#i’m in orbit i cannot handle these pictures

[fleshadept]

happy taika tuesday give it up for taika tuesday (mirror edition)

[eldritch-araneae]

Windblade, Bumblebee, and Sari from my Sparkpulse AU :3

Below is quick AU explanation ( it’s 13,4k works, I’m sorry I tired to keep it short I SWEAR XD) Also I’m such dumbass, I forgot their Autobot sigils! XDDD

Core ideas of the AU:

It’s basically G1+TFA+Cyberverse mix;

This AU revolves around Bumblebee as the main protagonist;

Autobots crash-landed on Earth in 1985, they landed in Detroit, specifically on Belle Isle; 

Earth became their home and Autobots pretty much-integrated into human society over 33 years. They influenced human society a lot, that helped to avert climate and energy crisis( as not wanting humans going the same road as cybertronians by depriving their planet of resources);

Ark has fusion reactors that are used in Energon production. Autobots encouraged humans to use their own fusion reactors, which allowed human civilization to completely get rid of fossil fuel as the main power source;

Setting: Solarpunk (when the story happens);

Sparks exist and give a lifeforce to all forms of life, not just to cybertronians;

Cybertron is gone, nothing can fix it;

Decepticons only arrive in 2018.

Bumblebee’s Background.

Bumblebee is the youngest among Autobots, who was found on the road unconscious back on Cybertron by Jazz. 

After examining him, Ratchet shares his concerns with Optimus - not only Bumblebee is abnormally small but his plating is soft and flexible, yet fragile, it would be easy to cut and melt through. He also lacks physical strength. 

All of this implies that Cybertron has no more resources to forge any new bots and Bumblebee is the last.

This means there is no way Optimus should send the minibot to fight ( tho Bee has a lot of courage and will pull some crazy stunts here and there), so instead he assigns Bee for scouting and spying missions under Jazz’s supervision ( Special Operations).

Introductions went pretty well, though Optimus admitted that Bumblebee’s face seemed familiar.

Soon, after the first few scouting missions, it’s revealed that Bee has a bit more problems. His spark is strange, it’s producing way too much energy that his small frame can handle, resulting in the erratic sparkpulse that overwhelms his entire system and shut him down for 5 minutes.

Thankfully it was discovered after Bee finished his duty, but still, it raised a lot of concerns. Ratchet tried his best to examine his spark chamber, only to find that the minibot’s spark was sealed shut in some sort of protective shell. This shell cannot be opened. Cutting through it would be bad, so Ratchet opted to work with what he has. 

He first suggests Bee burn down this excessive energy, which works pretty well, as training with Windblade, or doing short races where it’s relatively safe with Hot Rod and such. Still, despite his efforts, the spark eventually will send a huge energy surge that would force-reboot Bumblebee. It didn’t stop Bee from taking on his missions and one of the reboots happened in the middle of the duty. That scared the shit out of everyone as they lost contact with him while he was on Decepticons territory. Thankfully, like clockwork, he was back in 5 minutes. After he completed the mission of securing intel, he had to convince Optimus that he would be okay even if he shut down because Deceptions would never catch him. Bee reveals that he has one interesting ability - he can sense sparks of others( both signature and the pulse). 

For some reason, he thought everyone could do this, that's why he never mentioned it before. 

That allows him to plan ahead, as he pays attention to hiding places and Deception’s nearby and how they move, easily avoiding his enemies. 

Soon he’s pretty much known as the elusive Autobot who will break onto your base, steal all your shit and get away without being caught. Megatron even places a big bounty for catching Bumblebee that is yet to be fulfilled. Then he gets known for being someone who Deceptions, who wants to join Autobots can go to and arrange the meeting with Optimus Prime. Windblade always helps him with this: Bee can sense what is spark feeling, while she can use psychic abilities to catch a sense of their intent. Together they never made a mistake, though there were a couple of close calls.

So this keeps going for a short period of time until Bee catches some terrible wave of spark signatures, emitting from below. Something tells me that they are in grave danger and Autobots must leave Cybertron for good. Such a claim isn’t taken lightly, asking what proof Bee has. 

Sadly, he cannot prove anything aside from “terrible screams of mass death coming from Cybertron's core”. He feels like he knows, but he cannot recall any memories from his data banks. All he knew was that they were screwed and it’s all because of Shockwave ( who Bee hates the most, not even Megatron sparks so much anger within him as seeing Shockwave does.). Windblade also caught this as well with her different sensors so she sided with Bumblebee. Then she decided to look into Bee’s mind and see if she can help Bee to recover those memories. 

It quickly proves that it’s not that simple - all his memories that come before he was found by Jazz are sealed away. And not by some hard-coding shenanigans, but by Vector Sigma - a device that was used to program the AllSpark ( the thing that gives life to cybertronians) so it will create a desired form of life.

 And not just him, but Windblade also discovered this seal, though it only seals specific cluster to memories, which timeframe aligns with Bee’s seal.

So they had a picture: Shockwave did something that messed up Cybertron’s core and, presumably, Bee and Windlade witnessed this( and apparently have met before)? The only way to find out, a break-in to The Spire of Forging ( a place where cybertronians were born), and use Vector Sigma to break the seals. 

That caused a huge fight as the spire was currently controlled by Decepticons, while Megatron suddenly got an idea to use the AllSpark to reprogram Autobots into Decepticons. So it becomes a race. Windbalde, Bumblebee, and Optimus have reached the Chamber of Creation first...only to find out that Vector Sigma is destroyed - the device was cut apart and crucial components were missing. But it wasn’t all - the AllSpark was gone as well!

Understanding that there is nothing they can do, they retreat, followed by angry Megatron’s shooting.

After the battle Optimus informed anyone of their grim situation: AllSpark is missing( they searched for it, this artifact that very strong and unique signature but it’s literally nowhere on Cybertron), Vector Sigma is destroyed and there is still a threat that gets closed to the surface that will destroy them all ( Bee was very insistent of leaving). 

So he makes it a vote between all Autobots: shall they leave or keep fighting. To Bee’s surprise, the majority decided on leaving. Relieved, he begins helping others to prepare Ark ( their spaceship) for a long journey.

When Ark was ready to launch, some complications happened ( as the ship wasn’t in perfect condition for interstellar travels) but they managed to leave Cybertron and begin their journey to their new home.

In general, Bee is in a good relationship with almost every Autobot. Optimus values him as both an amazing scout and a good friend who isn’t afraid to speak his mind and question everything.

Bumblebee befriends Windblade - the cityspeaker from Caminus ( which was of one the first colonies that were destroyed during the war). She absolutely adores Bee’s carefree and optimistic attitude, never being tired of his silly antics ( which he often does on purpose to lighten her mood). 

They become pretty close, and Bee has no problem opening up to her, like sharing his fears ( he is really brave but isn’t fearless).

Some bots like Sunstreaker don't really like Bumblebee much. He thinks that Bee is a defective bot that will doom their entire cause and this animosity intensified when Bee starts bringing in former Decepticons and insisting on leaving their planet behind. (Sunstreaker’s twin, Sideswipe, admits it’s probably because his brother used to be like Bumblebee, kind and hopeful, but the war has changed him and he hates it.) 

Bumblebee tried his best to ignore Sunstreaker, but it is difficult as he compares himself to bigger and stronger bots, feeling like what he’s doing isn’t enough. That being fast, athletic and cunning isn’t enough - he must be more, he must become strong. Which causes him to take some crazy decisions that will put Bee in danger and probably get hurt. 

He desperately craves recognition and respect from others while not realizing that he already has it.

The arrival of Autobots on Earth in 1985.

After one warp jump, they ended up in the Solar System. The Ark wasn’t doing well ( esp engine) and needed repairs if they wanna continue their journey. Teletraan-1 scanned the solar system, informed Autobots about the planet they are currently orbiting (Earth) has a sentient lifeform along with a diverse ecosystem. This surprised everyone because of the odds of them jumping tens thousand light-years away from Cybertron and ending up near other sentient beings.

Optimus didn’t wish to disturb other sentient beings, he decided that they should move to another planet, fix their ship, and move out. 

For that Teletraan-1 suggested staying on the fifth planet’s orbit which is a gas giant (Jupiter). Gas Giants are known for having a lot of hydrogen and helium and additionally, some chemical compounds like ammonia which can be used in producing deuterium and tritium ( isotopes of hydrogen)  which are used as fuel for fusion reactors.

The only issue was how to get there, as their ship is fragile at the moment. Wheeljack suggested using gravity assist still should be okay.

Teletraan-1 calculated the positions of the planets and it’s been decided they were gonna use Earth’s gravity to propel forward, then circle around and do another flyby near Earth - that would give them another speed to reach Jupiter.

Suddenly Teletraan-1 informs the crew about a big asteroid that is headed in their direction and the collision is imminent. It happened fast, before Autobots could maneuver Ark off of the way. After the asteroid successfully vibe checked Autobots, the Ark got seriously damaged and was flung towards the planet. They couldn't break from gravitational pull so Autobots had to prepare for impacts, which would be easier if the ship weren’t breaking apart at that moment, Teletraan-1 did it’s best to stir the ship away from the cities.

Meanwhile, in chaos, Bumblebee fell into a hole in the ship’s walls and he landed in the water of Lake Erie. The impact was terrible as it almost tore his arm from his body. He screamed in pain and was forced into reboot.

Then he woke up next time, he was still in the water, completely disoriented - mostly to the fact he could sense so many sparks around him. He brushed it off as it wasn't important at the moment. 

While still being in pain, he managed to swim up to the surface to look around. Bee saw a big smoke rising in the distance, assuming this is where Ark landed, he tried to make his way there. 

Then Bee sensed something nearby, another spark with clear distress radiating from it. He looked around but saw nothing, then he submerged under the water. He saw a small figure who was struggling to swim. 

Bee dive deeper ( while doing his best to ignore the pain of his damaged arm), gently caught the figure and went back to the surface. The figure took a big inhale and coughed a lot. Bee was concerned, but he could only observe for now. 

He first noticed how this being kinda reminded him of his own kin: they have 4 limbs- 2 legs and 2 arms with 5 fingers, the face structure is similar as well, they also warm and look like they vent as well ( aka breathing. Cybertronian’s breathing is part of the air cooling system.see more in Trivia). While there was a lot of difference as well( being organic lifeform and such), that amazed Bumblebee that he almost forgot about his hand.

After being calmed down, the figure finally looked at their savior only to meet face to face with a giant alien robot. He yelled as a surprise, while Bee yelled back because the former's yell startled him pretty much.

After the shock faded and understanding that Bee wasn't doing anything bad ( they were just chilling in the lake) they sighed in relief and smiled, thanked him for saving them. Bee cannot understand what the figure says, but he assumes right he can sense relief emitting from the figure’s spark and replies, which of course the other didn’t understand as well.

The figure then gestures towards the mainland that isn’t far away, while making a paddling motion which Bee understood as “take me to the land”. He nodded ( to his relief on it means the same thing for humans) and he began swimming towards the land. Which pretty much drained him as they both arrived and his hand got worse. 

Bumblebee curled on the ground, trying to endure, but once again his system shut him down. The last thing he hears as the figure calls to him is a worry.

The next time he awoke, he wasn’t by the lake anymore, but inside of some sort of garage. He was lying on the floor and he tried to get up, but again his arm hurt, though he noticed that this time the pain is tolerable somehow.

He looks to the side and sees that his entire arm was wrapped into some weird stuff, kinda looking like duct tape? Sure it was flimsy, it kept his arm from falling apart.

Two figures entered the room: one he’s already familiar with, which is this person he saved from the lake, and others. They look similar to each other, the other person looking older, for some reason they reminded him of Ratchet. Bee tried to sit up again, but the pain wasn't letting him. Two people instantly got worried, saying something to him which he imagined was something like “please don’t move”. The older one went close to examine the arm closely, Bumblebee knew this look: a look of someone who is checking on the work they did...really reminded of Ratchet again. 

Bee sighs and gives a small smile and thanks to them, though he knows they won’t understand the hopes that the tone of his voice suggested the meaning. The older person nods in acknowledgment, then they exchanged a few words with the younger one and left the room.

The younger one sat by Bee. Autobot looked at them, observing them once more, taking more onto more features and he could tell that they did the same with him. Suddenly their expression lighted up as if they had an idea. Bee tilted his head slightly in question.

Making sure that Bee’s attention is on them, the figure points at themself says “I”. At first, Bee was confused, so they repeated it again. The only thing he could think of is to repeat the same. The exclamation followed by a nod means he did it right. Then they pointed at him and said “you”. Bee did the same...and suddenly it’s clicked. The language, they were teaching him their language!  He smiled and they continued.

Somewhere in the middle of this, they finally introduced each other. The person’s name is Spike Witwicky, a 15yo boy who is living with his father and helping him with the car repairs business. When Bumblebee introduced himself, Spike giggled, saying that Bee’s name sounded exactly how they call a specific insect. The Autobot snorts, funding this coincidence amusing. 

What a strange planet, and he began liking it already. 

Spike asks if Bee came from that huge ship that was falling. He nods, explaining ( in his broken English I imagine) that an asteroid took them down, and then he fell through the hole into the water at high speed that almost tore his arm off. Spike winced sympathetically, assuring that now Bee is gonna be alright. Then he thanks the yellow Autobot for saving him, Bee smiled in response, saying he did what he was right. Though he gets curious how Spike ended up in the water in the first place and Spike blushes in embarrassment because he was looking at the descending Ark and he wasn’t paying attention that he was hanging on slippery ground. He fell and since he wasn’t a good swimmer, the current took him away from the land until Bumblebee found him later.

Soon Spike’s father returns with more supplies and he was pleasantly surprised that their guest can communicate with them. Bee thanks him for patching his arm, tho the old guy says he can do some more, while they try to find out where the Ark landed so they can return Bee back to his people.

A bit later in the evening, Spike decided to show Bee various VHS tapes documentaries about Earth( he almost moved tv and VHS player to the garage), he could have a picture of what their planet was like. The Autobot happily agrees, being both curious and see it as an opportunity to learn more English words.

After a few days, Spike’s dad found out where the Ark landed, on Belle Isle. He offered Bumblebee a lift ( he has a truck which also was used to transport the Autobot from the lake’s shore). Bee gladly agrees, being happy they were helping him even though they didn't have to. To which Spike replied that Bee didn't have to save him either, but he did it anyway.

Spike with dad helped him to get onto the thing where to connect the thing ( lol I forgot), they both sat into the car and began their ride.

The trip went okay, Bee even relaxed and looked around the city, being amazed because everything was new, the sensations were new. Though sure he could see people staring at him, understanding that they know about Autobots...after all, there is no way you could miss something like this as their crash landing. There was probably a lot of news going on about this. 

Thankfully, Spike informed him that the ship didn’t kill anyone during the crash, which was a great relief on his spark. 

Soon they arrived at their destination, Bee peeks over the truck to see the damage around ( a lot of broken trees), and the Ark wasn’t looking so good. He hoped at least everyone was okay!

Suddenly Windblade quickly walked out of Art’s entrance, expecting these humans to be more reporters or whatever and before she could draw any conclusions, Bee called her name and waved with his good arm which instantly grabbed her attention. 

She ran over to her best friends, that he’s alive ( she was looking everywhere and was worried sick) and really wanted to bear hug him, but she saw the arm, so she hugged him gently. Then Bee explained to her that those humans helped him ( gesturing to his broken arm). Windblade thanked the theme, as Bee translated to them. 

After that Windblade announced to everyone over comms that Bee is alive and found, but required medical attention. Meanwhile, Spike looked a bit sad and asked if he’ll see Bumblebee again. The bot smiled and told him that he memorized the path from Spike’s home to Ark, so he will find it again. For that Spike jumped into a hug ( Windblade quietly ‘awww’ed at the scene). 

Windblade helped Bee to stand up and get off the truck, both humans wished Bumblebee speedy recovery before they headed home. She was asking Bee about his new friends ( and also commenting how it was only their couple of days on this planet and he already befriended aliens amazing), Bee ofc told her everything.

On Art, the crew was overjoyed with Scout's return, though Ratchet quickly led him into the med bay as it was clear how much damage he sustained. Meanwhile, Bee sends to Teletraan-1 anything he learned in English, to share with other Autobots, which Optimus was delighted with such a turn of events as it meant he can finally properly contact humans.

After Autobots got a bit established ( like making connections with humans and stuff), Bee finally paid a visit to Spike, the boy was so happy to see him again. 

After that Bumblebee and Spike spend a lot of time together and become friends. Spike also befriended Windblade, while we weren’t as close with her as with Bee, they enjoyed each other's company. Spike’s dad also made friends among Autobots. Together they learned more about the world they were stranded in, with all its beauties and problems, discovering new things like sparks actually being in every living being, Bee has to train himself to probably filter signals, he mostly focused on sensing his fellow Autobots and humans.

Bee quickly grew attached to Earth, not really missing Cybertron anymore. Sure there are a lot of processes and it’s different for everyone but Autobots felt that they can actually live again ( or begin living for younger bots who were forged during the war), the future seemed bright.

When Spike got older ( around 18 yo) he informed Bumblebee that he will leave Detroit for a university opportunity. The news saddened the scout, not wanting to part with his human friend, but he understands that he shouldn’t be in the way of Spike’s hopes and dreams. Out of curiosity, he asks Spike what he’s gonna study ( he had multiple guesses because Spike liked a lot of things).To that Spike replied with the biggest smiles that he will become an astrophysicist! Spike never could choose one thing, but that fateful day when Autobots arrived has sealed the deal. He hoped that he would work at NASA one day. They both laugh.

The day when Spike was leaving, along with his father, they said goodbye. Spike promised to stay in contact with Bee, and the bot promised the same. Kilometers apart won’t matter, they will always remain best friends forever.

Bumblebee missed Spike greatly after this and he needed time to accept this, but thankfully they both were true to their promise and stayed in contact for all years to come.

Fast forward to 2018.

This is when the story would begin, as all previous events described in this document to this point would be revealed through flashbacks and such.

Autobots have been living in peace for 33 years now. They helped humans to progress, technologically, and socially ( Solarpunk setting). They are integrated into society and have jobs( Bee for example is a courier, though sometimes he acts as a diplomat at important meetings that he attends with Prime as humans tend to like him), some bots scattered across the globe to do their thing (though they ofc course pay visits to Ark).

The Ark is part of a big overgrown forest on Belle Isle. It is because Wheeljack and Perceptor wanted to fix the damage they did to the environment during their crush. And after some experimentation, trial, and error they made some sort of serum that stimulates trees to grow fast. Too fast even as plants got out of hand at one point, so they had to fix this as well.

Bumblebee took a liking of plants, so he started his own collection. This private chamber was damaged and has a missing wall after the crash, later it was fixed, it expanded a bit and has a lot of light coming in through windows so it’s perfect for plants keeping. 

6 years ago he and Windblade befriended human Sari Sumdac, who is now 30 years old head engineer, working at Sumdac Systems along with her father. She's an absolute gremlin and always up to shenanigans, which awakes the gremlin side of Bee. Windblade tags along as well, maybe to keep an eye on them. All three are close friends :3

Sari builds an exosuit that improves her strength and grats a lot of cool abilities ( aka Iron Man but cooler) in case Decepticons show up.

He’s also in contact (which thanks to the internet became much easier) and friends with Spike, who is 48 years old astrophysicist at NASA, married to Carly, and has adopted son Daniel. Spike with his family visits Detroit each year to hang out with Autobots.

There is a lot of shenanigans happening on Ark, especially in group chat ( aka Discord server? with Sari and Spike invited.) The higher command are mods, but sure, Jazz loves changing channels names into something stupid :D

There are always twins ( Sideswipe and Suntreaker) with pranks, Jazz blasting music, Wheeljack blowing himself up again while Ratchet complains, fixing him again and again. They would do a lot of activities when free, (imagine them playing Among Us, Bumblebee being such a good imposter >:3) adopting human customs, they even get invited sometimes to entertainment shows ( you know, like those with two teams they have to do various impressions, etc).

The Bee loves music and got into drumming ( he had a habit of focusing on someones’ sparkpulse, using it as a base beat and used his hands to drum on various surfaces as entertainment back on Cybertron), he always does collabs with Windblade ( electro guitar), Sari ( keyboard + other electronic stuff, like a theremin) and sometimes Spike ( saxophone) to do video game music covers, they have a channel ( editing video and maintaining are on Jazz).

Fun fact: Bee’s drumkit and Blade’s guitar are one of few things of cultural value that actually survived the war, though they required repairment and some adjustments ( because the kit was too big for Bumblebee), they are in good condition now. There is writing on Cybertronian, showing the name of the company that used to produce instruments all those million years ago. 

Autobots are living their best life, even though they are prepared in case Decepticons will show up at their doorway.

The arrival of Decepticons.

Decepticons left Cybertron soon after Autobot’s, as Megatron believed that Optimus stole the AllSpark and was determined to take it back and use it to fix their broken homeworlds. Unlike Ark, their spaceship, Nemesis, was in [perfect condition. so they traveled from star to star in order to find a signal from AllSpark.

The problem was that no matter how Shockwave updated the scanning system, they just couldn't find any traces. It was frustrating to Megatron, he could feel how much energy this object radiated every time he walked into the Chamber of Creation, but there was literally nothing. It couldn't just vanish into thin air, can it?

So they just kept guessing, checking every nearby star system. It took a lot of time and was fruitless and the Decepticons grew tired. Starscream especially, always dreamed about taking Megatron’s place and rule Decepticons. So one day, after another failure to locate the AllSpark, Megatron and Starscream broke into a fight, resulting in the warlord throwing his second in command at the control panel by accident. 

Starscream face planted random coordinations and the Nemesis warp jumped to the Solar System, placing them on Earth’s orbit. Sunday scanners activated as they found Autobots’ signatures on this planet. Megatron laughs, he finally found Optimus so the AllSpark must be with them.

Soon they landed somewhere outside of Detroit, which didn't go unnoticed. Teletraan-1 alerts Autobots immediately. Bumblebee volunteers to investigate, followed by Windblade as a backup. Optimus approves the mission and the trio goes to Nemesis location.

Bee gets close to Nemesis, while Blade stays in the air just in case her friend needs a quick escape. He knows the plans of the ship well ( he infiltrated it a number of times), so he easily slips through the guards inside, into the vents. Soon he locates Megatron and carefully listens. He finds out about Megatron's intention to seize the AllSpark from Autobots. Looks like it's the only reason why they even came here and he will turn the city apart to get it.

Thankfully Wheeljack made a force field that won't let Decepticons in as a precaution for years ago. Still, that is a grim sign and they have to deal with Deceptions regardless. 

Bumblebee hacks into their system and quickly downloads important intel.

Then he sees Shockwave, it takes a lot of self-control to not hiss, Megatron just gives him simple orders to oversee something. He takes orders and leaves, but Bumblebee notices that he went in a completely different direction ( as Bee knows the ship well) and didn't like it. Bee wants to follow and see what this mad scientist is planning, but he senses Ravage nearby. The cat is also moving quickly through vents, probably because Soundwave ejected him here in case Bumblebee will show up.

The scout quickly gets out beforeRavage discovers him and leaves. On the way back he shares his findings with Windblade, and later back on Ark with the high command of Autobots. They don't have the AllSpark (and even if they had they wouldn't give it to Megatron anyway), and they must drive Decepticons off the planet, or convince Megatron to stop.

So after this, I imagine a few instances when Decepticons tried to attack the city ( but couldn't get it), Autobots would usually lure them away from the city and fight them there. Here examples of shenanigans that happened:

Sudden dance off, the seeker trio( Starscream, Thundercracker, and Skywarp) was really confused about this shit;

Sari ( in her suit) is legit disassembling Decepticons in the mid-fight. Imagine, Starscream wants to shoot, but his null rays fall off, awkward;

She also stole t-cog ( the detail responsible for transformation) from Blitzwing, much later it was returned;

Devastator caught Bumblebee and was going to quash the scout. Bee on the other hand focused on Devastator’s sparks ( he’s a combiner, made out of 6 Decepticons known as Constructicons) by accident and could hear that chaos that is happening in Devastator’s mine ( since all 6 don't merge into one, they still present chatter, telling Devastator what to do which is pure chaos). That overwhelms him and he yells “QUIET”, silencing 6 six constructions which seriously freaks Devastator out and he falls apart. Much later he did the same trick again when tried to throw Devastator at Autobots again;

Optimus is trying to convince Megatron that they don't have the AllSpark which isn't working. Not letting his frustration get ahead of him, Prime starts throwing memes( which he carefully chose for a specific situation) at Megatron. Megatron is not amused ahah).

Megatron wants to move forward and maybe to take on other cities to force Prime to surrender, but Autobots are one step ahead( as they planned), surrounding Nemesis from various positions ( as Optimus called all other Autobots that live in different locations) to harass Deceptions from time to time, trapping their enemies effectively. 

Conspiring with cassettes.

Later Autobots find out that despite the force field being up, and effectively repelling Deceptions, Soundwave’s cassettes are actually able to squeeze through. Wheeljack is hypothesizing it’s probably because of their size ( they are smaller than Bumblebee as intended) and looking for a solution to solve this.

Interestingly enough, cassettes ( 5 of them: Ravage, Laserbeak, Buzzsaw, and twins: Frenzy and Rumble) are not causing chaos while being out in the city. Bumblebee is keeping an eye on them, he can easily track them down, though they move fast which turns into some sort of game. At some point, he actually exchanges words with Ravage. Bee is trying to understand cassette's motives, but Ravage keeps it to himself ( though Bee senses some sort of enjoyment instead of malice).

Later Bumblebee gets a message from Rumble: they have a bomb and will blow up something ( I haven't decided sorry) if Bumblebee won't come to them alone. Knowing this is turned into a fight, he goes anyway without telling anybody as he wants to get to the bottom of this.

This indeed turns into a fight, as cassettes demand Bee to tell them where the AllSpark is. Bee tells them he has no idea like anyone else. Ravage asks why Bumblebee doesn't want to restore Cybertron, to which Bee replies that there is literally nothing left to restore. The AllSpark isn't some sort of magical object that can fix all their problems. Besides, Decepticons had it in control, why didn't they use it then? The situation gets really awkward after this, Frenzy admits that Megatron saw devastation only after Autobots left as his focus shifted to other things after his enemies were gone.

The fight stops, Bumblebee seizes the moment and asks where is the bomb they threatened him with earlier. Laserbeak just casually shows it, and in fact, it wasn't even activated. Rumble tells him when Megatron found out that cassettes and slip through the barrier, he ordered Soundwave to use the bomb to cause chaos. This isn't really what cassettes want to do, because finally in a million years they can actually roam free and explore new locations and things safe from Megaton. 

Cassettes admit that they aren't really loyal to their leader, only participating in war because their caretaker, Soundwave, was loyal to Megaton...though his loyal shifted and now his loyalty revolves around keeping his cassettes safe because Megatron won't be nice if he finds out. So he keeps up his appearances, while he lets his cassettes roam free.

Bumblebee understands that situation is complicated, but he sees this as an opportunity to end this stupid war. After all, Soundwave is highly regarded by Megatron, so maybe he can work with this.

Buzzsaw thought asks what they are gonna do now as they failed the task, which is quickly decided to shift all blame onto Bumblebee, even for future situations like this as Bee revealed that he can sense from far away from anyone. Ravage realized it’s the reason why he and others were never able to catch him! So after this being decided they went back and Bee returned to Ark, sharing this only with Sari, Windblade, and Optimus Prime for security reasons, he doesn't want to blow cassettes cover by accident.

Infiltrating Nemesis again.

Bumblebee isn't having a good time. He gets forced into reboot more frequently than it used to, especially during battles with Decepticons. Autobots had to save him multiple times, which was a blow to his self-esteem. Not to mention Sunstreaker was at him again, insulting the scout. Bumblebee yelled at him in return ( something that never happened before), he gets angrier and more frustrated. His best friends are doing their best to help, but there is little they can do.

Ratchet examined him and scanners show that the spark shell is losing its integrity, as it wears off over time. That explained why so many reboots happened recently. He says that Bumblebee shouldn't go on the missions at all, and Optimus agrees with this. Bee doesn't take it well, believing they think he’s now being useless to them, and storms off.

Then he sneaks out at night, planning to infiltrate the Nemesis again with two purposes: to prove that he is still useful to Autobots and to find out what Shockwave is up to ( it still bothers him a lot).

He sneaks in like usual and at first, it was okay, but then the vent under him broke ( yeah those vents are worn off over so many years too) and he fell right before the Seeker Trio. So the chase begins, Bee still can get away and he knows the ship but suddenly an unfortunate thing happens - his spark malfunction again and sends him into forced reboot.

Next time he awakens, he’s being restrained on some sort of medical table, which Bee quickly recognizes where he is - in Shockwave quarters. That sends terror to his spark, not only he’s been caught and Autobots don't know where he is, but he’s at mercy of the mad scientist. 

