grin even though he still felt shaky.

“I’m Hunk.”

————-

“Simulation complete.” The pneumatic door locks hissed as they disengaged and Hunk pushed his way through as fast as he could manage. Today was even worse than the day before. They finished a hard obstacle course with him barely keeping his stomach in line- even a few of the other students had tapped out or thrown up on the sidelines from the strain of it. Then they ran simulations. Then more simulations. This was their introduction. No sit down, here is the manual these are your controls. Blindly being thrown into three different cockpit styles with different layouts and jostled around inside. Every mistake being berated by Commander Iverson, even though they all had never set foot in a cockpit before.

“At least he knows to hide his face after such a disgraceful display!” Hunk could hear the lecture on the peripheral of his attention. He was going to be sick, and right there in front of everyone if he wasn’t fast. That thought sent a jolt of panic through him, making the nausea spike. He left his new team there to take the flack all by themselves. Oh, god what kind of team member was he? He gagged into his hand. Times up. He pushed the lid off of one of the bins just around the corner- recycling or garbage who cared in a bin was better than on the floor.

The distant shouting faded out of his awareness entirely, his head was swimming and he felt like his skin was buzzing. A heady wave of heat rolled down his shoulders and ice cold sweat dripped down his face. He felt his shoulders roll forward before he was aware he was gagging into the bin. It was rather quiet, save for the harsh cough at the end that tore his throat. His stomach bubbled and he felt choked, he couldn’t breathe. Saliva pooled in his mouth and he choked on it trying to hold back. He tried to swallow again but it caught and he coughed harshly again, bringing up a bitter taste.

Somewhere off there was an explosion of sound, and he wanted to look but his eyes were stinging, his face ached with pressure from the unwilling exertion his body was taking. Loud, slapping footsteps crossed behind him and his face burned with humiliation. He couldn’t help it. He retched again, the spit and a small spurt of vomit mixing together and splattering on the cans below him. His body tingled with another wave of nausea crashing over him like an icy bucket of water.

He coughed up a huge wave of half digested breakfast and it didn’t seem to stop. He tried to breathe, really, he did. It hitched after he tried to inhale and he curled further forward as his stomach clenched so harshly it made his muscles scream. And again, barely a breath and he was sent forward with another gush of sickness. Something patted at his back, knocking the air back into him. He gasped, greedily sucking in as much as his lungs could hold before coughing. He swiped his wrist under his eyes carefully. They were streaming, his nose was running like a sieve and he could feel the tacky strings of mucus and vomit trailing from his mouth and nose.

“That’s it,” the smacks to his back turned into someone rubbing smooth circles as he shuddered in breath after breath, “You got it, now.”

His face burned, someone was there. This was not him wishing one of his moms was there, this was most definitely a real person. He tried to spit, but ended up coughing again and bringing up another string of sick. He could breathe, though, that’s what mattered. He finally spat, and blew through his nose to try and dislodge the, no doubt charming, mess dripping from his face.

“You okay now, uh Hunk, was it?” Lance’s face was in his peripheral vision, hand still on his back. Hunk nodded, but stayed hovering over the, yep that was the recycling bin. He was scared to respond, his throat felt thick and burned so badly.

“Good. Here.” He handed over a wad of napkins from the Garrison cafeteria. He pulled another fresh wad out of his other pocket too, as Hunk started swiping them under his nose.

“Thank-“ Hunk tried, but it caught in his throat and he coughed until he gagged again. He threw up. Again. He heaved a shaky sigh after it was over and went back to wiping his face in silence.

“That’s it. If you throw up one more time we’re going to the hospital.”

“It’s the Garrison, there’s no hospital for miles.” Hunk croaked. “It’ll be fine.”

“Then I’ll take you to whatever passes for a medical centre here. You’ve thrown up, like, every day this week.” Hunk straightened up a little and looked down at his shoes, best to avoid looking at the mess. He could feel his face going red again. “Come on, Iverson told me to take off for the day anyway.”

“What?” Hunk blinked up at him.

“I kind of told him to stuff it and walked off. He was getting way too much enjoyment out of us suffering, and I mean…” Lance took his hand off Hunk’s back, content the taller boy was going to be able to hold his own for a moment. He shrugged. “We’re a team now or whatever, so, you’re more important than an ego driven tirade.”

“Aww geeze,” Hunk ran his hand through his damp hair, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to get you guys in trouble.”

“Its fine, seriously, you okay?”

“Its embarrassing,” Hunk looked up and down the hall. It was surprisingly, and thankfully, empty. “I’m okay, for real. I just get sick to my stomach really easily. I got kicked off the bus coming up here because I kept throwing up, actually.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Motion sickness, and stuff.”

