#i ran out of steam to keep speculating but i will be adding to this | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

jrobertallen · 1 year

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Melissa Ran Teddy ( 5 )

Ready to run

Teddy was with Ran overseeing the process of gently removing the manilla colored paper tied around the first package.

Unfortunately they didn’t find valuable drugs or money or bearer bonds that would make them instantly wealthy.

Maybe it’s the kind of diary you need a decoder ring for? Teddy said while speculating on the purpose for writing using symbols instead of letters.

Ran flipped through a few pages and found several neat rows of symbols similar to those written on the outside of the package.

What is with all these crazy markings? Teddy added, bizarre! Maybe its some kind of satanic stuff?

I agree, It doesn’t make any sense.

I never went crazy over dark magic and fortune telling and casting spells. It’s probably fine reading for a freak but to an actual grown up its on the level with believing in magic and mermaids. Do you think this really is some sort of voodoo or protection spell to keep the driver safe?

I don’t know anything about all that, answered Ran, sure is odd to go through all the trouble of hiding it in such a weird place, in car seats no less, he offered, maybe it’s some kind of race car magic code or something.

Zombey coding does and doesn’t surprise me little brother. The guy who owned this car before us was probably one of those tarot card readers you know, like the people who read horoscopes and plant beans on the full moon after the solstice and what not.

What do you think is in the other package?

They both stared at the sealed package they removed previously from the passenger seat.

That one has your blood on it! Ran poked fun at his wounded brother, and maybe it activated a tulpa, and when you go to sleep a muddy duplicate will take your place!

Oh great, Teddy laughed, I’m going to turn into a zombie! Well, I hope my zombie self don’t eat cats!

Ran peeled back the paper enough to see inside. It’s not another diary. Ran worked at separating the object contents from its wrappings and found a small paper box .

We still might be in luck, Ran, as long as it’s not a body part or filled with spiders we should be okay!

The box was made of cardboard stock, and like the diary it too was covered in strange symbols.

Ran gently removed the lid.

What’s inside? Hurry up, His brother begged impatiently.

Ran opened the cover and from inside he removed a strange looking cassette tape. What kind of machine plays this format? Ran asked his brother.

Oh, Teddy said, plucking the tape out of his brothers hand. It’s one of those old QIC-150 computer tapes, not used very often anymore but surprisingly they still made them until recently.

What does the diary book have to do with the tape?

You got me, Teddy admitted, it’s a super big mystery to me. One thing is for sure, whomever hid them in the car seats must have wanted to move them without anyone knowing, and they were never meant to be found by guys like us.

I think we better put them away for safe keeping, and get rid of this car soon as we can! Said Ran. Someone probably wants them really bad, bad enough to kill for them!

Teddy thought about it, you don’t think the shooter from yesterday wanted these do you?

Ran remembered the shooters words, how he was upset at the trick they used to get the car he obviously wanted.

Teddy, How was it that you managed to get this car so cheap? What did Melissa, your AI bot do to help you buy the car for less than we would have paid for it as a trade in? Especially from a well known online police auction no less.

Teddy folded his hands and ducking his chin meekly answered, you really don’t want to know the answer to that, it was seriously nothing that I want to bother you with! I do the computer stuff and you’re all about the screwdriver and wrenches.

Ran was a little steamed at his brother for not being willing to be truthful. I need to know because I was almost shot over the car, Teddy!

Teddy looked away, his eyes became glossy. He sniffed. Okay.

Ran waited for the answer refusing to say another word until it came.

There is more to Melissa than meats the eye, she is special, Teddy began.

What do you mean specifically? Like how? Tell me how she is different from all the other AI bots out there? She an AI with a monthly period? What?

I ripped her from a project without asking , or rather she was copied straight and I thought if I dumbed her down just enough and only used her for simple things that I or we could get away with, like using her to do things we needed like ordering our lunch, grabbing blueprints for free, saving money at auctions then nobody would be the wiser.

That’s not what I asked, where did you get the copy from?

When I hacked the DOD!

You are a mess! Ran admonished. After doing nearly 3 years for hacking and you already did it again?! Are you stuck on stupid, Teddy? They said they could give you what? 20 to life next time? You gave me a copy of Melissa and made me a criminal with you too!? Forced the phone on me!

No, no no, its not like that!

Then what? I’m listening!

I got out of prison early because I was pardoned. I was pardoned because I helped our government hack a Chinese spy company. I also backed up a copy on a separate server location so I could download it later for insurance, but I really didn’t expect anyone to leave that door accessible. Oddly when I tried it out 6 months ago there it still was, basically I got that version of the program from the Chinese spy company directly. Its not technically illegal, they had stolen the same program from the DOD a year earlier. So, I figured why not and I snuck a copy for myself and ditched the military stuff keeping only the pure nuts and bolts AI. I changed it just enough to make it untraceable.

Teddys voice was shaken, Ran could tell the subject hit a sore spot. Melissa can do things other AI can’t, like talking to other programs without the need to cross firewalls and tweaking programs to fit its own needs just enough to be helpful.

I don’t understand, how did that get us the Z car for $100 over first bid?

All the bids were online, so I made sure that when it came time to preview and bid on our pick, the Z only appeared on our schedule as active. Everyone eccept us could see it but only we and the Auction house knew it was selling.

Then to make sure, I only allowed other bidders to enter the minimum bid and limited their top bid to $50. We bid $100 over and got the car. Easily done! We got a huge discount!

A discount? Scolded Ran! Manuel has a hole in his head and Mary was shot in her shoulder. Our discount translated to another party paying full price for us!

Whoa! Teddy regained his verbal footing, Even if the shooter was after this car because of the data cassette and the diary, How were we supposed to know that from any other car? I picked the oldest car being sold that day specifically to try out and verify if my Melissa could handle it!

Ran was done speaking, he visited the corner of the garage where his Indian motorcycle was covered with a tan canvas tarp. He pulled back the cover part way exposing the nose of his motorcycle and front wheel.

Teddy tried again to explain, I suppose you wouldn’t understand, for me playing with code is an addiction. I find myself trying to sleep at night and looking up at the ceiling fan in my bed room, eventually my imagination takes over and im doing mental gymnastics writing code to design a fucking media port. It’s like any addiction except an alcoholic can stay off the booze by going to group, I can’t stop thinking about codes!

Instead of answering Ran pointed to the far side of the garage, Could you hand me that small box on the tool shelf behind you?

Teddy found the box while Ran peeled back the motorcycles tarp a little more, carefully exposing the handlebars and part of the seat and red gas tank. I understand he said, probably more than you think I do.

I’m not sure you fully get it Teddy answered, giving the small box to ran. You remember Jimmy Nanny our parts guy who moved here from Florida?

Yeah!

He started with just that one tattoo after he met his wife the first time, he did the one thing you never do and get a girls name tattooed on your skin, that was the night we all went for drinks and he spilled his drink all over her, next thing you know they got married! Look at Jimmy now, he absolutely covered himself in tattoos because he couldn’t stop at one, even his face is tatted up! Maybe that’s not a good example but you get the picture.

I’ve been working on this Indian Scout for 4 years, said Ran, only one part left to drop into the carburetor. That pursuit is my addiction, that and not using a computer or staying off grid! You and Mom and everyone I know keeps pushing your addictions on me! I never made you take a ride on my bike! Never asked for any help rebuilding it! I visited every parts yard in Washington State alone looking for this and that, I even drove to Oregon by myself hunting wheels.

I remember when you put that huge RC airplane engine with that dishplate sized three pointed propeller on that 10 speed Mom got you for Christmas, you were pretty smart for a kid. Teddy chuckled at the thought, You actually rigged it up and got it going and it even moved pretty well too, until the engine blew up and you lost control and ran into that car!

I still have the scar, Ran said as he looked at his knuckle. 6 stitches.

Mom was so pissed! But not that you destroyed your bicycle, she was worried because she thought you broke your shoulder when you ran it into the neighbors car! I tried so hard to get that dent out of the neighbors yellow car before she came home from work!

I remember that she scolded me for bleeding all over the kitchen floor and breaking my bike and denting the car.. What’s worth more a bike or a car?

The neighbor didn’t even notice. She wasn’t mad at You Ran, she yelled at you because she was mad at me! I was all she had keeping you safe and it upset her that I let you hurt yourself, she was upset with you but she was angry at me!

Ran opened the box and removed a Float Pin, last part he said.

Teddys eyes lit up. Serious? That’s the last part?

Yup, I broke down and ordered the rebuild kit because I wanted a new gasket. Last part is this float.

Well Damn! Exclaimed Teddy, this is going to be amazing!

Teddy put the float pin back in the box, not yet. I don’t want it to be over.

Ran, that’s not just irrational, it’s downright irresponsible! Please little brother, after you spent all those hours and hours and hours , driven hundreds of miles to get to this point and your almost there! Put the damn float in the carb thingy and ride the damn bike!

Carb thingy? Ran laughed. You see, I do understand the power of addiction!

To the dismay of the giant Dr Flower and a mountain of a woman named Nurse Beatrice, patient Anthony got dressed and walked out of the hospital feeling spry and clear headed.

He was checking out a full day before they recommended his already accelerated release against the hospitals wishes, and hopefully a few minutes before the Seattle police was scheduled to arrive unexpectedly to ask him a few questions about the day prior.

His new button down shirt and tan slacks fit perfectly, and to his surprise his gift clothes bag also included a baseball cap and a pair of cheap sunglasses.

Anthony checked his look on the mirrored walls of the elevator, adjusting his hat several times but never finding the perfect look. For one thing the mirrored wall made him look thinner and darker than he really was.

When the elevator opened on floor two, a security guard was there waiting for him with a wheelchair. For a moment Anthony imagined that he was going to be seated, strapped in and rolled back up to room 812 until his scheduled checkout time occurred.

The guard, a heavy set black woman looked Anthony over keenly, were supposed to roll you out for insurance reasons, but since the street access is near the other emergency door and I’m late for my break anyway….you get the privilege of a shorter ride with me from here to the lobby as my guest.

Oh, thanks I suppose my feet will work fine for the last 30 feet to freedom, that’s the door?

No, the out door is that way! She pointed to an exit arrows, and this is your chariot! She said gently caressing her blue ride. Do me a favor and humor me so I can keep my job. She looked up at the security camera and back at Anthony, please take a seat and let me do my thing.

Fine, Anthony agreed and took a seat, and to be friendly he even conversed with her during his short ride out. Tell me about your day so far, he mused, are the rest of the patients recovering well? Any other escapees?

Everyone is talking about you, she felt compelled to answer. I’m not sure how you pulled it off, but I for one didn’t expect to see you up and around at least for the next couple a days. You were a real mess when you arrived if I can say so myself!

Anthony wanted to be surprised at her sentiment but he wasn’t, yesterday he felt like he barely survived being smashed by a truck, two trucks, and today he was not even sore.

I think I looked allot worse than I actually was. I’m actually really fine right now. All better!

We don’t talk about our patients, but I heard through the grapevine someone said you went and healed yourself up overnight. I need to get me some of that energy! She laughed. My hip is bothering me.

Show me where Anthony pleaded

What? No I would have to undress and with the shape my body is in, uh no! Not to mention that I’m in uniform and at work, thank you dear!

Anthony didn’t know why he was compelled to help her, but he felt a sense of urgency.

You don’t have to take anything off, show me by placing my hand on your hip.

Are you some kind of faith healer? I dont do religion. I’m agnostic.

I might be crazy but maybe I can help, and I’m far from a religious person myself . Anthony pulled back his shirt sleeve showing her his track marks. When I was healed all this trouble went away.

She stopped pushing the cart and walked around and faced Anthony, You an addict?

Was, answered Anthony. I used to be called Skinny, that was my user name. Something happened to me, now I’m okay!

She picked up his hand and held it to her hip. Right there she said, do you feel the large lump? It’s growing and they think it could be a tumor. I work at a hospital but my insurance can’t afford real treatment., ain’t that a bitch?!

Oh, yes. He pressed his hand against the mass and simply said, Go away little bump!

His hand felt very warm, it started to feel as though it was burning her skin though her clothing.

Oh, ouch! She said as she pulled away. That hurts! What did you do?

Sorry. I just wanted to help.

She was angry now, how did she fool herself and let herself get fooled by a fool?!

She felt like she let her guard down too far by letting this bum touch her waist, so without saying another word She grabbed the chair again and started pushing.

When she let go of the chair to press the outside door button, her slight limp had improved. In fact her hip didn’t hurt anymore.

She placed her hand on her hip and felt the bump shrinking.

That’s crazy! She burst out laughing and turning to Anthony she found her wheelchair was lacking its occupant.

Behind the glass exit door, Seattle’s finest pulled up in a marked car, they would soon find out that their subject had already departed the hospital.

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pxmun · 2 years

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The sun was going down by the time Romeo and Paxton found Edward. The blue engine was returning to Tidmouth sheds after a busy day on his branch line when he saw the two. “Edward, Diesel 10 is back”! Paxton warned. Edward stopped in his tracks. “Diesel 10? That doesn’t sound good.” Edward said. “He’s after an engine called Lady. Why, we don’t know, but it can’t be good. We were hoping that you might know something.” Romeo added. “I know the legend of Lady, but let’s wait until we are with the others back at Tidmouth sheds. In the meantime, Paxton you need to find Sir Topham Hatt and tell him about Diesel 10, he should still be in Vicarstown.” Edward instructed. “Right, I’ll head there right away.” Paxton said. He set off to find the Fat Controller, while Romeo switched over to Edward’s cabin and the two headed off for home. All of the steam team were settling into their berths for the night when Edward and Romeo arrived. Romeo told them about what Paxton had overheard about Diesel 10 and Lady. “Utter nonsense.” Gordon spouted. “The Golden Engine is just a bedtime fairytale parents tell their children. She doesn’t exist and Diesel 10 is being very silly for believing so.” Gordon continued. “Back home people don’t think talking steam engines exist, yet here we are.” Romeo said. “And don’t forget about the magic gold dust and whistles.” Toby added. “Sounds like quiet the fairytale to me.” Cleo giggled. Everyone laughed. Now it was Gordon who was being very silly. “But seriously though we need to keep Lady safe from Diesel 10, got any idea where she can be Ed”? Romeo asked. Edward thought for a moment, trying to remember anything about Lady. “I remember talking to Rusty, a little diesel who works on the Skarloey railway, Rusty used to tell me that they worked with Lady up in the mountains somewhere. However, in the recent years they’ve gone quiet, the last thing they told me about Lady was a poem of sorts. Now how did it go? “Follow the rainbow sun to the highest hill. Let the journey prove your heart and will. With your trusty engine don’t let your bond be frady, be prepared to meet Lady.” Edward recited. “Follow the rainbow sun? Where in the name of Sodor does the sun change colors like that? Is it like Sodor’s version of an eclipse”? Romeo asked conflicted. “In class last year I did a history report on the abandoned Shining Time station, there used to be a locomotive that ran on the Indian Valley Railroad called the Rainbow Sun. Maybe this engine is sentient on Sodor and knows Lady’s whereabouts”? Cleo speculated. “Maybe, but just to be sure you guys should talk to Rusty at the Skarloey Railway and see if they’d be willing to tell you what they know about Lady.” Edward advised. “But the Skarloey Railway is for narrow gauge engines, if Rusty’s not at any of the stations that meet up with the standard gauge railways, how are Thomas, Gordon, and Scotsman supposed to find them”? Percy asked. Romeo thought for a bit before an idea came to his head. Romeo stood in front of Gordon, who looked at the teen in confusion. Romeo brought out his whistle and blew into it. With a huff and a puff, steam whooshed out of Gordon’s funnel and engulfed the big engine. Once the steam cleared, the steam team starred at Gordon in stunned silence. The quiet was broken when Thomas burst out laughing, followed by the rest. Romeo had the gold dust shrink Gordon down to the size of an average narrow- gauge engine. “Oh, the indignity”! Gordon said surprised. “Well, look at the bright side Gordon, now we can find Rusty without any trouble.” Thomas grinned. “Anyways we should head out to Skarloey’s first thing in the morning, I’ll call up Darius before bed and let him know what’s going on.” Romeo said. Cleo and the engines agreed. “Alright, goodnight, everybody.” Romeo said as the engines settled in their berths. Gordon huffed annoyed. “This will wear off, won’t it”? Gordon asked. Romeo shrugged cheekily. Luckily, by sunrise Gordon had returned to normal. With help from the firemen, Romeo and Cleo got Thomas and Gordon up and running. Cleo and Thomas headed out to the Search and Rescue center first, they would be needing Rocky the break down crane’s help with transferring the engines to and from the standard and narrow- gauge lines. From there they met up with the others at the transfer yards. Darius was unhooking the Flying Scotsman’s second tender, much to the annoyance of the engine. “And just why exactly do I have to leave my other tender here”? Scotsman asked. “Because we don’t know if the narrow- gauge lines can withstand the extra weight of the second tender. Besides it’s not like you’ll need it while we’re on the Skarloey Railway.” Darius explained. “I don’t have that much gold dust left and Darius still hasn’t gotten a whistle. Cleo are you able to use your whistle to transform the engines to fit the narrow- gauge line”? Romeo asked. Cleo nodded. She blew her whistle as loud as she could. Thomas, Gordon, and Scotsman were soon whooshed down to narrow- gauge size. “Alright Rocky, bring us over to the narrow- gauge rails.” Darius said. With Rocky’s help the three engines were soon on the other railway. The three siblings thanked Rocky for his help and headed out. Cleo thought it would be best to find the controller of the railway, Mr. Percival, for he would know where Rusty was. Mr. Percival was at the Skarloey engine sheds along Sir Handel, Rheneas, and Duncan when the kids found him. The Thin Controller and his engines were not expecting to see Sir Topham Hatt’s engines on their railway. “Hey, Mr. Percival. We’re looking for Rusty, do you know where they’re at”? Romeo asked. Mr. Percival stuttered. “They should be at the slate quarry, just follow the track ahead of you and it should take you right there.” Mr. Percival answered. “Thanks Mr. P! C’mon team”! Romeo said. The way to the quarry was narrow as the surrounding hills and mountains closed in. Thomas wasn’t bothered by the enclosed space, but Gordon and Scotsman were a bit claustrophobic. Once they finally made it to the slate quarry, they found Rusty at a coal hopper. “Hi Rusty”! Thomas called out. Rusty wasn’t expecting to see Thomas and the others on the narrow- gauge railway. “Thomas? How in the world of Sodor are you here”? Rusty asked.