He tried to break free, but it’s useless, he never had much strength anyway. He looks around, and among his various projects, he sees something like a spire blueprint projected on the screen. It seems like it’s part of Nemesis. He doesn't like this at all. 

Shockwave enters the rooms, carrying various tools with him. Bee asks what he’s gonna do with him. The scientist doesn't reply first as he runs the scanner over Bee’s entire body ( while he’s changing the project on his scene meanwhile), it detects something in Bee’s spark chamber. 

Bee asks why Shockwaves keeps doing this,( like his sick experiments that even Megatron did not approve of). To this, the scientist replies that this war is going way too long and it will never end. So he decided to have a little fun while he can, he wants to relish in chaos and see the world burn.

He says that Bumblebee is carrying something interesting inside and he wants to find it. Shockwave activates his cutting tool and gets closer, intending to cut Bumblebee open.

Thankfully, salvation comes in an unusual form, Soundwave enters the room and demands to hand Bumblebee to him. Shockwave is not amused and refuses, so both argue until Shockwave gets an order directly from Megatron because the warlord wants Soundwave to dig intel out of elusive Autobot scout. After that, Shockwave can do whatever he wants with the prisoner.

Bee sighs with relief as he is escorted to Soundwave quarters. He doesn't make an attempt to escape, he can't really run away with a stasis cuff one + hr wants to get more insight on the Communication Officer. Maybe Soundwave knows what Shockwave is planning.

When they arrive, Bumblebee gets fully restrained again, and he’s mind gets connected to Soundwave’s systems ( via a cord) to start digging thought Bee’s mind ( if I remember correctly, Soundwave can read minds and emotions bc he can sense electric impulses in the processor or brain, he using cord here bc he wants to do deeper). 

Bee is pretty calm about this, he doesn't carry any useful intel ( he usually drops it at Teletraan-1 when he completes the duty). So Soundwave is stuck with casual memories while looking for any indication of the AllSpark, though he comments on Bee's good drumming skills.

Meanwhile, Ravage self-ejects from Soundwave’s chest and be like “dude seriously how the fuck did you get caught?? what are you doing even?”. Bee asks if they know anything about Shockwave’s plans. Such a question surprises both Decepticons, Bee understands that they don't know anything. Ravage doesn't like the sound of this and asks Bee to elaborate, but before he can answer, the scout looks to the side, sensing Megatron is coming in this direction. 

Ravage quickly transforms and tucks himself back into Soundwave’s cassette deck. In a minute, the warlord himself entered the room. He is pleased to see Soundwave already working on the task, while he turns to Bumblebee to take a good look at him as he never has seen the scout, who ruined a lot of his plans, up close - Bee would always be in the distance or lingering on the corners of Megatron’s optics before vanishing out of sight.

Megatron is acting pretty smug as a big nuisance in his grasp, though he admits he feels like he saw Bee’s face somewhere ( same reaction as Prime). He starts monologuing about how it would be great if Bumblebee would join him, they would win this war quickly. Maybe the little scout would convince Optimus Prime to join them, to which Bee asked if Megatron is still salty about Optimus breaking up with him.

That quickly pisses Megatron off, he grabs scout's neck and pins him heavily on the table, saying that he should watch his mouth. Bee isn't having this, replying ( as much as he can with his throat squeezed) that Megatron is an insolent fool who only focuses to keep Starscream on a leash, while Shockwave is plotting under his nose.

Megatron would probably hurt Bumblebee after this, but Sundewave reminded his leader that he’s still working and needs the scout in pieces. Megatron gives the order to continue, while he leaves. Both Bee and Soundwave sigh in relief, the latter commenting that the scout should keep it down in Megatron’s presence, to which Bee replies that someone had to say this.

Soundwave soon stumbles upon the Vector Sigma seal, locking the rest of Bumblebee’s memories. Soundwave asks Bee about this, to which the scout gives him the honest answer - he doesn't know how it got there and it’s been there already when he “first” woke up. Bumblebee asks if Soundwave can break it. The communication officer makes a few attempts, but it doesn't affect the seal at all. They need Victory Sigma, but it’s gone.

Bee expressed his frustration because he felt like the answer lies beneath it, but he said that he will find a way to stop Megatron. Soundwave replies that it’s impossible, but Bee doesn't buy this, he noticed the other reaction and it was hopeful.  

Bumblebee also notices multiple sparkpulses inside Soundwave, his cassettes, but only 5 of them are active, while there are many more of them, and those cassettes are being stasis. Bee asks Soundwave how long they’ve been asleep. Soundwave pauses, not expecting that question, and they reply that they have been in stasis since the beginning of the war.

Bee now understands, Soundwave has been working hard for Megatron, wanting to end the war as quickly as possible ( that was a motivation for a lot of Decepticons as Bee found out when they reached out for him), while sparing most of his cassette the trauma.

They sat in silence for a minute before Megatron contacted Soundwave, demanding his presence somewhere while ordering to leave a cassette to guard the prisoner. Soundwave sits for another minute, communicating with these cassettes, then ejects Ravage and leaves the room.

Ravage stands still, listening to the environment and making sure the coast is clear, then tells Bumblebee “you broke out using shock bombs, understood?” and releases the scout. Bee quickly gets up, thanking the cat. To that Ravage says “Go left now, I’ll give you ten seconds”. Bee nods and runs out of the room. 

After ten seconds the alarms burst on, informing that the prisoner had escaped. For convenience, Bee uses a few shock bombs he has with him as Decepticons try to stop him. 

He gets out, though he’s also pretty beaten up and it takes hours for him to get back to Ark ( he couldn't transform). He collapses then he crosses the entrance.

When Bee awakens, he’s on a medical table. His body is fixed, though Ratchet gave the minibot an earful of lecture for defying his recommendations and now Bee’s spark shell is even more strained. Prime also talks to Bee, reassuring the scout that no, Optimus and other Autobots don’t see him as burned and he doesn't have to go to such lengths to prove himself ( those conversations happened often back on Cybertron).

Bee doesn't reply, yet the give into he gathered when he was stuck on Nemesis.

Soon after this, Bee actually gets to talk with Sunstreaker to resolve their issue. The taller Autobot admits that he’s been projecting a lot because he used to be like Bumblebee when he was younger. Then he was envious because, despite everything, Bee remains kinds and hopeful. The scout tells him it takes a lot of work to keep being him after all those tragedies he had witnessed. Sunstreaker nods, though he still doesn't understand who Bee can easily move on after leaving Cybertron, it was their home after all. 

Bumblebee simply said that Cyberton didn’t feel like home, but prison.

And then the shit gets real!

Optimus decided to take another chance to negotiate peace with Megatron. They gathered near Nemesis, both Autobots and Decepticons just chilling (some interacting, like cassettes hanging out with Bee-Blade-Sari trio) while their leaders were negotiating. 

At first there heated arguments between the two leaders, Megatron acting like Optimus is the one being unreasonable and trying to blame him, while Optimus being like “listen you started this shit, you have no one to blame but yourself” (more politely of course). Soon, they both calmed down and actually made progress, as Megatron noticed that a lot of Decepticons are being distracted by various Earthian things because it’s all new in a million years.

Before they could proclaim anything, Shockwave appeared. Bee tenses instantly, this can't be good. I haven't decided if Shockwave would monologue or not, but the end is the same - he shoots Bumblebee in the chest.

Before anyone can react, Shockwave snatches the minibot and lifts him to his level, taking a closer look at the wound. The shoot wasn't direct, but tangential - it made a hole in the chest and partly chipped away the protective shell, leaving Bee’s spark partly exposed.

The energy is pulsing through the hole now( while Bee’s pulse gets completely haywire as he tries to free himself), the signature, and the effect is unmistakable - this is the AllSpark.  The amount of shock is impossible to describe, after all, Bee was carrying the AllSpark within himself and no one had an idea. Even Shockwave did not expect THAT!

Megatron is being evil smug again, now the AllSpark within his grasp! Except Shockwave has other plans. Instead, he activates his device, which was built into Nemesis. This spire was designed to fuck over all lifeforms on this planet ( including cybertronians), and with AllSpark his plan to cause massive chaos gets perfect as the AllSpark not only creates but also destroys. 

As he was about to rip the AllSpark out of Bee’s body, this system got overwhelmed, but instead of rebooting, his body discharged the energy, creating a big wave that threw everyone away.

Bumblebee meanwhile is screaming in pain ( the AllSpark is slowly breaking him apart) and a surge of painful memories ( the wave broke the seal). Not to mention he’s surrounded and pretty sure he might die, if he wants to get through this - he must become stronger to protect himself.

That thought activates the interface, the Vector Sigma interface. It already had something set up there. Bee can’t really see what it is, something about protective armor(?), he confirms it, the interface turned into a small cell that absorbed a portion of AllSpark energy. Then, as if he knows what to do, he slams the cell into the ground.

For a moment nothing happened, then suddenly a huge amount of plant-like-black vine material burst from the ground. Everyone instantly got into their sense after that blast, now witnessing those vines connecting to Bee’s chest and the AllSpark, lifting him off the ground and begin forming something BIG.

Decepticons are trying to shoot those vines, but hey, they re heat resistant quickly grow back :) Autobots are trying to contact the scout, but his comm is dead, Windblade cannot get into him minds as it’s filled with so many negative emotions like rage, grief, desperation, depression. Said emotions also floored Soundwave, making him unable to move.

Soon Bumblebee ( or more like the huge shell that was growing around him) formed into a big, dragon-like creature, who leats out of deafening roar at AllSpark energy shoots everywhere. An he’s so angry that everyone around him can feel it in their sparks.

This is how he looks, he’s strong enough to throw big cybertronians around like chew toys. Bumblebee’s body is cocooned in the chest area, the light from the AllSpark shines through crevasses.

Despite being angry, he doesn’t attack first and Optimus could have reasoned with him, but Megatron decided it was a good idea to attack the bigger monster and this is when the shit gets loose. 

Bumblebee trashes around, causing chaos around him, sometimes targeting someone and going after them for a few moments. All this is followed by energy discharges, so he successfully beats the shit out of everyone.

Shockwave is the only one who is pleased with surprise results, as he tried to collect data.

Soon Windblade manages to get a hold of her best friend’s mind and he tries to calm Bee down. He slows down a bit, which opens an opportunity for Sari to get inside thought crevasses and try to locate him.

She follows the opposite direction from energy flow, and soon she finds him. His face is a mix of anger and fear, Sari starts talking, trying to draw his attention to her. Soon enough he notices her ( the beast stops moving).

Bee tells her that he’s scared and he’s in pain. His body cracks more because even this large shall not contain all the power of the AllSpark. She hugs his head, telling that they will figure this out, but first hee need to stop thrashing around, he’s hurting everyone. 

Meanwhile, Windblade does the same, using telepathy to talk to him. It worked and they always convinced him to just fly towards the Ark, but Shockwave wasn’t having that, and started shooting at Bumblebee, trying to provoke him. Bee is sort of back to his senses, seeing Shockwave again, angers him to the point that this anger throws Windblade out of his mind. Sari is alright, but the expressions on Bee’s face terrified her. 

Bees run and pines Shockwave to the ground. Suddenly he speaks ( his voice sounds very distorted when it comes from the beast) telling him in space that Shockwave is the one who destroyed Cybertron and left them homeless. the mad scientist chuckles, commenting that this means his “pet project” had worked and he regrets nothing.  

Bumblebee executes Shockwave without mercy.

After Bumblebee flies up heads towards the Ark, Windblade flies after him, while Optimus uses this moment to gather Autobots and get the hell out of there. Sari tells him over comms that Bee is breaking, so he asks Ratchet to drive ahead and help Bumblebee.

Bee meanwhile is almost there, but his body cannot take this anymore. The chest opens up and Bumblebee with Sari falls out of the monster( then the husk falls down and lands right by the entrance of Ark). They both fall for a few seconds before the AllSpark shatters into small pieces and they fly in different directions. Windblade caught them both, both saw what happened and got really scared that Bee might be dead. 

There is small light coming from his exposed spark chamber, so Blade rushes to the medical bay, while frantically explaining to Ratchet ( who is on the way) what just happened. He instructs them to stabilize Bumblebee, enforcing he gets in and takes over.

Ratchet barely managed to save Bee’s life. After that, it took a lot of time to put the minibot together ( between all other urgent repairs of other Autobots that got fucked up by Bee’s outrage). Now, when the danger has passed, Ratchet can get a better look at scout’s sparks chamber that was hidden under the shell. Said shell was crumbled, he had to remove it. Then tells others what he’s discovered: 

First, his spark still hosts a few AllSpark shards. He tried to remove it but it turned out that Bee’s spark IS merged with the AllSpark. His system even pings errors about missing components. This is ironic because it made sense that the AllSpark was causing erratic sparkpulses, but yet they cant separated it from him;

Second, he discovered that Bee also has Vector Sigma installed in his spark chamber, this is exactly those missing components from the broken device;

Third, now there is a plant ( it looks exactly like that vine from earlier) parasite residing in Bee’s body, it appears to be feeding on AllSpark energy. Ratchet tried to remove it, it slapped him on the face. It resists and refuses to come off.

It raises so many questions, of how and why Bee got both AllSpark AND Vector Sigma. There was a suggestion that Bee could steal, or maybe all of this was some sick experiment that Shockwave did, though now they won’t know with the mad scientist dead. Windblade feels that she was involved in this, but still has no idea how.

She still cannot stop thinking about what she saw in Bee’s mindspace during the rampage. He was overwhelmed by grief, sadness, pain, guilt and all of this he merged into anger. And that he carried this angger for a really long time, longer that any of them can imagine. Ratchet is sure that Bee cannot be older, but who knows. Perhaps Bumblebee had a different body in the past that was destroyed.

After a week Bee wakes up. Of course, he’s being hugged by Blade and Sari, everyone sighed with relief. Optimus asks if Bee remembers anything from the meeting. The scout thinks for a moment. He remembers being shot, he remembers paint and panic and anger, he definitely remembers killing Shockwave. He doesn’t know who to feel about it.

He also informed him about a plant parasite. Bee is surprised, but he feels fine for far.

He’s upset when he learns that he beat everyone up and proceeds to apologize before every Autobot that was involved in this. He also sees his discarded husk outside of the Ark, which is examined by Wheeljack and Perceptor (  and wondering if human culture influenced Bee to make this creature look like one of the monsters from his video games).

He doesn’t have any recollection of making it, though this form seems familiar...probably he saw that dragon in a video game...probably.

Bee walks around the island to clear his head, being joined by Sari and Windblade. He admits that he is partly scared that he killed Shockwave like this...but on hand, he’s relieved that this guy is gone and Earth is safe for now. 

The scout also tells them that he remembered something during that fight that he could remember before. He tried again, but now it feels like his memories are scattered - they are there, but out of reach. 

To see what’s going on, Windblade uses her abilities to get into Bee’s mind. She sees that the Vector Sigma seal is gone ( tho her own is still active), but now all those memories that were locked are either missing or corrupted. Even those that weren’t locked are broken. She hypothesized that the AllSpark shattering damaged his data banks, taking the portion of memories with shards. 

That is just another reason why they must collect the shards.

Good thing that Bee can sense the shards, most of them landed in the city, but some landed outside, even near Nemesis which isn’t good. Later they come back and inform Prime about this and the high command starts formulating the plans of retrieving shards.

Meanwhile Wheeljack, Ratchet, and Sari brainstorm ideas of how to prevent the AllSpark from harming Bumblebee. The plant is absorbing the portion of energy, but it’s clear he still needs a shell. Sari tells them that Sumdac Systems will provide resources for the project.

Collecting the shards.

In general, the collecting of shards will go smoothly for most of the time, since most shards landed in the city. Some they found just laying in the bushes or roofs, some were handled by humans, some were even sent by mail. As new shards rejoin Bumblebee, Windblade helps him to restore his recent memories, while they still need to complete AllSpark to get access to previously locked memories.

Ratchet also keeps in check Bee’s health as new shards are added, and gradually builds a shell around the spark chamber, minding the plant.

So, few thing that happened during this time frame in no particular order:

Starscream got his hands onto one of the shards and caused chaos to both Decepticons and Autobots, he can even use it to get through the force field around the city;

Bumblebee created Grimlock, using an awesome t-rex animatronic as a base;

Thundercracker leaving Decepticons, thought he didn't go to Autobots either. He talks with Windbladem admitting that it was terrifying to see someone like Bumblebee so hurt ( he’s referring to that dragon accident) because of the war;

Discovering that the plant, living inside Bee is actually a symbiont - it protects its host when Bee is in danger, even helping him to lift a weight that Bee couldn't before ( though his body hurts a lot after this). Sari names it Clover ( in fact she did it with all Bee’s plants);

When the last shard is gathered, Ratchet doesnt final touches to the shell. He doesn't completely seal it away, letting it’s potions flow through Bumblebee’s body. This should reduce chances of forced reboot, thought they still might happen.

After this, Bumblebee secludes himself in his room, wanting to sort through all his memories, as those old one now finally accessible. After a few days he asks Windblade to come, He removes her Vector Sigma seal, and they talk through all those events. 

Soon Bumblebee requests Autobots together ( who can come, if someone can't, then they will be sent the recorded version of this) in front of Ark ( where the husk is) because there is something that everyone must know. He also asks Soundwave to send Laserbeak to the meeting, so she can record this conversation and present it to other Decepticons, Megatron included. Soundwave obliges, sending Bee his regards.

The truth behind the AllSpark.

Now with all his memories intact, Bumblebee reveals that he’s not the guardian or an weird experiment involving the AllSpark, but he IS the AllSpark.

That one thing was enough to shock everyone( accepts Windblade). At first they thought that technically yes, bc Bee’s spark fused the AllSpark, but Bee elaborates that he was created by Primus billions years ago. Windblade confirmed it, as she knows the truth already. 

To clear the confusion, Bumblebee starts from the beginning. 

Primus was wandering around the Universe. Like any giant with planet alt-form, he had one desire - to create and host a life. While he could easily transform, create a new life, and then fall into eternal slumber, Primus wanted to leave someone in charge. Thus he created the AllSpark - a powerful transformer who can create, destroy and maintain life on the planet. 

This person is Bumblebee, with a dragon-like altform, that looked almost exactly like that husk that now is resting in front of Ark.

Before Bee proceeded to his duties, he and Primus traveled around the Universe. Primus was teaching Bumblebee about life, about conditions required for life to exist, about material and what kind of life he can make. They visited planets, filled with various life forms: organic, silicone, energoinds and even other mechanical lifeforms.

Bee was observing living beings, learning about how they build, how they function, how they interact.

When the training was finished and Bee was ready, they traveled to a lone orange dwarf star(class K). Primus transformed and placed himself onto orbit. After this Bumblebee created the first cybertronian life. 

In thousands of years he filled the planets with divine ecosystems, with various biomes and huge species diversities and even first sentient beings. For most of the time he left anything for natural selection, while keeping a close eye on it in case something appears that will threaten life on the planet. In this case, by his protocols, he must kill that being in order to preserve balance.

He admits, while he loved his job and enjoyed creating, he was lonely. Primus advised against forming a relationship with his creations because he thought that Bumblebee’s powers could be misused in this case, for example getting involved in conflict where he could be persuaded to insta-kill someone. 

So he stayed out, but it hurt and he longed for companionship more than anything, which led to frustration and even anger at his creator for leaving alone for eternity.

Still, Bumblebee endured this and continued his work.

Peace lasted for a long time  ( if you don't think of the wars that were waged between clans from time to time), until Quintessons began their invasion on Cybertron. At first they couldn't set their tentacles there as Bee was such a fierce protector, but much later they figured out to send drones to fight instead. That posed a problem for Bumblebee because yes, he can easily kill a living being, but cannot kill what isn't alive in the first place. 

Bumblebee held endless hordes of drones for a long time, but eventually he was overwhelmed by numbers ( he was fighting alone, as cybertronians back there were no match to Quinesson’s forces) and killed.

Cybertron fell to Quintessons and everyone was enslaved.

Then Quintessons salvaged his spark( The AllSpark) and few more components to use the power of creation to create even more slaves. At first they couldn't use AllSpark, because it has quantuum properties. It creates endless possibilities, but none of their devices has enough strong sensors to set those possibilities, making them real.

Lucky for them, the components they got from Bumblebee’s dead body were connected to the AllSpark, with them Quintessons created Vector Sigma, a device that allows manipulation of the AllSpark.

They kept creating slayes, while completely ignoring anything else and soon all those diverse ecosystems that Bee made collapsed. The rain turned into acid, rust was crawling everywhere as Quintessons kept draining resources of the planet, while they tried to erase everything about Primus and AllSpark from cybetronian’s culture. While cybertronians still remembered Primus, the AllSpark was forgotten.

Hearing this was disturbing, considering the fact that after cybertronians liberated themselves from Quinesson’s tyranny - they kept using Vector Sigma for forging new bots.

Bumblebee wasn't too angry about this, they simply didn't know. Then he gets asked if he was killed, how Bumblebee is still here?

Short answer is they only destroyed his body. To explain this, Bumblebee reminds everyone how sparks work. Sparks are the lifeforce of every living being, but for sentient beings it also serves like a second brain/processor to process the emotion response.

But in Bumblebee’s case it’s the other way around: his spark is the main processor, while the head processor is for emotional response and processing the info from sensors. Primus made him like this in case Bumblebee's gonna get killed at some point so he could rebuild himself.  

Sadly, because they quickly salvaged him, removing both his spark and components that we connected to it and separating them - that made rebuilding impossible. 

And because of his spark’s quantuum nature, Bumblebee’s consciousness was locked in a quantum state, making him both existing and not existing at the same time.

He could only watch what’s happening. He was grieving over his work being destroyed, his creations being enslaved and potentially being forever stuck in quantuum sea, not able to interact with the real world again. 

The time went by, and eventually, cybertronians livetred themself from Quintessons and it marked the beginning of the Golden Age. Bumblebee was lingering, watching this happen. He was a bit happier after this, despite the fact that society was locked in functionalism( when both's place in society is defined by their alt form. Like a jet could only serve in the army) - a leftover from Quintesson tyraty. Still, it was better than Quintessons!

Bumblebee continues lingering, sometimes he floats in the form of a random bot and asks if they can see him. Usually it never works, but one day, one bot was able to hear him. Bee was ecstatic about this, finally he could talk to someone ( even though his talking was mere whisper as he forgot how his own voice used to sound). He introduced himself as Bumblebee ( it was one of many names that was given to him by his creations during ancient times that he liked a lot).

Bee thought maybe he could tell someone the truth about AllSpark origin and maybe that would help him to get back to the real world, but sadly none of his attempts were successful. Some don't believe him, some did but were punished by strict government. Additionally as Bee realised that only those who can psychic abilities can hear him. And those bots are extremely rare.

Still, Bumblebee wasn't losing hope, and kept trying ( though he was being more thoughtful about getting his friend in trouble). 

At some point, another big event happened - a gladiator named Megatron, with his partner, archivist Orion Pax ( who will later be known as Optimus Prime) created a revolution that liberated cybertronians from cages of functionalism. Now every cybertronian could be whoever they wanted, that pleased Bumblebee so much.

Not to mention now he has more chances to escape his quantuum prison, especially when a group of archaeologists has found a hidden temple that was dedicated to AllSpark - the only one that wasn't destroyed by Quintessons.

Even Megatron with Optimus came to see these fins. The most noticeable thing was the statue which archaeologists believed was the personification of AllSpark, which was an image of Bumblebee. 

(That made Optimus realise why Bumblebee’s face was so familiar when he first met him. Sure the form is different, but the face remains the same( and same goes to Megatron).)

At the same time a group of scientists noticed some quantum fluctuation comic from the AllSpark and they were going to research this. 

During this timeframe, Bee was really close to being found. He was really close to escaping. 

But as if fate decided to fuck everyone over, things changed from best to worst.

It all started when everyone realised that Cybertron will be completely drained of resources in a few millions years. That caused the frantic search of planets where they could get them. One planet that was relatively close was found. It was rich and solved this problem...but it also hosted life.

Heated arguments began, Megatron believed that they can just go and take it, because they really needed it and they are superior to this primitive form of life on that planet. Optimus on other hand refused to harm those lifeforms, even if they are primitive, that they can look elsewhere.

Bumblebee sided with Optimus, he knew the fact that there is another system near that one, that is rich with resources they need AND also unsuitable for life. He knew it in case if he ever needed those resources he could go and get them back in the day when he was in charge here.

Bee frantically searched for someone who could hear him, so he could pass this information...but he had no luck. Soon the civil war began and it was the beginning of the end.

As war was going on, Bumblebee lost all hope. He saw destruction he hadn't seen since Quintessons invasion and Cybertron’s reasons were thinning. Soon there were no resources to make new bots.

Bumblebee tight there is nothing he can do and was saddened about upcoming doom. 

Until and stumbled upon Windblade.

She was able to hear him. So they talked a lot and became close. Bee told her everything about himself, and when Blade was going to tell Optimus about Bee, he stopped her. Bumblebee was scared he's gonna be punished somehow ( it happened before in the past) but instead he has a plan, but he needs her help. She agrees, and waits until Bee is done with preparation.

Soon Bumblebee tells her about it, even a bit more urgently because he just saw Shockwave unleashing something that will kill everything and they need to get off the planet.

But first, Bumblebee needs a body. Now, when the Chamber of Creation isn't occupied anymore, Windblade sneaked inside ( Bee was carefully guiding her) the Spire, then got into the Chamber. 

He instructed her to activate Vector Sigma, then managed to upload a blueprint to her data banks that she was able to upload to Vector Sigma. 

Then he told her to set specific parameters, allowing the systems that were used for assembling bodies to scrap for resources. It was barely enough, still it gathered resources for a small body, compromising something like strength and armor. 

Then he told her to cut open Vector Sigma and get important components - the very same components that belonged to him long ago and install them to the body's spark chamber.

The last step was taking the AllSpark, placing it in a spark chamber and sealing it in a protective shell that will suppress the AllSpark frequency.

When Windblade did all this, she waited. It was silent for a few minutes and she was anxious that the plant might not get worse...before the body powered up and for the first time in seemingly forever, Bumblebee opened his optics.

This was probably the happiest day of his life since he lost his body. He hugged Windblade, thanking her for getting him out. After adjusting and remembering how to walk to transformers, they left the Spire.

But now they had to figure out what to do. When Megatron finds out that AllSpark is gone, hell will break loose and they cannot have the AllSpark being taken again. 

Bee cannot really protect himself. His body is fragile and will fall apart if he to unshesh his powers. And Decepticons like Soundwave can dig into one's mind to find out their secret. So it leads to a drastic solution - to seal any memories of him away. Blade doesn't want this, but understands it’s their only shotm so she agrees.

First they position themself near Autobot base.

Then Bumblebee activates his Vector Sigma interface, programming the seal in a specific way, so while memories are locked away, some feelings will linger. This will allow Bumblebee and Windblade to become friends again, and will also carry on the missing to make cybertronians leave the planet.

First he places the seal into Windblade’s data banks, which will activate in a few minutes and reboot her system. So it gives her time to arrive to base and be safe when memories are going to be locked away. She hugs him again before he leaves sayin “see you on the other side”.

Then he gets close to the road where Jazz soon appears, then he seales all his memories completely. The reboot happens and he falls on the ground, where next moment he’s being found by Jazz. 

The rest of the story everyone knows.

Bumblebee gives free minutes for everyone to process the whole thing. It explained a lot of things: his reboots, his ability to sense sparks, that husk’s creation,  pretty much everything.

So he’s being bombarded with questions, one of them was about what Shockwave did. Interestingly enough Bee never told Blade what exactly the mad scientist did. Bee tried to answer, but turned out he just cannot say this out of loud, that’s how terrible it was. Seeing the pained expression on Bumblebee’s face, everyone quickly moved on to different questions. 

Another question was about Primus, because Bee made it sound like Primus was just one of many beings like him. Bumblebee reveals that in fact, Earth is also giant like Primus, and unlike his creator, she can communicate with Bee during the recharge. 

So she’s asleep, but can talk to Bee when he’s asleep too. In fact he made a lot of attempts to connect, but because the AllSpark was sealed under shell, Bee could not hear her clearly. Until now.

She was asking if he can resurrect her two companions, who turned out to be Venus and Mars -  two other giants that came to this system with her. Something went wrong when both transformed to planets that caused their deaths, rendering planets unsuitable to life. 

Sadly, Bumblebee can only create or kill, he cannot bring the dead back. Once spark crosses the dimension and appears in the Well of All Sparks, it gets cleaned. It's a point of no return and the only direction for spark to go is forward -  to it's new life.

After the meeting is over, Bee turns to Laserbeak, making sure that all this information was received by Soundwave, which she confirms. Now they can only hope for better, that this is gonna be enough to stop Megaton from his fruitless conquest.