“That’s all? Thank God,” Lance held his hand to his chest as he sighed, “We can work with that, man. Come on, you look trashed. How are you even standing? If you get sick like that every time, you have to have some serious strength.”

“Hey, can I stop running interference now? I swear one of these older guys is gonna deck me!” A new voice grumbled from behind Hunk. His other new team mate- small kid with glasses, what was his name?

“Thanks, Pidge. Sorry about that,” Lance shot the smaller boy a smile past Hunk’s arm. “You’re a real cool kid, you know that?”

“Shut up,” Pidge rolled his eyes, “You okay there, guy?” Hunk nodded, he shifted from side to side under their attention. It felt so weird, they were already willing to get in trouble on his behalf, after only, what? A day and a half maybe?

“Yeah, I’m good. Thanks.” He cleared his throat again, his voice was so wrecked, “Didn’t catch your name, sorry.”

“Its Pidge. Come on, you look like crap. Lance, don’t stand there and talk to him all day, we had a plan.”

“What?”

“Yeah, sorry,” Lance gently pulled on Hunk’s arm. “C’mon. We’re kidnapping you to get some rest and some ice cream- if you’re feeling up to it. Vanilla ice cream does wonders for a sore throat, and isn’t so bad on an upset stomach either.”

“Not to be rude, but it was kind of obvious you’ve been sick. You’ve been looking pretty wrung out for a couple days now.” Hunk smiled sheepishly. He knew that, everyone was looking rough. He kept that to himself, even though the small boy in front of him looked pretty haggard and had dark circles on his own pale face.

“Aw, geeze. Thanks guys.” Hunk smiled, he could feel his eyes prickling. Okay, maybe they weren’t totally like his moms, but this was really bringing back some memories. If he could get his throat to feel a bit better, and sound a little less awful, maybe he could call home and tell them about this. They’d be so proud to know their son was lucky enough to be teamed up with some pretty alright guys.

[danithebookaholic-blog]

NEW RELEASE!

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});

Lizzy’s Kiss (Savage Security #6) 

By Karen Tjebben

Publication Date: November 21, 2018 Genre: Psychological Romantic Suspense

Synopsis:

Lizzy Adams spent the summer pining for Tyson Smith, the sexy security agent whose instruction at a safety seminar saved her life. Now, every man she meets is measured against the absolute awesomeness of the brawny black man with the soulful eyes, the baritone voice that whispers over her like a velvet caress, and a smile that turns her knees to jelly. Now she just had to get him to notice her.

Tyson Smith had a lot of respect for Lizzy Adams, the spunky teacher who freed herself from the clutches of a deranged miscreant who’d wanted to take her hostage. But his concept of her wholesome ‘girl-next-door’ image was challenged the night she showed up at a company barbeque dressed as a flirty cowgirl. Always the gentleman, he managed to keep his eyes off her assets as she strolled around the farm. His mother had raised him better, but there was no denying that she was every man’s ‘American Beauty’ fantasy. But the night he’d shown up at her doorstep to help her out altered their relationship forever. Between the fear in her eyes and the baseball bat perched on her shoulder, his protective side surfaced, and he handed her a piece of his heart.

Their whirlwind romance is threatened when a man from Lizzy’s past attacks her. Sam Clark wants vengeance for his son. He blames the jurors from Jason’s trial for Jason’s death and crafts a hit list. But killing Lizzy, the scrappy survivor, is harder than he thought. After Sam fails at his first attempt on Lizzy’s life, he resolves to kill her before he’s forced into hiding. He just has to get past the big, black man who appointed himself Lizzy’s protector.

Goodreads

Excerpt:

Sam circled the apartment complex and made his way back to his car. Fate was on his side. Lizzy walked out of her apartment with two trash bags. He’d already scoped out the garbage dumpsters on an earlier trip. In order to keep the apartment complex looking nice, the dumpsters were behind the apartments, tucked away behind tall, wooden privacy fences. That would be the perfect place to take her. Let her die among the garbage and refuse of the community.

He picked up his pace and walked around the opposite side of the building as she walked around to the back on the other side. Glancing around, he looked for anyone who could interrupt his time with her.

Lizzy walked into the garbage area. Two large garbage dumpsters and two recycle dumpsters were tucked out of sight. Setting one of the bags on the ground, she swung the other bag into the garbage dumpster. The plastic bag disappeared into the dumpster. Grabbing the remaining bag, she hefted it into the dumpster too.