“Magic”! Thomas simply stated. “Magic? You mean like gold dust? But engines like us can’t use it unless...” Rusty paused when they saw the three siblings. “Hey”! Romeo greeted. “Humans, from the other realm! You three are the ones Lady brought here to Sodor”! Rusty said astonished. “Yup, but we got some bad news. Lady’s in danger, Diesel 10 is planning on destroying her.” Darius informed. Rusty looked horrified. “He can’t do that! Doesn’t that bolthead know if Lady is destroyed there will not be a guardian of magic”? Rusty said fuming. “What’ll happen if there’s no guardian of magic”? Cleo asked. “For one thing people will start fighting over it again and second, if Diesel 10 destroys magic, all vehicles will lose their sentience and Sodor will become uninhabitable. “Rusty said gravely. The engines and kids were horrified. “He needs to be stopped! Rusty, we need to warn Lady, can you take us to her”? Romeo asked. “I can’t take you directly to her, but I can point you in the right direction. Up upon Dead End Mountain there is a set of buffers at the end of the line. This set of buffers are magical and will take you to Lady’s personal realm. However, they will only allow passage to those who have good hearts, whether they be human or engine. If the six of you are insistent on protecting Lady, I ask that you take great caution, who knows how far Diesel 10 will go to achieve his goals.” Rusty warned.

The steam team nodded in acknowledgement before heading out to Dead End Mountain. The track up hill was even narrower than the journey to the quarry, forcing the engines onto one track. Darius grew concern as he observed the rock formations, they didn’t look stable and Darius worried about them collapsing. He wanted to yell out to Romeo to let Scotsman and him take the lead, but the older brother didn’t want to cause an avalanche. The track soon became very bumpy as the terrain grew rockier. A rock got caught in Thomas’s side rods, before being flung with great force against a loose gravel pile. The gravel shook as it began collapsing. “Run”! Darius yelled. The engines sped up the line as the landscape tried to swallow them. Romeo and Gordon could see the magic buffers. “We need to slow down or we’re going to fall off the line”! Gordon warned. But Romeo could see that the rockslide was catching up. “C’mon Big G you can make it. Just keep puffing”! Romeo encouraged. Trusting his friend, Gordon charged right at the buffers. With a flash of rainbow light, Gordon soon found himself on a golden track passing through an underbrush of sorts. What was most peculiar was that the magic buffers had returned Gordon to normal size. Thomas and Scotsman followed suit. Up ahead Romeo could see a bright light at the end of the tunnel. The teen shielded his eyes as they exited the tunnel. When Romeo opened his eyes again, he saw that they were now in a lush valley, filled with a variety of colorful flowers. The track split into three, allowing each of the engines to have their own line. “Unbelievable.” Scotsman said is astonishment. Cleo looked up towards the sky and gasped. “The sun’s turned into a brilliant display of rainbow colors”! Cleo said surprised. The two older brothers looked up to see a sun radiating in a multitude of colorful lights. Romeo grinned. “Lady can’t be that far away. Let’s go Big G”! Romeo said enthusiastically. “Romeo wait! Don’t go running off, last time you nearly got flattened by Gordon”! Darius warned, but his voice was drowned out by Gordon’s whistle. Darius groaned. “Let’s go you three, before Romeo and Gordon end up causing an accident.” Darius addressed Cleo, Thomas, and Scotsman. They soon caught up with the two, who had stopped in front of the mountain base. Darius was about to berate his younger brother and his engine for taking off the way they did, but Romeo interrupted him by pointing ahead. Darius and Cleo watched in awe as a portal opened up before them, revealing a small Gazelle engine. “It’s Lady.” Thomas said in awe. Lady saw the team of six and smiled warmly. “Hello, you three, I’m glad to see that you’ve made friends with the engines.” Lady said happily. There were so many questions the kids had for Lady, but that would have to wait until they dealt with Diesel 10. “I sense that there is great worry in your hearts, tell me children, what is ailing you”? Lady asked sincerely. Cleo spoke up. “Your ladyship there is a devious diesel that wants to destroy you. His goal is to rid Sodor of all its steam engines, but in doing so he will be putting all of Sodor in grave danger”! Cleo warned. Lady was surprised. “This diesel mustn’t be allowed to continue in his endeavor. I will not allow him to put the lives of Sodor in jeopardy. However, I’m afraid I alone will not be able to stop him. Will you six be able to assist me in protecting Sodor”? Lady asked. “You bet”! Romeo said. “Gladly”! Cleo said. Darius had second thoughts. He didn’t want his siblings to be put in danger, but he knew they really cared about their human and engine friends. “You can count on us Lady.” Darius responded.

#ttte #thomas the tank engine #thomas and friends #ttte thomas #ttte gordon #ttte flying scotsman #gordon the big engine #flying scotsman #sodor #ttte lady

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neokids · 3 years

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Fortune's Fool: Act VII

Masterlist

Act VII

Tw: Lots of blood, character death, violence, murder, guns, knives, weapons, foul language, self-inflicted wounds, suicide, overall graphic content

In just a span of a few days, whispers have already spread. At first, it was only suspicions that it wasn’t something natural or a person but the bible repeating itself. People started to believe that it was something like 10 the plagues of Egypt, this time happening in Seoul.

Then people started to see things.

Couples who had their afternoon strolls reported seeing a slimy creature dive into the Han river. Some Viper workers said they had heard low growling and grumbling noises they thought came from the machines, but when they turned it off, the bizarre noises only grew louder. Fishermen who worked late at night reported to see silver flashing eyes in the water. Perhaps the most terrible “sighting” would have been near the Poculum. A customer was passing by with the intentions of having a drink late at night only to see a panting, struggling creature near the garbage disposal. It was unnatural for sure, the shadow it cast resembled nothing like the creatures and animals that walk the face of the earth today.

“It has eyes of the devil, mama!” Yeji heard the little boy in front of her exclaim. They were currently waiting in line to get hot buns from a fast food restaurant. Yeji watched the boy as he excitedly told his story to his mother, guessing he had heard it from a playmate. “The monster had a spine as sharp as knives” The boy added, causing his mother to look at him disinterestedly. There have been numerous deaths added from the original incident, causing people to speculate. But the more people talked, the more the truth has been twisted.

Yeji would have brushed off the rumors, ruling it as a way to keep children frightened when they were being unruly. But the fear people have been feeling is very real, their lives were in danger. There must be a reason to why people had started talking, speculating.

“Nonsense.” The mother scolded her child, as she fiddled with her bracelet. The mother was obviously scared as well, hearing her son's stories did not help whatsoever.

“They say it is like a modern day dragon!” the boy added, not even bothering to listen to his mother, “It attacks the gangsters at night when it smells their blood. It hides in the shadows, waiting for the perfect time, then boom! It attacks.” The child said, his hand motions accompanying his exaggerated story.

The mother could only look and sigh at her son, “It is not only the gangsters who are dying, nae adeul,” The mother paused, looking at his now terrified son. “No one is safe now.” She continued as she placed a hand on her son’s shoulder.

That’s one comforting mother alright,

The son suddenly stopped in his tracks. He looked at his mother, fear replacing the jolly expression he had before. “Am I going to die, mama?” The boy asked.

“Of course not.” The mother said in a defensive tone. She quickly got the two bags filled with steaming buns in front of her and left, with her son still quite scared.

Who wouldn’t be in a time like this?

As they left, Yeji couldn’t help but stare at their disappearing figures. A child, no older than five, was already worrying about whether or not he would live another day. A child like him should be worrying about what flavor of ice cream he should get, or what he should play with his friends. He shouldn’t fear for his life. How much time did they have left until the city of Seoul became nothing but a mass graveyard?

“On us, miss.”

Yeji snapped out from her train of thought to see a bag already in front of her, filled to the brim with steaming hot buns.

“Everything for the princess of Seoul.” The old baker said with a smile. Yeji took a better look at the place, then at the old man in front of her. The bakery was very old, to the point where you could see loose wires everywhere. The man in front of her was also very old, it looked like the bakery was all he had. The only reason why Yeji was here in the first place was because Lia wouldn’t stop bugging her about trying the famous steam buns in Hongdae.

“You have a family, ahjussi?” Yeji asked as she took the bag, the man’s face lighting up immediately.

“I do! I have a lovely wife I come home to everyday and five children! Two girls and three boys!” The baker answered as he perched his elbows on the window.

“I see,” Yeji paused as she took something out from her pocket, it was a red envelope with gold lettering. The man’s face grew in shock. “No miss Hwang, it is in the house! We have been affiliated with the Vipers for a long time now and I owe everything to them. Please it is okay.” The man said as he pushed the envelope back.

“No, please do take it. You have worked hard enough.” Yeji said as she placed the envelope in the baker’s calloused hands. With a smile, Yeji left.

As she browsed the streets of Hongdae, she couldn’t help but let out a breath of relief. She was relieved she was able to have a few hours to herself. She had just finished visiting the drug den her father had sent her to, and it was more boring than she thought. She expected a top secret lab, like the ones she would always see in movies. Only for her to be greeted with a smelly and sketchy apartment. When she had collected the money, the man passed it to her half-asleep, he too looked high on whatever he was on that moment. She had only been there for a solid 30 seconds and her duty was done for the day. Hongdae was filled with lovers taking their strolls, family spending some quality time together, friends on dates, and native weirdos too.

“The end is near! The world is going to end! Jeremiah 11:11! There is only one cure!”

Yeji grimaced as she tried to quickly pass the man. She tried to cover her face in hopes of not getting seen by the shouting man, but to her misfortune, the man had locked his eyes on her. The man started to head her way as she quickened her pace. She thought he had lost the man following her, only for him to suddenly jump in front of her.

Does this man not know who I am?

“Salvation!” The man screeched, causing Yeji to freeze in her tracks. The man flailed his arms in the air, as if he was waiting for someone to pick him up. “Spread the word of salvation, miss!” He exclaimed as he took another step towards her.

Yeji was quick to back away, she was getting weirded out by the old man, “I’m not that religious, sorry.” She decided unsure on what to say, the man’s eyes suddenly grew wider until it could pop out from his socket anytime.

“The doctor can give us a cure.” He said. “I’m not quite sure a doctor has found a cure yet,” Yeji said carefully.

“The doctor saved me!” The man further added. This time, Yeji wasn’t sure if he was referring to doctors, or a particular doctor.

“Hey you know what, a doctor saved me too.” she said as she placed her hands on her hip. “I was like what, seven years old?” she continued, amusing herself now. “I bumped my head on my mother’s picture frame and let’s just say she was worried more about the picture frame.” She said, remembering it like it was yesterday. “Ever since then, I started eating apples.” Yeji said as she looked at the man, waiting for him to catch her joke.

“Because you know…” She trailed off, the man only looking at her in a blank manner. “An apple a day, keeps the doctor away!”

The old man only stared at her. He looked at her like she was speaking some sort of foreign language no an on earth had ever heard of.

“Corny joke?” Yeji asked, speaking Korean a bit more slowly for the man to understand. “Come on, an apple a day keeps the doctor away, right? Come on, I deserve a chuckle at least.”

The man groaned and stomped his foot, signaling for her to take him seriously.

“The doctor is only one person.” he hissed, his face contorting into a weird facial expression Yeji couldn’t quite figure out. “A person of great passion. He gave me the cure and I am now immune to this madness. An injection! I am supposed to be dead! When my friend had clawed himself and lay dead next to me, I should have been next! But I am here! Alive and well!”

Yeji took another step back, one she should have taken before the man had started talking.

“Good for you,” Yeji said, thinking of an escape plan. “But I, uh, have places to be.” Before she could turn around, the man had already grabbed her wrist.

“Salvation!” The man screamed, “Only the doctor could bring salvation!” She quickly jerked her hand back away from the man as she hurried off.

She took sharp turns every now and then, making her route in a dark alleyway. She passed by groups of men who seemed like they were all ready to kidnap the next person they see. She passed by men throwing knives at each other, she also passed by a group of women aiming their guns at each other, but she was not scared. She was in her territory, she was above all.

Just as she was in the middle of another alleyway, Yeji immediately stopped to the feeling of a cold metal pressed against her neck. She knew it wasn’t a threat of any Viper, no Viper dared. Her mind ran wild, thinking of all the possible people who would try such thing,

Until a familiar voice had said: “Don’t make a sound. Keep walking, and I won’t shoot.”

The feeling of uncertainty immediately was replaced by the feeling of rage. Did he really wait for Yeji to enter an isolated place? Until she was far from the crowd? Did he really think that would work on her?

“You don’t know me as much as I thought you would.” Yeji said quietly, maybe Jeno didn’t know her at all when they were still friends. Maybe he never really cared to know about her. Maybe he just agreed to be friends to get information from her, and he did.

“Walk,” Jeno demanded.

Yeji stood still. As she planned, Jeno thought she was scared and so he eased the press of his gun against her neck. She slowly brought her hand to trace Jeno’s gun, her sudden caress took him by surprise. From his gun, her hand trailed to his own. Touching his long fingers, to his prominent veins. Her touch was light and held no danger whatsoever,

Or so he thought.

She whirled around, faster than Jeno could even process. In a blink of an eye, she had already slapped the gun from his grip causing it to drop on the floor somewhere. She had bent his arm in a way no arm should be bent. She had him quickly pinned to floor, her legs on both sides of his hips with a knife pressed to his throat.

“Let’s try this again, shall we? Like normal civilized people.” She breathed. Jeno too was trying his hardest not to breathe too much, or else his throat would come in contact with the knife. His dilated eyes narrowed at her, as he took a breath.

“Normal civilized people?” He mocked her tone, his voice a bit raspy. “You have a knife pressed against my throat.”

“You had a gun pressed against my neck.”

“Does it look like I have a choice? I’m in your territory.”

Yeji glared at him as she pressed the knife further into his skin causing a drop of blood to appear.

“Stop! Stop!” Jeno flinched. “I’m sorry.”

With one quick motion, Yeji could have sliced his neck open. She had been dreaming of this for four years, she was almost tempted to give it a try. Although she was fighting all thoughts she had of killing him, one thought had crept up in her mind.

Jeno still smelled like he used too. He smelled like smoke and mint, with a hint of his perfume. Noticing this particular detail made Yeji think how possible it was for everything and nothing to change.

“Well go ahead then,” Yeji prompted, “Explain yourself.”

She could feel Jeno trying to fight, but with one press of her blade, he would stop. She could track his every movement just from the tip of her blade.

“I needed information,” Jeno managed.

“Surprisingly.”

His eyebrow arched, “If you let me go, I could explain.”

“Well let’s see…” Yeji said, pretending to think. “How about no? I prefer if you explained like this.”

“Oh, Yeji”

Click.

The sound of someone pressing the trigger echoed all throughout the alleyway. Yeji looked to her left to see the gun she had disabled a while go still in its position. She looked back on Jeno to see him smile, his smile was almost mocking.

“Did you really think I would only bring one?” He asked in a teasing manner. “You don’t know me as much as I thought you would.” He added, mocking her. Famous eye smile a contrast to his actions.

The feeling of cold hard metal suddenly touched her waist. It was as if the gun had started to burn through her clothes and made its imprint on her skin. With no choice, Yeji had to remove her knife against Jeno’s kneck. They both stood up and in unison, put their weapons away.

“The man who died in the Poculum,” Jeno began as he dusted his polo shirt. “Do you remember his mismatched shoes?”

Yeji rolled her eyes, she couldn’t believe she was actually having this conversation with the Jeno Lee, then nodded.

“I found the other shoe in the Han river the other day, the same spot where the first men had died,” He continued, “I think he was able to escape, only succumbing to the madness the next day, in your club.”