Then he goes on another walk around the forest, thinking about his past, present and future. Despite everything, he’s glad he lived to this point. He has what he always wanted( aka companionship) and now there is a chance for everyone to thrive once again, along with humans.

The final stretch.

Of course, nothing can be that easy. 

Soon after the big reveal, the entire Soundwave cassette horde( aka even those who were in stasis since the beginning of the war) arrives at the Ark’s entrance. They look terrified and begging for help. When asked what happened, Ravage told Bee that Megatron didn't take the news well when Soundwave presented that entire conversation to Decepticons.

Soundwave tried to reason with his leader, but Megatron got mad and hurt Soundwave, then he was going to hurt the cassettes as punishment, which resulted in fight and Soundwave ejecting every single one and telling them to run.

So they ran and came here, begging to save Soundwave.

This makes Bumblebee energon boil in his tubes, he’s almost jumped into his husk body to just run and tear Megatron apart, but he managed to calm himself. Optimus decided to go and deal with Megatron himself, and Bee tags along. 

When they meet again with Megatron near Nemesis again, first Optimus demands to release Soundwave. Somehow they convince him to do so, and Autobots take him to Ark for repair and reunite him with cassettes.

Meanwhile Megatron demands Bumblebee to fix Cynertron, which turns into a heated argument, because there is literally nothing to fix. Bee cannot just magically undo all the damage. 

In the end Bumblebee snaps, and just decides to do what he really, really didn't want to do -  he wants to open the space bridge and show Megatron what is happening on Cybertron. If this won't help, he doesn't know what can. 

Bumblebee warns that they might not get out alive, but Megatron agrees anyway, believing that minibot still can fix their home planet. Optimus Prime also joins, refusing to leave Bumblebee alone with Megatron.

They arrive at the Chamber of Creation and look outside ( as they are on top floor). The Spire is the only building that is still sanding, meanwhile anything else lay in ruins. Megatron is confused, he doesn't remember leaving Cynertron in such a terrible state.

Bumblebee asks them if they can see those drones. They cannot, asking what drones. He sighs, understanding they have to go to ground level and that's actually scary.  Still, he activated the elevator and they went down.

At entrance they stop and now they see - countless tiny drones consuming metal, then multiplying. And their hunger knows no bounds. 

Bumblebee reveals that those “Scraplets” were created by Shockwave in order to cause chaos among Autobots. But they didn't work as he intended he just threw them away. They landed near Cyberton’s core, which activated them...and they began to consume everything in sight. When Scaplets got to Cybertron lavras ( it’s like the immune system of the planet) and Bee felt their deaths, he knew the time was up and they needed to run.

Now it made sense why Bumblebee killed this mad scientist in the first place.

Megatron asks if Bumblebee can kill them, but Bee says he can only kill living beings,while those things are just sparkless drones and they will devour him quickly.

After a minute, Megatron sighs in defeat, telling Bumblebee he can take them back to Earth.

He nods and about to open a portal...then suddenly his spark is acting up again, sending a huge power surge around him. Once again he is forced into rebooting before he can open a portal.

This caught the attention of scraplets and they charged at bost. Optimus grabs Bee, and both he and Megatron start running. First they tried to make it to the elevator, but it was already being chewed.

So they were forced to take stairs. So Optimus carrying Bee, and dragging Megatron with him, Megatron is shooting from his fusion cannot, breaking shit to slow down scraplets. 

When they reach the top floor, they have nowhere to run. Megatrons asks how soon Bee will be back online, which according to Optimus’s chronometers is 3 more minutes. Megatron feels that they don't have it and suddenly the entire building is rumbling.

Because it’s being eaten, it starts falling, while scraplets are seeping inside the chamber. Two bots look at each other, and do the leap of faith ( while holding onto each other and Bumblebee of course). Just before they hit infested ground, Bee suddenly wakes up and he opens a portal. All three fall into it and are transported back to Earth.

Panicked they look around for scraplets that could be transported with them, but thankfully there was none. They are safe.

Optimus is surprised that Bee woke up earlier, and the minibot himself is surprised as well. Though he quickly realised it’s because of his plants symbiont + new shell combinations - his system still gets overwhelmed, but not as drastically as before, allowing his system to recover quicker.

After this, Megatron allows Autobots to leave in peace, while he still needs to process everything he saw.

Later ( with Optimus help) he declares that war is over and that Earth is their new home, which was surprisingly received well by other Decepticons ( he told them what he saw).

Finally Bumblebee can sigh in relief, finally they can have a bright future ahead of them and  he’s looking forward to it.

Trivia( aka random stuff I didn't know where to fit).

Cybertronians can breathe and it’s part of their air cooling system, as such a process allows them to quickly inhale cooler air and exhale hot air. When calm they don't actually breathe, but as soon they are scared/excited/in a fight - they start doing this;

They can also cry, and it’s also part of the cooling system. Processors and spark chambers tend to be heated more than anything and require cooling by liquid nitrogen. When strong emotional responses happen, heating goes off the charts, and because optics are so close to the head processor - there is a risk of melting them. So the liquid nitrogen gets pumped to optics as well, and because this liquid has a low boiling point - those tears take a form of gas, seeping through the space between optic and face. Older bots don't cry much because they kinda get used to horrors of the war, while younger like Bee are actually more emotional and showing it often. Even after restoring his memories fully, he’s still emotion as hell;

Bumblebee is sleepwalking sometimes, and if he sees another person he starts whispering “Can you see me?” over and over until he gets the “right” reasons which is “Yes, I can see you, Bumblebee”. After this he falls back to recharge. That scared a lot of Autobots first, they discovered the right answer when Optimus replied, thanks to his tendency to give full and polite answers. This happens because of trauma when Bee lost his body and became “non-existent” to anyone;

He used to terrify Decepticons when he infiltrated their bases  to the point they thought that Bee was some sort of Autobot vengeful spirit that came to hunt them. Bumblebee used his abilities to avoid his enemies, while toying with them, like lingering at the corners of their optics before disappearing and even whispering”Can you see me?” right into their audio sensors.);

When Decepticosn arrived on Earth, Bumblebee was an anxious mess, he was afraid that Earth might die just like Cybertron did. To give himself hope and a way of coping, he remembered the legend that if you fold 1000 origami cranes, your wish will come true. He made the first crane soon after Decepticon’s arrival, and the last right before he received his last AllSpark shard. Now those cranes are everywhere on the Ark;

Spike visits Detroit at some point, but I haven't decided when. Probably when the AllSpark shattered, so he helped to restore it too;

Bumblebee has two strong phobias: 

Athazagoraphobia. The fear of being forgotten, ignored, or abandoned; 

Monophobia. The fear of being alone for a long time;

In future, humans figured out the way to transport their mind into their spark and then transport that spark into techno-organic bodies which ultimately extends their lifespan.

Sari was one of first humans doing this, not wanting to leave Bumblebee and Windblade;

Spike, on the other hand, decided to die of old age because he felt like he did everything he wanted and his journey reached his end. Bee was really upset about this, but let Spike go. Spike spent his last moments with Bee.

Also in the future, Bumblebee’s body gets an upgrade, restoring his original form alt-form (6 legged dragon), though it’s smaller than before, Bee used to be small and finally comfortable with this. He will also be in charge of creating new cybertronians and terraforming new planets;

This is how Bumblebee used to look like;

Here’s the statue that was discovered, that Optimus and Megatron saw before.

[lilbabycee]

tidal // steve rogers 🌊

↳ summary: tony doesn’t trust his kid and steve has to play mediator, although those duties don’t come without a reward

↳ relationship: dad’s best friend!steve rogers x stark!reader

↳ request: steve defending his soft girl when she starts crying when someone yelled at her...maybe she thanks him by putting her mouth to good use @donutloverxo + what about dad’sbestfriend!steve x reader?...I need me some Steve please!! (anon)

↳ word count: 5.4k (this has no business being this long)

↳ warnings: angst, smut, dirty talk, slight degradation, some light fluff kinda

↳ author’s note: i do love a stark!reader so this was so much fun for me - enjoy my loves! x

The relationship that you have with your father is complicated. It reminds you acutely of the foamy sea that you used to tentatively wade in and simply stare at with a wide-eyed, childlike fascination when your parents took you to the Maldives or Seychelles or Ivory Coast, each summer a different place and a different tide. There’s a sense of predictability to it, a routine you have in a language that is understandable to nobody but the two of you. He pushes and you pull, coordinating your movements in a choreographed dance so as to safely row your canoe filled to the brim with trust and love through the rocky seas of life. 

He’s made a mark on you that will always be a permanent imprint on your soul much like the way that water stains the surface of the sand but it’s not as if you perceive that as something negative. You attribute the best parts of yourself to your mother and father and although their DNA isn’t housed inside your body, you’re more Tony’s child than he could have ever asked for. He hears so much of him in the tone of your voice and sees Pepper whenever you cross your arms over your chest and pin him with a look he knows too well - her influence is all over your mannerisms - and the both of them in the charming brightness of your smile when you let yourself laugh freely.

The moment he saw you, barely hours old and sleeping deeply - something that he found out that you would carry with you throughout your years - he’d thought you were cute (all babies are cute and the hundreds of other babies he’d seen in the past few weeks were also cute). But when you’d instinctively gripped Pepper’s finger tightly in your impossibly tiny fist and blinked awake sleepily, he’d fallen in love with your pretty eyes first, the way that you stared through him like you already knew him and it was then that he knew you were his as much as he was yours.

Of course, things weren’t- aren’t always as picture-perfect as they seem. He knows that there are days when you haunt his nightmares, dreams where he can’t protect you plaguing his conscience and causing him to crowd you with what he thinks is love. Rather, it’s an overbearing and often patronizing kind of attention that feels like a thousand sharp needles piercing through your skin. You’re very in touch with your emotions, a quality about you that Tony is sure that you must’ve learned from your mother, while he has the tendency to avoid sentimentality like it’s a disease and that’s where those arguments start, the ones that flare up and spread like forest fires.

In fact, you’re having one of them now. Tony knew how this was going to end before it even began but he can’t help but always engage because he’s as stubborn as he raised you to be. His jaw is set and his nostrils flaring as he stares at you - you’re his progeny, his baby, half of his heart who is standing in that way that reminds him of his wife with crystals in your eyes that make him wonder if you ever wear that diamond necklace he bought you last year.

“You never take me seriously,” you accuse, narrowing your eyes at him which causes a fat teardrop to spill over and run down your cheek. His eyes soften briefly at the sight of your emotional state before he looks away, the painful tugging at his heart trying to pull him towards you. He won’t give in to it: that’ll mean you win. “See - you can’t even look at me, Dad-”

“Sweetheart, I take you plenty seriously,” Tony gnaws on the end of the pen in his mouth, still sitting in front of the holograms of all of the data he’s been trying to process for the past few hours. His feet are propped up on the table, casually crossed at the ankles and shoulders completely relaxed, leaning back in his chair and balancing precariously one of the wheels, sitting in the exact same way that he always told you not to. He taps out a rhythmic beat against his leg with his fingers, eyes darting around the room as he pretends to be interested in everything but you. 

His entire posture radiates the feeling that he doesn’t give a shit about you or what you have to say and it makes your heart sink to your stomach despite the fact that you know this man. You know that he’s just putting on a front and he’s really listening because he was the one who drilled into your head that you always have something to say that’s worth listening to. Yet you cannot for the life of you accept that this man in front of you is acting so coldly when his own daughter is trying to tell him how she feels.

The scoff that comes out of your mouth is involuntary and Tony can’t fight the twitch of his lips because it sounds so much like him, but he only lets it linger for half a second, not allowing you to see how affected he is. Both him and Pepper were under the impression that once they had kids, Tony would finally take the steps towards being willing to share more of himself with the people around him. And he did, for a while. But once you hit those teenage years, he was forced to come to terms with the fact that you wouldn’t be his baby forever - you’d grow up and think your own thoughts and breathe your own air in an environment that he hasn’t polluted with his own ideals. 

His heart beat out of his chest every time he thought about it and he had to face the facts: he was scared. And so he went on the defensive, coddling you and trying to shield you from the harsh realities of the world that he had to face from such a young age. Unfortunately for the both of you, you didn’t appreciate being spoon-fed by your parents your whole life: you have a sense of maturity and independence that Tony is terrified of and it manifested itself in rebellion, a phase in your adolescence hat had almost gotten cost you your life in more situations than he cared to admit. 

“I’m not kidding, Dad,” you reply, your head feeling as if it’s under construction because the unbearably loud banging on the inside of your brain is driving you crazy because he’s deflecting and you know it. A river of tears slide their way down to your chin and you don’t even bother to wipe them. “And you keep making jokes like this isn’t serious-”

“I haven’t been making jokes,” Tony points out calmly, playing around with a bunch of numbers that don’t mean anything to you and distractedly manoeuvering some stupid data table that is somehow more interesting than his own child. 

As much as you try, you genuinely can’t help it when you stomp your foot, the loud noise breaking through Tony’s nonchalance and causing him to arch an eyebrow at you. 

“This isn’t some temper tantrum, Dad,” you tell him, the strength in your voice breaking down and causing it to crack. Your hands come up to clutch your head tightly in a futile attempt to bring yourself back to Earth, tired of the way that your emotions throw your brain into orbit. Your feet are on the ground but it doesn’t feel like it, your rage burning your skin and setting a bonfire in the depths of your body. “You fight me on everything - first it was college then it was working for S.I then it was becoming an Avenger… you think I’m still some little kid-”

“Because you’ve proven time after time that you can’t fend for yourself,” Tony cocks his head as your eyes lock, daring you to challenge him on his statement because the two of you know how much validity it holds.

“That was one time!-”

Tony sighs, shaking his head in what you assume is disappointment and while in any other scenario your heart would’ve sunk, this time it stays where it’s been for the past ten minutes, perishing in the flames licking the sides of your stomach. He gathers some of his papers and tucks the pen in his mouth behind his ear before he starts to make his way to the door, leaving you to stare at his back as his hand drops on the handle and he addresses you again. “One time that you could’ve gotten killed, Y/N, so we’re not doing this today-”

“You know what, Tony?” 

You’ve never called him that before - not even when you’re in large crowds and everyone seems to be yelling Dad! - and you know it’s vindictive and a step too far but it’s exhausting being treated like a helpless child. This has the desired effect, freezing him in his tracks and as he turns on his heel, you know that you may have crossed a line but you can’t bring yourself to care because your fury has consumed your whole body and the heat is boiling the blood running through your veins.

“What did you just call me?”

“Anthony,” you inform him matter-of-factly, hands on your hips while the hardness of his eyes halts your racing blood flow, the iciness freezing your bones while hot rage seeps out of every single one of his pores so palpably that you can almost see the steam spilling out of his ears. “You can fuck right off until you decide that I can be trusted enough to make decisions for myself and you know what else? You can-”

“Hey, hey, what’s going on in here?” 

You bite back your next words as soon as that rich timbre caresses your ears and the rigid posture of your body begins to slowly melt at the sound. You don’t even have to look behind you to know that it’s your dad’s best friend - ever the hero - coming to diffuse the ticking time bomb that is this argument between you and your father.

“This isn’t your battle to fight, Rogers,” Tony doesn’t peel his eyes off of you at all, not even sparing his friend a glance. 

And as much as you don’t like Tony at the moment, you can’t help but agree with him.

“Steve, he’s right,” you tear your eyes away from your dad, turning around so that you can glance over at the golden man whose presence alone has wrapped you in a comforting safety blanket that already makes you want to stand down. 

“No, neither of you are,” his blond hair is pushed back away from his face and you’re momentarily distracted by the hard lines of his jaw and the thick beard that covers them. He’s speaking in that same low voice that he uses to rally the Avengers when he’s clad in red, white, and blue, and you have to discreetly squeeze your thighs together at the sound. 

The rational part of your brain knows that this is not the time to be ogling your dad’s best friend but you can’t help the way that your heart starts beating double time when he enters a room and how his warm gaze sets your entire body alight, not unlike the way that your unbridled anger is making you feel right now; the only difference is that Steve triggers a deep desire for something unknown tucked away so secretly that it only awakened when you met him.

But you know he’d never do that to Tony - shit, you don’t know if he’s still holding a candle for a love once lost all those years ago and frankly, you don’t want to risk embarrassing yourself by feeling the poison sting of rejection dealt from the sickeningly sweet lips of America’s apple pie. The lethal mix of sugar and malice would only rot your heart and you don’t know that you could survive the decay.

“In fact, both of you are acting like children,” he booms, his hands landing on his hips while he shakes his head disbelievingly at your familial dispute. Steve opens his mouth as if he’s about to continue, but Tony simply holds a hand up and it almost immediately shushes the supersoldier.

“No need, Capiscle,” Tony cocks his head to the side almost mockingly, his eyes still glued resolutely on your wet face. “I just wanna say this: if you are going to be so ungrateful of everything that your mother and I have sacrificed for you, then you can get the fuck out of my house. You have no idea what we’ve had to go through just so that you can live a safe, healthy lifestyle in which you don’t have to want for anything. The fact that you have the audacity to speak to me like that is a testament to how much we’ve failed as parents because you are the fruit of all of our labor: a spoiled little brat with no conception of the real world because everything revolves around you, doesn’t it princess?”

He spits the endearment out and you can only assume that it is because it has left as bitter a taste in his mouth as it has yours. Throughout his heated rant, your hands started shaking and at first, you couldn’t figure out why but you soon realized that it’s because Tony’s never yelled at you like that before. He barely even raises his voice at you because he’s never wanted to be anything like Howard but today, it seems as if he could no longer contain all of the pent up frustration that he’s had with you that has been building for years. 

And because of this, you’ve been rendered speechless with no visible emotion on your face save from the seemingly endless stream of tears that spill from your glassy eyes. You don’t know what hurts more: his words or the fact that he’s still staring at you like a stranger.

“Tony, that’s enough,” Steve intervenes when the silence between the three of you stretches on for what feels like an eternity. He positions his body so that he’s blocking you from your father’s cold stare. “I’m not gonna let you talk to her like that-”

“Oh, come on, Cap,” Tony scoffs and you don’t have to be able to see him to know that he’s folded his arms over his chest. “You don’t even know what-”

“And I don’t need to know,” the broad man in front of you interrupts him loudly and you can do nothing but watch the altercation happen because even if you tried, you can’t pick your feet up off the floor. “Whatever she’s done or said to you doesn’t warrant you speaking to her like that. You’ve fought her at every corner, what do you expect? For her to just lie down and take it? She’s your daughter: you should know as well as I do that she’s as hard-headed as you. You need to take a step back and stop being a backseat driver - she’s an adult now and can make her own choices, Tony.”

And with that, Steve circles an arm around you and lifts you up into his arms, his waist trapped between your legs and your arms gripping his neck. A moment passes when Steve breezes past Tony where your gazes meet and the usual sweetness of his hazelnut eyes has turned bitter with guilt and resentment. You avert your stare as quickly as you can to bury your face in Steve’s muscled shoulder and as your cheek rests on it, you’re reminded all too vividly of the way that Bucky or Sam or Steve (or your dad) used to carry you to bed when you had fallen asleep between the pages of your textbook or face down next to a cold bowl of whatever Pepper had cooked for you that night. 

Really, you’re almost convinced that you must’ve dozed off during the short trip from Tony’s lab to your bedroom because when you finally snap back to attention, you’re still in Steve’s arms but he’s standing still in front of your bed. And neither of you say anything for some time, letting the moment breathe while Steve soothes you silently, rubbing a hand up and down the length of your spine as quiet sobs wrack your shaking body.

“Hey, hey,” he hushes you, eventually sliding you down his body and placing you on the bed. You’re sure that your face still reflects your previous mental state but you feel significantly better now, the hive of bees that were slamming at the insides of your heart have tired both you and themselves out and are now resting. You look up at Steve with wide eyes, wet lashes brushing your skin lightly as his baby blues drill into yours so deeply that you’re sure that he must be able to see inside your head by now. “I’m not gonna ask if you’re okay because the answer seems kind of obvious, but I will ask if you need anything?”

You hesitate before giving him an answer, torn between confessing those powerful feelings for him that you’ve tried so hard to repress and letting him go. Instead, you grab one of his hands between both of yours, tugging on it so that he kneels in front of you. 

“You didn’t have to do that for me back there,” your eyes flick up to his quickly and you can’t help it when you start to play with his fingers, consciously having to stop your mind from wandering to unsavory places. “I-I know you and my dad are, like, best friends, so I never would’ve asked you to put your friendship at risk and stand up for me like that… it was, uh- it was really sweet of you, Steve, so thank you-”

Steve jerks his head back and for a tense second, your heart drops because you’re sure that you’ve offended him but then he says:

“Y/N, you don’t have to thank me- not at all, I mean- it was the human thing to do,” Steve insists, forcefully grasping your chin in his large hand to make him look at you. The disbelief that sparkles in his eyes lights up your soul and makes a shy smile spread across your lips. 

He leans in to plant a chaste kiss on your cheek like he usually does, but you decide there and then that you really are tired of having your dad take the reigns from you every day. You want to be able to confidently grab life by its metaphorical balls and take a leap of faith off of what is admittedly a very steep cliff. So you grip his face between your hands and redirect his lips to your own. 

He’s completely unresponsive for several seconds, causing a scorching hot wave of embarrassment to flood your face - a part of you wants to hold out hope and pray that maybe he’s just shocked by your bold move but you’ve learned not to cling onto unrealistic expectations so you move back, eyes squeezed shut because you can already taste the sourness of rejection on your tongue. 

But he knocks all of the breath out of your body when he climbs on top of you and crashes his lips back on yours, cradling your face between his wide palms as he slides his tongue into your mouth. It’s messy and raw as your teeth clash with his almost violently but the feeling of his soft lips on yours soothes that ache, their warmth curing the hurt in your heart. He swallows any breath you have left in your lungs as your lips move in tandem with his. 

When you pull away because you think you’re about to suffocate, Steve presses his lips down the column of your neck, sucking a bruise right underneath your ear and playfully biting your earlobe. The rough sensation of his thick beard on your sensitive skin makes you giggle breathlessly and your chest heaves as his hands move smoothly down to your waist, hooking his thumbs in the waistband on your shorts. 

But then his hands stop moving and you look at him with confusion written all over your face. He lowers his head to your abdomen, resting his forehead on your stomach and your hand instinctively weaves through the golden strands of his hair. 

“Steve?-”

“You want this, sweetheart?” he kisses your stomach and moves right in between your legs, looking up at you as his thumbs still toy with the stretchy material of your black shorts. 

“Of course-”

And you don’t get to finish your sentence because you gasp as Steve whips off your shorts with unprecedented speed. He takes your panties right with them, throwing them somewhere to the side - you don’t care to notice where because Steve’s eyes are more black than blue and his gaze is locked on your core. 

This is when you get an idea.

When you take your t-shirt off, you’re only left in the black bralette that you normally wear around the house, so you whip that off too without any preamble. Steve’s eyes are so focused on the bounce of your breasts that it gives you the opportunity to muster up all of the energy you can, locking your legs around Steve’s waist (your eyes can’t help but travel to the obvious bulge in his blue jeans) and flip him over so that you’re sitting right on top of his erection. 

“Wh-”

You shush him, pulling at the bottom of his shirt so that he gets the message to take it off. He does as he’s told but narrows his eyes at you. You almost don’t notice because you’re staring at the glorious expanse of his sculpted upper body. You’ve always thought that he looked like a Greek statue and right now, the way that the sunlight streaming through your window bounces off of his smooth skin and brings out the green in his eyes only emphasizes the fact that he’s a true work of art, a masterpiece in his own right. 

Pushing yourself up so that you’re nose to nose with the supersoldier on his back underneath you, you lean down just enough so that your lips ghost over his when you speak. 

“I’m supposed to be thanking you,” you press your lips against his momentarily, watching the way that his eyelashes flutter when you slowly slide your hand down his powerful chest, over his muscled stomach and down to his jeans-clad crotch to boldly palm his dick. 

“Honey, you don’t have to-”

You cut him off with another quick kiss, moving down his body with the grace of a trained dancer (you can thank your mom for over ten years of ballet) so that you can unbuckle the black belt at his narrow waist. Steve props himself up on his forearms, staring down at you with hooded eyes and your eyes keenly follow the swipe of his tongue over his cotton candy lips.

You take your time pulling his zipper down, noticing how his eyes follow the movement of your hands as you push his jeans down his thick thighs. Your mouth is close to watering at the sight of his white Calvins which are very obviously tented in the front and you snap the elastic band of his boxer briefs playfully before pulling them over his erection.

It’s impossible to stop the way that your eyes grow comically large at the size of his cock, something at the back of your mind wondering whether or not you’ll be able to fully take him down your throat. He’s heavy in the both of your hands, the tip flushed red and leaking pre-cum. 

But it’s the cocky little smirk on Steve’s face that steels your resolve. 

“What’s wrong, baby? Too big for you?” he teases you in a surprisingly steady voice, inhaling again to continue his jeering, but his head falls back and his breath audibly stutters because you flatten your tongue and lick a broad stripe up the underside of his dick.

“You were saying?” you taunt right back, a smile of your own gracing your face. He doesn’t have a reply to that, instead moving his hand down to grip the back of your neck tightly, guiding you back down to his cock.

The tip of your tongue swirls around the head of his length before you take the bulbous tip between your lips, sucking lightly and enjoying the way that his blunt fingernails are stabbing into the skin of your neck. You don’t tease him for much longer, one hand on the base of his manhood while you relax your throat and attempt to take all of him in your mouth. Your fight your gag reflex tooth and nail, reveling in the quiet sighs and moans from the man above you.

What you can’t swallow you work with your hand, your other hand coming up to toy with his balls and roll them between your fingers and palm. He controls the speed at which you bob up and down his cock and you keep watching the array of emotions on his face, feeling the power and control that you have over him surge through your body.

“God, doll,” he groans, his lower lip between his perfect teeth. “You’re such a good girl, takin’ all of me like that.”

His words spur you on and you really push your boundaries by taking him all the way down, so close that your nose is being tickled by the dark blond hairs at the base of his cock. What you’re not expecting is the way that Steve applies pressure to the back of your neck that’s just enough so that you can’t move. Your eyes sting as he keeps your head down, making you swallow and choke as small tears leak from your eyes. You’re forced to breathe through your nose as Steve groans when your gag reflex kicks in, your throat constricting around the heavy weight of his dick.

“Such a good little slut, huh?” he smirks, running the pad of his thumb over your cheekbone. “You look so pretty with my cock in your mouth, baby, suckin’ your dad’s friend off like a little fuckin’ whore.”

You can’t help the way that a loud moan falls from your lips, though it’s almost entirely muted by the thick cock in your mouth. 

“Oh, you like that?” Steve’s confidence is only making you wetter. He eases up on your neck, allowing you to withdraw about an inch before he pushes you back down. “You like being called a slut, pretty girl?”

You nod as best as you can under the circumstances, fighting back another moan.

“That’s good, honey, because you’re gonna be my little cockslut from now on, hmm?”

And finally, he pulls you off of him completely, reveling in the way that your eyes are glossy with tears and your lungs gulp down huge breaths as thin strings of saliva hang from your lips. 

“Messy girl,” Steve reprimands you condescendingly, but his voice sounds strained and he looks like he could cum just from drinking in your disheveled state. “You’re gorgeous, doll.”

You can’t stop the smile that grows on your face at the praise, and Steve cups your face gently and leans in to give you a sweet kiss. 

“You gonna let me cum in your mouth, sweetheart?” he murmurs against your lips, nudging your nose with his. 

“Yes, sir,” you tease playfully, not wasting any more time and wrapping your lips around his dick once again, running the tip of your tongue against the prominent vein down the side while you bob your head up and down. You’re more determined than ever to push him over the edge, wanting to be the one who has complete control over his pleasure. 

“That’s it, just like that- shit, baby, I’m gonna cum,” he warns you after he takes your face between both of his hands and fucks your mouth, your jaw relaxed as he uses you to chase his orgasm, eyes closed and head hanging back as he loses himself in the throes of desire. 

You bask in the sense of satisfaction that you get from the way that his cock twitches in your mouth and the shout that he gives when the evidence of his release floods your mouth. You happily let it slide down your throat, sucking on his tip lightly as you do. The tangy taste lingers on your tongue and as you pull off of him with a pop, you have to wipe around your mouth because you’re sure that he’s made a complete mess of your face. 

“Holy fuck, darlin’,” he heaves, pulling you up to rest against his chest but not before you take the time to admire how beautiful he is. A light pink flush that’s started at his cheeks has traveled down his neck and bloomed on his chest - you love the way that it’s burning the tips of his ears. With your chest pressed against his, he ghosts his fingers up and down your back while his lips press against your shoulder.

“Your dad’s gonna kill me… and I didn’t even get you off, baby,” he mutters, only a second away from pouting and it makes you grin. 