Sam stepped behind the wooden slats and watched as she tossed the bags into the dumpster. Her back was to him. The thought of dumping her body into the dumpster brought a smile to his lips. She’d just disappear from sight without a trace. But if her body was discovered, it would be obvious that she’d been purposely disposed of. That revelation would destroy the appearance of a natural, fluke death.

No. He could not throw her away. He could leave her body to be discovered in the garbage area. That would have to be good enough.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});

Turning around, Lizzy came to a stop when she noticed him. Her lips arched into a gentle smile, but then she paused. The smile slid off her face.

“Hi,” she said, pausing for a moment to take the man in. Was he the same guy that nearly bumped into her minutes earlier? He didn’t have any trash bags. Why was he back here? The beginning tremors of her flight or fight response zapped to life inside her gut.

“Hello,” he replied with a smirk.

That one word, laced with anger, brought a chill down her spine.

He pulled the cap off the needle but kept it hidden in his hands. His knuckles were white from clenching the needle in front of him so tightly. She wouldn’t get past him.

She’d been attacked before. She knew that a stranger could go from intimidating to dangerous in a heartbeat. “Can I help you?” she asked, her voice full of anxiety. “Are you looking for something?”

Sam couldn’t help but taunt her. “I’m looking for you.” He hoped the admission scared her. He wanted to treasure this interaction. Maybe it would replace the nightmares that haunted him.

Lizzy cocked her head to the side, “You were looking for me? Why?” The sinister look in his eyes confirmed the warning bells clanging in her ears.

“Don’t I look familiar?” he asked, taking a step towards her.

This was way past creepy. “Do I know you from somewhere?” Her eyebrows pulled together as she desperately tried to place him. Where had she seen his face before?

“That’s because we’ve met.” He took a step towards her, a fake smile plastered on his face. Once he got close to her, he could slide the needle into her flesh with very little chance of a fight. If it did come to a fight, he knew he’d win. He may be nearing retirement age, but he was still stronger and bigger than her.

“Huh,” she looked around for something to pick up to use as a weapon in case she needed to defend herself. Rocks and some sticks lay on the ground along the fence wall, but she’d never get to them before he’d get to her.

Her flight or fight response flooded her body with adrenaline. Her pulse beat wildly and sweat coated her. “You do look a little familiar. Do you have a child at Carrisburg Elementary School?” If this was a parent from school, this scary vibe would be a first. Parents were always friendly when they saw her outside of school but following her to her apartment building and the trash bin was beyond disturbing.

She tried to think back to her list of students. Did any of them have special arrangements because of family issues? Any custody issues or abusive parents that she needed to be aware of? She didn’t recall any.

Sam bit out a harsh grunt. “No. You don’t know me from school, but you do know my son. His name is Jason. Does that name ring a bell?” Would the callous bitch recognize Jason’s name?

“Umm,” she mumbled. She’d had a Jason a few years ago, but this man didn’t look like his dad.

Sam stood shocked, angered, ready to blow. “You dumb bitch,” he seethed. “You don’t even remember the young man you destroyed. The life you tossed away,” he motioned with his arm as if he were throwing something away.

Damn! Lizzy had no idea what he was talking about, but she knew enough to recognize crazy and dangerous. “I’m sorry. I think you have the wrong person,” she stated as firmly as she could. Should she try to rationalize with the man? Get him to see that she is not the person he’s looking for?

“I’ve never killed anyone, not even by accident,” she stated. She’d been in a fender bender a few years ago, but everyone had been fine. There hadn’t even been a boy in either of the cars.

Her mind screamed for her to run, to get away from this man, but logic kept her feet planted. She had nowhere to go. He blocked the exit. If she ran, she’d be running towards him. And the wooden fencing that surrounded her on all the other sides cut off any chance of escape.

“Jason Clark,” Sam said the name with perfect enunciation. There would be no mistaking the name he said. “Does that ring a bell?” His grimace took on the diabolical look of Pennywise.  

Lizzy took in a strangled breath as memories of Jason and his father on the witness stand rushed through her mind. Jason had murdered a man, and she’d sent him to jail.

Purchase:

Amazon

Author Bio:

Karen Tjebben lives in central North Carolina with her wonderful husband, twin daughters, and two hamsters. When her girls left for kindergarten, Karen discovered that she needed to fill her days with something, and that was the beginning of her new career in writing. She loves to create worlds filled with unique characters that she hopes will delight and raise goose bumps on her readers. In her free time, she enjoys traveling with her husband and seeing the world through her daughters' eyes.

Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Pinterest / Tumblr / Amazon

a Rafflecopter giveaway

From one bookaholic to another, I hope I’ve helped you find your next fix. —Dani

Have a book you’d like to suggest or one you’d like me to review? Please feel free to leave your comments down below.