“Impossible!” Yeji denied, “What kind of science is–”

“This is no longer in the fields of science, Yeji.”

Her hands had quickly balled into fists, bunching up her blouse in the process. Jeno was really on a whole other level of stubbornness when he was focused on something. She let out a sigh as she closed her eyes,

“What do you want?” She asked, opening them again to see Jeno’s serious expression.

“I need to know whether or not if he is indeed the same man. I need to see his shoes, see if they match, if they do, this madness might be even contagious.”

Contagious,

Meaning to say that the man who had died in her club, his blood spraying in a room filled with her people, might be infectious. If that was the case, the Viper Gang is in huge trouble.

Yeji’s panic started to kick in.

“Maybe they were in some type of cult,” Yeji suggested without much persuasion. “Maybe he didn’t want to be apart of whatever they were doing, only for him to decide that he actually wanted to a day later.” But she had seen the terror of the man during his last few moments, he couldn’t speak but his eyes told everything Yeji needed to know.

Oh dear God she knelt beside the man, looked him in the eyes, and asked him what caused it. What were the chances of her getting infected?

“You and I both know that something’s not right here.” Jeno said, breaking Yeji’s small panic attack. “By the time this has alerted departments, many more innocent people will have died.”

Jeno accidentally realized what he had said, causing him to fall silent. Yeji stared at him for a while, her gaze blank, void with any emotion.

“As if you care,” She said quietly, almost inaudible. But he still heard her. “About innocent people dying.” She looked away from him in case he could see the slight water in her eyes.

Every muscle in his body tensed.

He inhaled sharply, “Fine,” he paused, “My people.”

Hearing it from him definitely felt worse. She let out her breath she didn’t know she was holding and turned around.

“Move.” She said, walking away. Only this once would she allow herself to help him, she needed the answers too. “The morgue closes in a few hours.”

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undertalethingems · 5 years

Text

Bark at the Moon, Chapter 8: Local Cryptid

Or read on my Ao3>

Rating, Setting: Gen, Pre-canon

Chapter Warnings: None

Chapter Summary: A rumor's been spreading in Snowdin...

"I'd dismissed it as gossip myself, but then that Ice Cap said they attacked it," Dogaressa was saying, catching Undyne's attention as she stepped indoors.

"What's going on?"

"Oh! Captain!" Dogamy yelped, and the dogs gathered around the table at Grillby's quickly stood and saluted.

"At ease," she said, and the group collectively wagged their tails as they sat back down. "Really though, what were you talking about before I came in?"

"Some rumor," Doggo replied dismissively. "It's been going around a couple weeks now. Supposedly there's some kind of beast running around attacking people. Some even think it's a human. I don't believe a word though, I haven't seen anything."

"And we haven't smelled anything," Dogamy added, his wife nodding. "It was all just hearsay until two days ago, but everyone's been on edge because of it."

"Two days ago--that's when the Ice Cap saw it?" Undyne surmised, and her crew nodded.

"Did they get a good look at it? If someone's causing trouble--or if it IS a human--we can't let them escape justice. You know the policy."

The dogs exchanged looks.

"Well..." Dogamy started.

"The Ice Cap didn't exactly see what they attacked," Dogaressa said, drumming the table with her claws, her brows furrowed. "All they could say was that it was big and white--frankly, that could be anyone at this table. Or even just a snowbank... The rumors, though..."

"Supposedly," Doggo picked up, "it's some kind of deathly skeletal beast that picks off people who stray too far into the woods to eat their dust. Sounds like something parents would say to scare their kids if you ask me. Uh... that's why we haven't reported it. We were just discussing what to do before you walked in."

"I see." Undyne narrowed her eye. "...Skeletal?"

Doggo shrugged. "Yeah, all made of bones, like the brothers who used to live around here, but no one's actually seen it so who knows... By the way, have you heard from either of them lately? I thought sure Papyrus would be back from vacation by now, and you said Sans was sick... but it's been a real long time..."

Undyne studied her crew's somber faces and made a quick decision. "Papyrus is fine, I've been in contact with him. As for Sans... we don't know where he is--just that he... probably isn't dead. Seems he's taking a vacation of his own."

The table considered her words somberly.

"There's been some speculation that he was one of the beast's first victims," Dogaressa said quietly. "Of course, no one else has disappeared, so it's kind of silly, but... he has been gone for a while, and other people have been attacked."

"It's been a lot more glum without either of 'em runnin' around," Doggo sighed, propping his head on a paw, and Undyne's heart twisted.

"Well, I'll let Papyrus know how much you guys miss him, and... I guess, keep an eye out for Sans--and this so-called beast. If people are getting hurt, we need to bring it--or whoever's behind this--into custody as soon as possible. I'll have more formal orders for you later, but if you'll excuse me, I DID come here to order food."

The dogs nodded and waved her off, and she headed for the counter.

"Hey Grillby, long time no see. Yeah, one order of cheese fries, thanks."

She waited on her food, thoughts buzzing. If the rumor was true, it didn't make any sense. A skeletal beast... she only knew one person who fit that description, and he'd been hanging with her for three weeks now. Her fries were set before her, interrupting her thoughts briefly, but she continued to ponder as she ate. Gossip and rumor wasn't unheard of--it, for better or worse, was a frequent form of entertainment in the Underground. But tales of strange creatures were rare--largely because almost everyone was a strange creature. Was someone trying to play a joke...? Being petty about their neighbor? Or... was there more to it? She needed information.

"Hey, so the rumor that's been going around, the one about the beast," she started, turning to the red bird sitting next to her. "Any idea who started it?"

The bird opened a bleary eye. "No one's entirely sure, Cap'n. Jus', one day it was all the kids could talk about. Think maybe it's some game they're playin'. Right Grilbz?"

The fire elemental paused to nod.

"Hmm. The Guard told me people have been attacked?"

"Sure, and everyone's all jumpy because of that," the bird replied, "but I still think it's the kids, messin' around with their magic. Someone oughta set 'em back on track."

Undyne snorted a laugh. "I get the hint. Still... no one's even seen it, but they're all pretty sure it's not a regular monster, huh?"

The bird thought for a moment. "Guess not. If it's someone new to town, why haven't they introduced themselves? Us Snowdin folks don't bite--the dogs are real good about that."

"I would hope so," Undyne stated, brow raised. "You're right though. If there really is someone out there attacking people, they need to be dealt with. Thanks for the info. Here Grillby, keep the change. Stay safe."

The dogs saluted her as she marched back out; she was really glad she'd decided to treat herself and learned about this situation sooner rather than later. What an odd rumor to start up... Her thoughts still swirled, trying to piece it all together. She was confident no one had seen Papyrus in his current state--but maybe something had gotten past her. If that was the case though, why had the rumors started in Snowdin and not Waterfall? And that relied on the description of the beast being accurate--as far as she knew, no one had actually seen it. It was an odd coincidence--but not enough for proof.

With a scowl deepening on her face, no one dared stop her during her patrol, and by the time she headed off to pick up Papyrus she was ready to punch something. People were getting hurt, and she couldn't understand or figure out why. Maybe it was reckless kids--but whether it was that, some rogue monster, or even a human somehow, they needed to be stopped. And if it was Papyrus at the center of this--then someone needed to be set straight about that too. But without any major leads or evidence, she couldn't take action. There was nothing she could do about it. She hated it.

"Undyne? You look... displeased..." Papyrus noted wincingly as she stormed into his sanctuary, and she checked herself.

"Sorry, uh... bad day at work. Hope things went okay here?"

"Yes! Quiet as usual! Well! Except for when I was practicing my best bone rattles. Would you care for a demonstration?"

Somehow, he was already brightening her mood--she broke into a smile. "Aaaah c'mere, I'll rattle your bones for ya!"

He dodged her lunge with a yelp and took off, and she was happy to chase after him and let off steam until she ran out of breath. Sinking to the cavern floor with a clatter, she laid her legs out in front of her and leaned back on her hands, panting. Papyrus, who had won yet another round, trotted up and turned in place a few times before laying down next to her.

"That should have put some distance between you and your problems," he said, and she laughed breathlessly.

"Oh, my god."

"I'm not wrong." He beamed.

"No," she replied, "no, you aren't. I feel a lot better. Thanks."

"Then I have done my job! Nyeh heh heh!"

"Hey, I saw some people who really miss you today."

"Really?"

"Yeah--I went to Grillby's for lunch and talked to the dogs, they're all still worried about you guys and hope you'll be back soon."

"Aw," Papyrus said, looking flattered. "I still can't believe I have so many fans! I'll have to be sure to say hello when I return--though, not by going to Grillby's. I could smell you coming almost as soon as I could hear you!"

"Hey, I don't smell that bad!"

Papyrus looked like if he'd had a nose, he'd have wrinkled it. "You smell like greasy, sweaty fish and it's a wonder I haven't keeled over."

"Oh my god! I'm gonna push you into the lake!"

"Then I'm taking you with me! You need a bath!"

"Just you try it, bone boy! NGAAAAAHHH!"

Undyne was up and chasing him again in a flash--and between her own single-mindedness and some clever moves on Papyrus' part she did end up careening into the lake. Armor sopping, she hauled herself up laughing, and had to take a moment to lean with hands on her knees. Papyrus watched her happily, tail waving in a motion that wasn't quite wagging but seemed to mean the same thing.

"Alright, I've had enough fooling around for now. Ready to head home?"

"Yeah! I think I'd like to try those clothes you talked about tonight."

"Awesome! Yeah, Alphys helped me pick some stuff out, she knows what dealing with a tail is like and had some great suggestions. I think you're really gonna like 'em!"

Papyrus bounced in place, then darted off to collect his things. Undyne was extra vigilant as they headed back; she scouted ahead to make sure the coast was clear, ears pricked and eye darting at every sound and motion they encountered. Escort missions were always a bother, but if her friend was being targeted by awful rumors... She wasn't taking any chances.

They got back to her house without incident, but Undyne had made a decision. She'd considered leaving the strange sightings to the Snowdin unit until further notice, certain they could handle it. But the more she'd thought about it, the more she was certain someone had seen Papyrus. Considering it was her duty to protect him while he tried to regain his other form, she owed it to him to track down whoever had started the rumor and get to the bottom of this personally. He was getting more comfortable with himself every day--he hadn't slipped in over a week--and she wouldn't let his own hometown ruin that for him. They spent the evening laughing, wrestling, and relaxing as they always did, but all the while, Undyne had her mind set on her goal.

It was only a few days later that she heard from the Snowdin dogs that word had spread of residents hearing eerie howls. According to witnesses, these cries came from deep within Snowdin Forest late at night, well after most monsters had gone to bed. But despite being the usual suspects, the calls were not coming from the dogs themselves--they didn't sound right. No one quite knew how to describe what they'd heard, but they all knew how it had made them feel: terrified.

All this had been charted in a brief report. Undyne looked it over again, shaking her head. She'd thought the beast rumor had been based on a sighting of Papyrus, but there was no way he was responsible for these howls. He'd have to be sneaking out every night while she was asleep... which, she supposed was possible. She wasn't sure he slept...? But, she was sure he wouldn't risk the whole trek to and from Snowdin every night, and she knew he'd never hurt anyone. He liked fighting, but... this wasn't his style at all. She had no reason to doubt him.

Undyne glared at the report and growled under her breath. Was the rumor and the howling even connected? The story had started up well before any strange noises... it didn't add up. None of this made sense and it was making her brain hurt. She slipped the note into the rest of the paperwork she'd put together so far, then left the small archive feeling antsy. It wasn't often a full report had to be filled out--most incidents were small and easily resolved, but this one... people had been hurt. Someone had to face justice for that, whether the beast was real or not.

And then, only a few days after the howling had begun, someone pounded on her door in the middle of the night. She ushered Papyrus into her room--a rare allowance--and answered to find the Dogi and Grillby decked out in a plastic poncho, wading boots, and an umbrella. His normally reserved expression seemed alarmed, and Undyne wasn't sure if it was because of a trek through hostile territory, or why he was here to begin with.

"What's happened?" she said quickly, and the Dogi saluted.

"Captain! We apologize for waking you, but this was urgent. The beast is real--Grillby saw it!" Dogamy replied, and his wife nodded.

"Grillby, please describe what you saw to Captain Undyne."

Her understanding of Hands was rusty, but Undyne did her best to follow the bartender as he explained. He'd just turned in for the night after closing, and hadn't been in bed long when a noise disturbed him. He got up to investigate, and found something digging in the restaurant trash.

At this point, he paused, looking unsure of himself.

"Go on," Undyne encouraged, and he rubbed the back of his neck before continuing.

He'd turned up his light, and seen it really was skeletal just like the rumor had said (and with Sans being his best customer, he knew a skeleton when he saw one). But the creature had noticed him as well, and he took no chances and cast a burst of flame at it. It darted off faster than he thought a creature of that size could move, and just like that, it was gone. He'd secured his trash, then found the Dogi as quickly as he could to give them his report and evidence. They'd made the decision to go to Waterfall from there.

Undyne considered all this carefully. "Thank you, Grillby. Whatever this thing is, it seems like it's getting bolder. We might have to put a curfew in place until we can catch it--for now, advise people to put their trash indoors and keep an eye out. Did you smell anything unusual on the evidence?"

Dogamy shook his head. "It just smelled like snow--and Grillby's--and maybe something else we couldn't identify. Not good enough to track. But here, you can have it for the file."

He handed her a small plastic baggie with a few torn-up napkins and a burger wrapper with holes punched in it--a bite pattern. She eyed it skeptically, but took it and set it on the table. "Thanks. You guys get some rest, call me if anything else happens. We'll continue the investigation tomorrow. Dismissed."

The Dogi saluted, and Grillby gave an awkward bow before they left. Undyne waited until they were well out of earshot.

"Okay Papyrus, you can come out. They're gone."

The door creaked, and he slowly crept out. "Is everything alright? What happened?"

She smiled at him. "Everything's fine! Just a small investigation that's ongoing, nothing you need to worry about."

"Oh, I'm not worried--I want to help! If. If I can. If that is a thing I can do. Which it almost definitely is."

Undyne shook her head. "No Papyrus. The Guard is handling this. Your assignment is staying safe while you try to get your regular body back."

Papyrus looked hurt. "You think I can't keep myself safe? You complimented my bullet patterns just last week--"

"I know!" Undyne snapped. "Your magic is great, but--"

"But what?"

She grit her teeth, rubbing her face. "... We're still trying to figure out what's going on, and everyone's on high alert for anything strange. Even Grillby... I don't want you getting hurt because someone made a mistake. I'll bring you in when I think the time is right, but until then, you have to stay hidden, and no investigating on your own. Promise?"

Papyrus studied her for a bit, and closed his eyes. "... I promise, Undyne."

She breathed a sigh. "Alright. And I'm SERIOUS! No sneaking out!"

He jumped, then nodded quickly. "I'm sure if I did not get in trouble out there, I would be in a definite quantity of trouble with you, and that is the opposite of a calming thought. So. I'll just wait here! You can count on me!"

Undyne smiled. "Good. I'm gonna go back to bed so I'm ready for tomorrow. You should try and rest too."

"I will. Goodnight, Undyne."

"G'night."

Undyne turned back to her bedroom. With all this new information, falling asleep would he hard... But it was better if she faced this with a clear head.

Because the only thought she'd had that seemed to make any sense was that this creature was Sans, and that couldn't be right. She'd never admit to Papyrus, but she was starting to doubt he was even alive at this point... and they'd both told her this shapeshifting thing was unique to Papyrus. But Undyne didn't know of any other skeletons...

Even if it was Sans somehow, she couldn't let Papyrus go charging in, not when he matched the description of the creature everyone was either attacking or had orders to capture. Until she knew more, she couldn't let him get involved. She settled into bed, one thought clear above the others.

No matter who or what this creature was, it wouldn't escape.

#undertalethingem writes #gaster blaster au #papyrus (undertale)#Undyne (undertale)#snowdin dogs #finally getting this posted here!#bark at the moon fic

298 notes · View notes

okay-j-hannah · 5 years

Text

Synonyms For Home

Smosh : Prompt

Damien x Reader

Word Count: 3486

Warnings: Just the most relateable ish I’ve ever written... except for having THE actual Damien Haas in my life 😭 I heckin’ wish

Request: ““sometimes home has a heartbeat” First of all THANK YOU for writing damien haas because I can never find any inserts of him :( also I chose this dialogue because I really like it and can be used in a friend to lover thing? I’d like a angsty gone fluffy one? I often run away from potential relationships and I’d like something based around that. thank u for doing what ya do <3″ - @dancingpanda137

Prompt:

31. “Sometimes, home has a heartbeat.”

Note: I completely understand running out of Damien Haas fics 😂 I have definitely read about 99.99% of the content out there! Also I totally feel your pain about running away from potential relationships... this was a lot of fun to write!

A/N: At one point you’re going to have to stop running away from every potential relationship; there’s more to life than just stressing about it

Part Two: Homeward Bound

(this gif... This Gif... THIS GIF... ThIS giF... What am I going TO DO WITH MYSELF?!)