“He won’t because he’s not gonna find out… and I didn’t want you to,” you reply simply, lightly circling one of his nipples with the tip of your nail. “Besides, you have plenty of time to do that later.”

Steve readjusts himself so that his back is leaning against the headboard and you’re perched in his lap, straddling his thighs. His brows are knitting together and a frustrated frown mars his pretty face. 

“No, I want to,” he insists, warm hands landing on your hips and rocking them back and forth so that your clit catches on the muscles of his legs. You bite your lip so as to suppress a moan. “It wouldn’t be-”

“Y/N, babe, are you in there?”

The two of you still as a knock followed by Tony’s soft voice bleeds through the door. 

“Shit,” you curse quietly, scrambling off of Steve and grabbing the nearest article of clothing that you can find. 

“I know you don’t wanna talk to me right now, but I don’t wanna leave things like this so I’m comin’ in, sweetie-”

“Dad, no!”

But it’s too late, the door opening just enough to reveal your father’s face whose whiskey eyes immediately land on yours. Thankfully, you were able to pull on Steve’s shirt and your shorts, but you can’t say the same for the six-foot-something supersoldier who has skillfully rolled underneath your bed, still naked as the day he was born. 

“What’s going on in here, hon?” Tony quirks an eyebrow at you as he pops his head around the door, narrowing his eyes suspiciously as his eyes scan the room. 

“Nothing,” you say breathlessly, running a hand over your face as you silently pray that your dad won’t catch his friend hiding beneath your bed with no clothes on. 

“Okay?” he draws out the word, obviously confused as your eyes meet his. “I just wanted to say so-”

“We’ll talk about it later, Dad,” you try to smile and move towards him so that you shoo him away from your room.

“You sure?”

“Positive,” you affirm, putting your hand on top of the one he has wrapped around the side of the door and squeezing it reassuringly. 

“If you say so,” Tony lets go of the door, spinning on his heel and starting to stroll down the hall. You let go of the breath that you weren’t aware you were holding. “And give Bucky back his shirt!”

A laugh bubbles up in your chest as your heart warms watching your dad throw a wink at you over his shoulder, knowing that the choppy seas have stilled and the water’s calm once again, the tide returning to its regular routine. You shut the door with a click before turning back to see Steve sitting casually with his back resting against the side of your bed.

“So, uh,” a cheeky smile graces his face. “Same time tomorrow or?”

tagged: @literaturefeen @evnscvll @donutloverxo @stargazingfangirl18​

[sweetbyte]

Guilty 

BakuMomo - Rated M 

Chapter One | AO3  

Loathe he was to admit it, UA taught him a great deal of things. He wasn’t generous enough to credit that to the instructors, no they all pretty much fucking sucked...as well as the other students and his classmates, hell everyone fucking sucked. However, it was definitely a learning experience. Constantly on the brink of mortal peril and all.

Firstly, he learned that he genuinely, truly, hated just about everyone. Secondly, he learned that he was shockingly lacking emotionally. This was an issue because apparently being a hero required one to show some degree of empathy and support to the general public as if saving their petty lives wasn’t enough. Thirdly, he learned how to tone himself down, so to speak. Mistakes were made, specifically, he made mistakes; he wasn’t perfect. Which ultimately taught him not to judge a book by its cover. Yeah, the spineless annoying Deku was not all weak and worthless as Bakugou claimed. Yeah, he probably owed a lot of his own personal growth to boy. Did that mean he would admit that out loud and apologize to the kid, not a chance in hell. Bakugou still had his damned pride and even though that in itself was another flaw, it was a rather slow work in progress.

When he finally graduated he was brutally honest about not giving a rats ass about any of his classmates’ futures. They were about as one dimensional as the line he struck through the class survey box indicating he would rather not keep in touch with anyone from UA or receive any type of reunion correspondence, thanks. He’d worked with some and caught glimpses of others and although couple were quite persistent to keep his camaraderie, cough Kirishima cough ,it was safe to say that they weren’t in his orbit and that was fine by him.

Fast forward to present day and he finds all that he’s supposedly learned is being challenged by a single unsuspecting walking threat.

Momo Yaoyorozu.

He never had a strong opinion of her, if he was quite frank. She wasn’t completely useless in UA but she wasn’t remarkable either, which he found to be a pity given her quirk. She was the obnoxious type of self-sacrificing sweet that made his teeth rot and left a disgusting aftertaste in his mouth that needed two rinses with listerine, or perhaps alcohol. Whichever was closest on hand.

She’s active when they graduate, that much he knows, but they never cross paths. She apparently specializes in hostage negotiations and emergency relief response and he strictly fights and beats the shit out of anything he’s given permission to. So outside of each other’s orbit and yet they still end up in a frame together of individuals who have been named employee of the year in their respective branch.

Is he surprised? Not really.

She, however, is and its clearly reflected on her face that he resists and urge to sneer at her for old time sakes but, again, he’s learned so he settles for a cold stoic expression. She quickly schools herself as well and offers a small smile but its meaningless to him. They just have to take a photo and he can continue on with his stale Champaign and equally stale career.

Except she’s grown tenacious and is unrelenting in forcing her unsought presence on him, sticking to him like that goopy monstrous wretch he fought so, so many years ago. She’s clearly learned a thing or two working with negotiations and showers him with pricey quality alcohol, an upgrade from the complementary stale bullshit that was being served. He remembers her prestigious background, i.e. fat wallet, and isn’t above admitting that he definitely stayed for the drinks. He figured that it was the least she could do after attracting an absurdly amount of unwanted attention. She’s a hot commodity and even his glower isn’t enough to keep her admirers away. Just to be clear, he wasn’t keeping them away from her, but away from himself. He has enough to deal with just her.

After he’s had his fill in liquor, the startling revelation that Yaoyorozu has indeed become a master strategist is the last clear thing he remembers before his mind and consciousness muffles and thus its also the first thought he has when he wakes up on a strange but very comfortable, velvet maybe, sofa with a groan.

“There’s a glass of water next to you, when you’re ready.” He’d roll his eyes if they weren’t closed.

“Do you usually resort to intoxicating some unsuspecting idiot to use as an excuse to excuse yourself from celebratory functions or am I just special?” His eyes open in time to see her flush guilty, reclined on the arm of the sofa opposite to where his head was resting.

“It’s not as if you truly wanted to be there as well.” She mutters glancing away, determined not to stare at him, her victim. He scoffs.

“Don’t act like you did this for me.”

“I’m not acting, but you cannot solely blame me. It’s not like you chose to keep my company because of my bubbling personality.” She sniffs with destain almost daintily and he jerks up with a sneer.

“I didn’t choose to keep your fucking company, you wouldn’t leave me alone!”

“If you wanted me gone, you definitely could have managed it.” She retorts and raises an eyebrow tauntingly. “It’s not like you’re shy, or are you?” Undiscouraged by his threatening glare she continues. “The fact of the matter is that you choose to stay around me because of the liquor. I did not make you do anything, it was a mere incentive.”

“Of course, to endure your sparkling personality.” He bites scathingly and it makes her face scrunch up like she’s swallowed something bitter. “Right.”

There’s an uncomfortable silence that is only broken by her tired sigh.

“I’m not sure how you are at handling alcohol and I don’t want to assume, but there’s ibuprofen and water right next to you on the coffee table. You’re also welcome to anything in the kitchen.”  She stands and stretches, still dressed up from the party,  and he definitely does not notice the sleekness of her neck as she rolls it or the lift of her assets the dress accentuates. The fucking audacity.

“What, no change of clothes?”

She freezes and blinks. “Oh. That can be arranged if needed.” Her flush has faded and its almost as if she’s already forgotten about him. As if she is counting on him to just be out of her hair as quickly as he can.

“You’re just going to give me free reign of your house out of guilt?”

“I don’t think I’m guilty of-“ He stands with a sudden swiftness that stuns her quiet and he’s walking through her house with sure steps as she sputters after him. “What are you doing?”

“I decided that you can sleep on the couch and I’ll take the bed.”  He declares checking the doors for the bedroom.

“Excuse me?!”

“Think of it as your penance. You know, if our roles would have been reversed, this would have been a very controversial situation.” He states matter-of-factly leaning against the jamb of her room and her flush deepens.

“There was never any ill intent and you know it!” Her newly disheveled and agitated appearance sends a jolt of satisfaction through him.

“Do I?” He promptly shuts the door before she can react locking her out. She knocks on the door frantically and yells.  “Bakugou! This isn’t funny!” Then after a moment, “I don’t have a change of clothes!”

He makes a show of slamming some closet and drawer doors to make her panic. They both know she has the power to get into her room and he wonders if he’ll force her to break her own door down.

She soon quiets and huffs away and while she’s left him in peace he takes the opportunity let the last couple of moments sink in. Her room is, well, grand yet minimal. It’s fitting for her. It’s oddly still yet cozy. He decides to take her spacious chaise by the window, she can think he slept in her bed all she wants, he knows a thing or two about boundaries and he’d rather not cross that one.

She doesn’t return and he’s not all that surprised, she was never one for a fight.

Despite himself Bakugou lets out a laugh. He laughs because he can picture her in that expensive uncomfortable dress, flushed and irate on her velvet couch all because of him.

He laughs because he rather likes the sight of such a pristine individual like Yaoyorozu, pink and breathless, because of him and if that isn’t the funniest joke of the century he doesn’t know what was. 

AN:  I feel guilty for not updating anything in years, don’t judge me.

[antique-teacups]

Look Beyond the Lens, pt. 2

Hey kids, I finally wrote part two. I actually worked on it off and on for the past couple of weeks. I struggled with where I wanted it to go. Hope you enjoy it!

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

In the weeks that followed, Y/N iced David out. It was more than just ignoring his phone calls. It was skipping out on group hangouts, leaving as soon as he arrived, removing herself from his social media presence. Practically scrubbing him out of her orbit. It was the whole nine yards. If the video didn’t exist, no one would have connected the two. Suddenly the tundra of the Arctic Circle seemed more welcoming than being in the presence of the two.

The tension between the two seeped into the group, especially Matt. Y/N didn’t give Matt an ultimatum, but knew if he chose David, that was answer enough. Matt understood where she was coming from but also stood at odds with it in a sense. Some of the group sided with David, while others choose Y/N’s side. The group faced a great divide, one that she felt guilty and responsible for. Was it her place to divide people who stood for one another before she came into the picture?

“Matt, he’s trying to buy my forgiveness, which I refuse to give. I am not sure David even understands the magnitude of what he did. He brushed it off like he could fix with a signature on some extravagant gift.”

“I know that, I see everything he’s doing. But you must give the guy a chance to make up for it. You aren’t even giving him room to speak. I guess I just don’t understand that part.” Matt explained, a sorry look in his eye. “I am not saying that you two need to go frolicking in some field holding hands, I am just saying this is effecting everyone. I understand you’re hurt and angry about losing your job, but what about my relationship with all these people? My relationship with you?”

“I never meant to make you feel like you had to play mediator between us. I never meant for it to become this battle either. I know these people are your friends, some of them are mine too. I guess I just…I don’t know what I expected honestly.” You explain, looking Matt in the eyes. Trying to make him understand was difficult. You wanted to blame the entire thing on David, paint him the bad guy.

He was misguided in his choice to put that clip up, that much you knew. David showed loyalty to those he loved. He was someone to put his neck out there, no matter what it might cost him. Matt displayed the same quality. Matt was warm and loving. Seemingly reading your mind without much effort.

“Can I talk to him? Friend to friend. I want to fix this if I can. I know that your job was really important to you. But I also know David is sorry. Trust me, between me and Natalie, he has gotten an ear full. Sometimes people do things without thinking about what might happen, which is exactly what he did. Heath and Zane, you’ve forgiven them. I mean, Heath did bribe you, which you accepted. Why can’t you let David?” Matt questioned. He was really trying to unite the entire group again.

You didn’t know how hard this was for him, to be stuck between everyone. He felt that either way he leaned he was making a mistake. All of these people were his family, you especially. He didn’t want to push you to forgive David but he also wasn’t sure if he could survive being stuck in the middle.

“I can’t have you fighting my battle, Matt. I’ll talk to him myself. This is between David and I, right? It should have never of seeped into dividing the group. It also wasn’t my place to put you between us, which I am sorry for.” You said, feeling a bit ashamed.

“I know that was never your intention. I know you would never make me choose, but I am worried that if this goes on much longer, it will be expected of me.” Matt relented.

“Matt, I’ll meet him for coffee or something and talk about everything, I promise. I owe it you. I owe it to myself. I love you and I’m sorry for not seeing what kind of situation I was putting you in.”

Matt eyed you up, “Do you want me to go with?”

“I think I can handle this one along, bub.” You cheeked, tossing a wink in Matt’s direction. Nervousness settled in your chest. David was hard to understand sometimes, his motivate was muddy and his reaction was malicious, but you owed it to Matt. The two of you agreed to meet at a small café on the north side of LA. It was small and quiet, a place with a bit more privacy than a bustling Starbucks.

The entire drive, you tried to think of what you might possibly say, of what David might say. Your nervousness grew and quelled like the ocean. You never meant for this to snowball, the entire thing felt rather naïve. The amount of hurt and shame you felt from losing your job was exponential, but in time diminished. Yet, you couldn’t forgive David. He was trying to win you back over with gifts and didn’t feel bad. Forgiveness rested just beyond his reach if he were willing to admit he was in the wrong.

Whipping your car into a vacant spot, you scoure the parking lot for David’s Tesla. Not seeing it, you figure he’s just running a bit behind schedule. Hoping out of your car, you head inside to grab a table and wait. Surprisingly enough, David’s waiting in line to order. He wears his emotions on his face, his mind clearly dominated by nerves.

“Hey, I didn’t see your car.” You mention.

“I had Natalie drop me off. I figured if this goes horribly, my punishment is walking home.” David jokes, his eyes settling anywhere but your face.

You chuckle, “So optimistic Dobrik. Decide on something to get yet?” You wanted to keep the conversation light till you sat down. There were far to many people in ear shot for you to risk saying to much. Once the conversation started you figured they would all be listening in for bits.

David looks at you with confusion written on his face, “I really only drink Starbucks and that’s pretty rare.”

“If it’s cool, I’ll wing man you and order for both of us.” You wanted to try and smooth this over so if it meant swallowing your pride, so be it.

“Only if you let me pay.”

“I think you owe me.”

“Right for the throat.” David chuckles, a sheepish look on his face. You didn’t mean to let it slip but it just came out. While you two waited for drinks you tried to keep the conversation light and banter to a minimum. You didn’t want him to think he was totally off the hook. You weren’t yet extending an olive branch.

David led you a table near the back of the shop by the windows. The sun shone through the window brightly, glaring off the shiny table to your eyes. Your side facing the window was warmed instantly, yet you could feel the chill of anxiety run through you. The two of you sat in silence for a moment, before you started.

“I guess I need to know why. Why you were so naive and blatantly ignored my request. That’s the part I cannot wrap my head around. You ruined one of the best things I had going for me.” You said, a mixture of anger and hurt painting your features.

Guilt swarmed in David’s eyes and for a moment you wanted to console him. Then you remembered who put you in this situation.

“Honestly, I am not sure why. I knew you were worried about what might happen, but I thought maybe it you were blowing it out of proportion. It couldn’t possible end with you jobless and me the biggest asshole around.”

“We both know that’s one weak excuse. David, do you still not see the capacity of what you’ve done? Because of us, the group sits at odds like some middle school playground fight. My relationship with Matt is strained. I lost my job. Do I need keep going? You really weren’t thinking. You have people to fall back on, brand deals, people want you. I’ve got nothing but my writing. I do not exist in the same public eye you do, I knew what might happen. I choose to intervene because no one else was. I did the right thing and got fucked over.” You sternly state, looking him right in the eyes. You wanted him to see all things you couldn’t say, like how you cried because of him, for him.

“Y/N, do you write because you enjoy it or because it gives you purpose?” David inquires.

Visibly you are taken back, “I write because there are parts of me that never feel real expect when I’m writing. I can fabricate something to transport people. I am the words at the same I’m not. What does this have to do with anything?” David has an expression that’s unreadable. Settling somewhere between contemplation and sadness, his brows deepen, and his smile lessens.

“When I started YouTube, it was purely because I loved creating videos. That was entire motivation behind it, that was my purpose. I recognize that I should be endlessly thankful for the life I have, the opportunities I’ve gotten. Yet, at the same time, I almost wish I could revert back to that old version of me.”

“I’m confused what this…”

“I am only important when I can offer something to people, when my personality fix whatever algorithm their trying to use. My identity is my YouTube videos. Yet, I see myself as more. Most people see me as a dollar sign. I read a lot of your writing was entranced. I couldn’t believe that I knew this incredible writer who could turn a simple scene into wonderland. This jealousy sparked in my chest.

“I felt wronged by the industry. I could never be on that level. I think the primal part of my brain took over when the clip saved to my memory card. My jealous burned bright and I posted it for an entirely wrong reason. I wanted to see if you could survive like me. If I could survive like you.”

“You cannot actually think that David,” you glossed right over the rest of it. “People love you because of your heart, your humor, your persistence. No one in the group sees you as a dollar sign. I do not see you as a dollar sign.”

David practically rolls his eyes, “I ruin your career and you end up consoling me.”

“And?”

“Shouldn’t you be screaming, telling me how terrible I am?”

“What would that fix? I just want this over with. I love Matt and this is straining our relationship. I had an entire speech about how much of an asshole you are, were, but it seems fabricated. Mostly, I want you to know that what you did really hurt me. I knew we weren’t close but I didn’t expect you stab me right in the back like that. If you thought I was such a good writer, why did you ruin a chance I had at making it.”

“I know, what did was seriously fucked up. But if you would’ve answered my calls, you would have known. I had a chat with the directors, greased some palms, and you have your spot back. Granted, they said it’s on a probationary basis, but they should be lucky to have you back. I want to spend however long it takes making it up to you. I was blinded by jealously because I want what you have. I want my art to speak for me but still be my own person. Which, is why I would like to ask for your help.”

You couldn’t help but feel elated, “It was never a bribe, it was my job back. Is the bribe me helping you?”

“No, you helping me is on the premise that you’ll help me publish local youth. You seem like the kind of person will follow, I seem like the kind of person see dollar signs from.”

“David, I never saw a dollar sign from you. I saw David and I saw my friend. I see my friend here today. This is the guy who world needs to see. I know I still need to work on getting over this, but we are heading in the right direction.”

“Thank you, Y/N.”

“And thank you David, for proving both of us wrong. You’re a great guy, one I would love to help.”

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

taglist:

@winchestergirl907​

[jaqfms]

there's     jacques    ‘jaq’    daingerfield   !     though     on    their     socials     they     go     by     @thedangerousq     .     i     heard     he     is     originally     from     paris     ,     france     ,     but     made     the     big     move     to     los     angeles     to     join     TWENTIES     .     you     haven't     heard     about     it     ?   well     ,     apparently     their     dream     is     to     design     his     own     video     game   ,     but     they     have     no     chance   unless     they     quit     being     so     cocky     &     lazy     .     that     said     ,     those     behind     the     scenes     have     said     they     can     be     witty     &     charismatic     too.     guess     we'll     have     to     watch     and     find     out     !     ━     &    laughing     until     you     cry     ,          a     cartoon     theme     song     paired     with     a     hip     hop     beat     ,     a     juul     behind     your     ear     ,     vines     quoted     in     a     thick     french     accent     .    (     timothee     chalamet     ,     cis male     ,     he/him     )   (     pepper    ,     she/her + they/them     ,     est     ,     twenty four     )

ABOUT THE MUN.  are ya in a relationship? you think i can convince someone to do that?

hello, it’s me again. i tired myself out with haisley’s so jaq’s if going to be considerably shorter. let’s go. 

BIO.  aaaahhhhhhhhhh shhiiittttt *begins understanding things*

jacques daingerfield was born in france to two very average parents. like his mother was a teacher and his father was a financial analyst. nothing wild or crazy going on there, and to top it off he was the middle child, and well, you can tell. 

he has four siblings. he was the third kid, and well, he spent most of his childhood fighting for any kind of attention, usually by making inappropriate little jokes or you know, fart noises. yes his parents were generally exasperated with him, but that behavior made sure they paid attention to him. and honestly that was all jacques wanted. 

again, jacques had a pretty average upbringing. he went to school, he was actually pretty popular among his peers despite being so annoying (definitely very unpopular amongst his teachers for generally that class clown that sat in the back and always interrupted), and he excelled academically without really trying too much. well, in every subject but english funnily enough. jaq always struggled in english, which is why it was incredibly ironic that when his parents separated they decided to move to uk with his father. jacques was ten at the time, and he still doesn’t understand the decision.

so yes, jacques was the kid in class with the weird name and weirder accent who could barely communicate with his classmates. it didn’t take long for them to stop really trying to pronounce ‘jacques’ properly. jacques became jack without much input on his part, and by the time jacques had got enough of a handle on the english language to correct them the americanized name had already stuck. even at nine jacques was smart enough to know that insisting on the correct french pronunciation of his name just kind of made him sound like a pretentious french asshole, so instead he spun it. he embraced it. started signing all of his papers and assignments with ‘jaq’ with a q like it was his brand or something. even as a child jaq will give himself credit for being clever af. 

it actually worked pretty well honestly. the older jaq got the more he grew into himself, and the more comfortable he got with the english language. honestly a lot of how jaq learned english was through video games and youtube videos and cartoons, like those were some of his go to resources. spent a lot of time playing games with strangers and tested his english out with colourful trash talk. actually started his first ever youtube channel was basically that as just a way to practice his english a bit. all he did on there was play video games, and honesty he didn’t even show his face. the channel wasn’t that popular, but he had fun making it. 

jaq on the other hand had gained popularity by the time he was in middle school. granted, that popularity was mostly due to the fact that he had a popular older brother and sister, was french and therefore ‘cute’ (jaq didn’t pretend to understand how girls brains worked then, and he still doesn’t now) and his family always had the newest gaming system at their household, and even then it wasn’t wild popularity. but it was enough that barely anyone teased him for his thick french accent anymore, and yk what jaq would take it. he weirdly got even more popular with the guys in his grade when they found out about his youtube channel. they found it funny, and they would generally watch his videos and come tell him about their favourite parts later, ask him about how he got past a certain level or learned a certain cheat. jaq soaked up their admiration like a sponge, right into his ego. they were the beginning of jaq getting the big head he proudly sports today. 

that said for most second form jaq’s youtube channel was just a hobby. something he did for fun. like i said earlier, jaq actually did really well in school and his parents always expected him to follow in his father’s footsteps and go into something in business. after all, it would be an easy transition with both french and english under his belt. they knew he would excel. 

but then he met madi. and somehow the two started doing videos together for fun, and it quickly expanded into something a lot bigger. something that jaq wouldn’t have even dreamed of doing before. suddenly the picture perfect future he had planned for himself just seemed boring in comparison to what he and madi had going on, and so jaq easily picked that instead. his parents weren’t all that happy about it, of course, after all jaq had full scholarships to some schools just waiting for him to accept and he ignored all of them in favour of making videos of him playing games online. they still don’t understand, but jaq doesn’t really need them too. he’s happy with what he’s doing and he figures he can always go into business when he’s old and boring. 

he moved out of his parents house straight into an apartment with madi when things between them started getting really tough. they can’t really speak without the whole ‘we’re so disappointed in you’ conversation coming up so jaq doesn’t really speak to them unless he has to. both of his older siblings went into business like their parents wanted, and his younger siblings are on the same path. his little sister wants to be just like him though, and that warms his heart tbh. 

has come to TWENTIES to have a good time! wants to break into the acting industry like dylan o’brien and maybe show his parents that a ‘real’ career can come from something like this. his parents begged him not to come on this show and embarrass them so that is definitely what he’s about to do. 

HEADCANNONS. there are a lot of people who need to shut up.  not me though 

thinks he’s funny! sometimes he is

will answer to jacques, jaq, jaqi, or q! you can call him daingerfield if you want but not many people do

fun fact, made his instagram handle as a joke, much like awkwafina. was just supposed to a little dig about how many times he has to say ‘jack with a q’ whenever someone spells his name. but now the dangerous q is his brand, and just finds it really dumb and funny. 

a bit of a kleptomaniac. will swipe something he thinks is cool mostly just to do it. has very little impulse control. loves to pull pranks and generally make trouble, but not in a way that will ever actually hurt anybody because he’s not a whole idiot. not the biggest fan of cops. 

is an artist. will spray paint your walls and probably has spray painted the walls of his apartment. will doodle weird things all over napkins or receipts or whatever he can get his hands on. has drawn out little video game characters he wants to be in his future games, and actually is considering going to school for a video game programming degree just for that. the funny thing is with his grades he could probably do it. is teaching himself coding in the mean time. 

 the type of person to start drumming on the counter or desk with his hands or like pencils or pens when he’s bored. will make up fun little raps on the spot. 

incredibly intelligent but doesn’t like to talk about it. would much rather act dumb than act like he has any braincells. he doesn’t want to give anyone expectations. 

all the youtube success has definitely gone to his head in the way that?? he just thinks they’re untouchable like he cannot compute the concept of their channel failing or their future endeavors failing. definitely thinks that TWENTIES will lead to much bigger things for them. will walk into his future acting auditions like he’s the shit. 

an introvert with extrovert tendencies. needs to be by himself to chill out and recharge but can like work a room honestly. can make friends pretty much everywhere he goes. a bit of a charmer when he wants to be. 

a smoker unfortunately. also a bit of a stoner. definitely has a juul on him at all times, like i said he tends to keep it behind his ear and then be like ???? where’s my juul. 

needs glasses but refuses to wear them. is very stubborn about it tbh. does not want to get contacts because he hates the idea of putting something into his eye. so you can catch him squinting sometimes like a fool. 

one of the first things he treated himself to with his first big youtube check like outside of rent was a tattoo! it’s on his ribs and it’s just a drawing he did himself but he loves it and it was the start of an addiction. he has about five. also has a few helix and orbital piercings on his left ear. 

another muse of mine with a tiktok, but jaq just uses his to make music for the most part. will turn the mickey mouse club house theme song into bars! (if you’ve seen that tiktok,,,, ily) 

a big nerd. reads comic books. watches anime. will get very reasonably upset about the avatar the last airbender movie whenever it’s brought up.

can cook really well, but whenever he does it it’s pure chaos. like julian/brad leone in the kitchen for sure. but the food comes out tasting really good, so???

is jewish af. knows a bit of hebrew and a bit of yiddish because of his grandparents mostly. is kind of ??? a lot more lenient with things now that he’s not around his parents as often i’m ngl. 

brings his ds everywhere and you can literally catch him on the bus vaping and playing animal crossing because he hasn’t bothered to get a american license yet 

is always willing to take a picture with a subscribers and they’re always the weirdest thing. there are pictures of subscribers like pretending to stab him in the eye. prom pose pictures with subscribers. the weirder the better tbh

has gone to vidcon a few years in a row, always has the wildest time. there is video footage of him waking up in some strangers bathtub with a feather boa around his neck. it’s probably on instagram. 

is also bi af. 

WANTED CONNECTIONS.  very proud to announce that i am officially a lost cause! 

BEST FRIENDS.

A BROMANCE. 

FWB/EWB.

EXES. 

FANS OF HIS YOUTUBE VIDEOS. 

and here’s his wanted tag, i forgot to do the same for haisley so here is her wanted tag. 

and many more, y’all this took so long and i’m so tired but like this and i will slide into your dms for plots!

[jawbone-xylophone]

"I used to do a lot of things" - Sugar (HorrorDream)

squint I think I know who sent this! finger guns Ask and ye shall receive. Gonna do your asks a bit out of order because the muse is going crazy. The prompt is only implied, I have a bad habit of that, but I hope you like!

/////

The world he was currently in was a wreck of fallen stalactites and dirt-churned snow, long scars in the earth slicing through houses and baring the naked rock beneath like some giant claw had descended from on high. The cavern still shuddered, the distant aftershocks of Error’s wild blasting and the roar of a river of paint flash-boiling into steam rushing over Dream like a storm front. There was less pain here now, but only because the remaining casualties trapped under rubble were finally dying. He wasn’t sure if he was relieved about that or not. Dream, to his shame, was just trying to survive right now. The toxic glee in the air, bloodthirst and mania, did little to properly anchor him against the tide of negativity, and without proper healing to bolster his strength he might very well be shunted from this universe against his will. He was needed here, Blue had been separated from the group, Ink rarely thought before acting and fought using the Rule of Cool more than actual tactics. He was needed, he couldn’t afford to be blocked off from his allies, but he was weak with strain and a thousand small fractures that glimmered gold in the dust-strewn gloom.