(Y/N) was speeding down the office hallways, a satchel at her side along with multiple plastic bags on her arms and a large drink carrier in her hands. A pencil stuck awkwardly from behind her ear as she mumbled the checklist she'd made earlier that day.

Sharply turning a corner without hesitation, she made it to the meeting room and gave a quiet, but swift knock. She opened it carefully and wiped her face of concentration to replace it with a wide grin.

Ian paused his presentation of a fresh project by waving at (Y/N) and gazing excitedly at what she brought.

"Don't mind me," she whispered, the same thing she said every day when she made her deliveries.

All the Smosh Pit cast were there, including the Squad, Tommy, Monica, Matt Raub, and Garrett. They were going over ideas for Smosh Winter Games, something that hasn't happened for a few years.

But (Y/N) was more focused on getting her own job done, starting with the drinks and passing them to their corresponding owners. She did it in such a fluid motion that no one doubted their cup was exactly what they ordered.

Next, she opened the plastic bags digging into her arms and handed out sandwiches and salads, as an added treat. She normally pitched in a few extra dollars to buy a better lunch for her coworkers, and she could see the speculating eye from Matt Raub as he accepted his deluxe.

She put her best smile on and waved a hand, "Don't worry about it." And before she left, she reached into her satchel and extracted a small box of cookies, "For dessert."

And before anyone could protest the homemade treat, she ran out of the room with a few more drinks and meals to pass out.

This was such a frequent occurrence for (Y/N) and the Smosh Family. She had become kind of like the mother of Smosh, taking care of the numerous little things while still finding time to take care of the cast and crew with goodies and smiles.

That didn't mean she never got stressed.

Her step was quick again as she made her way back through the halls, waving at a few friends as she went. That checklist in her head never seemed to grow smaller:

Get Damien his coffee

Give cookie box to Smosh Games

Find Sarah for guest star progress reports

Check to see if Damien actually ate his lunch

Write paper about that Tinder for Hotdogs idea

Give Tommy a hug and see how he's doing later

Invite Shayne to the hangout Damien came up with

Text Courtney about filming in her tiny car

Find Damien a date for...

Someone crashed right into (Y/N), sending the last few cups of coffee into the air and all over her shirt. She jumped at the steaming hot liquid, pulling against the fabric to keep it from her skin.

"Oh, damn, I'm sorry (Y/N)."

She winced and peered up to see Damien's sympathetic face, "It's... It's fine. I'll - I'll just bump a few things on my list and go get changed and grab more coffee."

He immediately knelt down to pick up the remnants of the cups and carrier, "I'm guessing this one's mine? Serves me right not looking where I'm going."

He gave her a smile, his eyes crinkling up as he did so. It made her heart skip a beat.

"Don't worry about it. I'll just..." she was still holding away her sticky shirt, closing her eyes and thinking hard, "I'll figure something out."

Damien sighed, "I just ruined your whole agenda, didn't I?" He picked up her pencil and quietly slid it to behind her ear, "Please don't stress out about it."

She had to give herself a few seconds to process his last sentence before continuing, "Um... that's almost physically impossible at this point. With summer ending we've got to find a whole new season of things to do."

He listened but contorted his brow at how uncomfortable she was standing there, "You know I have one of my Smosh sweatshirts in my office. You want to change into that? Get yourself out of brewing in your own shirt."

When he laughed at his own jokes it made (Y/N) stutter so uncontrollably, "Uh... actually, that'd be really nice. Then I won't have to drive home when I run more errands."

He led the way to his desk, smirking, "More errands? Do you just intentionally want to give yourself a busy schedule?" He extracted a colorful pastel sweatshirt and handed it to her.

"Well, who's going to pick up the new Mario Party release?" she walked away to change in the nearby bathroom, "You have to film today."

It only took a minute to change, but maybe two minutes to stare in the mirror and tell herself she was wearing Damien's sweatshirt. Not to mention smell his cologne from the collar.

"And I know that if you get stressed out, I just stress out more and then there's this whole cycle of intense panic." She paused when she met him at his desk again - he was holding her satchel and a strange look was in his eye.

"You look cute."

She had to focus all her energy into not widening her eyes at his words, "I got to go, thanks for the sweatshirt! I promise I'll get you something else later today for that coffee fiasco." She was practically running out of the room by the end of her sentence.

It always took a few minutes after a talk with Damien to convince herself that he only saw her as a friend. That he cares about her because he's her friend. That the possibility of getting so close to him was absolutely terrifying.

But she had to push past it, always the one to run away from those potential relationships.

She had to hurry back on her list if she had hopes to finish everything before the big hangout that night. And by big hangout, she meant Damien, Shayne, and Courtney. (Y/N) always considered scenarios where Damien was involved a big deal.

Completing a majority of running errands and skipping her own lunch to do so, she ran over to Smosh Games to deliver cookies and catch up with Wes and Mari. Whenever she could, (Y/N) always tried to make time to talk to each of the cast and crew.

It's always nice to know you have a friend at the office.

"Guess what I brought?" she flashed a dazzling smile, opening her satchel.

Wes practically flew as he turned in his chair and wheeled towards her - thankfully his headphones were Bluetooth and not attached to the monitor.

"Suckers? Cupcakes? Oh! Please say it's..."

(Y/N) extracted her homemade box and shook it in front of him, "Chocolate chip cookies."

Mari wheeled around too, "You're going to be the sole reason he's gonna have a sugar coma later."

He practically squealed, a large childish smile on his face, "You're too good to me, (Y/N)." He quickly pulled one out and took a bite, "Oh... you are way too good to me."

She laughed, pulling Damien's empty chair from his gaming console to sit down, "Where is everyone?"

Mari shrugged her shoulders, "Probably sneaking around to plan my reception."

Wes paused in his munching and widened his eyes, "Hm? I - I thought they were..."

"I know they left you here to keep me distracted," Mari smirked, "I also know that Peter left you guys in charge of ensuring I'm a happy bride - so don't lie to me."

Shaking a few crumbs from his fingers, Wes rolled his eyes, "Fine. They're coordinating who's decorating your car."

"Which reminds me," Mari flashed her gaze back to (Y/N), who was fidgeting in her seat. "Have you found yourself a date for the wedding yet?"

Wes gasped and nodded enthusiastically, "I thought for sure he was going to ask you by now."

"I'm not asking anyone out," (Y/N) stated adamantly, "You know I'm no good with... wait - did you say...?"

"I thought you were just going to go with Damien," he paused before quickly adding, "As friends."

(Y/N) felt the heat residing in her face, panic building in her chest, "No, I was actually supposed to find Damien a date later this week. I didn't want him to go alone."

"But you are?" Mari asked, leaning across the desks, pointedly raising an eyebrow towards Wes.

"I'm not the best at the whole dating - relationship thing. So, it's best if I just stay out of it."

Wes mumbled, "With the amount of stress you handle every day at work you'd think going on a date was nothing for you."

(Y/N)'s breathing was hitching, her trying to hide her fidgeting hands at the subject, "Can we please talk about something else?"

"Is that sweatshirt new? I've never seen it before," Mari was smirking again; she knew full well whose sweatshirt it was.

It took Wes only a few more seconds to realize it as well, "Did Damien give that to you?" He had the biggest fan boy eyes (Y/N) had ever seen.

But she was consumed with her own overwhelming emotions. The thought of so many people rooting for Damien and her to get together sent her nerves to the maximum. Sure, they were really good friends, but only that.

Any other possibility would melt her insides.

"Whatcha guys doing?"

Damien came waltzing into the room, followed closely by Joven and Laser. His eyes fell immediately onto (Y/N) sitting stony in his chair - the sight made him smile, but he hesitated.

"Are you okay, (Y/N)?" He was always the one that stepped in before she fell into a full state of panic, unbeknownst to him that he was normally the subject of the panic.

"I... I just - I don't know."

He walked over and outstretched his arms to her, giving her a sympathetic gaze to will her up to him.

Joven snapped his fingers to grab the attention of the other SG members, crazily pointing to usher everyone out.

(Y/N) sniffed and averted her gaze, finding her legs disobeying her to a standing position. And Damien wrapped his arms around her, holding her so tightly.

She was consumed by his presence, feeling her heart drop into her stomach. Hugs from Damien weren't uncommon, but they were always nerve-wracking.

"I told you not to stress out today." He rubbed a hand up and down her back, "But I definitely ordered your favorite food for tonight just in case. And we can play whatever game you like - even the scary games."

"But Shayne hates the scary games," she mumbled, the pang in her chest resounding at his comfort.

He laughed, "Shayne can hide behind the couch."

She could feel his heartbeat against her head. It pounded until it resided into her mind. It was always that that calmed her down. It was the same feeling she got when she was safe at home after a long day.

Was his heart beating a little fast?

"Feel better?" He pulled her back slightly to get a good look at her face.

She wished his arms were still around her, "You know I always do when you're there."

There was his laugh again that sent a shiver down her spine, "You look a little red in the face." He brushed a finger against her cheek to confirm his suspicion, "You're not sick, are you?"

Lovesick?

"I gotta go. Thanks for the hug, I really needed it." She grabbed her bag and became completely oblivious to how Damien's shoulders sunk. "I'll see you later tonight."

She rounded out of the Games room, smacking the side of her head as she put a hand to her temple. There was a pounding there that she was sure was going to grow into a headache.

She closed her eyes, needing to focus:

Bring treats for the editing room

Gather viewing statistics from Spencer

Not think about Damien

Help Monica with writing Tinder for Hotdogs

Confirm spot on the SmoshCast for next week's episode

Order dress for Mari's wedding

Not think about Damien's laugh

Start notes for the Two Truths episode she was going to direct

Not think about Damien's smile

Meet with Ian about Winter Games

Not thinking about falling asleep on Damien's lap tonight

Buy more ingredients for Wes' cookies

Check that the makeup room is fully stocked

Not thinking about Damien pulling a blanket over her before he would leave

It was almost impossible to concentrate on anything else as (Y/N) entered the film studio for Smosh Pit. Shayne was immediately waving at her and raising his eyebrows in a questioning manner.

She shrugged her shoulders, pointing towards her temple and mouthing, "headache," over the sound being tested through the mics.

That pounding was still resounding in her head.

Shayne nodded and mouthed back a, “sorry,” before patting the spot next to him on the couch. She gave a short smile and walked over, taking a deep breath.

“Having a day?” he whispered, the mics still being tested above them.

She bit her bottom lip, “Just a little one.” Then she folded her arms and leaned her head against his shoulder.

He started shaking with a laugh he was trying to hide, “You really are having a day. How many times to I get to see affectionate (Y/N)?”

She pouted, lightly smacking his leg, “I just got a Damien hug, of course I’m feeling affectionate.”

“Ah, yes, the Damien hug,” he moved into a character voice, “I’ve seen many a traveler receive one of those and never return the same.”

“Shayne!” Matt Raub could be heard behind the cameras, “I wasn’t kidding when I said we were checking sound.”

Shayne waved an apology and lowered his voice more, “So, that’s two strikes for having a stressful day. One: a Damien hug, and two: snuggles.”

(Y/N) turned her head to bury her face between Shayne’s arm and the couch, “I can’t help being busy at work.”

“But we can help take a load off,” Shayne muttered leaning over and reaching for something near his feet, “Got you a little something.”

She sat straight again, surprised at the gesture, “You got me something?”

“Don’t act surprised. Just because you give people treats all the time doesn’t mean they can’t give you something.” He handed over a medium sized box that was obviously just thrown together, “It was more Damien’s idea than mine, but we went during lunch.”

“Of course it was him,” she smiled, pulling back the lid and finding a few spa day essentials, goodies, and a couple new games for her PlayStation. “How did you know I wanted these games!”

His eyes widened at seeing hers light up, “You always talk about them, of course we knew you wanted them. And we got you some weird bath bomb-lotion-spray-flower stuff.” He threw his hands around as he talked, trying to amp up the quality of the present, “Just... we want you to relax every once in a while.”

A pair of hands came down on (Y/N)’s shoulders, causing her to jump at first, “We knew that one was your favorite scent.”

It was Damien again, hovering near her head as he leaned over the couch. (Y/N) cursed her mind, thinking that she would’ve been able to get away from his perfect eyes in the Squad room.

“Um... we called Courtney to figure that out,” Shayne stated with squinted eyes but a smile nonetheless, “She also was the one who told us where to find it.”

“I like to think I know what (Y/N) likes,” Damien retorted, hands still on her shoulders. “We thought maybe you should get a gift for a change.”

She didn’t know what to say, setting the box down and pulling away from Damien. His hands left a lingering touch on her shoulders.

“That’s really kind of you guys. I – I guess I’m not used to accepting presents,” she watched the strange exchange move from Shayne to Damien. They were looking at her with puzzlement, but she continued, “I thought you had filming to do, Damien?”

He looked slightly downtrodden, “I do – here. I’m shooting a Smosh Pit Weekly.”

A sigh left her lips, but she plastered on a smile, “Oh, I must have my schedule mixed up. You know what that means – I have to go straighten it out. I’ll see you guys, thanks for the...”

“(Y/N), are you avoiding me?”

Shayne whipped his head between his two friends, disbelief hanging in his gaze. He wasn’t sure this conversation was ever going to be brought up. Therefore, he practically skidded out of the studio, rolling off the couch.

(Y/N) could feel that panic filling up her chest, the pounding in her head. The redness was hitting her face again and the oversized sweatshirt was feeling strangely restricting.

“You’re getting red again. (Y/N) what’s wrong? What are you stressing about?” Damien walked around the coffee table and stopped when she took a step away from him.

“I only ever stress out about one thing.”

He heavily sighed, “I’m gonna need you to give me a little more than that.”

As he inched closer, she felt the panic manifesting itself in shaky hands and stutters, “We-We’re friends, right?”

She thought she saw his face dip a little, “Yes? What’s this about?”

“I - I only seem to feel overwhelmed when-whenever y-you're there.”

He paused, immediate hurt on his face, “Oh, I didn’t realize... I thought... I’m sorry that I...”

“But I also never feel better until you are there,” she gazed at the ground. “It’s very conflicting.”

“(Y/N), I think it’s about time we just get a few things off our chests,” he stated, a bit of redness hitting his own cheeks this time. “I’ve wanted to ask you something for a while.”

She finally peeked at him, “I always run away when I think I’m getting too close to a guy. I don't know why, but the thought of being that close to someone really scares me. But it’s also the only thing I can think about.” She watched his face go through a range of emotions as she held her breath in anticipation.

It was his smirk that got to her first, “I’ve been wanting to ask you to be my date to Mari and Peter’s wedding, but you keep running away every time I think I can start talking to you about it.”

Her breathing literally stopped, “Your date?”

“So, you run away from me because you want to be with me?” He was taking a few more steps towards her, practically right in front of her now. But she couldn’t move.

“That sounds complicated,” she whispered, eyes flickering all around his face.

He gave her a momentary cautious gaze, “Do you want to run away now?”

She eyed the close proximity of his face, “Only because you’re stressing me out. But I know I won’t feel better unless I stay with you.”

“Then this is okay?” he was wrapping her into one of his hugs, “I don’t like that I make you scared like this.”

She let out a breath that she felt like she was holding for hours, “I’m only scared about what’s going to happen next.”

She pulled away just enough to see his face, their arms still wrapped around each other. He leaned his forehead down against hers and gazed into her eyes. She swallowed hard, finding her hands moving – one sliding down to his chest and the other to the side of his face, feeling his jawline.

She realized that the pounding in her head had stopped. It was replaced with a pounding happening against her hand.

It was Damien’s heartbeat. The thing that’s been bombarding her all day.

Flickering her eyes back into his, she found Damien giving a slight smile as he peered down towards her lips. She gave a small smile back and before she knew it Damien was leaning all the way to meet her kiss.

It was instant fireworks exploding in her chest. Those spouts of panic fueled the butterflies in her stomach. Wrapping her hand to the back of his head, she tangled her fingers into Damien’s hair.

She could feel him smile into the kiss.

And as quickly as it began, they broke apart. Though they didn’t pull away from their embrace, still touching foreheads.

“I’m not going to let you run away this time,” Damien muttered, keeping a grip on her waist.

“I think I’m here to stay.”

She felt his heartbeat again, fast and strong against her hand. The one thing that’s always been able to comfort her.

And recognition had finally settled into her mind.

Sometimes home has a heartbeat. And home was where she was going to stay.

~~~

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capricornus-rex · 5 years

Text

Inseparable Dyad (5)

Cal Kestis x Reader

Summary: When Cal follows his instincts to revisit Zeffo, you sense a great disturbance and urgency in the Force. A trap was set by bounty hunters who wanted either—or both—of your heads, but no one knows who has put the price.

Notes: Oh wow, finally finished the last part! This was fun to write, especially the 4th part. But now it’s time for the close. Glad you guys liked it and thanks for the support! Stay tuned for more fics, I have a lot in mind ;)

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Masterlist

5 of 5

The Mantis is still traversing through hyperspace. It feels like it has been minutes since the ship outran the fighter ships and got away from the outpost. Merrin comes in holding two cups in each of her hands, a wisp of steam wafted out of the cups’ rims.

“It’s tea, it will help you relax,”

“Thank you, Merrin,”

She handed over each cup to you and Cal. You wrap your hands around the cup, savoring the heat spreading across your hands and then took a sip; you felt more of the heat within this time. Cal exhaled a sigh of relief with every sip, it seems that the tea is helping with releasing the tension from his muscles.

“Greez? Cere?” you called.

“Yeah?” Greez responded from the driver’s seat.

You stood up and sat on the vacant fourth seat in the cockpit. Cal stood by and leaned against the doorway frame.

“Any idea who that was?”

You heard Greez’s voice strain, “We just rescued you from the crime boss, Mux Odra,”

“Yeah, he introduced himself,” you cut in, hoping for a more elaborate answer. “Does he know either of you?”

“Well, he and I go way back, in a certain point of view,” Greez replied.

“Oh? And what’s that ‘certain point of view’?”

Greez struggled to explain in a way that would make you understand where he’s coming from in this situation. Cere then took the reins with the exposition.

“Mux Odra’s syndicate touches on illegal trafficking. Slave trade, auctions, exotic pet trades to name some.”

“But he tends to keep the ones he likes—they either go to his arena or his chambers.” Greez added.

“How did his men know that we were in Zeffo? The ambush looked like they were expecting us.” Cal joined in.

“They must’ve seen the Mantis on the landing pad,” Cere presumed. “They were able to jam our communication in-planet and off; that is why I couldn’t contact you from the ship.”

“I don’t expect you to know him before all of this,”

Cere leaned back to her seat, a slow, long sigh exited her nostrils, she avoided your eyes for a second and then turned them to Greez. You angled your head to Greez who had his back turned to you. There was silence in the ship. The captain felt all eyes on him, when he swiveled his chair, he found himself cornered by everyone’s stares—including Merrin way at the back, arms crossed over her chest and her hip leaning against the holotable’s edge.

Greez sighed loudly, it was more of a loud groan rather. He knew he owed everybody an apology and explanation, at least except Cere.

“Like I said, he and I go way back. Before this stint with Cere, a few years ago, I crossed him on a game of Sabacc. I won fair and square on that round, he just didn’t like to be on the losing side. Just a disclaimer though: I’m not into gambling anymore! Frankly, I don’t understand why he decided to take it out on you guys after so long. Moreover, why would he know that I’m travelling with two Jedi?”

“How many gang leaders have you pissed off, Greez?” You blurt.

But Greez’s last sentence clicked. Cal beat you to asking the question.

“Is he popular with the other crime bosses?”

“Mux Odra? Oh sure, the other bosses like him, no doubt. He’s the life of the party!”

You picked up where Cal was getting at, you connected the dots so far in this conversation about Odra.

“Crime bosses like Sorc Tormo?” you cut in.

“Yeah…” Greez’s nervous voice fades out.

You and Cal exchanged glances. Without speaking to each other, you came to a conclusion, it’s as if both of you have connected the dots and completed the whole picture. Whatever you two were thinking together may be a theory or a speculation, but it is the most likely one.

Cere sensed the growing tension between you and Cal, she sensed what you were thinking.

“Cal, [y/n], what are you two getting at?”

“You guys rescued me from Sorc Tormo, it doesn’t take a genius to know that I’m travelling with you, Greez.”

“You’re implying that Mux Odra knows about you two because of Sorc,” Cere realized.

“Yes, and looking back, I think Sorc Tormo was still a little sour on my escape. It’s not a stretch to presume that he gave word to Mux Odra.”

“But how did he find us in Zeffo?”

“Sorc Tormo has all of his goons scattered to any world we’ve been to so far, that’s why the goons saw the Mantis land and blocked our communication. They must have sent word while we were exploring, that is how the ambush was staged. I had a feeling about it earlier, before we got captured.”

Cere called that a fair point. The possibility of Mux Odra sending out goons the same way the Haxion Brood is doing is brought up, there was a short silence, thinking of the possible solutions to rectify it.

“Well, we’ve gotten rid of the Haxion Brood goons well so far, though it just means extra work if Odra decided to send his men out,” You point out.

“We can take ‘em, right, [y/n]?” Cal winked and you returned a smile.

Cere gave a reassuring smile at the two of you. As a recompense, Greez decided to chart the course to a safe place he knows. He reassured the crew that it’s totally fine and no one will come looking for you there. They won’t even know that Mux Odra and Sorc Tormo has made a joint bounty out of you and Cal.

You and Cal returned to the couch at the holotable, neither of you spoke for a few minutes but you sensed that he wanted to say something. The moment was awkward but, fortunately, short-lived.

“[y/n], back at the outpost,” Cal starts. “I was seeing images in my mind, but I had the feeling that it was coming from you—like, you were the one sending those thoughts to me, you were the ones seeing those images in your perspective. I saw it, [y/n]: the room, Mux Odra sitting down, and even his voice when speaking to you. That was all you, wasn’t it? I’m right, aren’t I?”

You processed what Cal said, you didn’t actually think it would work and have the images make it to Cal’s mind.

“Yes,” your voice was soft and low. “I think I did. When I was looking around, the thoughts started to run in my mind, and then you were the first person I thought of. I hoped maybe—just maybe—it would let you know that I wasn’t far from you. My instincts told me that it would work, turns out it did. The truth is: this is the first time I’ve done it.”

The truth surprised Cal indeed, so many thoughts ran in his mind but they mostly revolved on this Force ability that you have. It was just as rare as his Psychometry. Your Force ability allowed you to communicate with another Force-user or sensitive through your mind—regardless of distance—you are capable of sending them thoughts, sentences, or images to the other person’s mind. Given that you’ve had little experience with this, you needed undisturbed concentration to be able to send vivid messages to the receiver’s mind.

You confessed that when you first learned about this ability, you told your late master and asked you to demonstrate it; when she experienced and witnessed it she sensed feelings and somehow blurry images, unlike Cal who was able to wholly see images vividly as he sees you before him, feel sensations and emotions, and even hear voices that you hear in your point of view. Recalling your younger days, you experimented on your own ability—you showed it to your closest friends amongst the Padawans, one of whom was Cal. You once personally consulted Master Yoda about your ability, he theorized that perhaps only with an individual whom you have nurtured and sustained a true, strong bond in the Force—your ability will reveal its true lucidity.

This time, you consulted Cere to see if she knows anything to support Master Yoda’s theory. She joins you on the couch at the lounge.

“A dyad in the Force,” Cere inferred.

“A dyad…?” You softly mutter in confusion.

“It’s a connection between two Force-sensitive beings,” Cere raised her index fingers on both hands and joined them together. “Which makes them one with the Force. Many Jedi believe that it is a rare but powerful bond, just as powerful as the Force itself. What happened in the arena was the catalyst. Through your ability, [y/n], you and Cal could communicate more than just with thoughts and images; it can be developed and learned over time, of course. A dyad can work in many ways, yours is just one example,”

“Is that why we know what to do together without even speaking? It’s like, a feeling or thought and then it turns out right in the end,” Cal inquired.

“Yes,” Cere managed a small smile. “It’s exactly that. You two have a shared gift, a very rare one at that.”

Cere politely excused herself and returned to the cockpit.

There was silence after she left. You were processing everything that she just explained to you. You try to recall the past instances where the dyad was manifesting without either of you knowing. That morning in Bogano when you were fighting off the Oggdos is a possibility, the fight at the arena was the strongest evidence, and you remember that one time you were meditating, but got too deep into the trance but Cal’s voice was the one you heard and led your subconscious back to reality.

Suddenly, you felt Cal’s hand gently clutch your lap, you slightly flinch after being lost again in deep thought. His soulful eyes twinkled as you looked right into them. You take his hand on your lap, your fingers intertwined with one another, you beamed him a secretive smile and closed your eyes. He scooched closer so he can let your head rest on his shoulder, his free hand secured you on the front, embracing you; he could feel the rhythm of your breathing, the slow rise and fall of your shoulders as you breathed, his heartbeat was slow but loud, it pounded under your hand resting on his chest. Both of you drifted off to sleep as the faint sounds of your hearts and breathing lulled you in a comforting peace.

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nocturne-inuyasha-ff · 5 years

Text

Nocturne - Reluctant Longing

Nocturne - Chapter Three: Reluctant Longing

Rated - M (for suggestive adult themes, references to some violence, and coarse language)

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.

Kagome had rushed home in time to avoid Inuyasha strolling through the doorway. She had folded the hankimono up and hidden it within one of her modern bags she knew Inuyasha never rummaged through. Quickly, she'd changed into her usual miko garb and had even enough time to brew tea before he arrived.

To anyone else, her guilt may have been obvious, but Inuyasha was again oblivious to her inner thoughts, only thinking that her silence indicated how angry she still felt. Inside, she shook with fear. Any moment now, he would smell the scent of another male on her and blow up. He would have every right to, she told herself. Instead, he seemed to take the blame from their fight the night before.

He approached her from behind while she was readying a cup. His arms wrapped around her and she let out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding. Tears filled her eyes.

"Inuyasha, I'm-I'm sorry...about...about last night," she choked out.

"No, I'm sorry…" he whispered into the curve of her neck. "I should've been more…" he paused and searched for a word he'd heard her use before, "sensitive to your mood."

Any other day, Kagome would have retaliated to that statement.

'Her mood?!'

Because she was just so touchy these days. But instead, she let it go, her shame eating at her. She could not help but feel sad.

Here she was, dirty from a night with Inuyasha's elder brother, no less, and now in his arms as if nothing had happened. It crushed her soul to lie, but she knew that Inuyasha would never understand. She'd been enchanted. But why had she wanted it so badly? A part of herself knew she could have purged herself from the spell that had been cast on her. Why did she let it run its course?

Inuyasha was feeling very apologetic, and Kagome was feeling very guilty. When he began to plant light kisses down her neck, she moaned despite herself. He pulled her around, and their lips met with practiced ease. She wrapped her hands around his neck, twining her fingers through his hair. Despite herself, she wondered if Sesshomaru's locks felt as soft as his brothers or his lips as tender?

With some mental gumption, she was able to dismiss those thoughts and let Inuyasha's skilled hands work down her body, bringing her to life and back to the present. She buried the events from last night deep down and promised herself she would never bring it up again.

A couple of months passed with no incident. The crazy night where Kagome and Sesshomaru had met in the cave, deep in the forest had been put aside, and life went on as usual.

The days had turned from chilly to bitterly cold. Winter had arrived in full force, bringing wet snow and glacial, unforgiving ice. It was times like these where Kagome yearned for amenities from the future like space heaters or insulation. She had just come from a family that had fallen victim to smallpox. She had guessed what the illness was based on the sores seen all over the skin.

The lesions were mostly on the face and then spread down the appendages. But there was no way for her to tell for sure. It was a thankful thing that she'd brought some things back with her before the well had closed up, one being scores of books. Otherwise, she may have to rely on her own rudimentary knowledge of the illnesses and diseases which was entirely lacking since many of them had been eradicated in her time.

Still, since this particular disease was no longer around in the present, she was not vaccinated against it and had to take special precautions. Those special precautions being that she couldn't go near or touch those infected. Seclusion for the family was all she could do outside of leave instructions to make them comfortable. The sad fact of the matter was that these people had to recover on their own.

There was nothing she could do, and it ate at her. She found solace in that this was the only family to exhibit symptoms, and they were able to quarantine the family before it spread and killed. No other village in Sengoku Jidai could boast such knowledge.

She left the quarantined house and made her way back to Kaede's home. The older woman, who had mentored Kagome in healing, herbs, and other miko duties, did not get out much anymore. Kaede had developed arthritis in her joints, and it was increasingly painful for her to move about. She had a difficult time accepting her limited mobility, becoming somewhat cantankerous from being cooped up.

Kagome had brought some herbs from her own garden to brew in a tea that would soothe the inflammation that plagued the elderly woman. Her thoughts were somber as she approached Kaede's hut. She saw that Rin was just arriving as well. The young woman gave a friendly wave before disappearing inside.

Seeing Rin always made guilt blossom in the back of her mind. Rin had been Sesshomaru's ward before the well had closed six years ago and before Kagome's reappearance, he had deposited her here with Kaede to learn more about humans.

Every time that Kagome saw Rin, her heart fluttered with anticipation. Sesshomaru had come to pay Rin visits occasionally. Often to bring her gifts of some sort. Things he thought befitted a young human woman. Those visits were relatively short and uneventful. In fact, Sesshomaru was usually quiet, allowing Rin to do most of the talking. Still, he had not been to visit since before that night, and Kagome felt dread over the inevitable.

How long would it be before he came back? What would she do? How would she react? The thoughts raced through Kagome's mind, and she felt her breath hitch in her chest. Quite suddenly, she began to feel faint, her head started to spin, and her world faded to black.

"Kagome?!" a light, distorted voice called out. "Kagome, are you okay?!"

Kagome's eyes fluttered. Moisture from the condensation-soaked grass seeped through her clothes and helped to bring her back into consciousness. Rin leaned over her, concern warping her warm brown eyes.

"Are you okay?" Rin repeated.

Kagome pushed herself up and looked around.

"You fainted," Rin supplied. She held out her hand to Kagome and helped her up.

"Thank you. I-I'm not sure." Kagome brushed off her skirts despite them not being soiled. "I didn't eat breakfast today," she speculated.

Rin smiled and guided Kagome inside Kaede's house, one arm behind Kagome's back just in case there was another spell.

"It's well past lunch. You work yourself too hard, you know."

Kagome gave a half-smile. It was true that she had poured herself into her work. She needed something to pass the time and keep her from doing a tail-spin into her own guilt. Besides that, with Kaede out of commission and Rin an acolyte, her workload had doubled. The number of people who needed help and the influx of disease kept her on her toes.

"Thank you, Rin. I just need to sit, I think."

Once inside, Rin guided Kagome in front of the hearth. Kaede sat opposite, propped up against pillows and other items to keep her comfortable.

"Kagome, child, ye look pale," Kaede said.

"I'm fine. I just felt a little dizzy and lost my balance," Kagome explained.

Her head still swam, and she grabbed the sides of her head to keep the room from spinning. Out of the corner of her vision, she could see Rin moving about, and the motion was making her feel queasy. Kagome closed her eyes. The momentary pull of darkness was soothing.

Rin touched her shoulder. "Tea?"

She offered down a cup of some steaming herbal concoction. Kagome opened her eyes and took up the proffered cup.

"Thank you, Rin." She sipped on the tea, noting its bitterness but relishing the warmth that cut through her.

"Better?" Rin asked and sat down beside Kaede to watch Kagome.

She nodded and smiled. "Yes, much."

Finishing the cup, she felt much better. Her fainting spell had definitely been attributed to dehydration.

"Oh, before I forget, I brought some herbs for you Kaede. they can help with the pain." She pulled the herbs from a hidden pocket and passed it to Rin.

"Bless ye child," Kaede said. She looked at Rin. "Do ye mind, Rin?" she asked.

"Not at all," Rin said with a smile. She began to hum a tuneless song and set to prepping the tea.

Kagome watched as Rin picked up a tea kettle and steeped the dried herbs in hot water. She noted how Rin had grown into such a lovely young woman. She was still as chatty as ever, her time with Sesshomaru had not diminished her vocality. Again her thoughts drifted to him. Rin was a constant reminder.

"So, Rin...It has been a while since he's visited," Kagome said aloud. She broke under the pressure of her own curiosity.

Rin did not turn around, not thinking anything of the inquiry. "Yes. Lord Sesshomaru has been busy of late. He has had more frequent troubles with local warring states."

Kagome nodded with unfeigned interest. "Oh?"

"Jaken told me that some local lords were rallying and amassing near Lord Sesshomaru's lands. But he can handle that rabble no problem," Rin explained.

That explained why he had not visited in a while, Kagome consoled herself. Why did that make her feel better? This should not have made her feel anything at all. Yet her she sat, thinking about a man like some school girl. She shook the thoughts from her head.

Kagome spent another hour with Kaede and Rin, speaking about mundane things before she had to leave. Making some polite goodbyes, she exited the house. She had gotten several steps away before Rin ran out calling after her.

"Kagome, wait! I forgot to give you this." She held out her hand.

When Kagome gave her a confused look, she added, "For your pains."