He stumbled into the front of what used to be a junk store, bricks harsh against his shoulder, the splintered windowsill digging into his hand. Glassy-eyed plastic figurines stared sightlessly out onto the empty street, and he couldn’t help but wonder if they were screaming in their own way. Dream felt like crumpling to the ground and screaming himself, if only to try to relieve the aching pressure of Nightmare’s swollen power. Not that it would really help, in the end, nothing ever helped but distance. His hand dug into the windowsill as if that would prevent his untimely ejection from the world code, trying to ground his spinning head with the pain.

Then- hope. Shaky, hesitant hope, from somewhere deeper into the wreckage of a residential district, that tasted like determination and love and a bit like grief, but there was a light struggling through the darkness, calling Dream like a moth to a flame. That hope could very well be Dream’s last chance, and he wasn’t about to waste it. He started to run, tripping into the snow of the street, but he didn’t have time for that, he had to go, lunging forward from a crawl and catching himself on the corners of buildings with scrabbling fingers. There, there- around this corner, duck through that arch, over the wreck of an old ice house- and there they were.

Dream’s soul sank at the image of a monster dragging themself through the snow towards a pile of glimmering dust, which was still flickering with eddies of magic. He’d just missed the death, clearly. Dream would empathize if he wasn’t in a warzone mentality, but he’d come here looking for the one thing that could heal him and give him a fighting chance, grief wouldn’t help him.

But there was hope thick on the air, and he couldn’t understand where it was coming from, even as the stranger’s skeletal hand reached out with desperate strain and took a fistful of still-glowing monster dust.

He couldn’t understand when that dust was shoved past teeth as thick as tombstones.

He couldn’t understand when red light flickered through the places where the stranger’s bones interlocked, when they took another handful, when they shuddered and groaned and made the sort of sounds normally reserved for high quality steak.

But when their sole eye light managed to focus, red as warning, and their hood slipped back to reveal the sort of massive head trauma no one should survive, he thought he might understand, and that made everything so much worse.

The stranger was burning with hope, with love, with the strength to look a lion in the eye, and Dream couldn’t understand why they answered when Nightmare crawled out of the shadows to call them home.

But his head had finally stopped hurting, bones knitting together as the pressure eased. There was no one around to see him finally crumple to the ground and let the revulsion crawl up his spine like a living thing, horror thick and chalky in his throat. It remained even when he regrouped with the others much later, Ink nuzzling into his aura and Blue shoving concern and cinnamon bunnies at him in equal measure, and he had to swallow down the burn of bile the next time they faced Nightmare’s men on the battlefield.

That skeleton never looked away from him, calm and steady, even as yet another apocalypse crashed down around them.

—

Dream finally extracted himself from the thick of the party with a long sigh, desperate for cooler air and possibly something to drink. As fun as this little New Years’ party was, it was getting to be a bit overwhelming, and he wasn’t used to such high concentrations of positivity. A little punch-drunk, he stumbled into the wall, catching himself on a picture frame and knocking it crooked. Water would be a good idea. Water and fresh air, away from the zing of romance and the roiling waves of crowded excitement in Blue’s living room.

He made his way to the kitchen, hand dragging along the wall, careful to put one foot in front of the other. Definitely no alcohol for him tonight, not when the clusters of cheerful drunk people in his general area were too much to handle. Tottering through the doorway and blinking in the bright lights, he adjusted for a few long moments. He saw the drink cooler, but only on approach did he notice a hand waving a water bottle under his nose, and he startled blearily.

One ruined red eye watched him steadily.

Caught off-balance, Dream accepted the drink with a slow hand, blinking widely at the man. “Thanks.”

“Welcome.” The other leaned back a bit to rest against the counter, lidless stare never straying from Dream’s face. “You look like you got mauled. Here with anyone?”

Dream only realized he was shaking a bit when he had trouble lifting the bottle to his mouth, and he flushed a little. “Uh, nope. I mean, sort of? I’m friends with Blue.”

“I know.”

Right. Uh. Several years of seeing him cover Blue’s blind spots with a bow and arrow might have been a decent hint. He was determined not to make this awkward, but partying under a truce with old enemies made this very bizarre anyway. Dream managed to take a drink, and capped the bottle before he could spill it all over the floor. “...I don’t think we’ve been formally introduced, actually. Circumstances notwithstanding.” What a wonderful way to gloss over the whole your-friends-tried-to-stab-mine issue.

In response, the other skeleton’s brow lifted, and he grinned in a thin, vaguely alarming sort of way. Or maybe the massive hole in his head just caused every expression to look scarier no matter what the intention. “Small talk? Alright, I’ll bite.” He extended a bony hand, the other buried firmly in a pocket. “Sans the skeleton, like half of the idiots here. Nickname’s Horror.”

Dream passed his water into his left hand and copied Horror, smiling. “Dream. Just Dream.”

Horror huffed a small, amused noise, and let go of the handshake. “Well, just Dream, don’ fake anythin’ on my account. Saw you eyeing me when you came in,” he quipped, gesturing briefly at his own face and shattered skull. This close Dream could see the built up scarring around the lower rim of his empty socket. “Seen you eyeing me for a while, really. ‘F I didn’t know better I’d think you actually like lookin’ at this ugly mug.”

“Well- I- you see-“ Oh hell, Dream hasn’t thought he was that obvious. And it wasn’t like that at all, truth be told, he just... even now, he was confused by Horror. He was always calm, and while there was a hungry echo of desperation staining his psyche, for the most part he was startlingly full of love. Of all things to find orbiting Nightmare’s inner circle! Dream had no idea how this man could exist, brutally efficient and not above the worst taboo yet motivated by such level-headed gentleness. “It’s not that, you’re just very interesting. I’m curious.”

“Interesting, he says,” Horror drawls, crossing his arms and leaning back against the counter. “Lotta people find me ‘interesting’. Lotta curious folks like to poke and point and ask stuff they’ve no business askin’. What’s your itch, then?” It would sound accusing if he wasn’t so composed, tone almost light.

Dream winces. He could backtrack, fall to something safer. While he wasn’t above a strategic retreat, he really couldn’t let that stand. “I’m sorry to hear that people insist on disrespecting you. I don’t really have a question, per se, at least nothing in dire need of asking.” That’s a lie, but Dream possesses enough manners to know what you can and cannot ask the familiar stranger who watched you watch him across the battlefield. “I just find it fascinating that in the middle of Nightmare’s forces there’s so much love kept in one person. Love is one of the strangest motivators, so I won’t pretend to know why you go about with that wood axe and yet still feel so gentle to my empathy. You’re a very unusual skeleton, Horror, and a very pleasant surprise. That’s what I mean by interesting.”

Horror goes very still, eye wide, and there’s something thoughtful there beneath the intensity. He’s startled, but it’s only visible in the smallest ways, the relaxing of his jaw and the way his spine straightens a touch beneath his ratty hoodie. He rolls a few words around in his head almost visibly before he speaks. “That’s... a first. ‘Specially from a guy like you.” The laugh is mostly humorless, though there’s a wondering tilt to his head. “Ya waltz in here lookin’ white girl wasted, all prettied up in gold, got me thinkin’ I’m in for a headache, but you’re actually that sweet? Color me charmed.”

“I’ll have you know I’m not just sweet,” Dream replies flatly. “Don’t make that mistake, it’s tiresome.” He’s not in any way prepared to acknowledge anything else Horror just said, though something stupid in his subconscious is focused on the fact that Horror called him pretty.

“Wouldn’t dare.” Horror replies, grin warming. “Multidimensional folks are more interestin’ any day.” And if he’s starting to be sweet on the way Dream meets his gaze unflinchingly, perceptive and headstrong, well. That’s something he can think about later, when he has a proper moment to sit down and recognize what this fascination could easily become, if he lets it. For now he just gestures out onto the porch and invites Dream to talk a while, while moths flutter curiously about the lanterns there.

[littlemisssquiggles]

Yo Squiggles. How about you tackle your next Squiggles Script with this idea: Yang finally telling the group about knowing that Raven is the spring maiden, and Oscar’s reaction to finding out she was hiding things just like Oz was. Whether he’s angry or more calm and understanding about that, I’m not too sure.

Alright Miggy, you asked for it. Though I don’t exactlywish to make a habit out of taking requests for RWBY Squiggle Scripts since I like for them to remain spontaneous, nevertheless,I took a crack at another one of your ideas prompts because it is a scenariothat I’m curious to see handled in the canon.

I’m interested inseeing how the CRWBY Writers are going to handle Yang spilling the beans on Raven to the teamand Oscar’s reaction. I have afeeling that the CRWBY Writers more or less might pull another BS approach andhave Oscar be perfectlyfine with Yang keeping her mother’ssecret while chastising Ozpin over his. The only time we’ve seen Oscar becometruly emotional is back in V4 after his first encounter with Ozpin and the dojoscene with Ruby in V5. 

Following that, Oscar was slapped with this ‘perfectly fine’ demeanour even in the face of frustrating conflictthat I, quite frankly find rather disbelieving. Admittedly I’d like to think ofOscar as, not necessarily a ticking time bombbut more like a balloon that is idly sailing floating around without a care in the world untilsomething unexpected comes along to pop him right out of orbit and comecrashing right back down to the reality of the truth, y’know what I’m saying?

Keeping that in mind, I composed this script withthis concept of Yang’s deceit being the pin to finally pop Oscar and unleasheverything he’s been brushing off since Argus. A small disclaimer though. Iactually went for the more angry approach to Oscar’s reaction to Yang’sdeceit. In my imagination, I can see Oscar becoming furious with Yang; angrierthan he should have been with Jaune back in Argus. I went with the angryapproach because I, personally, cannot see Oscar being perfectly fine withYang’s hypocrisy.

Apologies in advancefor Jaune’s characterization in this squiggle scriptas well. As revealed in the canon, Jaune has been carrying a lot of his rageand grief retained from his loss over Pyrhha and it has reflected in hispersonality and overall tolerance to certain things over the seasons. While Iunderstand V6C9 more or less highlighted Jauneovercoming his grief over Pyrhha, I’m not quite convinced he’s done beingangry.

While his confrontation with Oscar may have caused him to finally differentiatehow he views Oscar over Ozpin, that’s not enough to indicate to me that Jauneis done being angry toward Oz and the idea of secrets being kept from the teamas a whole. That being said, sorry if I made everyone’s favourite Arc seem alittle douche-y. 

I needed a secondary character to be especially confrontational with Yang overher deceit and figured Jaune fit the bill better than anyone else. If Yang was toever came clean, Jaune is another I can see being rather adverse to this; maybeeven a bit testy and borderline unpleasant. This is mostly going offof his reaction to Ozpin’s deceit in V6 C8 but youknow, this is mostly my interpretation.

As with every script I do my best to keep everyonein character according to my perception of the character and what I think theywould say in certain scenarios. So, I did my best. Without further ado, let’sjump right in.

RWBY Squiggle Script #012: Divided Once More 

Picture it: Fast-forward. Yang has just finished informing everyoneabout the secret she’s been keeping about Raven. She reveals that she is theSpring Maiden. She doesn’t really say anything else beyond that and basicallywaits for everyone’s reactions to the news. Some folks are understanding, likeher RWBY teammates. Others…not so much.

Ren: So…Raven was the Spring Maiden all the timeand…Vernal was just her decoy.

Yang: Yeah. I’m sorry you’re only hearing this now but…Iwanted you to at least hear it from me. I just…I’m sorry.

Blake: *taking Yang’s hand and smiling at her comfortingly* Yang, it’s okay.

From the other side of the room where he stoodleaning against the wall, Jaune scoffed.

Jaune: *irritated* You guys aren’t serious. You’re comforting her?

Blake: *defensively* Why shouldn’t we? She’s our friend.

Jaune: Yeah but she’s a liar! You knew who the SpringMaiden was and never told us. How could you?!

Weiss: Jaune, calm down. I’m sure Yang had aperfectly good reason to—

Jaune: To lie? Gee, now where have we heard that before?What happened to trusting each other and not lying to each other?

Yang: *defensively* Ididn’t lie to you.

Nora: *chiming in* Yeahbut you certainly didn’t tell us everything you knew about the Spring Maideneither. 

Ren: You didn’t trust usenough to tell us. 

Jaune: I can’t believe this is happening again.I thought we were over this? What happened to no more secrets? No more lies!

Yang: *heatedly* Ididn’t lie! I just—

Yang takes a deep breath, recomposing herself tomake sure she chose her next words carefully.

Yang:  *apologetically* Look, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you guys about thissooner. I messed up and I know that. This is why I am telling you now. I’m telling you. I know I can’t make up for everything that’sbeen done before and I don’t expect all of you to understand but…it was my mom.I didn’t want to keep this secret from everyone but I felt like I had to.

Jaune: *incredulously* You had to?

Yang: Yes! Raven is theSpring Maiden but she’s also my mother. The mother I spent years trying tofind. The mother who protected me from Neo. My mother!

Jaune: *confrontationally* Ohyou mean the same mother who betrayed us at the Battle of Haven and helpedCinder go after the Relic? The same mother whose tribe kidnapped Weiss and heldher hostage in their camp. The same mother who abandoned you and never lookedback!

Blake: Jaune!

At this point Jaune was up in Yang’s face; glaringat her angrily prompting Blake and Weiss to immediately come between thembefore things got more heated. Blake is pulling Yang away while Weiss wedgedherself between an infuriated Jaune and an equally annoyed Yang, whose eyeswere turning red in her growing anger.

Weiss: *cautiously* Jaune, that was out of line! You need to stop.

Yang: *from behind Blake* No,Weiss let him say what he has to say. *crossly* I don’texpect you of all people to understand Jaune since…y’know…you’re Mr. Perfect from the perfect home with the perfect big happy family withseven sisters and two loving parents who never backstabbed each other or lefttheir kids behind or worse, died! No, I don’t expect you tounderstand a thing about how I felt but that doesn’t give you the right tostand there and judge me!

Weiss: ENOUGH! 

With all the strength she could muster, Weissfirmly shoves both Yang and Jaune off of each other. Her outburst stunseveryone especially Jaune and Yang.  

Weiss: *furiously* Listento yourselves! Do you have any idea how ridiculous youtwo sound right now! We’re supposed to be friends…a family. This is not how a family is supposed to act! We’re supposed tocare about each other! Love each other! Not deceive or keep secrets from eachother and it certainly doesn’t give you the right to scream at each other likeyou don’t even care about the other people in the room who can hear you! Thisisn’t just about you! *breaking down with tears starting to form in her eyes* It’s not just about you…it’s… 

Jaune: …Weiss? 

Weiss: *tearfully* I…whydoes every family I end up with end up fighting. Why?  

Ruby: *cautiouslyreaching out to Weiss after noticing her tears*…Weiss?

Weiss: …I’m sorry, I can’t go through this again, I’msorr—please excuse me! 

Weiss exits the room before anyone could stop her.Ruby makes a move to go after Weiss but is stopped by Blake. 

 Blake: …I—I’ll go talk toher. 

With that, Blake exits the room leaving everyoneelse in silence. Yang and Jaune appeared the guiltiest at what they hadunearthed.  

Yang: *regrettably* I…I never meant to lie to you,okay? To any of you. Weiss is right. We’re more than just a team. We’resupposed to be a family and…it’s not good to keep secrets from your family. I’msorry I didn’t say anything sooner, I just—at the time, I didn’t think aboutany of you guys. I thought only about my mom and what Salem would do to her ifshe found out she was a maiden. So I made her secret my secret too. I know itwas wrong but at the time, it felt right because…look,there are just some cards that are best played— 

Ruby: … close to the chest?

Yang winced at the strange familiarityin her words but nods otherwise.Jaune: *spitefully* Wow.Well…that sounds awfully familiar now,doesn’t it? You know Yang you talk big about trust but you’re no differentthan… 

Oscar: …Ozpin.  

Everyone’s attention immediately turned to Oscar.At this point, he had been eerily quiet in the corner during the whole ordealand now looked up at Yang for the first time she let the cat out the bag. Hishazel eyes were wide as he slowly processed everything he had just heard. 

Ruby: *concernedly*…Oscar?

Yang : *awkwardly* Oscar…listen, I’m— 

Oscar: …The Spring Maiden…is your mother?

Yang: Yeah, she… 

Oscar: How long did you know about this?

Yang: What? 

Oscar: How long have you known?

Yang: I…

Oscar: *firmly* Answerthe question! 

All eyes fell on Yang now who looked awayhesitantly. 

Ruby: …Yang?

Yang: … Since… the Battle of Haven. 

Nora: This whole time! 

Jaune: *furiously* Howcould you keep something like that from us? How could you think that was okay?! 

Yang: *scolding Jaune* Itold you, She’s my mother! 

Qrow: I don’tbelieve this. My sister was the Spring Maiden we were looking for the wholetime back in Mistral and didn’t tell me. And my own niece knew about it too anddidn’t tell me. You both didn’t tell me anything! So much for blood is thickerthan water.*sighs exasperatedly* I’m going for a dri—I’m going for a walk. I need some air. 

Yang: Qrow I’m…

Ruby: Uncle Qrow? 

Qrow exits theroom slamming the door hard behind him. Ruby’s shoulders slump sadly. 

Ruby: *sadly* Not him too. 

Ruby attempts to go after Qrow but is tapped on theshoulder by Maria.  

Maria: Don’t worry. I’ll handle the ole bird this time. It’sbest you stay here so that you kids can work out…uhm…whatever this is supposedto be. *in alower voice to Ruby* Please work this out before it gets out ofhand. We don’t want a repeat of what happened in Argus. 

Ruby gives Maria an affirming nod and the seniorhuntress smiles at her young protégée before exiting to catch up withQrow.   

 Ruby: Guys, I think we should all just…take a breath andtry to work things through. This doesn’t have to be as bad as it looks. 

Jaune: *grumpily* Speakfor yourself. 

Ren: I don’t understand.  We all saw Raven godown to the Vault with Vernal and Cinder to retrieve the Relic. If Ravenwas the true Spring Maiden and the only one with access to the vault thenwhy didn’t she take the lamp for herself?

Yang: She was going to.

Ren: Going to? 

Nora: *inquiringly* …But…?

Yang: I…. told hernot to.

Jaune: You did what!

Ruby: Yang!

Yang: I had to, okay! If my mom had taken the Relic then we allknow it would’ve only been a matter of time before Salem found her. Cinder killed the original Fall Maiden. She killed Pyrhha!She killed Vernal! She almost killed my mother but she stoppedher before she could. But as strong as my mom is, she’s no match for Salem. Being a Maidenand having a Relic would’ve made her a bigger target forSalem.  She would’ve killed her for sure.I couldn’t let that happen. I couldn’t risk losing my mom. Not again. Not for good.

Ren: *processing everything* So…you made us the targets instead?

Nora: You made Salem comeafter us instead?

Jaune: To kill us instead.

Yang: I…I’m….sorry.

Ruby: No wait, that’s—that’s actually a good thing. Itmeans—

Oscar: …It was you.

For a second time, all eyes snapped to Oscar.

Oscar: *processing everything* …You’rethe reason we had to take the Relic to Atlas. You’re the reason we got on thattrain. The reason… the Grimm came after us. The reason we got separated. Thetrain crash… Maria…Jinn, it was you! It was all you…

Nora: …Oscar.

Oscar: We’re supposed to be in this together, you said. You can trust us,you said. We’re not going to turn our backs on you, you said. Those…those were your wordsto Ozpin, right Yang? You promised Ozpin that we weren’t going to desert him ifthe truth came out. That we’d never abandon him no matter what we learnt….andthen… we did. We did turn our backs on him. We hurt him.We…betrayed him. I—I betrayed him.

Nora: *worriedly* ….Oscar…no…

Ruby: *equally concerned* Youdidn’t betray Ozpin. You were just…doing the right thing.

Oscar: *distressfully* What right thing? Forcing someone to relive the most horrible time in theirlives, not once but for several thousand years of lifetimes when they didn’t consent to sharing it? Laying out all their failures andmistakes in front for everyone to judge him…andthen… turn onhim! That’s NOT the rightthing! That…that was…CRUEL!  

*distraughtly tugging at his hair; anxiety rising* Salem was his secret. His pain. His mistake. His burden to bear. He didn’t want to show us. He didn’twant us to see it. See his failures. Re-experience them again! He begged us not to show it. But we… we forced him! We forced him toreveal all his secrets and then…we turned our backs on him. We had no right!I—I had no right! I….I betrayed him. I told Ruby about Jinn. I made ithappen.

I hurt him. I betrayed him. I betrayed us….because….

Oscar trails off; his head slowly turning toward Yang.

Oscar: …Because… of you.  

Yang: *stiffening*…What?

Oscar: I did it… because of you!  

Oscar startsadvancing on Yang; hazel eyes locked with violet.

Oscar: *voice slowly rising* You… started all ofthis! You’re the one who kept questioning his actions. Probing him for answershe wasn’t ready to give…

At this point,Yang is slowly backing away from Oscar; surprisingly fearful of the rage risingin his demeanour. But Oscar kept pushing; slowly backing her into a corner.

Yang: *nervously* …Oscar; pleasejust—

Oscar: You’re the one who confronted Ozpin. You’re the one who kept…asking.Kept…pushing him…because you wanted the truth. You…demanded it! You just wouldn’t let it go!*voice growing louder as his realizationslowly boiled into anger*What happened to nomore lies and half-truths? That’s what you told him! You forced him to give up all of his secrets when you’ve beensitting on your own THIS WHOLE TIME! You had no right!

Yang: *sadly*I…

Oscar: …This is your fault!

Oscar pushes Yang once. She takes it quietly; guiltwritten clearly on her face.

Oscar: …This is all… YOUR FAULT!

Oscar pushes Yang again, a little harder. Yangactually feels the force a little more this time and winces but she’s still tooguilty to react; head hanging low.

Oscar: EVERYTHING IS YOUR FAULT!  

By the third shove, Yang is practically slammedinto the wall with Oscar’s shaky hands, trembling with rage holding her by thescruff of her jacket or as much as he could grab with Yang’s towering heightdifference compared to his short stature. At this point, angry tears arerolling down Oscar’s dotted cheeks and Yang couldn’t bring herself to look awayfrom his infuriated expression.

She had never seen Oscarthis enraged. This hurt. Not even back in Argus. The feeling wasdefinitely mutual from the others in the room. All except for Ruby.She, on the other hand, had witnessed Oscar lashing out before. Seen whathappens when his frustration rose to volatile levels. For a second time sincethey’d met, this was Oscar’s tipping point andwhat was sad was that it was her own sister who brought him to this level of resentment.Immediately, the arms of Jaune, Nora and Ren reached from behind Oscar andquickly restrained him before he did something else to Yang he’d later regret.

Oscar: *angrily fighting against JNR* Let go of me! Let me go!

Nora: Oscar you need to calm down!

Oscar:  Don’t tell me to calm down! *turns his anger back on Yang* SHE DID THIS! YOU’RE A HYPOCRITE!

Yang: *guiltily* Oscar, I’m so—

Oscar: *pissed*So what! Sorry? That’s all youhave to say! Ozpin left because of you! You want me to feel sorry foryou? Where was that sympathy for Oz?! You had the nerve to expose Ozpin for hissecrets—oursecrets— when you’ve been sitting on your own! This whole time! Unbelievable!

Ruby: …Oscar…

Ruby plants herself in front of Yang. She attemptsto intervene but in his outburst,Oscar even reflected his irritation on Ruby, making her flinch under hisintense gaze.

Oscar: *warningly* DON’T!You cannot be taking her side!

Ruby: *taken aback* …I’mnot taking anyone’s side! *expression saddening* I just want all of this tostop!

Oscar: *solemnly*….Well…that makes two of us.

Oscar was full on crying at this point; face in hishands. He had even stopped thrashing at JNR who let him go. They each did theirbest to show consolation for the young farm boy with Nora even trying to hugOscar but he pushed her off him which left the thunder goddess stunned.

Oscar: *sobbing* I wantthis all to stop! I’m done! With all of this!

And he was off. Before anyone could really stophim, Oscar went straight for the door.

Ruby: Oscar…wait…

Ruby made a grab for Oscar’s hand but he quicklywrenches it away from her reach as if he’d been touched by burning steel. Likethe rest before him, Oscar storms out of the room, slamming it harshly inRuby’s face, much to her distraught. And then there were five.

Nora: *sadly* You know;here I thought we were free from drama once we got to Atlas.

Jaune: Anyone else has any super important informationthey were hiding from everyone else? 

Ruby: *testily* JAUNE!Can you please NOT do this right now! You’re not helping! Can’t you seethe team is falling apart!

Jaune: *annoyed* Whatteam? This isn’t a team. And we’re not a family either. We might as well… be strangers.

And then four as Jaune stomped out after Oscar.Upon Jaune’s departure, Ruby officially breaks down.

Ruby: I…I can’t deal with all of this again.

Ruby crashes on the couch, face in her hands.Fortunately, Nora was quick to sit next to her and offer her a hug ofreassurance which Ruby accepted. Yang was still stunned from Oscar’sconfrontation to move.

Nora: *comfortingly* Hey,listen. Ren and I can handle Jaune. You don’t mind him one bit.

Ren: She’s right. Don’t take what he said to hearteither. His anger—this isn’t really about youor Yang. It’s…more him than you iswhat I’m trying to say.

Ruby: *groaning* Thisis exactly like what happened in Argus. Can someone please gocheck up on Oscar?

Ren: Shouldn’t we leave him alone? He seemed veryupset.

Ruby: Exactly! I don’t want him to be alone when he’sthis upset. The last time he got like this, he—*emotionally; tearing up slightly* I don’t want him to be alone right now.He has to know he’s not alone, okay?

Nora: *rubbing Ruby’s arms comfortingly* Don’t worry. After we findJaune, we can check up on Cute Boy Oz too.

Finally Yangspeaks.

Yang: No. I think it’s best if you checkup on Oscar, Ruby.

Ruby: *miserably*That’s…if he’ll actually talk to me.

Yang: *reassuringly with a half-smile* He will. As madas he is right now, Oscar’s always had a soft spot for you. If he does runagain, you’re the one he’ll want to chase after him.

Ruby: *concernedly* But…whatabout you?

Yang: *reassuringly* I’llbe alright. I’m going to go check in with Blake and Weiss. I just—I thinkit’s best if Ispent some time awayfrom everyone for a little while. Especially Oscar. I…don’t think he’ll be comfortable withme around right now so maybe I should…go somewhere else or something. I couldalways ask Neon and Flynt if I could crash with them for a while.

Ruby: *incredulously* You’removing out!

Yang: …At least until everything blows over.

Ruby:…But—

Ren: I think we can alluse some space from each other right now. Perhaps…some time apart would be bestto help defuse any lingering tensions.

Yang: Yeah.

Ruby: … R—Right.

Yang: I’m gonna go look forBlake and Weiss.

Ren: We’ll see to Jaune.

One by one, Nora, Ren and Yang each depart withNora and Yang both flashing Ruby reassuring looks and gestures as they madetheir exit. And with that, Ruby was alone. Despite being together in considerablythe safest kingdom in all of Remnant, for a second time, they were divided andRuby was at a loss on what to do to fix it.

Ruby: *sighs miserably* I was wrong. This is worse than Argus.

And scene.

Not sure how to feel about this one. I’ll leave theverdict up to you readers especially you, Miggy. As a small heads up, I might make a sequel script to this. Two in fact. One featuring the RosegardeningRosebuds and another with Pine Dragon (thisis what I’ll call the FRIEND-ship between Yang and Oscar) again, possibly.Not sure. In the meantime, I hope you guys enjoy.

~LittleMissSquiggles (2019)

[bountyofbeads]

‘She was shaking’: Court filings describe system Jeffrey Epstein allegedly used to procure girls

https://wapo.st/2OMuAji

People close to Epstein fear he was murdered...as Epstein told authorities someone tried to kill him in a previous incident weeks earlier. He was described as being in good spirits in recent days...

Jeffrey Epstein dies by apparent suicide in New York jail

By Matt Zapotosky and Renae Merle | Published August 10 at 10:48 AM ET | Washington Post | Posted August 10, 2019 11:46 AM ET |

Jeffrey Epstein, the politically connected financier and registered sex offender charged recently with sexually abusing dozens of young girls in the early 2000s, has apparently died by suicide in prison, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Epstein, 66, hanged himself in the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City, though the exact timing was unclear according to ABC News, which was first to report the development.

Epstein, a multimillionaire with ties to celebrities and politicians including President Trump and former president Bill Clinton, was arrested last month on federal sex trafficking charges that could have put in him prison for 45 years. Prosecutors alleged he abused dozens of young girls at his Manhattan and Palm Beach, Fla., homes and enlisted his victims to bring him others.

Epstein had pleaded not guilty in the case, and a federal judge had recently denied his request to be released to home confinement.

Last month, Epstein was found in his cell with marks around his neck, and authorities were trying to determine if he was attacked or attempted suicide. He showed no obvious signs of distress at a later court hearing.

A Justice Department spokeswoman and a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s Office in New York, which brought the new case against Epstein, declined to comment. Spokespeople for the Bureau of Prisons, officials with the Metropolitan Correctional Center and Epstein’s lawyers did not immediately return messages seeking comment.

Epstein’s case had attracted widespread attention — in part because of his wealth and political connections, and in part because of a lenient plea deal he reached more than a decade ago to resolve similar allegations. That 2008 agreement allowed Epstein to plead guilty to just two state charges in Florida, avoiding federal exposure entirely, and spend just 13 months in jail, with work-release privileges.

The deal was approved by Alex Acosta, who was then the U.S. attorney in Miami and would go on to become Trump’s labor secretary — a post he resigned after Epstein was charged last month and the controversy over the previous case was reignited.

Epstein’s death is sure to draw intense scrutiny of the Bureau of Prisons and the Metropolitan Correctional Center. The high-rise federal detention center in downtown Manhattan has a fearsome reputation; one inmate who spent time there and in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, famously said Guantanamo Bay was “more pleasant” and “more relaxed.”

The facility is no stranger to high-profile inmates. It recently housed notorious drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman while he was on trial in Brooklyn, and former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort has spent time there around court proceedings in New York — though records show he has since been moved to a different facility in Pennsylvania.

The facility in New York also housed Ramzi Ahmed Yousef, who masterminded the 1993 World Trade Center Bombing, and Bernard Madoff, who ran the biggest Ponzi scheme in U.S. history.

‘She was shaking’: Court filings describe system Jeffrey Epstein allegedly used to procure girls

By Beth Reinhard, Marc Fisher, Tom Hamburger and Carol D. Leonnig | Published August 09 at 7:41 PM ET | Washington Post | Posted August 10, 2019 11:44 AM ET |

He demanded sex three times a day. A parade of powerful figures visited his private estates, which were adorned with pictures of naked girls and stocked with sex toys. And the schedules of teenagers on call to give him massages at his Palm Beach, Fla., mansion were documented in phone messages from his assistants.

Those and other claims about financier Jeffrey Epstein unsealed in court filings Friday lay out disturbing details both about his alleged activities and the number of people in his orbit who could have observed them, raising new questions about how the sex abuse charges against the multimillionaire were previously handled.

Epstein, who is now facing federal sex trafficking charges involving the alleged abuse of dozens of minors, previously pleaded guilty in Florida state court to two felony counts, serving about 13 months in jail. A federal judge ruled in February that the prosecution team led by then-U.S. Attorney Alexander Acosta, who recently resigned as President Trump’s labor secretary, violated the rights of alleged victims by failing to notify them of an agreement not to bring federal charges.

The newly unsealed documents — part of a now-settled defamation case brought by one alleged victim, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, against a woman she said recruited her — depict an organized system to regularly provide Epstein with girls. 

In one 2005 message detailed in the documents, an Epstein assistant noted that one girl wanted to know if she could come to the house at a later time. “She is wondering if 2:30 is o.k. She needs to stay in school,” the message read.

Epstein has pleaded not guilty to the current charges against him. Martin Weinberg, an attorney for the financier, did not respond to a request for comment Friday about the documents.

The material was gathered as part of the defamation suit brought by Giuffre against Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell that was settled for an undisclosed sum in 2017.

A federal appeals court in New York last month ordered documents related to the case to be made public.

In a 2016 deposition included in the filings, Giuffre said she was a “teen sex slave” who traveled to his homes in New York, Palm Beach, New Mexico and the Caribbean and was directed to give massages and have sex with Epstein and his friends at will.

“I’m angry with anybody who has it in their mind that they can hurt and abuse a minor child and continue to lie about getting away with it and that what they’ve done is okay,” Giuffre said in the deposition. “Yes, I’m furious.”

Lawyers for Maxwell did not respond to requests for comment Friday. In a 2016 deposition, Maxwell said: “Virginia is an absolute liar and everything she has said is a lie. Therefore, based on those lies I cannot speculate on what anybody else did or didn’t do . . . everything she said is false.”

Giuffre has said she was recruited by Maxwell when she was 16 or 17 and working at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s club in Palm Beach. According to the court filings, Mar-a-Lago produced 177 pages of records in response to a subpoena, including one chart showing that she had been a summer worker at age 17 and that she was terminated in 2000.

In a deposition, Giuffre said Epstein told her Trump was a “good friend,” but she said that she had never seen them together. 

Giuffre said that she was told by Maxwell that she would be trained at Epstein’s residence as a masseuse, but that “on the very first meeting that I had with him . . . she instructed me to take off my clothes and to give oral sex to Jeffrey Epstein.”

Asked in a deposition about Maxwell’s role in procuring girls for him, Epstein refused to answer, citing his constitutional protection against self-incrimination.

Giuffre said that Epstein flew her around the world and introduced her to an array of political and entertainment figures. She also said that Epstein told her that he had his house wired with hidden video cameras that recorded her every move, even in the bathroom.

In the court documents, Giuffre named a number of prominent men she claimed she had sex with at Maxwell’s instructions, including Britain’s Prince Andrew, former New Mexico governor Bill Richardson (D) and former Senate majority leader George J. Mitchell (D-Maine).

“My whole life revolved around just pleasing these men and keeping Ghislaine and Jeffrey happy,” Giuffre said in the deposition. “Their whole entire lives revolved around sex.”

On Friday, representatives of both Richardson and Mitchell denied her allegations, saying the men never had any contact with Giuffre.

The British royal family and Prince Andrew have repeatedly denied her claims. “Any suggestion of impropriety with underage minors is categorically untrue,” a spokesperson for Buckingham Palace said Friday.

Attorney Alan Dershowitz, who represented Epstein at one point, has vigorously denied Giuffre's allegation that she had sex with him, calling her a “certified, complete, total liar.”

Those remarks prompted Giuffre to file a defamation suit against Dershowitz, which is ongoing.

Giuffre was part of a sprawling network of young women allegedly targeted by Maxwell to give massages that led to sexual relations with Epstein and his friends, according to the court documents.

Johanna Sjoberg, a student at Palm Beach Atlantic University, testified that Maxwell recruited her to be “a legitimate assistant” answering phones for Epstein and then “asked her to perform sexual massages for Epstein, and punished her when she didn’t cause Epstein to orgasm.”

Asked if she had ever tried to get Epstein to explain why he received so many massages from so many different girls, Sjoberg said in a deposition: “He explained to me that, in his opinion, he needed to have three orgasms a day. It was biological, like eating.”

A chef who worked for friends of Epstein recalled meeting a visibly upset young woman who said she had been hired as “Jeffrey’s executive personal assistant.” She was 15.

Rinaldo Rizzo said the girl told him, tearfully, that she had been taken to Epstein’s home in the Virgin Islands and asked for sex. She said she had no memory of how she had returned to New York.

“She was shaking,” Rizzo testified. “I mean literally quivering. . . . She says, ‘I’m not supposed to talk about this.’”

The documents also include images of telephone messages from Epstein assistants summarizing calls from people procuring girls. “Has girl for tonight,” one says. “Confirmed [redacted name] at 4 pm. Who is scheduled for morning? I believe [redacted name] wants to work.”

Several messages from 2005 say only, “I have a female for him.”

Massage tables were scattered around Epstein’s home in Palm Beach, said Juan Alessi, who worked for Epstein from 1991 to 2002. He said in a 2016 affidavit that a massage “was like a treat” that Epstein provided his guests. He said that as many as 100 masseuses visited the property in the time he worked for Epstein, mostly women.

Epstein only took his massages in his private suite, which adjoined Maxwell’s bedroom suite, but was off limits to guests, he said. Alessi said he would clean up Epstein’s suite up after these massages and would sometimes find vibrators and sex toys in Maxwell’s sink.

Rosalind S. Helderman, Manuel Roig-Franzia, Matt Zapotosky and Deanna Paul in Washington, and Lori Rozsa in West Palm Beach, Fla., contributed to this report.

[iamsuperconfused]

Supergirl spoilers thoughts

Just dropping my thoughts on the new Supergirl spoilers that dropped via BTS pictures. To save my followers from them however, I will put them beneath a cut and tag them properly, also maybe don’t read the tags if you want to avoid spoilers, just in case. 

Alura In-Ze being alive? That’s a really bold move and one I really don’t like? There’s no real way to bring her back without ripping continuity apart, so I’m guessing that’s what will happen ? Because this show cannot fucking keep their shit straight. 

1) I heard the legion leaves in 3x17 so maybe they’re going to “get” Alura from the past, just after she sends Kara off ? that present Flashpoint-level of problems for time continuity and I’d think Ava Sharpe might want to have a say in the matter, alongside the Legends. 

2) Alura is already in the years where the legion originate and just wasn’t brought along for this mission, since the legends are aware this could cause issues with time continuity, but when Imra returns, she realizes they’re missing an occasion and goes back with her to assist. Same flashpoint of continuity issues.

3) There’s 4 Worldkillers as I recall in the comics.  With what we know of Alura, (if we believe Astra) it could be her that comes back and turn into the last WK ? I doubt it, but hey.  

4) It’d be MUCH easier to justify them bringing back Astra. When superman dies & come back in the comics (and some TV shows, I think) it’s because Kryptonian have a regeneration that allows them to return from bad wounds due to a yellow sun. Just say Astra’s pod got in orbit with the sun and then say the legion ship caught her on the way out.? 

On the whole, this idea of bringing back Alura is bad, like, it clashes with the theme of the whole show, it messes with its premise and with a lot of established lore and with how bad the show is at keeping things in continuity? I don’t trust them to handle Alura’s return well.  (Like, if Kara’s immediate reaction to seeing her isnt at least on the level of Winn seeing his mom at the funeral? I’m not going to buy it)

[slamsams-blog]

You Only Live Twice - #24WeeksofBond

This weeks installment in the 24 Weeks of Bond marathon continues with 1967′s “You Only Live Twice” where Bond DIES....then comes BACK TO LIFE...then becomes JAPANESE...then has a WAR INSIDE A VOLCANO.  If someone who hadn’t seen this movie was given that description of this film, that person would’ve dropped everything that they had in that moment and found a way to see this movie.  While that description makes this movie sound like a great cinematic experience, it ultimately falls flat with every bit of the plot being rushed to hell.  But that’s just my opinion, read on and see if you agree.

Sean Connery is back for the 5th time as Bond, and only because the producers agreed to bump his salary considerably.  Sean was getting tired of the grind that came with Bond and was having a hard time finding other film work with the hectic schedule of filming and promoting...(life sure must’ve been tough, eye roll.)  But they showed him the money, and with it, we get a checked out Sean Connery on a mission to find out who is causing chaos in outer orbit?

Let’s start with some positives...the pre-title sequence is fun.  We start out with a couple of American astronauts in space, and one of them goes out to check to make sure everything is working fine, but we see a mysterious spacecraft approaching undetected until it’s too late and swallows up the Americans, but in doing so, cuts the said astronauts lifeline.  That scene always made me cringe as a kid.  Then we see the American’s blaming Russia for the abduction, but Britain disagrees and think they saw something coming out of Japan.  Cut to Bond in bed with a lovely young lady...(who makes a quiet cameo in Daniel Craig’s Casino Royale).  She surprises Bond and traps him with the fold up bed they were sleeping on for some evil bad guys to open fire, KILLING JAMES BOND.  I mean, there was blood and everything!!!

I must admit, they got me with this when I first saw this movie.  I was legitimately shocked and sad when I saw this.  I thought to myself “how can this be??”...well, turns out it was all a stunt to fake his own death so his enemies all write him off - giving MI6 a little breathing room for Bond to do his job.

The job is to figure out where this unidentified spacecraft is coming from.  M has intel that there was some fishy stuff going on in Japan, so that’s where Bond is sent with the code “I love you” for his contacts to identify him.  Basic, but humorous. Moneypenny gets a great line out of it, “repeat it please, so I know you have it”. Bond gets to Japan where he meets Aki (Akiko Wakabayashi) who is NOT his contact, but will be bringing him to his contact who is Mr. Henderson (Charles Gray).  This is sort of a wasted role for Charles Gray.  A very brief conversation with Henderson ends with him getting stabbed in the back through his paper walls.

Bond catches the guy, kills him, steals his clothes and goes to the get-away car that is being driven by none other than Peter Maivia.  Who is Peter Maivia you ask?  Well he is the father of Ata Maivia, who had a son who would go on to become THE ROCK.  Yes, Peter Maivia is Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s Grandfather.  No wonder Bond has a rough time handling this one. The Rock has said before that he would love to land a Bond Villain role one day.  Maybe to avenge his grand daddy?

Aki bails Bond out by getting him out of harms way after taking out Peter Maivia and stealing some documents from a chemical facility and she takes him to Tanaka (Tetsurō Tamba) who works for the Japanese secret service.  I would love it if my office had a slide attached to it.  Bond and Tanaka talk business over Sake at 98.4 degrees fahrenheit, then what follows next is a rather uncomfortable scene that really doesn’t age well.

Tanaka takes Bond to his personal spa where his massage and bathing slaves wash them both while Tanaka says “In Japan, men come first - women come second.”  ugh, some things about Bond that make you wish you could forget.  We also get close to seeing Connery’s junk.  If you look close enough while Bond is in his hot tub you can really see pretty far down through the water...not that I was looking...ok I was, I do every time. 

But now suddenly, Aki joins the party taking over for the girl who was giving Bond a massage and she acts like they have been long lost lovers - whispering sweet nothings, and kissing his ear as he turns around and yells AKI, longingly.  I’m sorry, when did they suddenly fall for each other?  This is a very rushed relationship, we don’t have any time to get to know Aki before we are supposed to accept her as Bond’s love interest.  Have I mentioned this movie was written by the man who wrote Matilda, and James and the Giant Peach??  Roald Dahl, swings in and writes the screen play after having no screen play writing experience.  Apparently he and Ian Fleming were buds.

Anyway, there seems to be a lot of danger surrounding this chemical facility as the document Bond stole said that a picture of this boat had been taken by a tourist, and that the tourist was liquified.  Bond goes sniffing, enlists the help of trusty ole Q and his “Little Nelly” toy helicopter with missiles and flies by the coast of where the boat in the picture was at.  But one simply cannot go to the coast as an englishman, no no.  In order to get there, Bond MUST become a Japanese ninja who has a wife and goes undercover as a poor worker.

Enter Kissy Suzuki (Mie Hama) who is another Japanese agent, picked to pretend marry Bond who is made up as the worst looking Japanese man ever.  Seriously, this is just so goofy and ridiculous where it really takes away from the movie.  Aki ends up getting poisoned accidentally and Bond has a hard time giving a crap about it.  Thank you for your service Aki.  But Bond now has to find where this spacecraft is coming from and fast, otherwise it’ll be Bond’s ass.

Kissy says there was something going on with the volcano.  So they go hiking and discover that that is where the spacecraft is coming from.  Man, Blofeld has an impressive collection of headquarters and hide outs.  You have to wonder how long it took Blofeld to construct this volcano lair, it is very impressive.

Bond gets to work infiltrating the volcano while Tanaka sends his ninjas, and now we have a war.

This is the first time we get to see Blofeld’s (Donald Pleasence) face and also the first time we get Blofeld as the main henchman.  In the previous movies Blofeld was just a voice and a cat who deployed his empire to be the Bond villains, but Blofeld is alone here with only Hans, Mr. Osato, and Helga Brant as his backup.  Not exactly the “A” team.  After a pretty intense battle, Bond manages to destroy the Spacecraft, sent out to create a world war between America and Russia, and escapes...mission complete.

While “You Only Live Twice” has it’s moments - The pre-title sequence, the Volcano fight, and the Peter Maivia easter egg.  “You Only Live Twice” is a rather forgettable film in the series.  Connery had enjoyed incredible success in his first 4 films, and even this movie was touted as a major success when it opened - but this just comes up short in flavor and substance.  The whole movie is just about Bond looking for the spacecraft in Japan, and running into all sorts of vanilla characters along the way, making me have to think twice about watching this again. (pun intended, unfortunately).

Connery would exit the franchise after this film to be replaced by George Lazenby, but after George decides to walk, Connery will come back again for one more film - but you can definitely see the writing on the wall for Connery here.  You Only Live Twice is at best, a passable Bond film that lacks depth and void of any creative passion, but gets by because it’s a Bond movie.  That’s my story and I’m sticking to it, what did you think?  Let me know!

Reviews from Friends:

Jake Benrud

I enjoyed this movie. Although the spaceship "eating" the other spaceships was comical by today's special effects standards. Watch out for the piranha pool. I've always enjoyed this theme song. I don't know why. It always gets stuck in my head.

24 Weeks of Bond will return next Monday with - 

For Your Eyes Only

[docfuture]

The Maker’s Ark - Chapter 40

     [This is a chapter from my latest novel, a sequel to The Fall of Doc Future and Skybreaker’s Call.  The start is here, and links to my other work here.  It can be read on its own, but contains spoilers for those two books.  I try to post new chapters about every two weeks, but there will sometimes be short stories and vignettes if I don’t have a new chapter ready.  The next chapter is planned for the week of October 23rd.]

Previous:  Chapter 39

      Three days ago...

      Plutocrat listened while his deputy, Feng, explained the latest discovery.       "...and then we found this--from the Russian asset markets."       "Black Swan has been playing the copycat investors like a violin."  Plutocrat scanned the relevant graphs and summaries on the monitors and frowned.  "But that doesn't look right."       "The projections group thinks she's preparing some kind of swap move.  They don't know when, but they think she'll leverage the tension to extract--"       "No," said Plutocrat.  "Forget most of it--we can't tell who's who with any certainty.  Look at this set: Heavy on outmoded industrial and petrochemical assets.  They look like a long term bargain gamble.  But that makes no sense for any of her money-making strategies."       Feng frowned in return.  "Part of some planned deal with the government?"       "The present one?  I think not.  Edward?"       "Yes?" came the precise voice of Plutocrat's UPPfone assistant from the speakers.       "Summarize all recent, reliable, public information on attempted Russian government or oligarch actions against Black Swan."       "Nothing since the initial speculation that an official policy change was being considered."       "Nothing?  That's unusual.  Anything non-public you can tell me?"       "Privacy block.  Insider trading liability block.  Security block."       "Hmph."  Plutocrat stroked his mustache.  "The Volunteer is gone, Flicker and Doc Future are busy, and the EDU is embroiled with the Americans and the Grs'thnk.  And the Russians have to be frustrated with Black Swan's countermeasures.  They should be at least trying to see if they can get away with something."       He called up another graph and considered, then felt a slow chill spread down his spine.  "No.  No, they must be.  We aren't hearing about it because Black Swan doesn't want us to.  She's already written off those assets.  This isn't about making money.  Not at all.  They're bait."       Feng looked incredulous.  "Eight hundred million dollars worth of bait?  Why would she need so much?"       "To keep people from realizing it is bait.  And trying to guess her method or timing is a fool's game."       "Edward, is anyone on my owed favors list currently in Russia?"       "No."       "Good.  Inform me if that changes.  Feng, tell all divisions to steer clear of anything exposed to Russian political volatility.  And prepare for a new wave of crisis overshoot reactions."       "Yes, sir.  Anything else?"       Plutocrat drummed his fingers on the handle of his cane.  "Yes.  I'll want a consequence analysis of a nuclear strike against Black Swan.  I believe her recent loitering spots are in range of the Russian ABM sites around Moscow."       "Surely she wouldn't let one hit?"       "This is Black Swan, my boy.  I can follow the music when she makes money.  For anything else, 'surely she wouldn't' is not a safe thing to say," said Plutocrat.  "Not at all."       *****       Two days ago...

      Ambassador-at-large Wilson entered Director Reinhart's office and stopped in front of the desk.       "It's done," he said.  "All the notices have been delivered, acknowledged, and witnessed by the Auditors.  The monitoring terms of the local law and custom violation complaint against Black Swan by the government of the Russian Federation under the EDU transition law framework take effect in two hours."       She looked up briefly from the screens and nodded.  "Thank you, Wilson.  Their president is making a speech about it now.  It will probably save some lives someday."       "If you had let me clarify the EDU warning--"       "Anything you might add to DASI's statement would just be denounced as another violation of sovereignty.  This will establish several important precedents, and the Grs'thnk warning was quite well translated.  I'm sure some of their diplomats understood and are keeping quiet or being ignored.  Black Swan will escalate to a level two trade conflict and handle it without any official aid or intervention by the EDU.  The Russians still see her as someone who makes diplomatic protests and gives out parking tickets.  They've already attempted to assassinate two of her employees.  Two of her Russian employees."       "So how will the speech save lives?" asked Wilson, his mouth suddenly dry.       "Because it's going to become famous.  Kleptocrats will be scrambling to find any way to evade the EDU framework, and might be tempted to file a local custom complaint.  Any competent advisor will remind them of what happened in Russia."       *****       Yesterday...

      Sam switched her display from a summary of the Grs'thnk refugee enclave construction in Greenland, which was progressing nicely, to the global UPPfone usage map.  She frowned.       "DASI?"       "Yes?"       "What's going on in Russia?  Is this something to do with their law and custom complaint?"       "Yes.  I sent public safety warnings to UPPfone users in a number of areas, according to standard protocols."       "That's not really an answer.  Why?"       "Information access is currently restricted, due to a temporary delay request filed by Black Swan and approved by the Auditors."       "My access is restricted, too?"       "For now.  You are not at risk, and no action on your part is required."       "Um.  So when will that be lifted?"       "That is also restricted.  However, I can tell you that Black Swan still has a flight livestream scheduled for tomorrow."       *****       Today.

      The general paused his rant while his aide attempted to contact the Defense Ministry on the secure land line again, but the atmosphere in the control bunker was still tense.       "I'm sorry, sir," said the aide.  "They repeated that no one with authority is available."       "Enough!" said the general.  He was furious, his face a dangerous shade of purple.       He turned to the battery commander.  "Target is still acquired?"       The battery commander licked his lips.  "Yes.  But..."       "Then launch.  My authority."       He glanced at the general's guards.  They looked back.  Their weapons weren't pointed directly at him, but that could change very quickly.       "Given the known defenses of the target," he said carefully,  "I cannot guarantee a hit."       "I cannot guarantee your life if you don't launch in sixty seconds!"       "Sir."  He put his key in the required slot and turned it, then turned to the launch tech.  "Launch one."

      The general assumed that the nuclear-tipped anti-ballistic missile would destroy Black Swan.  The battery commander expected her to shoot it down.  The launch tech thought she would dodge.  The old maintenance sergeant, who was a pessimist and knew what the inspection reports for the last decade were worth, figured the ABM would probably malfunction in some way.       None of them were right.       *****       Black Swan hovered in the stratosphere over a sparsely populated area well north of Moscow.  A small camera drone let her transmit her picture to watchers all over the world.       She smiled.  "Looks like you will get to see something special today."       She spread her wings wide, and they unfolded, and unfolded, and unfolded.  Soon they were a vast fine mesh.  At the same time, the outlines of her body darkened and blurred, as she strengthened her inner force field and turned on the outer one.       Beamed power poured down from EDU ships in orbit, supplementing her personal fusion plant.  The ships had been duly leased and paid for in advance, all carefully documented for the watching Auditors.       Xelian force fields had been designed for use by large warships in space.  They were power hogs, they disrupted any intersecting solid matter, and they caused drag when moving through air at any significant speed.       Black Swan was nowhere near the ground, had plenty of power, and wasn't currently trying to move.       "I'm afraid selfies will end now, and there will be a brief interruption in the audio," she said.  "But don't worry.  I'll be back."

      The missile reached its target.  There was a great flash, and Black Swan turned white.       *****       "More damned notice would have been nice!" said Doc.  He looked up from his handcomp to glare at Stella.       "You asked if I would handle any Earth-based political problems that would otherwise be relevant to you, in addition to my obligations as Director of the EDU, while you concentrated on portal physics.  I agreed, and did, in consultation with Jumping Spider.  Your objection now is a symptom of one of the problems I wished to discuss tonight.  And if you really wanted to know, you could have set better interrupt filters for DASI."       "Better filters?! Do you know which interrupt we're likely to get any--"       "Priority interrupt," said DASI.  "Detonation of a nuclear weapon."       Nightmare memories screamed at him.  Doc took a moment to place his handcomp carefully on the table in front of him, then closed his eyes.  "Target.  User.  Casualties.  Chance of nuclear response or escalation."       "Black Swan.  Russia.  Zero.  Negligible."       Doc opened his eyes again.  Stella was watching him, her face expressionless.       "Negligible," he repeated.  "Really."       "Yes," said DASI.  "Also, Jumping Spider wishes to monologue informatively.  She is outside the door right now."       Doc waved a hand.  "Let her in."  He glanced at Stella.  "Unless you have an objection."       "I do not.  She is well rested and cheerful, and I am neither.  She can explain."

      Doc stared at the bowl Jumping Spider was holding out.       "What?" she said.  "You don't want any popcorn?  Next thing you know, you'll tell me you don't want to watch Black Swan livestreaming while she disables the rest of the Russian Strategic Rocket Forces."       "No thank you.  Just tell me what happened, please."       Jumping Spider shook her head, then turned to Stella.  "He's really gotten to be a wet blanket, hasn't he?  My condolences."       "We're both tired," said Stella.       "Ah," said Jumping Spider.  "I'll be brief, then."  She put the popcorn bowl on the table and flopped into one of the chairs.       "You up on the local custom rule?" she asked Doc.       "I am now.  Didn't think anyone would be stupid enough to invoke it without reading the usage precedents for the Grs'thnk law it was based on."       "Someone was going to make that mistake; Black Swan just made sure it was Russia.  Which let her cripple a god as a bonus."       "Cripple a god?"       "Atom-bomb the Destroyer.  Still has quite a few followers.  But now, people are going to figure out that a national nuclear arsenal isn't something you can use or credibly threaten to use anymore.  Nukes can't kill her, so they're a liability; a vulnerable bit of national prestige that Black Swan can take away humiliatingly whenever she wants, without--and this is important--hurting the rest of a country."       "Ah.  She'll leave the subs and bombers alone for now?"       "Yup.  That makes sure their new government still has something to worry about losing while everyone adjusts.  And it keeps China and the US from getting too giddy in the meantime."       "Reasonable.  But I still want to know how she managed to get them to invoke a rule that gave her access to any local political dispute resolution tactics in living memory.  Which meant Stalin."       Jumping Spider grinned.  "Oh, there were lots of nuances.  She has to have been planning this from the beginning, shaping greed and overconfidence.  But personally delivering the satellite parking ticket to the US IC was the masterstroke.  Made them underestimate her just enough."       "I see.  How many dead?"       "Don't know yet.  I'd guess dozens or hundreds.  Not thousands.  Quite a few people are hiding, or have just disappeared.  And there appears to have been a major dispute between civil and military intelligence over who was couping who; Lubyanka is still on fire.  But the deaths will likely include the most powerful dozen or so in the government and every Russian billionaire."       "Civil war?"       "Oh no.  At least not soon.  The deputy assistant foreign minister is calling for calm, and most everyone still alive will eventually find out things aren't nearly as bad as they could have been.  But I've become psychic!  There have only been hints so far, but I'll bet I can tell you how the top five died."       "Oh?"       Jumping spider held up her hand and ticked off fingers one-by-one.       First finger.  "Ricin poisoning."       Second finger.  "Thallium poisoning."       Third finger.  "Polonium-210 poisoning."       Little finger.  "Warfarin poisoning."       Thumb.  "And just to make everything crystal clear... An ice-axe to the head."       Doc looked down.  "According to custom."       "According to custom."  Jumping Spider grinned.  "So, smartest man in the world.  Designer of the mind that became Black Swan.  You wanna bet?"       "No bet," he said softly.

Next:  Chapter 41

[mbtizone]

Shane Harvey (Faking It): ENFJ

Dominant Extroverted Feeling [Fe]: Shane is keenly aware of the emotions of those in his orbit. He tends to meddle in the affairs of his friends and is good at understanding other people’s feelings. He often knows what his friends are feeling before they know. The reason Liam can’t bring himself to call Karma his girlfriend is because of the guilt he feels for sleeping with Amy, though Liam insists that it’s due to his fear of commitment. Shane can often be affirming, and will congratulate even those he dislikes if he feels they’ve excelled at something. He’s able to empathize with his enemies and is often driven to help his adversaries in their times of need. Shane frequently encourages people to talk about their feelings. He doesn’t hesitate to express his own feelings, so he admonishes people when they choose to bottle up their emotions instead of just letting it all out. He enjoys hearing about other people’s problems and wants to help them, though he can become a bit controlling at times, believing he knows what’s best for his friends and significant others. Liam needs to talk, not go to a MMA class! Shane is appalled that Duke chooses to be a spokesman for a corporation that donates money to anti-gay organizations and demands that he stop eating that “homophobic sandwich.” He often believes he knows what other people need and tries to convince them to handle things in the way that he sees fit. When Shane wants to take Lauren down, he recruits Leila and Lisbeth to give him dirt on her and manipulates them into spilling Lauren’s secrets by being kind to them, which gets the girls to open up about the pills Lauren takes.