"Oh, thank you," Kagome said. She took the cloth pouch from Rin.

"Sure, see you tomorrow!"

Kagome watcher her duck back inside the house, and she looked down at the pouch in her hands. She took steadying breaths and pocketed the bag before walking away. Her thoughts raced right along with her heart. She tried to match the speed of her pace with the adrenaline pumping through her.

She arrived at her house, and her head spun with something different than dizziness. The day was still young, so Inuyasha was not here. He actually was not due back for a while. He had left with Miroku to visit a neighboring village that was being plagued by a ghost. Kagome never knew how long they would be gone, the time spent away was highly dependent on unknown circumstances.

The home they shared was empty, and Kagome had some free time on her hands before she made her rounds through the village. She walked over to her bookshelf and pulled out a worn novel. Of the items she had brought back from the future, these tomes were something she did not want to part with. Inuyasha had not understood why she would want to keep such things, though she did catch him leafing through the pages from time to time.

The pages of her book were worn from use, creased, oiled from her fingers, and folded on themselves to mark specific places for future reference. The book she held now was on human anatomy and biology, markedly the female anatomy. She flipped to one such page on menstruation cycles. It was easier to understand how to treat ailments when one realized precisely why they occurred.

The dried herbs that Rin had given to Kagome were to help with monthly pains. She put a finger and began to hunt. Her finger guided her through the text. There was nothing. Nothing to be done now anyway. Snapping the book shut she stashed it away. It was time for her to return to reality.

Kagome made her rounds but was eventually called outside the village perimeter. A man had fallen and broken his leg while hunting. Usually, such an injury would be brought to her, but this case was severe enough to warrant her personal presence. A young man, a companion of the injured, had sought her out to bring her. His face was ashen when he had finally found her and urged her to make haste.

They arrived in short order, and Kagome found the man crying out in pain. His leg splayed out before him, and a bone protruded out at a sickening angle. No wonder his companion did not want to move him. She hurried to his side and knelt down.

"What is your name?" She asked while looking at the wound.

"Masa-Masahide," he grunted out through clenched teeth.

"Tell me, Masahide, what happened?" Though she was asking him questions, she really only did so to distract him while she put pressure on the wound. He cried out again, louder this time.

"Masahide, how did you come across such a wound?" She asked again. She had to stop the bleeding and splint the wound to move him. There was little she could do out here in the woods with few supplies. And even less she could do for such an injury to bring about a full recovery.

Kagome was able to splint the wound enough to where the young man did not scream out in pain when they made to move him. It took all of their strength to support the man's dead weight. He wasn't much help as he staggered between them, putting all of his weight on their shoulders with each step. Slowly but surely they made it back to the village. He was brought to his home, which he shared with a young wife.

Kagome felt tinged with pity for the young couple. Even though she had cleansed the wound to the best of her ability, the odds of him ever having use of his leg again were slim. Kagome left his wife instructions on how to care for his wound. She was thanked profusely before departing into the night.

It had grown late while she attended to the man. She sighed, resigned to the loss of the day. She had wanted to visit her friend Sango this evening, but she was sure the circumstances would be understood. She made her way back to her house on the outskirts of the village and stopped. No light shown from within meaning that Inuyasha had not returned.

Kagome quickly made something to eat before pulling out her futon. Stoking the flames from the hearth, she finished any lingering household chores and prepared to sleep and awake to another day.

The darkness folded in upon her, bringing with it the evening sounds of crickets and other fauna. The screech of an owl pierced the area near the wall and brought Kagome back into full consciousness. She sat up and looked around the room, trying to gauge the time. The bitter cold had set in through the walls and the doorway. The black night had found its way into her abode, marked by the fire that had been snuffed out. She let out a long breath through her nose and pushed aside the blankets that trapped in her body heat. Icy air met her exposed skin, sending a shiver through her as she tended to the fire.

Her head snapped up when she heard footsteps outside. She waited several moments, poised to attack. Defenseless was not a word that could be used to describe her. When the well had closed off, sealing her in her own time, she had sworn to never feel powerless again.

Kagome had taken up several extracurricular classes to assist in keeping her busy. She had not expected the well within her family's shrine to ever work again, but something told her the knowledge would become useful somewhere along the line.

As the seconds ticked by, nothing happened, and Kagome gave one last glance around the room before finishing with the hearth. The flames soared to life and settled back down to a steady roar. The heat from the flames was soothing as much as they were hypnotizing. Staring into the flames, she settled on the changing colors leaping from the logs. The Blues, greens, yellows, and oranges all melding together made her feel drowsy. Thankfully, the warmth had begun to fill the room, and she was able to climb back under her blankets and settle into sleep.

The sound of footsteps resounded through the small domicile. Kagome heard it in her dreams, but consciousness was just outside of her grasp. She felt as though she were wading through molasses when her eyes cracked open barely wide enough to take in some of the light from the middle of the room. There was another creak, and a flash of silver floated past her vision.

'Inuyasha?' she wondered.

Her head rose up a fraction, and once she'd confirmed that nothing was amiss, she returned back to her dreams.

She had fallen into a deep slumber, her breathing deep and relaxed when he had arrived. Why had he come here? He wasn't quite sure. He had come to the village to check in on Rin. She was as radiant as ever. Her time in the human town had done her well, and he was pleased that he had made the decision to deposit her here among her own kind. The life of a yokai was no place for a delicate mortal girl.

But why had he come here, to the outskirts of the village, to a place where his younger brother resided with his mortal woman? It surely was not to catch up with her. He had barely gotten over the derision he felt for the half breed and could barely palate time spent near humans aside from Rin. They were just inferior. Not worth his time and beneath him in every way. Yet, why was he outside listening to her gentle snores?

His lip lifted up into a sneer, and he made to leave. He must purge himself of such ridiculous thoughts. He had convinced himself that the magic of that night was all that had tethered him to the woman. Seeing her or scenting her plain human smell would drive all longing from him. First, he would have to admit to himself that he felt longing. He was above longing. Besides, he'd barely had any interaction with the woman. There was nothing to draw him to her outside of magic.

Something stopped him from leaving, planting him in place. He could hear his name muttered with a sleepy, muffled tone, "Sessho…"

So, she dreamed of him. The thought made him feel pleased until he caught himself and expelled the breath through his nose quickly. This would not do at all. The great Lord Sesshomaru could not - would not - be enthralled to a human woman. No, he had other, more pressing matters to attend to. Without a second glance behind him, he left before he had the opportunity to change his mind.

#chapter three #sesskag #Nocturne #dreams

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writtingrose · 5 years

Text

Surprise Encounters Pt.1

SUMMARY; Surprise for Melissa

WARNING; Smut

REQUESTED BY; She knows about it but no, it’s a ‘surprise’

WORD COUNT; 1,196

She had no business being backstage at RAW and she knew that, but Finn had invited her and she couldn’t tell him no. After all, it had been quite a while since she had last seen him; or any of her friends on the roster. She had let the thought of running into her keep her away for far too long. Hell, even Finn had said that when he picked her up from the airport. Still, it didn’t keep her from checking before she rounded corners, or scanning rooms to make sure she wasn’t there. Even though they had cut their little rendezvous short months ago, it still hurt.

Yet, when she steps into catering and catches Becky sitting at a table in the back with Seth Rollins, it’s like her heart shatters all over again. A large part of the reason Becky had called their little ‘hook ups’ off was because she didn’t want the added stress of a relationship. She had stated time and time again that what they had was casual, a way to let off steam and aggression when needed. Melissa had truly tried her best not to catch feelings for the Irish ginger yet, she did. Worse, she was further gone than she thought.

Becky hadn’t seen her yet and she was thankful for it as she headed to the table, eyes roaming over the food. Anger radiated from her as she picked up a single package of Doritos. The nerve of her! How was she going to tell her she didn’t want a relationship then turn around and come out dating Rollins? The whole thing pissed her off to no end. Yet there wasn’t anything she could do about it.

When they had first started their rendezvous, Becky had been insistent about keeping them a secret, not ready for the world to know she was bisexual; even though they already speculated. Now, Melissa couldn’t help but think it was because she had been with Seth the whole time. Course, that wasn’t a fact but it sure looked that way.

A loud pop had everyone looking her way as her cheeks flushes, the package of chips having crushed under the strength of her fist. She kept her head down, not wanting to catch those eyes she used to know so well as she bent down to pick the bigger pieces up.

As she fumbled, another pair of gloved hands came into view, holding a small broom and pan. She raised her head and smiled sheepishly at Alexa who just smiled back as she swept the mess up.

“Are you alright?” Her voice came out low and soft, much different than her usual demeaner.

Melissa nodded her head slightly as they stood back up.

“Yeah, just uh,” She ran her hand through her hair. “Got to thinking about something.”

Alexa nodded like she understood, opening her mouth to say something before someone beat her to it.

“Melissa? I didn’t know you were coming.”

She bit back a groan as she turned to look at the ginger she had been trying to avoid.

“We kept it pretty hush hush really.” Her whole-body language changed; shoulders slumping as she bit her lip and played with her fingers. “Wasn’t really a reason to tell anyone besides Finn and he’s the one who flew me out.”

Becky frowned, eyebrows pushing together.

“You couldn’t tell me? Thought we were close.”

She bit back a comment as a fire blazed in her eyes, body starting to shake. Alexa was quick to place her hand on Melissa’s shoulder and intervene.

“Hey, how about we go talk in my dressing room?” She smiled encouragingly at her as Becky raised an eyebrow.

Melissa looked between the two quickly, having never really been close to Alexa. However, she knew staying near Becky wouldn’t exactly be beneficial, so she nodded her head, a small plan hatching in the back of her mind. Hurting or not, she didn’t have to show Becky, and if she had moved on, Melissa could act like she had too. So, as Alexa smiled and took her hand, leading her out of catering, she just smirked and followed.

She really hadn’t though, nor was she ready too. The thought only dawning on her as she sat in his locker room, waiting for Finn to finish in the medics. While hanging with Alexa had helped keep her distracted, her mood had soured the second she left. Now, as she took a sip of her drink, she couldn’t help but be mad all over. She was starting to think coming was a bad idea. Seeing Seth and Becky on the TV was one thing, seeing it in person was a whole new hurt. One she didn’t want to feel again.

The sound of the door slamming open nearly caused her to spill her drink as she looked up to see a heaving Becky in the door way. It was her turn to be confused as the Irish woman shut and locked the door, turning her angry gaze towards her.

“You think you’re fucking clever, do you?” Becky makes her way over, running a hand through her already messy hair. “Think I didn’t know exactly what you and Bliss were up too when she led you away?”

“What are you talking about?” Melissa raised an eyebrow. “Alexa- “

“Shut it.” Becky growled, hands coming to rest on the wall behind Melissa, trapping her. “Did she touch you like I use to Melissa? Huh?”

She swallowed and tried to push Becky back.

“I don’t know what the fuck has gotten into you, but Alexa and I didn’t do anything.” She scoffed. “Unlike you, I don’t dangle my new toys in front of someone.”

“That’s why you did it?” Becky laughs. “Because I’m in a storyline with Seth and you have to see us kiss. Didn’t know you were that petty!”

“I didn’t fucking do anything Lynch!” Melissa scoffed and pushed her back, standing up. “But I could! How about I march out there right now and kiss Alexa? Or Baylee? Or anyone I damn well please.”

She moved to walk past her, smirking at the shocked look on the gingers face.

Yet, she didn’t make it very far. Becky spun on her heels to push Melissa against the nearest wall, lips crashing on to hers roughly. Melissa fought for a moment, pushing at her shoulders but it was no use. Becky had always been able to hold her down.

“You’re mine lass,” Becky snarled, lips moving to nip the flesh just above the collarbone. “and I don’t fucking share.”

“But I’m expected to be your little secret? Fuck that Rebecca.”

“I told you, Seth is just for the storyline. I don’t have feelings for him.” She trailed her hands under the hem of Melissa’s shirt. “Been regrettin’ letting you walk away since we said goodbye.”

Melissa scoffed and pushed Becky away, managing to get the door open and half way out before she turned back to her. “If that’s true, find a way to make it right.”

With that she was gone, heading down the hall to fine a ride to the hotel.

Part 2 with the actual Smith will be up tomorrow! I’m tired af guys. And this was a bit rushed. Party 2 will be better. Xx

THIRST CREW; @biforbecky2belts @sophiewolfheart-blog @theeblueehazee @the-beastslayers-queen @mox-made-me-do-it @sassyspacedust @finnsauroraborealis @xprincessofthefallenangels @irish-newzealand-idian-dutch @new-zealand-chic @theworldofotps @sjwrites22 @sassymox

#wwe #seth rollins #wwe superstars #dean ambrose #drew mcintyre #finn balor #wwe raw #wwe smackdown #becky lynch #wwe imagines

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ick25 · 5 years

Text

My response to... Part 2.

youtube

A follow up to my response of the first video made by The D-pad talking about the first season of Megaman NT Warrior. Even though I think they are funny, when it comes to my favorite anime it feels like they don’t really respect it nor care to understand why things are the way they are. Since they are talking about the American dubbed version which has a lot of censorship and changes, I’m gonna fill in the blanks with what I learned from the original Japanese version. To avoid confusions I’m gonna use the character names from the dub.

These are just my opinions and speculations, I am not saying that I am right.

Each response is after or during a specific time in the video.

2:45 Lan is suddenly traveling because it turns out that’s his prize for winning second place in the N-1 Grand Prix, something that was never mentioned in the previous season.

3:03-3:10 There was only one scary story about a Ghost Ship that then turns out to be like some kind of automated fishing boat with a malfunctioning program (probably because of the Null virus) that catches Lan and friends due to a miscalculation. The episode only briefly mentions Megaman’s fear of ghosts.

4:02 Aki is possessed by a Shadow virus, one of the newest viruses introduced in BN2. The episode says that some viruses are suddenly getting stronger, but it isn’t really mentioned again in later episodes.

5:20 Be thankful that you are not watching the original Japanese version where he is wearing a speedo.

5:44 False, he was just pissed because the mayor made him waste his time.

6:00-7:03 Not cash, but anything the player requests. It was changed in the dub, originally, Mrs. Millionaire kept her promise and bought and deliver the purse to Lan’s mom. The dub probably changed it so kids wouldn’t think it’s okay to make deals with strangers.

7:42 We also learn about Count Zap’s family history and why he ran away, mainly because how his mother kept comparing him to his brother which set ups the tension for their future reunion.

8:30 In the previous season it is hinted that he is in fact a good programmer.

8:58 The “magical” extension chip is the anime’s version of the Navi chips since the Elec Team style is obtained in the game by using Navi Chips very often.

9:06 Not revenge, it is Yahoot’s plan to show the world that his Indian curry is superior to Japanese curry which is the curry Lan and his friend created with their teamwork.

12:13 It’s not steam, it’s gas. The dub recolored the gas to look like steam in some shots to make Yai’s situation a little less dire.

14:17 Yes, last episode stated that the Net Colosseum is the only place in Net City where Battle Chips are allowed.

14:32 That’s the dub’s fault, his name is not mentioned in the original version.

17:52 I don’t know why the dub decided to make the girls flirt with Dave instead of just teasing Sal like in the original. Plus, the episode sadly cuts one of Lan’s funniest fails in the show.

18:30 Just a quick comment here, double crossing the mafia and threatening peoples lives on live television without concealing one’s identity are the stupidest things someone can do!!!

20:50 The original has him yelling at him to wake up. Something he should do more often when Lan oversleeps. X)

25:17 It isn’t good food, it is literally called “The Worst Noodles” in the original.

25:57 Her age is not specified, but she can easily be 17.

31:02 That’s not what they say in the original. Gauss changed his last name to Magnets after their mother died, but Jack was the one who ran away.

37:38 It is not explained in the original, my guess is that they actually fused but Bass couldn’t keep his form for very long since the Virus Beast is already the result of a bug fusion.

38:00 In later season (including the movie) it is established that the ultimate program is something all Navis have, Wily searching for the ultimate program Net Navi just means that he is looking for a Navi with a very powerful one. The problem was that Bass was constantly scanning bugs on the net and Megaman got infected with bugs after being in contact with him.

38:44 Stupid English dialogue added when the scene is originally silent.

40:47 True, but at least we get to see a battle between Sharkman and Megaman.

40:54 The Navi doesn’t belong to Chisao; the episode was more about the rivalry between the Ex-WWW and the Noodle shop with the owner of the ladder fooling Chisao into destroying the Curry shop with Noodleman.

41:27 False, “Blaze Quest Games” is not suppose to be a game company like Yai’s, it’s a PET manufacturing company. The partnership is important because at the end of the episode it is revealed that a new kind of PET is in the making which is going to be the Axess PET for the next season.