Auxiliary Introverted Intuition [Ni]: It’s very rare for Shane to just be. He always has a goal he’s working toward or a vision that he’s trying to turn into a reality. When the school hires a new principal with conservative views, Shane’s immediate response is to spring into action, telling Liam that they need to put their heads together to come up with a way to stop him. Shane is very good at coming to accurate conclusions with little to no prior information. He correctly assumes that Lauren is in the art room hoping to run into Theo. Shane is extremely metaphorical, which he often incorporates into his sense of humor. He has a tendency to be incredibly manipulate and usually knows exactly how to play someone in order to achieve his desired outcome. He often masterminds situations to get exactly what he needs from people. Shane scares Karma by telling her that “lesbians move fast, and they are viciously territorial” and once he has her where he wants her, he casually suggests that Karma show up on Amy’s date with Reagan in order to avoid getting pushed out (which is an elaborate ruse to create a “group hang” so he can invite Duke, who cannot go on a one-on-one date with Shane due to his refusal to come out of the closet). Shane often believes he knows how events will unfold. The student body will turn on Lauren. She only won the election by playing the intersex card, but once they realize how drastic her “radical agenda” is, they’ll all turn on her. Shane is future-oriented and focused on how things could be. He doesn’t care about tradition. He prefers to think about how things can be changed for the better (though the motivation for his plans are typically selfish and his idea of “better” is often about how things can improve for himself). Shane often comes up with creative (sometimes symbolic) ways to bring about whatever change he is striving for. “If Principal Turner wants to strip us of our rights, then maybe we should strip to protect them. Naked protest!”

Tertiary Extroverted Sensing [Se]: While Shane is definitely a planner who often takes the future into account, he has an impulsive streak and often takes action in the heat of the moment that gets him into trouble later. Sometimes, he has a tendency to loop, ignoring his auxiliary function. Shane feels something and acts without thinking of the potential ramifications. He anonymously outs Duke for selfish reasons (he’s tired of having to hide their relationship and he wants to get back at him by ruining his life), without pausing to think about how Duke will react if he discovers the truth. Shane can easily allow himself to live in the moment and is comfortable with doing things just because they’re fun (such as participating in Lauren’s revenge plot). Shane cares very much about physical beauty and enjoys sensory experiences, whether they be drinking, singing, parties, or sex, and enjoys his popularity and status at Hester High.

Inferior Introverted Thinking [Ti]: Sometimes, Shane is able to quickly and easily spot flaws in logic, which he often points out, most often utilized in his sense of humor. When Liam convinces himself that Jackson Lee has taken an interest in him because he’s Liam’s birth father, Liam falls victim to confirmation bias after he spots Jackson in a photo with his mother. However, Shane points out that he’s been in “plenty of pictures with people he hasn’t impregnated.” Shane often spots loopholes that allow him to get his way. Karma refuses to crash Amy’s date because she had said it was too soon for double dates, so Shane says he’ll bring Duke, which makes it a group hang and not technically a double date. Amy never said anything about group hangs! Shane is quick to point out that none of Lauren’s plans for revenge against Theo are practical. “I mean, arsenic poisoning could take weeks.” He doesn’t understand why she doesn’t just out him as a narc if she wants to get back at him so badly. He’s able to break things down into simple terms that are easy for anybody to understand. Shane tends to lead with his emotions and can sometimes struggle to detach from them, which often leads him to make impulsive decisions based on the way he feels in the moment.

Note: I’ve seen Shane typed as both ESTP and ESFP. While he does have all of the functions for ESTP, I don’t believe he leads with Se. He always has a plan, he’s a natural at organizing the people around him to achieve a common goal, and his Ni is far too developed to be inferior. Shane fights for what he believes in and is nearly always on a mission to fight injustice or achieve change that aligns with his personalized vision of the way things should be. He also definitely favors Fe/Ti over Fi/Te. Shane always wants to talk about his feelings and gets others to open up about theirs, has a tendency to be emotionally manipulative, and is extremely aware of everybody else’s feelings all the time.

Enneagram: 3w2 7w6 8w7 So/Sx

Quotes:

Karma: If you’ve come to kick me while I’m down, just please don’t. Shane: I came to say I admired your honesty earlier. I wouldn’t be surprised if you win. Seriously, I’m not playing mind games. Karma: So what, are we friends now? Shane: I wouldn’t go that far. But I do have empathy for you and your situation.

Shane: Quit taking it out on these innocent art supplies. Liam: Shane, really, I don’t want to talk about it. Shane: That’s just your straight guy resistance to talking about your feelings. Push through it. Theo: What are y’all on about? Shane: It’s Karma’s birthday, and Liam can’t be with her for reasons too complicated and fucked up to specify. Theo: Wanna go hit stuff? Always makes me feel better. I’m taking this mixed martial arts class downtown. Shane: Nice try, Theo, but what Liam needs is to talk it all out over some grilled cheeses at Millie’s Diner. Theo: What is this, The View? Liam: Shane, I’m sorry, but that class is just what the doctor ordered. Shane: You’re not the doctor. You’re the patient. You can’t prescribe your own medicine. Theo: Wow, you really think you know what’s best for everybody, don’t you? Shane: It’s a gift. Liam: We’ll talk it out later, I promise. But right now, I just want to punch someone in the face without getting arrested. You wanna come? Shane: I’ll pass. It all sounds a bit too aggressively heterosexual for me.

Shane: Have to say, not so sure if this whole “giving Amy space” plan is the right move. Karma: What do you mean? Shane: I mean that while you’re off giving her space. Reagan could be burrowing herself deeper into Amy’s love nest. Lesbians move fast, and they are viciously territorial. Karma: Amy would never date anyone like that. Are you messing with me? Shane: Fine, if you think being a former fake lesbian makes you an expert on the gay community, go ahead, take your chances. Or you could coincidentally show up on their date Saturday and show Reagan that when it comes to Amy, you are the free gift with purchase. Karma: I don’t know. Amy says it’s too soon for double dates. Shane: I’ll tell you what. My trainer and I will come along too. Then it’s a group hang. Amy didn’t say anything about group hangs, did she? Karma: Technically, no.

Duke’s Father: Oh! All right, let’s see that killer smile. Bring the chicken burger closer to you. There we go. Shane: Don’t! I can’t stand here and watch you do this. Cluck-n-Go is a horrible corporation that has fired gay employees and given millions of dollars to anti-gay causes. Duke’s Father: They also give money to M.M.A. fighters, so less talkin’, more eatin’. Shane: Look, if you don’t want to be a role model, I get it, but it’s on a whole other level to be the spokesman of a company that’s actively working against our rights. Duke’s Father: Son, we’re not selling politics. We’re selling chicken. Eat the damn sandwich. Shane: Don’t eat that homophobic sandwich. I hope you don’t choke on it. I know you have a tricky gag reflex.

Shane: We got to stop this guy. Let’s meet after school and come up with a plan. Liam: Uh, I can’t today. I’ve got to go to the dentist. Shane: This is important. I heard he turned the art studio into a storage room. Liam: And I’m really upset about it. But he books up weeks in advance.

Lauren: Just click here to accept the terms and conditions. Shane: If you don’t mind, I’d prefer to read them first. What? Have any of guys read this? This is longer than my grandma’s Christmas letter. They want us to play by their rules. But Hester High has always been about breaking the rules. We question tradition. We trust each other. We stand up for the little guy. Can I get an amen, Brenda?

Shane: Fellow students, if Principal Turner wants to strip us of our rights, then maybe we should strip to protect them. Naked protest! Naked protest! Naked protest! Naked protest! Naked protest!

Lauren: Hello, Amy. Shane. I think it would be best for everyone involved if you two leave and we never speak of this again. Amy: No, we need to talk about this. Shane: Yeah, we really need to, because this is all wrong. None of these revenge scenarios are practical. I mean, arsenic poisoning could take weeks. What are you doing? If you want to get back at Theo, why don’t you just go to his new school and out him as a narc? Lauren: Outing people – that’s your solution to everything, isn’t it? It’s too simple and totally obvious.

Shane: Grr! Young Jackson Lee was cute. Liam: And that’s Robin in the same picture. That’s proof! Shane, he’s my dad! Shane: I don’t know. I’ve been in plenty of pictures with people I haven’t impregnated.

Shane Harvey (Faking It): ENFJ was originally published on MBTI Zone

[solivar]

WIP Ghost Stories On Route 66

aka the one where Hanzo Shimada is an expatriate art student, Jesse McCree is an NPS ranger, both are more than they seem, something weird is going down in the New Mexican desert and their lives collide in the middle of it.

Now with more load-bearing future plot set up, another Seeing Eye Hellhound, and I’m not entirely satisfied with the flow here, probably because I’ve been writing under the influence of a histamine hangover for the last two days.

Mrs. Amari’s consultation room was, to Hanzo’s great surprise, not in the basement. No, rather, it was in one of the four third story rooms that capped the hacienda like turrets on a Pueblo Revival castle, perfectly square, walls aligned flawlessly along a true directional axis, ceiling mostly made up of a pyramidal skylight, picture windows longer than they were wide in the eastern and western facing walls.

 Nor were the walls painted a shade that tried frantically to be Santa Fe red and failed in any number of tragic ways, such as he was accustomed to finding in shops that purported to be herbalists but mostly sold psychoactives and their derivatives. Instead, they were a color too warm to be white and too lovely to be described as beige by anyone not suffering from a Philistinic lack of poetry in their soul, a creamy hue enlivened by a subtle hint of yellow and something that might have been handfuls of crushed mica added to the final glaze that caught the light pouring in from three directions and glinted gently. There was an astonishing absence of candles and not a single whiff of patchouli, though there was also no real furniture to sit on, either -- here, unique in the house as far as he could tell, the smoothly joined hardwood floor was covered in relatively small, richly pattern-woven area rugs and large floor pillows upholstered in jewel-toned silk, a transit hazard in a house where one of the residents was blind or the next best thing to it.

 A trio of dark hardwood storage chests sat against the southern wall, a practical concession rather than an aesthetic one, as their hostess crossed the room and opened them. “Please -- make yourselves comfortable.”

 “After you, darlin’.” Ranger McCree murmured at his shoulder, yielding the choice, and so Hanzo picked the nest of pillows closest to the western wall, a pleasantly thick rug that felt like wool under his hands, its pattern particularly elegant and complex. It gave his eyes something to do while he concentrated on inhaling peace and exhaling stress that wasn’t losing himself in the dark gaze of his rescuer.

 Ranger McCree settled down on the rug next to his own and, taking the making himself comfortable thing entirely literally, stretched out on his side, the familiar indolence of it distracting Hanzo momentarily from his contemplation of the floor. His fingers remained long and strong but unclawed and his eyes remained warmly soothing brown behind extravagantly thick lashes and oh damn he was contemplating those qualities and also the perfectly sculpted nature of his lips and it took all his strength to look away. Genji and Zenyatta took up station together on the rug directly across from his own, his brother discreetly tucking a couple pillows behind his back so he could lean against the wall in a pose that loudly purported to be entirely at peace and harmless despite the prevailing glitter of his eyes. Hana and Lucio brought up the rear, carrying their bags and, before they sat, they both set up their recording equipment in a manner that clearly allowed them to cover the entire room and everything that went on in it.

 Hanzo inclined a questioning brow at them and Hana shrugged slightly. “Their idea.” She nodded in the direction of Zen and Ana.

 “Since this is going to be a diagnostic procedure, having a reviewable record of it may be helpful.” Zenyatta replied, in response to his unspoken question. “If, of course, neither of you object.”

 Hanzo considered that for a moment. “Not I. In fact, I’ll probably want to watch it.”

 “Me neither. S’like to be a thousand times less embarrassing than any number of other recordings they’ve got of me already.” Ranger McCree flashed a grin and, behind the cover of couple pillows, his hand sought and found Hanzo’s on the rug, his grip gentle and comforting.

 “Then we are in agreement.” He could hear the smile in Ana’s voice, even though her back was still turned on them. “Vanilla or cinnamon?”

 “Pardon…?” Hanzo asked and there were the candles, one in each of her elegant, long-fingered hands. “Oh. Vanilla.” Cinnamon, he rather thought, might have a little too much in common with the unknown spice that pervaded the ranger’s scent to be properly soothing.

 Ana set the candle in a dish of blue mosaic and lit it with a struck match, setting it on top of the storage box she closed, and turned to face them, a length of cloth looped over one arm and a smaller box of carved wood in both hands. “Dr. Tekhartha, young man, if you would be so kind as to spread out the chart for me.”

 Zenyatta rose and took the cloth and together he and Genji laid it out on the floor in the central space, pinning it down at each corner with the heavy stone blocks Ana handed them from the box she held. From the quality of the sheen as the light touched it, Hanzo suspected the cloth was silk and very old, its weave almost impossibly fine, its surface painted with the outline of a human form, otherwise unadorned. The blocks, by way of contrast, were densely etched in hieratic characters on all their visible sides; Hanzo suspected they were completely covered.

 “The purpose of this rite is to unbind the souls of two who tied together without bringing harm to them through the act.” Ana’s voice, in fact, had a touch of ritual about it, her pronunciation precise and formal. “For this to occur, we must know the shape of their souls and how they touch in order to part them cleanly. Jesse.”

 The ranger released his hand rose, taking a moment to peel off his boots, and padded in stocking feet to the center of the room. The cloth was, fortunately, not as fragile as it looked as he took his place stretched out on it, too tall and too broad to fit inside the outline, the entire border of the thing only just large enough to contain him. The sunlight falling through the skylight overhead graced him in ways that even firelight did not, turning his skin tawny wherever it touched, bringing out the subtle hint of red in his hair, striking sparks of gold in the darkness of his eyes. Out of the corner of his eye, Hanzo saw Ana moving but paid it no attention until Hana squawked in distress and, by the time he looked, she had already taken off her eyepatch and was in the process of prying the eye out of her skull with a very audible and more than faintly horrifying pop.

 “Oh. My. Actual. Fucking. God.” Hana sounded on the verge of chucking her cookies, for which Hanzo could not actually blame her since his stomach was also trying to get in on that action. “What. What are you. Is that -- “

 Ana held it into the light -- a stone sculpted in the shape of an eye, banded and variegated shades of creamy green, iris and sclera alike carved with almost impossibly tiny hieratic characters. The socket in which it had lain was a twisted mass of scar tissue that she made no effort to conceal as she placed the stone in the very center of Jesse’s forehead. He didn’t flinch, either from the stone or from her touch, nor did he react as it began to glow from within, or as the blocks holding down the cloth on which he lay picked up the light, or as that viridian radiance swept the length of his body. Perhaps there wasn’t really anything to flinch from -- it didn’t look like it hurt -- and his expression remained serene even as the green faded, turning into a fine and delicate webwork of red and gold that rippled across the surface of his body, cohering into denser knots here, looser ones there, the entire whole visibly pulsing in time with his breath. Hanzo blinked and, for an instant, saw it again: the pattern, black geometric forms against golden brown skin, etched into his exposed forearms, a pattern that hadn’t been there a moment before. He reached up, rubbed his eyes, and when he looked again, it was gone, nothing to see but the flicker of red and golden light, the colors of his soul, of the cloak he had lent, that he felt laying across his shoulders even then.

 A cool silver radiance joined it, and a sound like chiming bells. Zenyatta’s fingers were laced together in the mudraish form he recalled from the Student Union and, as they watched, spheres curled into existence around him -- nine spheres, to be exact, settling into orbit over the ranger, surfaces swirling cool blue and even cooler silver, cohering into forms that were almost words, almost a language that Hanzo knew.

 “Zen,” Lucio’s voice, compared to Hana’s, was almost unnaturally steady. “For the recording: what are those things?”

 “My inner eyes.” Zenyatta replied serenely. “With them I can perceive the soul divorced of its relationship to crude matter -- true self is without form. Our bodies cannot, can never, express or contain all that we are.”

 “You have nine eyes?” Hana asked. “Also: I totally could have done without that eye-popping thing, I can’t even handle the concept of contact lenses, warn a girl, would you?”

 Zenyatta smiled and said nothing more.

 “Every craft has its own guiding conceptions of the metaphysical, including the true anatomy of the soul.” Ana gestured, the slightest movement of her fingers, and the webwork lifted away from the surface of his flesh. She removed the eye-stone from his forehead and the web rose a bit further, hanging in the air high enough to let him roll out from beneath it without disturbing it as it took on a multidimensional quality, knots and nodes and interactions multiplying before their eyes, beautiful in their complexity. “In mine, the heart is the key of all will and thought, emotion and intention, the guide of all action, positive and negative.”

 “In mine, there is no single aspect of being more important than any other, but rather a continuum of essential forces whose interaction creates the internal balance unique to each individual.” The nine spheres spread themselves length of the webwork. “Not all balance is necessarily harmonious -- adversity is the crucible of change and growth, after all, but a soul too long in a state of disquiet can be darkened in ways it is difficult to repair. Hanzo?”

 Hanzo took a moment to untie and remove his own shoes, stealing another cycle of peace-stress breathing as he did so, and gingerly crawled out onto the cloth. To his surprise, it didn’t crinkle under his hands despite its appearance of extreme age and fragility. A wave of neuropathic tingles washed through his uncovered hand where he touched it, up his neck and across his scalp as he lay down; it felt charged, like static electricity just before it let go, and he half expected to be shocked as he finished stretching his length. Instead the sensation rose and folded around him like an embrace, nerves thrumming gently, almost impossibly soothing.

 “Are you ready, child?” Ana asked kindly.

 “Yes.” Hanzo replied, his gaze automatically seeking his brother’s. Genji was leaning forward on his knees, eyes dragon-bright, one of Zenyatta’s hands resting comfortingly on his shoulder. Hanzo offered his best reassuring smile and then something small and warm came to rest on his forehead and the surge of power that washed through him swallowed his awareness of anything else.

 It was, in a way, not unlike meeting Minamikaze’s eyes all those years ago: the same feeling of being seen, of being perceived and known to the depths of his own being, without the accompanying sense of stripped bare, of being measured and found wanting beneath his dragon ancestor’s pitiless judgment. Not pleasant, precisely, but not terrible, either, and as it faded he heard sharply in-drawn breaths all around the room. He opened his eyes -- when had he closed them? He couldn’t remember -- and found Hana staring at him with undisguised horror, her hands pressed to her mouth, Lucio’s eyes enormous with shock, Zenyatta gently but firmly restraining Genji from reaching for him.

 “I’m guessing it looks bad.” He said, dryly, not quite having the courage himself to look the length of his own body, to see what sort of mess the naayéé had made of his soul.

 “Aniki,” Genji’s voice was painfully unsteady, on the edge of tears, “doesn’t it hurt?”

 “No. Not now, at least.” Even his arm, swathed inside its bandages, was offering him no discomfort; he wondered if it was an effect of the bespeaking or if he was just experiencing an abnormal allotment of good fortune, for a change. “Or I might not be feeling it yet. Zen? Mrs. Amari?”

 “I am not interdicting any sensory response you might otherwise experience.” Zen replied, his tone planed utterly smooth of expression, itself an unnatural turn of events.

 “Nor am I.” Ana laid her hands, gently, on either side of his head. “Please do not move, child.”

 He held utterly still while she lifted away the webwork the bespeaking had built and removed the eye-stone from his forehead. He could not quite bring himself yet to look at it directly, and so he rolled to the side and kept his back to it as he returned to his place, staring fixedly at a particularly bright flake of mica just below the window sash long enough that the ranger, his ranger, said softly, “Hanzo? Are you okay, darlin’?”

 “I -- “ Hanzo took a deep breath, released it in a shuddering sigh that seemed to take a substantial chunk of the integrity of his insides with it. “Yes. I just...need a moment.”

 A warm hand came to rest on his own and without thinking too deeply on it, he leaned into its owner, resting his face in the crook of the ranger’s neck and shoulder as he gathered the scattered bits of his courage back up. When he finally turned around, Jesse placed himself at his back, and it was all he could do not to press more completely into his side, settling for an arm and a shoulder and a hand laced together with his own in the pillows.

 The webwork of his inner being was incomplete, at best, a tangled cat’s-cradle of threads in shades of darkest blue, some so deep they were nearly black, some wound together with others in knotwork patterns that echoed the ranger’s, orderly and purposeful, but still more, most he suspected, were snarled and twisted together in an effort to maintain some sort of internal cohesion. Woven among them, holding lengths of torn and frayed strands together across expanses of emptiness, were flickers of gold -- far more gold than red, to his eye, completing knots and nodes that would otherwise be broken, holding together pieces of his being that otherwise would be threadbare, at best, if they existed at all. His left arm, for example, trailed away in mid-bicep, the shredded ends of what had once been his unfulfilled bond trailed into nothingness.

 And there, in the very center of his living essence, was the scar: a gnarled and withered mass of spiritual keloid, severed from the rest of his being, the place where all the damage began. It was ugly even to his own eyes, ruined and repulsive, the undeniable evidence of his own unworthiness.

 “Han, you know me. I’m not a violent person by nature,” Lucio broke the appalled the silence, “but I think I’m going to have to punch a dragon in the face.”

 A chorus of agreement met that sentiment and, to Hanzo’s surprise, it included Zenyatta. His spheres rotated between the two constructions, colors reflecting and blending across their surfaces until they flared like miniature suns, illuminating the bonds still linking them together -- not only the threads, which were enough and more than enough, but the passage of intensely bright golden light spilling into his being from the source at his side.

 “On the one hand,” Ana said, neutrally, her face as still as a millpond, “I am impressed by the amount of healing that has already occurred. On the other, a great deal more needs to happen before we can even consider separating you.”

 “I concur.” Zenyatta reached out and touched one of his spheres -- it rang a single silvery tone, echoed by the spheres to either side, thrumming the threads of the ranger’s being and his own. “They are resonating together too closely -- if we part them it will do far more harm than good.”

 “How long d’you think, Doc?” Jesse asked; Hanzo was having difficulty finding his voice.

 “It is...difficult to tell.” Zenyatta flicked a sidelong glance at Genji, who absolutely did not notice, his own gaze fixed on the construct. “Physical proximity may well speed the healing. It will certainly shorten the, ah, supply line.”

 “Could it do him harm? To continue the connection to me?” Hanzo asked, his voice a toneless rasp and for the sake of the one who lent you this ringing in his ears.

 “There is always a risk.” Ana replied, calmly. “And a price to paid for taking them. Here and now, in this place, the danger is minimal -- Cerillos is protected, strongly, against intrusions from Beyond, and even now my husband and Gabriel are reinforcing the border defenses.” Her expression softened a fraction. “It also matters that he has chosen this of his own will, even if you did not.”

 “Hanzo.” Zenyatta said quietly. “It is not impossible to separate you, if that is what you truly wish, but I counsel strongly against it for your own sake.”

 “It’s not hurting me to do this, darlin’.” Jesse’s breath was warm against his cheek and the words were sweet, so sweet, in his ears and he could not imagine how he had looked on this and found it beautiful, could not believe that he still did. “I got more than enough and you need it now. I’m sorry about the way it happened but not sorry that it’s doin’ you good -- what’s a few more days, if you can walk outta here more whole than you were comin’ in?”

 “Very well.” Hanzo replied, softly, knowing defeat when he looked it in the eye. “What must we do?”

“We should --” Ana began.

 “The scar is vibrating.” Genji said, quietly, and silenced whatever she was going to say.

 “It is.” Lucio leaned closer. “Zen -- that note the sphere closest to it is playing, can you make it louder?”

 Zenyatta touched a fingertip to that sphere and the tone it emitted filled Hanzo’s chest with cold and dark and the icy longing for nothing even as the scar shivered where it lay inside his being, beating in time with that painful music like a second, shriveled heart. They all watched, wordless, Jesse’s arm tightening around him, Zenyatta and Ana going carefully, professionally blank, Hana wiping tears from her eyes as though merely seeing it caused her grief.

 It was Genji, again, who finally spoke what they all knew was true. “There’s something inside it.”

 *

It took two hours and the return of Mr. Wilhelm and Terrifying Smoke Monster Dad, bearing with them a multitude of objects both strange and intriguing, Roadhog the Friendly Giant and his beanpole constant companion the excessively destructive mechanical genius, and also thirty pizza boxes from a local joint so famous even he had heard of it, for Hanzo to find a moment of peace by himself. A pretty decent amount of open space lay between the walls completely surrounding the compound and the contents of the compound itself, even with the greenhouses, and the prevailing chaos inside the house allowed him the snag half a box of pizza and the remains of a two liter of root beer and slip out into it to find a reasonably comfortable place to sit and get himself back in order. Or possibly to sulk. He didn’t think he was sulking but he also had to admit that he wasn’t always the best judge of his own emotional reactions, particularly when the contents of his skull and the contents of his digestive tract were both equally contorted with an excess of feeling. Such as they were now.

 He found his hiding spot on the far northern edge of the compound, a little alcove built out from the wall lined and roofed in a trellis heavy with vines that probably flowered in the spring, complete with a cushioned horse-shoe shaped bench and a marble birdbath a few feet away. He tucked himself into the most heavily shadowed corner and slurped down pepperoni and still moderately gooey cheese while thinking fixedly about nothing: not the now-impossible-to-overlook-or-deny state of his own fuckedupness, not how much the same was patently freaking out his brother and his friends, not the ranger, absolutely not the ranger, not the way the ranger felt pressed against his back, not the way the ranger’s hand felt entwined with his own, absolutely nothing about how the ranger’s soul and his own were tied together and how much he did not, in fact, wish to be separated, how he couldn’t imagine ever wanting to be separated, even once he was healed, or how purely and simply good it felt to have that tie, that connection, to someone else, even if it came about in a terrible way. And there was, thinking about it, and he let his head fall back against the trellis.

 “What if he doesn’t really want to stay tied to you?” He said the words aloud because that was marginally better than keeping them penned inside his head, where they could ricochet around and do more damage. “Why would he? He practically said he didn’t back at the house and why would he ever do this in the first place?”

 Because he’s a decent human being, the voice of reason interjected, finally overcoming the roar of egregiously melodramatic emo complete with extreme dynamic tempo shifts and, possibly, lyrics by Gerard Way otherwise commanding his internal narrative. And also it’s his job. Remember the job? Ranger is not just a title. It’s what he does. He helps people.

 “That’s right. That’s true.” It was weirdly soothing to admit that out loud, to force himself to look at the situation from that light, to remind himself that if anyone else had turned up on the ranger’s doorstep that night he’d have done the same for them, that it didn’t actually mean anything more than that. “He’s...simply the best human on Earth and you randomly encountered him in the middle of the night, on the ass-end of nowhere, just when you needed him most. Don’t make it more than that, you idiot.”

 They had not, after all, talked and the odds that they would seemed to be diminishing by the moment. It was, after all, entirely probable that he was misreading the situation somehow -- it would not, in fact, be the first time.

 He tried, and succeeded at least for now, not to think about the thing in his chest. He had the rather distinct feeling that wouldn’t be the case for much longer and embraced the not-thinking-about-it-for-now like a long-lost love.

 He gathered up the remains of his meal and made his way back towards the house, using the bulk of the greenhouses as cover, and, as he approached, he heard voices coming from the back porch, itself partially screened by ornamental junipers. He recognized the speakers nonetheless and he slowed his stride and softened his steps and, no, no he was not going to hide in the bushes and listen to his brother talk to his ranger. He was not going to do that.

 “You know, I was really pretty dedicated to the idea of not liking you.”

 He was totally doing that because that was Genji, Genji sounding faintly bemused instead of borderline homicidal, which he was inclined to consider an improvement.

 “I kinda noticed that, yeah.” The ranger, by way of contrast, sounded at least moderately pleased. “For the record, I don’t blame you any and, also for the record, I apologize. I’d do a lot of things differently, if I could.” The sound of footsteps, with spurs, on the planks of the porch and Hanzo planted himself flat against the hacienda’s adobe wall and hoped against hope that the junipers completely concealed him. “Mostly, I’d try harder to make sure y’all were safe from the start.”

 “That’s gratifying to know.” A sigh. “And, for what it’s worth, I’m sorry, too. I’m just...really worried about him. Worried that this going to undo all the effort he put into rebuilding his life -- rebuilding himself -- after…” Genji’s voice trailed off.

 “Apology accepted.” A pause. “If you don’t mind me sayin’, it doesn’t sound like you two came from the most nurturing environment.”

 “Oh, it could be incredibly nurturing -- provided you were willing to let yourself be nurtured in exactly the direction the clan wanted you to go.” Hanzo could practically feel his brother’s bitterness from where he stood. “Do you know what the worst part of all this is, Ranger McCree? Our family did this to him. Deliberately. They took him when he was barely old enough to speak in complete sentences and way before he could really understand or consent to what they were asking of him, and they made him into a sacrifice. They let Uncle Toshiro turn him into a younger, stronger version of himself and sent him off to perform an impossible fucking task and when he fucking succeeded they couldn’t even treat him with the smallest bit of kindness when what they wanted him to do broke him. I could forgive them a lot of bullshit but I will never forgive that.”