41:55 Just like the previous episode, the final episode is setting up the plot for the next season with the Dimensional Core becoming the main program for the Dimensional Area in Axess.

#megaman battle network #MegaMan NT Warrior #Rockman.exe #the d pad #youtube #my thoughts #anime #dub vs sub

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xxxthe-grammar-nazixxx · 5 years

Text

Shoot

This is a Robert Sheehan fanfic. All liberties taken are mine alone. Medium level sex scene. Based on a photo shoot that was very inspiring!

‘OMG it’s him!’

‘Who him?’ I was too busy going through the last batch of prints at my desk to pay much attention to what my two off-siders were whispering about. They’d been giggling by the water cooler like Beavis and Butthead for the last five minutes, staring at someone in the foyer, no doubt. It never failed to amuse me how, no matter how many celebrities we met and photographed for our online entertainment magazine, my makeup artist and hairstylist could still turn into a couple of total fangirls at the sight of a pretty, famous man.

They either didn’t hear me or weren’t brave enough to say the name out loud for fear of him – whoever he was – overhearing, so I let it go and walked the prints over to reception. ‘Stella these have the name and contact details on them, can you mail them off for me?’

Stella nodded. ‘Of course. Standard post or express?’

‘It’s pretty urgent.’

‘Express post then.’

‘So, who’s my next lamb to the slaughter?’ I asked her.

‘Robert Sheehan.’

‘Who?’

Stella’s brown, perfectly made-up eyes widened. ‘Are you actually kidding me? The guy’s show is one of the biggest things on Netflix at the moment! The Umbrella Academy?’

‘Haven’t had time. Seriously, how do you people manage to binge-watch TV all day with full-time jobs?’

‘Because we’re not workaholics like you.’ Stella replied, with a laugh. ‘Seriously, you should watch it.’

I screwed up my nose. ‘Superheroes, right? Doesn’t really sound like my kind of thing.’

‘How do you know it’s not your kind of thing unless you watch it?’ Stella said, reproachfully.

‘She’s got a point, you know.’

I sighed. ‘He’s right behind me, isn’t he?’

Stella exploded into giggles. I shook my head at her and turned to find my next subject indeed right behind me.

He smiled. ‘Not a fan, I take it?’

Hm. Roughly six foot or over, lean but not too skinny, nice green eyes, dimple – okay, I had to admit, I could sort of see what all the fuss was about. His curly dark hair could do with a comb and some product though. I knew I was thinking like a photographer but that was my default setting.

‘It’s not that,’ I told him. ‘I just … haven’t seen your show. I could be a fan.’ I winced. ‘Don’t go over to the competition, please. My boss will kill me.’

He laughed. ‘I don’t even know who the competition is, so I think you’re safe there.’

I liked his accent too. ‘What part of Ireland are you from?’

‘Port-Laoise,’ (He pronounced it Port Leesh). ‘I know… practically nobody’s heard of it. It’s not well-known like County Cork or Dublin. It’s a little country town.’

‘Nice. Well, Stu gave me a bit of a heads-up on where to go with this, so are you ready?’

‘Ready as I’ll ever be.’

‘Great.’ I turned to Britt and Ella. ‘You two want to stop standing over there like props and get organized?’

Britt’s jaw dropped. ‘Can we watch?’

‘That would be up to Mr. Sheehan.’

‘Just Robert’s fine. I’m no Mister,’ he joked. ‘I … okay … sure, I guess.’

‘Girls, he’s probably sick to death of being ogled at from all angles,’ I told them. ‘Ten minutes, and then you’re out.’

****

To their credit, Britt and Ella did an amazing job. Not that this guy needed much of anything in the way of makeup or what Britt liked to call “floofing”. But they’d taken one look and decided on the theme. His hair had been straightened and worked into a kind of punk rock bouffant. Like Elvis, but more extreme. Black kohl liner exaggerated the olive green of his eyes. Ella had decided on a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up and the buttons unfastened to mid-torso. The black and white striped stretch pants looked like something Freddie Mercury would wear in the 70’s – or Michael Hutchence might have worn now, if he’d been alive. Had to admit, for all their fangirling, my employees knew how to dress a man so that you’d want to undress him!

‘Is this okay?’ He walked out of the dressing room patting down the back of his hair, self-consciously. ‘Leave it alone,’ Britt laughed, ‘You’ll wreck all my good work.’

‘It looks great. Suits you.’

‘Thanks. So um … what’s the plan?’

We worked steadily for the next ten minutes while Britt and Ella stood watching from the doorway of the dressing room. After that I gave them permission to buzz off for the day, but I hardly believed they’d take me at my word. Either way it didn’t matter – the door stayed closed. Even Stella left as she had to catch an early train. I was on my own with a client – not something I regularly planned for as it bent the rules a little bit – but you had to see this guy to understand. I’d photographed male models before, guys whose natural beauty gave me goosebumps in all the right places. But the trouble with them was they knew it and played on it. I’m not saying Robert didn’t fully realize the effect he had on women. He knew. He just wasn’t arrogant about it. In fact, if anything it was the opposite. He was hilarious. He had me in stitches in minutes. It was a good thing the camera was on a tripod because I would have dropped it for sure!

It was when I asked him to improvise a bit that things took a turn for the … well, strange. No, that’s not the word. Let’s just say that I wouldn’t have been surprised if the narrow, horizontal windows near the ceiling of my basement studio were a little bit steamed up …

He walked toward the camera, slowly, like a tiger biding his time, waiting to pounce. I zoomed in on that face and was glad I did. His grin was like a slow burn, working its way from the pit of your stomach to your thighs. That was when I realized I was holding my breath. He narrowed those hypnotic green eyes slightly and lifted a finger to his mouth, biting down on it seductively. My camera kept taking pictures, but I barely noticed my role in their creation. Later I’d go back over the shots and struggle to remember taking some of them. But I never forget the video. I always film a photo shoot, especially if it’s just me in the room with a male client, which doesn’t happen all that often. I always ask permission but it’s more for my protection than theirs. Anyhow, when I returned to the video to make sure I wasn’t running out of battery or flash drive space, I watched Robert in the monitor. He was staring down at his feet, and I wondered what he was thinking about. He lifted his head slowly and glanced at something slightly to the right of the camera, letting out a shaky breath. There was a vulnerability in that one little movement where I kind of felt sorry for the guy, even though there was nothing to pity him for. He was rich, he was incredibly talented, and drop-dead gorgeous. What’s to feel bad about?

‘Are you okay?’ I asked him. ‘Do you need a break?’

He smiled as if the previous moment hadn’t even occurred. ‘No, I’m fine! Honestly, let’s keep going, I’ve got my second wind.’

‘Robert … you would tell me if you felt … objectified, right?’

He blinked. ‘What do you mean?’

‘Well, I’m just saying … you must have people taking your picture all the damn time. Does it ever get old?’

He shrugged. ‘Sometimes. But that’s the job, you know. Why?’

‘I just … how can I explain this. so it makes sense …’ I bit my lip. ‘You’re a good-looking guy.’

He grinned. ‘Thank you.’

‘And you don’t even fish for compliments. That’s rare. Even when you’re telling some celebrities how great they are, they want to hear more.’

‘Yeah, I’ve met some like that. Quite a few actually.’ He motioned to the sofa under the window. ‘Come to think of it, I might take you up on that quick break, if you don’t mind.’

‘Of course not.’

I went back to reviewing some of the photos until he cleared his throat. I glanced up.

‘You’re not taking a break?’

‘Um … I wasn’t going to …’

‘Come on. Sit down for a bit. Put your feet up. I heard your receptionist say you’re a workaholic. You can relax for five minutes, you know.’

I laughed. ‘I know … All right.’ It wasn’t taking a break, in itself, that made me nervous. I might have been driven but as far as I knew, I didn’t suffer from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. It was having to sit so close to one of the most attractive men I’d ever met, and not allowing myself to get flustered or unprofessional. All I could think about was whether I had lipstick on my teeth or bad breath. I ran a hand through my short blonde hair, which had recently been chopped to resemble Gwyneth Paltrow’s ‘do in Sliding Doors (thank you, Britt, you’re a doll) and wondered if he thought I looked too butch.

‘I like your hair,’ he said. ‘Is that a new cut?’

‘Yeah … I mean, thanks. How did you know?’

‘I didn’t. You just have that look of someone who had their hair cut recently but isn’t sure of it yet.’

I chuckled. ‘That’s awfully specific.’

He shrugged. ‘I like to read people. I think I’m pretty good at it.’

‘Really? What am I thinking now?’

Robert settled into the vintage chesterfield sofa and crossed one long, lean leg over the other, in my direction. He tilted his head, speculatively. ‘You’re on edge. Nervous. I have no idea why. I’m a fun guy. Not intimidating at all.’

You’re half right, I wanted to say, but that would beg the question – what was he wrong about?

‘Okay, I’ll try to remember that,’ I told him. Relaxing back against the sofa I added, ‘Better?’

‘Marginally, but you still have that tense little line between your eyes.’ He reached over and before I knew what was happening, stroked the skin between my eyebrows with his thumb. It had the odd effect of making me feel sleepy. ‘There, that’s better.’

I managed a smile despite the tension that still sat in my neck and shoulders. ‘Is that Reiki or something?’

‘No. Just something I picked up somewhere. I forget where. I think they do it to newborn babies who are stressed. It puts them to sleep.’

‘Nearly put me to sleep,’ I admitted, feeling a blush creep into my cheeks.

‘Ah well, then, it worked.’ God, that smirk. That dimple. The confidence, along with the complete lack of arrogance, was undeniably hot. I suddenly wanted to remove my blazer, even though it was roughly 10 degrees outside and not much warmer in my studio.

‘Okay well, we’ve … we’ve had a long enough break. Let’s get back to it …’

Robert laughed. ‘It’s your shoot. What do you want me to do now?’

My face grew warmer. I could think of a few things, but they weren’t appropriate at the time and certainly aren’t printable! ‘Well first off, a wardrobe change. Why don’t you go and have a look at what’s there?’ While he did that, I took off to the bathroom in the hallway, just outside the studio. Splashing some water on my face, I managed to dial down the red. Breath, check, I thought, going through the drill. Pits, check. Heart rate … going a mile a minute. Need to get that down! Think of something totally not hot. Rupert Murdoch. Dead … anything. Warts. Yeah, that’ll do it. Rotten big carbunkles!

No matter what I did, though, when I walked back into the studio and saw him in a pair of black leather pants and a patterned black and silver shirt open all the way down, with nothing underneath but bare skin, my heart-rate spiked! I’m going to have a bloody stroke, I realized. He’s gonna make me stroke out, the gorgeous bastard!

Shucking off my blazer because it was now far too hot in that claustrophobic little studio, I complimented him on his choice. ‘You look like Michael Hutchence,’ I admitted. ‘If he was into wearing guyliner.’

Robert laughed. ‘Well, I’m flattered cos he was one hot piece … am I allowed to say that?’

‘Of course! I’m not about to stop you.’ Damn, I thought. He’s gay. Just my luck!

‘I’m not gay, though, not that there’s anything wrong with that,’ he added, quickly. ‘Not that you care, either, I just …’ he shot me a sideways glance. ‘I just wanted you to know.’

‘Okay.’ I think my heart stopped beating altogether somewhere amongst his garbled confession. If in fact it was a confession. I felt a bit like Forrest Gump – too slow to figure out something that should have been obvious. Wait, I thought. Does he want me to know he’s straight because he’s into me? Or because he’s worried I’ll go to the ‘zine and spill my guts? Inside I knew the answer to that but my self-esteem, little destroyer that it was, wouldn’t allow me to gloat.

I’m not sure how it happened. I don’t remember how I got from A to B; I just knew that I had to be kissing him right now, before I lost my nerve. He tasted like coffee and pistachios. His cologne was something altogether fantastic: citrusy and woody and musky all at the same time. Or maybe the musk part was all him, I don’t know.

He was a freakishly good kisser. Once the shock of my making the first move wore off, he took charge without overstating it. Which was easy for him because I’m less than five feet two in heels and he towered over me. In less than a minute he had managed to trigger every cliché in the romance writer’s arsenal: my knees were weak, my skin was covered in goosebumps and my heart was pounding like a jackhammer. I had to wind my arms around his neck to keep from dissolving into a puddle of lust on the floor, because his lips and hands were doing things to me that are illegal in some countries! We kind of shuffle-walked back over to the sofa without breaking contact, and suddenly I was lying beside him, reaching into his shirt to hold my hand over his heart, to see if it was racing as fast as mine. Not quite but close enough. He responded by slipping his hand beneath the hem of my shirt and running it up along my flank until it reached my bra. His lips left mine and started kissing their way down my throat. My breath caught as his cool fingers grazed my nipple through the silk. He reached around and unfastened my bra with one hand. Hm, clever, I thought. Dexterous at the very least. How many times have you done that, I wonder? It should have been enough to put me off; to change my mind about this. But he started kissing me again and I lost all notion of caring how many women he’d been with or even what day it was. His hand cupped my breast, this time free of the bra. He moved from my mouth to my collarbone, and pushing up my top, kissed the skin over my heart. I removed the shirt and bra in one, anxious to get as close to him as possible. I wanted his shirt off as well. As good as it looked on him, this guy was born to not wear clothes!

He let me push it off his shoulders as his mouth made my nipples so hard they ached. My fingers delved into his thick dark hair, messing up the ‘do Britt had so carefully made look careless. His lips traced a path down the center of my torso, the short whiskers on his chin and upper lip alternating between scratching and tickling my skin. When he reached the waistband of my jeans, I had to stop him. ‘No,’ I whispered. ‘Not that. I’m not … I’m not comfortable with it.’

He glanced up at me. ‘You mean, you don’t want me to go down on you?’

I nodded. ‘Sorry.’

‘Don’t be sorry.’ He shuffled back up beside me. ‘Any particular reason?’

‘I don’t know … just … not today. Okay?’

‘Okay. That’s cool.’ He leaned in and kissed me. ‘I have other ways of making you squirm.’

I quivered at the thought. He unzipped my jeans and tugged them down a little, his hand disappeared between my thighs, cupping me and making its way beneath my underwear. ‘Actually,’ he said, in a husky voice, ‘this is almost better.’ I gasped as he started to stroke, and he grinned, and winked at me. ‘Better vantage point.’

When he had me as wet as I could possibly be, he finally let me move enough to unfasten his leather pants. Before that he’d been determined to make me ‘squirm’, as he put it, and squirm I most certainly did. I was still catching my breath when he produced a condom from a pocket I didn’t even know those pants had. ‘Should never leave me alone in the wardrobe room,’ he joked. ‘I get up to all kinds of hijinks.’

‘You brought that with you?’

‘I always have at least one with me,’ he explained. ‘In my position, I sort of have to. You have no idea how many girls throw themselves at me just because I’m famous. I do have a policy where I don’t shag my fans but … when it comes to women in general, sometimes I’m not as disciplined as I’d like to be. Like now, for instance.’

‘Oh good,’ I murmured, ‘Because I don’t have any.’ I looked up at him. He looked so beautiful lying there on his side, practically naked except for a pair of black jockey shorts and the leather pants around those knees. He kicked both off and hurriedly rolled on the rubber.

‘No rush,’ I said, with a giggle. ‘I’m not going anywhere.’ I reached up and stroked his cheek. I could feel the bristle of new stubble growing through, even as Britt or Ella must have given him a shave in order to apply the makeup for the photo shoot. Those beautiful big green eyes were luminous even in the shadow from the photo-lighting. His skin was golden and his lips … suddenly I regretted my earlier reticence about oral sex. I’d experienced it before of course but it was always awkward, messy and felt almost like an obligation, on both sides. And it almost never, ever made me feel like he’d made me feel a moment ago, with his hand. I wanted to be able to explain that to him but felt stupid and almost prudish. Instead I took him in hand and fondled him until he closed his eyes and bit down hard on his lower lip. Taking that as a signal he was ready to go, I shucked my own pants off and pulled him close, sliding my leg over his hip. He was cautious at first, probably worried about blowing his load too early, but the feel of him inside me was almost too much, anyway. It reignited what had been simmering away for the last few minutes, with a pleasure so sharp it was almost pain.

‘Are you okay?’

I nodded. ‘Keep going.’

He did, but slowly, and we kissed as if we had all the time in the world. He raised himself up on his elbows over me, and I responded by wrapping my legs around his slim hips, holding him inside. His new position gave him leverage, and strength to go harder and faster. Pretty soon it was only a kiss every other thrust, and I don’t know about him, but I felt like I was about to burst out of my skin.

Suddenly, just as I arched my back with release, and he did the same seconds later, I heard a shrill beep, and remembered.

I hadn’t turned the camcorder off.

THE END.

#robert sheehan #the umbrella academy

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teiranlavellan · 7 years

Text

Leliana’s Scouts vs Cullen’s Soldiers

@dadrunkwriting

@thevikingwoman Thank you for the prompt!

I actually got to write the rest of them and it was so much fun! (My own writing is chronological, we don’t have anyone except for Cass, Solas, Varric and the Advisors).

Their camp was nearly packed, but Blackwall and Teiran were still staring at the poorly concealed bundles of gathered herbs, mined obsidian with the superfluous weapons and armor. Teiran held three books in her crossed arms as she rose from her squat next to the burly warrior and began pacing. Again.

“Can we really afford to spend more time on this than we already have? Everything has made it back to Skyhold safely so far after all.” Blackwall reasoned, hoping his soothing tone would encourage a resolution.

Teiran stopped pacing, hugged the books in her arms tighter, and shook her head resolutely. “These have to make it back, Blackwall. They have to. What if someone else finds it before they can get to it? We hide them the same way every time. What if bandits have been watching us hide it the same way every time?”

“I think you are overthinking this.” Blackwall grumbled.

The Dalish elf’s pacing had taken her out onto a ledge, away from the camp. She frowned into the dark, overcast sky resolutely. The rest of the Inquisition’s inner circle only had to glance at her posture and expression before putting down their packs and settling in for the inevitable discussion. Except for Cole, who had disappeared, which surprised no one.

Sera nosily padded through the mud over to Teiran, throwing her arms around her neck. Teiran jumped, being brought out of her thoughts with a sudden grip around her neck startling her. “Sera! Please stop doing that!” Teiran huffed.

“You’re waaay too easy, you know tha’?” Sera commented and then broke into a fit of giggles at the possible innuendo of her phrase. “But then you’re not tho right? Cause you aren’t rubbing bits so you’re actually hard. Too hard lady bits. We need to work on that . . . ”

“Oh, honestly, does every conversation with you have to be about my personal life?” Teiran tried to break Sera’s grip, but also keep a solid hold of the books in one arm.

The rest of the Inquisition watched the scene with varied expressions. They had been traveling together long enough to be moderately acquainted with each other, however Vivienne’s beautiful face still shot daggers over at Sera. Dorian sighed dramatically; shaking his head and watching the scene play out with moderate amusement. And Solas became very interested in the ground under his feet.

“No wait! I’ve got an answer for ya. You should let me do it.” Sera proposed, still holding the Inquisitor under her arm.

“Do what? Let go of me!” Teiran insisted.

Sera let her pull away, “Pfft. Hide the stuff of course! Come on, Your Worship. No baddie will ever be able to find it once I’m done.”

Teiran rolled her eyes, “That’s it though, Sera. The Inquisition soldiers need to be able to find it tomorrow.”

“I could write where Sera hides it when I send my report to Scout Harding.” Cassandra offered tersely. She and Blackwall sat next to each other, their shared impatience growing with each stroke of oiled rag on armor. Varric and the Iron Bull exchanged an intrigued glance.

Varric’s smooth voice wound its way to where Sera and Teiran stood, “But then what if your messages become waylaid Seeker—”

Cassandra interrupted him, “Then we have a lot more to worry about than resources.”

“Still, it would be a shame . . . How about I write a message to go along with your report? Clues as to where the treasure is hidden.” Varric smiled wickedly.

Sera was literally bouncing in place, shouting in Teiran’s ears with excitement. While Varric smiled at the effect of his words.

Teiran covered her ears and ducked away from Sera’s exclamations. The camp stirred with the prospect, all eyes watching their leader for her decision.

Teiran looked at her books, then at Sera’s buzzed expression, then over to Varric’s mischievous smile.

“They have to be able to find them, Varric.” Teiran ruled.

Sera punched her fist in the air, grabbed Teiran’s books, then ran headlong back to Blackwall’s pile of resources.

“Bull, keep Sera from hurting herself or my books. And Blackwall, make sure this doesn’t get out of hand please.” Teiran delegated, trying to ensure success.

The massive Qunari cracked a smile, “Whatever you say boss.” Teiran smiled back, she knew he would have helped regardless.

She met Blackwall’s gaze, smiling apologetically. Teiran knew she needed someone to balance out the enthusiasm, but asking Cassandra, Solas, Dorian, Vivienne or Cole would have made them miserable. Blackwall sighed resignedly, “Alright then.”

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

Josephine Montilyet rolled the message from Scout Harding, an easy task since the scroll had been damp and then dried on its journey from Crestwood to Skyhold. Josephine placed her initials on the back of the scroll, placing it atop her pyramid of similarly marked ones. However, instead of reaching for another unread one, she continued to gaze speculatively at Harding’s message.

Along with the list of resources and weapons the Inquisition had gained so far with Teiran’s foray into Crestwood, the intrepid Scout Harding had also included the tally of caches found by both sides.

Josephine’s eyebrows furrowed and she placed her chin in her palm. Her other hand picked up her quill unconsciously and twirled it as she contemplated the scroll. She noticed her ink-smeared fingers too late, apparently she had dipped the quill in ink without consciously meaning too either. “I wish the Inquisitor would call an end to this. It may boost morale in the short term, but we need everyone to work together as the Inquisition.” Josephine thought at the offending scroll.

The door to her study creaked open only halfway before Leliana had slipped quietly inside. She was settling herself in the plush armchair next to the fire by the time the door closed of its own accord.

The Diplomat eyed the innocent looking, redhead as she gazed into her teacup. As a matter of pride and necessity, Josephine always had a steaming kettle and tea at the ready. She felt it part of her duty to the Inquisition to be ready to entertain guests whenever they dropped by; and in truth she enjoyed maintaining that perception of her. However, Leliana’s nonchalant demeanor did not fool her.

“Good evening, Leliana. I was just about to call for Aronhalaan, but since you’re here . . .” Josephine reached for the satchel behind her desk full of scrolls lacking Leliana’s characteristic swirl of lines she used to mark the scrolls she had read. By the time she had retrieved the satchel, Leliana was in front of her desk, casually inspecting the pyramid of scrolls on her desk.

“It is good that Teiran is in Crestwood. We are running low on Embrium. Perhaps we should send word to Scout Harding to mark it as a priority?” Leliana asked.

Josephine opened her mouth to retort when a knock interrupted her. Her expression smoothed as she looked from Leliana to the door, “Come in.”

Commander Cullen appeared in her office, closing the door gently behind him. “Ah, we’re all here. Good.” Cullen observed awkwardly, still standing in the entryway.

Josephine sighed and beckoned him, “Please, have a seat Commander. Leliana?” She arched an eyebrow at her friend, warning her away from thoughts bent towards pilfering her messages.

Leliana and Cullen sat in the two armchairs before the fire, watching as Josephine took the scroll off her desk. She unfurled it as she stood with her back to the fireplace, rereading it hastily.

“Cullen’s soldiers, after searching every abandoned house in the area, found the last one in the rafters. Apparently, they crafted a rather large bird’s nest and I am told that the items were shaped like eggs.” Josephine explained, still staring at the message.

Leliana scowled, “We took the nest to be metaphoric. Poetic!”

Cullen relaxed, “Good thing my soldiers don’t overthink things.” He lightly poked fun at the assumption that the scouts would outsmart his men.

“However, Leliana’s scouts found another two days ago disguised as stepping stones across a river.” Josephine finished, revealing that the two competing parties were tied once again.

Leliana sat up and wore a small smile, “My scouts can spot deception wherever it may hide.”

Now it was Cullen’s turn to frown, “I take it one of the mages helped with that one. Are they apart of this too?”

Josephine eyed the two of them, “This is ridiculous. We should be working together, rather than competing with each other.” Cullen and Leliana shared a glance before staring up at the ambassador.

“It’s good for morale. Before this, I had to force the assignment on my men. Following the Inquisitor to retrieve resources is not the most exciting or comfortable task on our list. Now, they have formed squads and share the past puzzles to see if those who were not assigned can guess where the supplies were found.” Cullen explained, bursting with pride for his soldiers.

“I have seen similar results among my scouts. I see no harm in allowing it to continue.” Leliana added.

Josephine eyed the two of them, “For now. However, I would suggest that when we go to the Hissing Wastes that this become an exercise in compromise. The squads should be mixed, both scouts and soldiers completing a mission together.”

Cullen thought a moment before gruffly replying, “Agreed.”

Leliana shrugged in compliance.

#Teiran #Lavellan #dadrunkwriting #competition #da: inquisition #scouts vs soldiers #my writing

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kineticallyanywhere · 8 years

Text

“Dead or Alive” Speculative Fic

dedicated to @ladybubblegum for getting me to put this in words with that one truth post about needing some Cynthia in our lives asap

(I am a firm promoter of the character headcanon that Cisco Ramon can do anything. But never for himself.)

Characters: Cynthia Reynolds-19, Cisco Ramon-1

Rated: G

Summary: Jumping through worlds during a fight is a cool idea, but there is definitely a margin for error. Or: Cynthia walks into a death match expecting a death match, not conversation.

"This job was supposed to be easy." Cynthia's boots clicked on the stone floor. The rip of Velcro bounced off the bare walls, dampened only a little by the uneven surface. She paid it no heed. "Just snatch a con and get back." She pivoted on her heels as she turned to repeat her pace. Again. The Velcro crinkled as it was resealed. Again. "Con had to go make friends." Rrrrriiip "Aw, c'mon," her cellmate said lightheartedly from where he sat against the back wall. He ran the heel of his hand over the fold of his glove again, re-fitting the Velcro. Again. "Barry has his moments." Cynthia stopped her march in front of him and turned to look down at him. He glanced up at her, his hair kept out of the way by the headband he'd made of his goggles. "You know I meant--" "Yeah, you meant me. Keep going." He made a rolling motion with his hand and leaned his head back against the wall. "Please."

Cynthia squared her stance; crossed her arms. "You -- who have clearly never been in a fist fight--" "Na-- that's not entirely true--" She steam rolled over his interruption. "--agreed to a death match, which you entered with no intent to kill your opponent, even in self defense. You haven't thrown a single serious punch." "You're welcome," he commented to the ceiling. Cynthia had to roll her eyes and swing her arms. "For wasting my time?" He bobbed his head to the side. "And, if I did try to throw something, I'd probably knock us both into space, so..." he shrugged. "You're welcome." He shot a sarcastic smile. She shook her head, exasperated. She could not, for the life of her, tell if he was aware that it had been a burst of his powers, not hers, interfering with her portal that had knocked them into the word they were now trapped in. Dropped right into a cavernous cell block. Pushed right into an empty cell that happened to be available with an energy door that happened to irritate frequencies so they couldn't stabilize a portal. This was a million times worse than the volcano planet she was planning to drop him into.

Being in a combat trial at all was worse than the easy job she was supposed to be on. Being in this cell was so much worse than the way the trial was supposed to go: in which he just gave up and handed her her bounty because he was clearly an incompetent noodle. Hopeless for a satisfying answer, she asked, "What were you hopping of getting out of this?" He kept his head against the wall but his eyes looked down towards his lap. She waited only a moment. "Proof," he said. "That you could be some kind of hero?" "That maybe you were." Cynthia took in his costume. She remembered the kind of company he kept. "So we could get coffee? Or dinner?" she asked. If she was a villain, no way his friends would approve. He smiled a bit. "That could have worked, too," he said. She wasn't entirely sure what he meant by that, but he wasn't finished. He freed the back of his head from the stability of the wall. He talked with his hands a bit. "But-- no, it wasn't for you. I guess I was still hoping that someone with these powers could do something good with them." He ended picking at his finger nails. Cynthia wasn't sure if she should be offended. What did it matter what some random guy thought about how she used her powers? Well, okay, he wasn't quite that random. He was like her, to some extent, but that didn't make him her judge. His dumb little moral hang-up was not her problem. Still, she found herself getting defensive. "I catch criminals," she pointed out. "For cash," he countered quickly. He looked back up at her. His expression was that of defeat, but Cynthia felt accused by it. "And you'd kill for that money," he added. "I'm not killing you now."

“Because you won’t get anything out of it here. You need every way out of this situation you can get. What if I can be fed to the sharks? What if I’ve already thought of a way out of here? Though, you’re not doing a great job of convincing me to share. People don’t share if you convince them they’re an idiot. Have you considered compliments? I’m very self-conscious about my hair.”

Cynthia ignored those last two sentences. She crossed her arms again, this time a gesture of curiosity. “Have you thought of a way out?”

“Why would I want to leave? You can’t get to HR here. You’re not gonna kill me.”

“I could if you don’t tell me the way out of here.”

“Go ahead.”

They held eye contact for a long moment. Cynthia seriously considered it. She’d get out eventually. Maybe killing him would draw the attention of their captors and she’d have a chance sooner. Her hand sparked red with the anticipation of the possibility.

Except the gaze she was holding wasn’t resigned. It was challenging. This was what he wanted, she realized. He wanted to know if she’d really kill someone in cold blood. Proof. It looked like he’d been doubting his ability to do “good” with his powers. If she killed him, then his hope was gone anyway, and he wouldn’t have to live it it. If she didn’t kill him, it would keep his hope alive. He was staking his very life around the idea that if everyone else with their powers was a bad seed, then he would be one, too; and if that was true he didn’t want to plague the multi-verse with his own existence. If she didn’t kill him, he got to live on with a new hope for himself. It was an all or nothing gamble.

And he’d walked Cynthia right into playing it out for him. Her arms relaxed at her sides. It was kind of genius.

“You’re an idiot,” was what came out of her mouth. “You, of all people, should at least be beginning to understand that choices other people make don’t dictate your own. Not even our doppelgangers.”

“It’s not just for me.” He looked back down to his hands. “I’m not the only who’s seen their powers used for terrible things.”

Cynthia didn’t know who he was talking about, but talking about them, even tangentially, was pulling out of him some kind of emotion she didn’t know how to describe. He was desperate. He was sad. Mournful, almost. Whoever he’d gotten into this fight - the moral fight, the physical fight - for, he cared about them deeply.

Cynthia sighed heavily. This was complicated.

This job wasn’t supposed to be complicated it was supposed to be easy.

She needed a vacation.

In the mean time, she settled for stepping over to and sliding down the wall next to Cisco. He didn’t look up, but his shoulders did stiffen when she approached. They relaxed as she propped her elbows on her knees and crossed her ankles. “You have no idea how to get out of here, do you?” In another circumstance the words would have come out as a harsh accusation, but now it was just a tired monotone.

He lifted his head a little bit but didn’t look towards her when he said, “I do, actually.”

She looked at him, surprised.

“But what would you do if we got out?” It was the first time he’d asked it, but it felt like the second.

“I’m not going to kill you,” she decided. At that he finally looked her way, eyes wide. She told him, “It’s not worth it.”

Not worth it for the money. Not worth the hassle. Not worth the personal moral knot wrapped around her own life unraveling. Not worth watching the final hope drain out of his eyes with his life. Not worth depraving the mystery person he was fighting for of someone who was part of the highest caliber of friend she had ever encountered.

Not worth the regret of never getting to see the light smile that was dawning on his face. The unfiltered hope in his eyes as he looked at her.

She thumped his arm before it could get too huge and she reacted in a way she’d never live down. “Don’t get sappy on me,” she scolded. “How do we get out of here?”

His smile dropped into a suspicious glare. “Wait, how do I know you’re not just baiting me for an exit before you blast me?”

“What, you don’t trust me?” she teased.

“You don’t have stellar resume, to be honest, so why should I?”

“Because...” she stumbled on her thoughts for a moment before a realization hit her. “Because - and God help me - for some reason, I trust you, Cisco.”

He was quiet for a moment with his thoughts, but the suspicion left his face. Apparently she’d given the right answer, because he stood up and he didn’t try to kick her. Instead, he stepped to the corner of the cell to where the metal rim of the energy wall was embedded into the rock.

Cynthia dropped her legs and hands to the ground as she watched. “What are you doing?” she asked.

“I’ve built something kind of like this before, to trap a speedster,” he said. He crouched down to the bottom of the metal frame so his body blocked what he was doing. “If this is anything like mine -- and, look, it is! There’s an emergency release trigger in case of an overload. I maybe can’t aim to save my life,” he swung her a self-depreciating smile, “but covering a pin sized hole at point blank? Even I can do that.”

There was a flash of blue light and then a short but excruciating screeching noise. Cynthia covered her ears as she stood up, and Cisco backed away from the energy wall, which had started fritzing. A buzzer sounded from somewhere in the mechanics of the projectors and then the wall blinked out completely.

Cynthia and Cisco were standing next to each other in and open cell. Someone will have heard that,” Cisco said. He looked to her. “Moment of truth?”

The door was open, but, surprisingly, nothing had changed in her heart. She wasn’t going to kill him. She looked him up and down like she was thinking about it, anyway, because she knew an opportunity when she saw it.

She got distracted quickly, though. They could see into the hallway now, and there were other energy walls dotting the walls up and down tunnel.

“This looks like a low budget operation on Slaver’s Moon,” she said, stepping out of their cell.

“Slaver’s Moon?” Cisco said, following. “You mean they were gonna sell us?”

“Us,” she confirmed, “and everyone else here.” She accidentally made eye contact with a blurry figure in the cell across from theirs. It was hard to tell through the barrier, but they looked Altean. A scholar, not some monster that belonged in a cage. If Cynthia had been alone, before, she would have taken this chance to make a run for it. Instead, she turned to Cisco. “If I hold off the guards, how many cells can you get open?”

He smiled. Again.

She smiled, too.

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operationrainfall · 6 years

Text

Title Mega Man 11 Developer Capcom Publisher Capcom Release Date October 2nd, 2018 Genre Platformer Platform Steam, PS4, Switch, XBox One Age Rating E for Everyone – Cartoon Violence Official Website

I’ve been waiting to write this review ever since Mega Man 11 got announced. In fact, much of the speculation in my opinion piece regarding this and Mighty No. 9 gets resolved here. But first let’s back up a little. I feel like I’ve been waiting for this game a very long time, and part of that was due to how Capcom seemed to ignore Mega Man for a period of several years. We can speculate about why they suddenly felt the need to make a big push again with Mega Man 11, but I’d rather talk about my impressions of the game. My goal with this review is to give a fair and unbiased picture of the game, not just be the ravings of a fanboy (though I certainly am one). So, the question is, was Mega Man 11 worth the lengthy wait? Or was Capcom right to ignore the blue bomber for as long as they did?