 “We’re in more than passin’ agreement about that.” The sound of two bottles -- real bottle-capped bottles -- flicking open with a pop. “Seems to me like you’ve got something on your mind, Mr. Shimada --”

 “Genji. Just...call me Genji. Everyone does.”

 “Genji, then. Why don’t you let what’s eatin’ at you out before it gets down to the bone?” The ranger’s voice was close and Hanzo dared a glance, found him leaning on the roughly peeled wooden railing a double handspan away, if that, and ducked back under cover.

 “He told me he thinks that your friend can...bring it back. What he lost.” Genji replied bluntly. “Is it true?”

 “Ana thought so, yeah. Not sure if her opinion has changed any, after this morning, but I expect that’s something we’ll learn before too much longer. Doesn’t leap to diagnostic judgments, that one.” A pause. “You don’t look too happy about that, I gotta say.”

 “I’m...not? Not really?” A significantly longer pause and a sigh. “That sounds terrible, I know, and I’m probably a horrible person and an even worse brother for even thinking of it this way but...it hurt him so badly to lose it and what if this doesn’t work? What if it can’t be healed, can’t be fixed, what if Minamikaze did something to him to make it impossible and nothing can make it better again? He’s my brother, I love him, and I want him to be as happy and whole as he can be but, most of all, I want him alive. I’m...not sure that this is the hope he could survive having crushed. Not after…”

 They were both silent for a long time, long enough that Hanzo almost dared to move, and then Genji spoke again. “I didn’t believe in any of this, you know. Not a fucking bit. I thought they took my brother away from me for nothing, for something that probably didn’t even exist, and even he didn’t see what was wrong with that. It made me absolutely crazy with frustration. And then...it happened and it was all real and the only person I knew who believed -- who believed with all his heart and soul -- was the one left out, the one who wasn’t worthy, and I just…” He caught his breath in a sound painfully close to a sob and it was all he could do not to break cover and climb over the railing and wrap him up and tell him that everything would be all right. “I would give this to him if I could.”

 “I know.” Softly. “That’s not terrible, Genji -- it’s an honest fear. And you ain’t anywhere near the worst brother I’ve ever met or heard tell of, so just don’t even think that way, all right? C’mon inside, we’ll find Ana and your sweetheart and we’ll have a talk. They can answer any questions you got better than I could, anyway. After all, I’m not much good at healin’.”

 “...That was a really cheap shot and I’m sorry about that, too.”

 “All’s forgiven, li’l brother. Let’s go.”

 He waited until he heard both sets of footsteps cross the porch, and the sound of the door closing to step out of his concealment, to find his own way inside, his heart sore and strangely full all at once.

 *  

 Much of the chaos had subsided by the time Hanzo made his way back inside, creeping into the kitchen to dispose of his garbage and thence into the great room, a wide open space made smaller and more homey by the inclusion of couches and chairs, a perfectly circular coffee table, a state of the art holo-and-sound system in one corner, and the presence of Hana and Lucio and the contents of their packs spread out on said table while they worked. Or, rather, while Lucio worked. Hana was sitting cross-legged on a couch large enough to seat twenty, texting frantically and muttering under her breath about busybody relatives in at least two languages.

 Hanzo elected to make just enough noise to attract attention as he approached and Lucio looked up from his laptop’s holoscreen. “Hey, Han. How ya doin’?”

 “I’ve felt better, but I’ve also felt significantly worse, so it actually evens out to...not bad?” Hanzo settled down on one of the free chairs. “Processing the footage?”

 “Yeah. It actually turned out way better than I thought it would -- I sorta thought the...magic stuff...would be a lot harder to record. Maybe that electromagnetic interference is just for, I dunno, hostile things? Questions to ask, at any rate.” He glanced over the top of the screen. “You want me to send you a copy?”

 “Yes.” Hanzo replied, without hesitation.

 “Will do. Hana? You want, too?”

 “Yeah.” She looked up from her phone, visibly resisting the urge to throw it aside with great force. “Well, guys, the good news is this: due to the extent of the damage to the electrical substation near campus, and the fact that the power surge appears to have caused a subsidiary explosion and small fire in the Student Union, classes are officially cancelled until at least Tuesday. I’ve got like ten emails from my professors rescheduling exams and such, so you might want to check yourselves at some point. So -- if this...whatever we’re going to do is going to take more than a day we’ve got some time.”

 “What’s the bad news?” Hanzo asked and began a search for his own, realized that while he had pockets they weren’t his pockets because he was once again wearing the ranger’s clothes, and desisted. He could, after all, pretty clearly imagine the number of extremely! important!! emails!!! from his thesis advisor had multiplied like rabbits in springtime after the events of the previous evening and the mere idea of dealing with that on top of everything else made him seriously consider running screaming into the desert and letting the Serpent-Wolf have him.

 “The bad news is my nosy aunt heard about the explosion and informed every single one of my relatives -- including my father -- that I might be dead using the Song family reunion email list. I swear, the next time I’m back home, I’m changing all the wifi passwords she has access to before I leave the country.” She flopped sideways on the couch. “I just spent the last hour reassuring everyone I know that I was totally somewhere else when it happened and they’ve got nothing to worry about.”

 He wondered, briefly, if their parents knew what had happened and decided that, if they did, Genji could handle that, as well, because the only thing more likely to drive him screaming into the jaws of damnation faster than his thesis advisor at that very moment was having to talk to his mother. And, unlike Genji, he usually liked their mother. They were, at some point, going to have to tell them about the whole bloody thing but that was some time -- preferably whole years of time -- somewhere in the future on the other side of a great many things that could gracefully elided since the rest of their family was on the other side of the planet and the odds of anyone randomly turning up to directly report on events was somewhere between slim and none. He quietly thanked whatever gods and ancestors were still watching over him that Genji appeared to be growing past the impulse to send him back to Japan at the first available opportunity.

 “This is weird.” Lucio muttered from the other side of the holoscreen.

 “Weirder than usual or in line with the prevailing state of what the fuck?” Hana asked, pushing herself up on one elbow.

 “Hard to say. Take a look?”

 Hana groaned, rolled to the floor and crawled to his side. Hanzo, sensibly, took the removable seat cushion from his chair along with him. On the screen, Lucio was cleaning up and compiling the footage of the ranger’s procedure into a single document, the process momentarily paused.

 “Now, tell me if you see this too, or if I’m just hallucinating.” He turned the playback on, advancing it slowly frame by frame, until it reached the point he sought -- the instant, point in fact, the markings that Hanzo had glimpsed twice now appeared on the visible skin of his ranger’s arms. “You two are seeing that, too, right? It’s not just me.”

 “Yeah, I’m seeing it.” Hana agreed, frowning. “Does it turn up anywhere else in the footage?”

 “No. It’s three frames at most -- I don’t remember seeing it at the time, most of us probably blinked and missed it.” Lucio flicked a glance at him. “You, too?”

 “I see it. I’ve seen it before.” Hanzo admitted, reluctantly.

 “Give.” Hana demanded. “Where and when?”

 “Just after the original...incident. I regained consciousness briefly, after he brought me back, and I remember seeing him, leaning over me. He was covered in those markings all the way up his arms and down onto his chest and I remember being confused, then, because I knew he didn’t have any tattoos.” He reached out and pulled up the frame to get a better look at it. “I’m reasonably sure this is the same pattern I saw that night.”

 “I can confirm the absence of generally visible tattoos.” Hana said.

 “So we’re agreed on weird?” Lucio asked, sounding slightly desperate around the edges.

 “Yes.” Hanzo replied soothingly. “It’s definitely stranger than usual.”

 “What could that mean? Because stuff like this usually means something, right? I mean, your tattoo and Genji’s tattoo are both magically important pieces of body modification, this has to be something similar?” Hana mused aloud. “Have you tried running a pattern recognition image search, Lu?”

 “I was about to do that.” He paused with his fingers on the keys. “Hanzo, you’ve spent more time with him than anybody -- has he given up anything about, like, where he comes from? Because between you and me that kinda looks like the patterns you see in Navajo weaving and sandpainting but not quite.”

 “Not really, no. He...hasn’t really spoken of himself. At all. Of course, most of the time I’ve spent with him has been in the middle of one crisis or another -- we’ve hardly talked about anything else.” That came out sounded a bit more like a whine that could be considered attractive in a grown-ass adult, but there it was. “Lu -- could you hold off on the image search for now? At least until I have to chance to, maybe, ask him about a few things?”

 “Sure, man.” Lucio half-turned to face him. “Also: the offer stands. We will all completely assist you in any way you require -- even Genji’s starting to come around.”

 Hanzo moaned in despair and buried his face in his hands. “You lot are the worst. And by the worst, I mean the best. I don’t know what I’d be doing without you right now.”

 “Awwwww.” He heard the sound of Hana’s phone taking a picture. “One day I’m going to run a Greatest Blushes of Hanzo Shimada feature on my stream and make you internet famous. Until then I --”

 Voices echoed down the staircase on the far side of the room, along with footsteps. Lucio saved what he was doing and shut down; Hana backpedalled onto the couch and stuck her tongue out at him as she made her phone vanish into some well-hidden inner pocket of her backpack. Hanzo rose with as much dignity as he could muster and was still in the process of trying to look equally casual as Ana and Zen descended the stairs, trailing Genji, Jesse, both of Jesse’s fathers, and a sanity-blighting abomination of nature with them.

 “What.” Hana practically teleported to the end of the couch closest to him and pointed with a decidedly tremulous limb. “Is. That.”

 “I’m not sure,” Hanzo admitted, casually casting about for something to use as a weapon and, discovering nothing particularly heavy in easy reach, settled for a throw pillow.

 Lucio, still sitting on the floor, looked up from packing away his equipment just as the abomination rounded the corner of the couch. “What -- oh. Hey, Dog. Yeah, c’mere.”

 The abomination -- Dog? Its name? An aspirational utterance? Hanzo had no idea -- let out a distinctly puppylike whine and positively bounded the rest of the way, covering Lucio’s face in slobbery kisses with a tongue entirely too long to be construed as natural and rolling over to demand a tummy rub. A tummy covered in spiky tufts of something that resembled scales more than fur but which visibly behaved like fur in a manner that probably would have made him nauseous had he not met Chad earlier in the day and come to a certain degree of mental peace with non-Euclidian pet geometry. “Yeah, you like that don’t’chu? Don’t youuuuu?”

 “Yeah, that’s Dog.” Ranger McCree leaned down between them, resting one hand on the chair and the other on couch, and allowing both Hanzo and Hana to shrink back against him for protection. “We’re pretty sure he’s at least part chupacabra. I found him two years ago at the top of an arroyo after a real gullywashin’ thunderstorm -- probably got swept away from his mother, ‘cause he was just a pup at the time. We’re also pretty sure he’s at least part shepherd or border collie or some kind of herding breed. He’s got that instinct, y’know? So unless you’re trying to hurt Jack or Gabe or happen to be part goat or sheep, y’all are pretty safe.”

 “But Chad is where the naming privileges were suspended?” Hanzo asked, in an undertone.

 The corner of the ranger’s mouth twitched. “Some crimes are more forgivable than others. Y’all wanna come to the kitchen? We’ve got an outline of a plan that we’d like to discuss with the whole gang.”

 “Sure!” Hana chirped, and repeated her practical teleportation trick, vanishing around the corner into the kitchen before Hanzo even made it out of his chair.

 “I’m beginning to think she doesn’t like dogs,” Ranger McCree mused and offered him a hand up.

 “She’ll come around eventually.” Hanzo accepted the proffered hand and levered himself to his feet and found himself being drawn along by the ranger’s disinclination to let go.

 It’s nothing it’s nothing it’s nothing, the voice of reason murmured, mantralike, in the back of his mind as the ranger surrendered his hand to pull out a chair for him at the kitchen table, and then seated himself immediately next door. IT’S NOTHING IT’S NOTHING IT’S NOTHING, the mantra became significantly louder as the ranger’s hand rested, almost absent-mindedly, atop his own on the table and didn’t move except to pass him the honey for his tea as cups were passed and filled and a plate of sliced fruit and fresh if slightly squished pastries was set out. It is absolutely nothing. For the love of the gods and all the ancestors, BREATHE. Hanzo breathed, inhaled soothing steam, and sipped, which had a salubrious effect on his nerves until he put his cup down and the ranger reclaimed his hand again.

“Pragmatically, what we are looking at here are three separate and distinct issues that must be resolved.” Zenyatta began, once everyone had poured and sipped and at least partially devoured a bit of dessert, “Firstly, Hanzo’s internal injuries, which must be healed as completely as possible. Secondly, the prevailing issue of the scars left behind my Minamikaze and the possibility of restoring the gifts he lost when that wound was inflicted, which cannot be dealt with until his soul is sufficiently healed to endure the strain. Thirdly, the Serpent-Wolf, which must be dealt with.”

 “And by dealt with we mean sent back where it came from, ideally in more than one piece.” Gabe the Suddenly Friendly Smog Monster Dad said, with a smile that would have been much more reassuring if it were a few centimeters shorter and contained slightly fewer sharp teeth.

 “But before we can get to that, Gabriel, there must be healing.” At some point, Mrs. Amari had replaced her eyepatch, and further arranged her hair so part of the thick silver mass of it also shielded that side of her face. “Which is what we are going to focus on for at least the next few days. The bonds forged between you are allowing life and strength to flow from Jesse into you, Hanzo, but at a significant cost. He must rest and, frankly, so should you. The medicine I made for you was intended to accelerate that process -- I have made more. For tonight, the plan is that you shall sleep together --”

 Hanzo, fortunately, managed to spit his mouthful of tea out before it became lodged in any of the delicate air-carrying bits further south.

 “--in the same room, at least, here at the hacienda.” Ana sipped her own tea, a certain amused twinkle in her eye. “In one of the third story ritual practice rooms. The physical proximity joined with the sleep and the medicine will allow healing forces to flow most smoothly between you.”

 “In fact,” Jack chose that moment to interject, “you’ll all be staying here tonight. We’ve got enough guest rooms for everyone and Rein spent part of the day reinforcing the barrier wards in the walls, as well as the border defenses and early warning system. Also my dogs will brutally murder anything that tries to come in here uninvited.”

 “And if the dogs don’t do it, I assure you that I will.” Gabe flashed that far-too-toothy-to-be-actually-reassuring smile again and Hanzo, perversely, actually found it soothing. “You’ll all be perfectly safe here.”

 “Are you okay with that, Hanzo?” Jesse asked quietly. “I know it’s kinda --”

“Yes!” A momentary scuffle ensued as Hanzo took control of the tabletop hand-holding and gave his ranger a comforting squeeze. “The principle isn’t...unknown to me. And if it helps you as well as me, that’s all for the best.”

 For an instant, Jesse stared down at their joined hands as though he couldn’t imagine how they came to be in that configuration. Then he looked up, the slowest growing smile he’d ever bestowed growing across his face, his eyes dark and warm. “Yeah, it will be. Just hit me if I snore too loud, I promise I’ll roll right over.”

 *

[chorusfic]

through the doorway

When the door closes on them, it is not a gentle thing.

There were no raised voices, though, no angry, cutting words, just the sound of a door shutting hard, with finality, without being slammed. It was the sense that they had both lost something, without knowing precisely what.

Monica had let the wounds in her heart fester, and Leon’s attempts to bandage them had been for naught.

The door to them closed as sharply as the door to Leon’s home, but neither of them turned the lock.

---

The first time the door to them considers opening again, it’s at an FBI safehouse just south of the West Virginia border.

It’s not the first time Leon’s been called to a bustling safehouse reeking of steel-boned discipline and desperation for answers. Two years after Raccoon City, and mistakes are still made–mistakes that lead to situations like these. Avoidable ones, but no less tragic.

Across the room, a familiar shape with a messy dark brown braid stands with a clipboard in one arm and a pen behind her ear. There’s no coffee mug to be found in her general vicinity, so Leon goes to fetch one. An olive branch.

She speaks before looking up. “I’ll have my report on the hour, as requested, when the scientists get back to–”

“Monica.” he says, and watches her posture–so easy and almost casual–stiffen like a statue.

Monica turns her head slowly and her gaze dips toward the coffee mug before returning to him. The dark rings under her equally dark eyes are more stark than ever, twin monuments to many late nights and exhausting days. She reaches out and takes the mug, but sets it on a nearby desk while her grip on her clipboard tightens. “Officer Kennedy, you’re here, good.” she clears her throat, and Leon’s own tightens at the brisk cadence of her voice, “I’d assumed you were my new superior, coming to harass me about the reports. You’ll be briefed once they arrive.”

The silence that sits between them is an opportunity. The rest of the safehouse is absorbed in their tasks, and both of them stand far enough away that they couldn’t be directly eavesdropped upon.

“Nicky,” is all Leon gets the chance to say, before he watches Monica’s grip on her clipboard tighten even more, white-knuckled through her fingerless gloves.

“Now’s not the time.” she says quietly, a whisper under the door to them, and as quickly as it came, the opportunity is gone.

Still, he grasps for it anyway. “Will there be a time?”

Her quiet is the only answer given, but it is answer enough.

---

The second time the door to them considers opening, it’s after a few too many drinks and a little too much tension to let go of.

Touch is easier and yet so much more difficult than words. Easier, because deep in her chest Monica knows she can trust him not to hurt her, and harder, because of that knowledge that she trusts him at all. It should have been easier to cut him loose, like so many others, but here they are, with their painfully familiar touches on feverishly warm skin.

She’s surprised he can’t taste the poison, leaking from somewhere in her soul, but if he does, he doesn’t seem to mind it.

It’s familiarity without depth, that same trap they’ve fallen into before, but an addicting and inevitable one–somehow, they end up in the other’s orbit without acknowledgment beyond this, and sometimes Monica knows he might try to scratch the surface, to dig deep, but not tonight.

Tonight he’s willing to take a page from her book while she scratches his surface, deep lines on skin that are something like begging and something like desperation–for forgiveness? For understanding?–but in the end neither of them can think straight enough to consider the implications.

Morning comes and sees Monica leave before she’s noticed, a fresh scar, self-inflicted, on her heart, as the door quietly shuts behind her.

---

There is a shift, when Monica looks at the door to them, considers where it lurks in her subconscious while she rests in a hospital bed with an IV in her arm and a new bandage around her shoulder and chest.

She considers how they left that door where it was, thinking back then that it might be better left closed for good, locking away the idea of putting forth the effort that it would take for her to leech the soft, subtle poison from her heart. She considers the many words they exchanged, frustrated and hurt. Neither of them understood what they needed, and had instead taken what they wanted.

It had led them to this–a closed door, with no one waiting on the other side, the wordless attempts they’d made to crack it open, only to shut it more firmly than before.

It’s easy to convince herself that she reaps what she sows–she is the solitary master of her fate–but the scythe is worn and rusted now, and she knows she cannot rise up from this hospital bed, return to her miserable solitude, tend the fields and boughs of her life, and convince herself it is enough.

Instead, Monica looks inward, to that deep, howling void in her chest, with its insidious and calculated poison, and she lights a candle.

---

The third time the door to them considers opening, it happens like this.

A voicemail, left on Leon’s cell early in the morning–early enough that the caller would know he wouldn’t yet be awake–asked him for a moment of his time, and ordinarily time was a luxury Leon never had in abundance, but for this, time could be made.

He finds himself at Baker’s Beach, close enough to see the Golden Gate bridge in the distance, far enough away from the summer vacationers testing the sun and its capacity to burn. Even in the heat, Monica stands in her jacket at least one size too big, baggy on her frame. Her hair is shorter now, but still long enough to braid, and the way her hands are held in front of her body, out of Leon’s sight, says she’s holding something in her hands.

He approaches and discovers that it’s a camera. Monica holds it up and snaps a shot of the bridge before setting it down on a nearby rock. She turns when Leon’s boot scuffs against a small stone, and there is resounding silence where their eyes meet.

It feels like a risk, but it’s an easy one to take. “Hey, Nicky.”

The skin around Monica’s eyes tightens, but her expression softens. “Hey, Leon.”

Looking at the camera, he nods towards it, a safe topic to begin with. “I didn’t know you were such a tourist.”

She huffs, and some of the tension between them breaks. “I’m not, but out of all the places I lived in while I was young, San Francisco was never one of them. Figure I’d better take a picture just in case I never come back.”

Silence falls, and Leon’s moments from asking what Monica wants when she sighs and jams her hands in her pockets, looking up to meet his eyes. “We made a bit of a mess, didn’t we?”

It’s phrased as a question, but both of them already know the answer. Leon grasps for whatever angle Monica hopes to take with bridging the gap that’s slowly widened between them–but not for long, never for long–and comes up empty.

“Yeah, I guess we did.” Leon rubs a hand on the back of his neck, thinking, thinking, trying to gather the thoughts he’d prepared on so many restless nights when he’d wondered what he might say if this opportunity ever came again. For the first time in years, he considers the door to them, and dares to reach for the unlocked handle.

“I know it’s been…a while.” Monica shuffles her feet, but doesn’t break his gaze. “And I understand if these are wounds you’d rather not reopen, or if you wanna just move on–you’d be more than within your rights to–but at least I thought we could get…closure.”

Leon’s stomach drops, and he thinks he does well to hide it. “You’ve never wanted to talk about this before.”

“I was afraid of what it meant.” Monica admits, and something in Leon’s chest tightens. She does look away this time, so briefly, to the beach and the sunbathers behind them. When she turns back, it’s like a barrier has just been knocked down, a barrier Leon knows had to have been there years ago, but he never knew what it meant for her to keep it there. “I was afraid of being better because I didn’t know any different. Doing everything alone was just…how I learned to handle things.”

“And then I didn’t know how to help you.” Leon trails off as some of the pieces fall together at once.

“We frustrated each other because we didn’t know any better.” Monica shrugs, and it tries to be a casual thing, but the weight of their words offsets it. “And we thought the bond we had in Raccoon City would be enough to carry it through, instead of talking about it. But it didn’t. Turns out leaning on our shared trauma wasn’t enough to substitute a real relationship.”

A laugh bubbles up in Leon’s chest despite himself, but he turns it into a cough before it can be given voice. “So…where does that leave us?”

Monica takes a deep breath, shivering despite the heat. “That’s up to you,” is all she says, handing him control over what happens to that door, that door leading to them that’s been still and silent for years now, with its occasional half-hearted notes passed under it, its hurried whispers of another time, maybe. “Both of us had some fault in what happened, but I needed to make the choice to get better. I wasn’t ready to make that choice back then, but…I’ve taken steps to do it now.” Her shrug is less casual that time, stiff and nervous. “I’m not where I want to be, yet. But I know how to get there, and I’m on my way.”

“I want to help you,” he finds himself saying without thinking, because it’s the first thing that comes to mind, because of course he wants to help, but now a barrier between them that prevented it has been knocked down and he knows better how.

“Yeah?” it’s so raw and open and unusually soft for Monica, but the question is there, and he can see something like hope in her dark eyes, in the slight lifting of her lip that’s trying to be a smile.

“Uh…yeah.” Leon says, because he can feel the heat in his neck threatening to overtake his face, and he can’t blame it on the sun because they haven’t been out here for that long, but Monica’s grin gets wider, and it feels like years have sloughed off them both. “But I want to do it right. I want to know more about you. If you…want to tell me.”

“I do.” she takes a step forward, almost within touching distance, and the line of tension between her brows that Leon can’t ever remember seeing her without vanishes. “I really, really do.”

---

When the door opens on them, it is no gentler than the closing, but for all the right reasons.

It’s the excitement of summer afternoons, slamming the door open to let the warmth rush in, the easy swing on hinges as the breeze passes through, with the same certainty of Leon in her arms, of the sand beneath their boots, of the raucous laughter of some of the beach’s guests behind them, all but forgotten because they aren’t important here but their presence is, their brightness and noise and vitality.

Monica throws the door open, and lets the light pour in.

[spacehamsterboo-blog]

Saturday Night Writing 6

Anna was sitting in her tent on Asmidia, her apparent homeplane if Bellugi was to be believed. She’d gone to the short dragon for clues when plumbing Onakke ruins and one day of impersonating a Wojek Halbedier for Bellugi’s fun and profit later, she had a name. Now she found herself in the middle of some civil war on her homeplane and met a young woman who was apparently Anna’s best friend before she had lost her memories in whatever incident ignited her spark. “Nikita-” Hilda, the young woman, poked her head into the tent, “c- can I come in.”

Anna stared at her, dressed in a military uniform compared to Anna’s outfit which was more suited for a hike than a battlefield. “You’re already halfway in, and it’s Anna,” she said with a slight shrug, she was told Nikita was her real name but it felt about as real as finding out you had a great uncle you never knew until he died, a dull sadness mixed with a dose of ‘is that so?’ like you know you lost something on an intellectual level but the sting is less than the small cafe you enjoyed closing down. “What’s up?” She patted the bedroll beside her and Hilda came to sit down, she was carrying an unwieldy book and opened it up to a specific page for Anna to see.

“Look, it’s you Ni- Anna,” Hilda caught herself as she pointed to a picture of several students gathered together, looking very formal, “That’s the two of us, I’m the girl right behind you.” Anna followed her finger first to a happy young girl with curly brown hair and beaming with pride, and then to a slightly older and much more stern young woman with pulled back blonde hair. Anna recognized her general features in the blonde’s face even if she lacked her scar in the picture and had a bun instead of the short mohawk Anna had started rocking since she decided to find out who she was. “You were one of the best mages in the school,” Hilda said almost wistfully. In the picture, Anna stood directly to the right of a much taller young man with impeccable hair and glasses, there were thirteen students in the image all done up in their regalia with various cords and collars to denote rank.

“What kind of person was I?” Anna asked, running her finger down the face of the blonde in the picture, she felt no more connection to the girl in the picture than she would to any rando on any plane who happened to share her face.

“You were always very nice to me,” Hilda said, nodding to herself, “you always knew what you wanted and how to get it.” Hilda pulled the book away and closed it. “You were a kind person, and a good friend.”

“Sorry,” Anna pushed herself off the bed roll and to a standing position, “but I’m pretty sure that’s bullshit. That girl in the picture, the blonde one: she didn’t have friends, she had tools.” She had seen enough faces, enough people who ‘knew how to get what they wanted’ to know the look of someone who thought only in terms of how people could help them.

Hilda stood up, suddenly in the position of defending past Anna, or rather Nikita, from present Anna. “That’s not true, you risked everything to help Bali when her mind got wiped. You always put yourself on the line for other people.”

“Only when I had a motive, I’m sure.” Anna said and looked back to Hilda who was now looking hurt by the accusations Anna had laid against herself. “Who’s Bali?” She needed to find more people who actually knew who she was, see if that could jog her memory.

“She was part of the Student Affair Committee, with the two of us. Her mind got wiped by the same person who attacked you.”

“And where is she now?” Anna asked, grabbing her coat and putting it on.

“She should still be the care home in the city,” Hilda said following after Anna, “where are you going?”

“We’re going to the care home,” Anna corrected her, leaving the tent and making her way through the camp preparing to attack the city the next day.

“That’s enemy territory!” Hilda objected rather loudly, drawing the attention of some soldiers who had been playing cards over their evening meals.

“It sure is,” she said and as two soldiers came to stop her from leaving the camp, she extended a hand towards the closer one, “your friend over there cheated you last night at cards.” With the suggestion planting itself in the soldier’s mind, he turned and punched the man he was previously working with to stop them. Anna walked past the fight quickly turning into a brawl and soldiers went to look at what was happening. “Come on Hilda, we need to fix an old friend.” Part of her felt bad for talking like she remembered Bali and maybe for that mind magic earlier, but she needed to know what Bali had known even if it meant she and Nikita had more in common than Anna wanted to admit.

Infiltrating the city was relatively easy with just the two of them, using spells to mask their presence and a ‘random’ dragon attacking the city certainly didn’t hurt matters. Anna pushed the door to the care center open to find and older man leveling his crossbow at them “We don’t want any trouble or any part in the fighting, just turn around.” he threatened.

“I just need to see Ba-” She was stopped mid-sentence as a crossbow bolt clipped her in the arm. “Toothfrikballgodsmatted” She clenched her teeth holding her arm, trying not to cry out in pain. “Don’t reload,” she threatened as she saw the man reaching for another bolt from his satchel, “don’t do it, you know what? Shatter!” She threw the spell, causing the crossbow to burst into a thousand pieces in his hands. “Where’s the patient named Bali,” she looked to Hilda for a last name.

“Holfen.” Hilda responded somewhat nervously, which Anna felt was a bit unfair since she wasn’t the one who had gotten shot.

“What she said.” Anna pointed a finger threateningly at the older man, “tell us, or I’ll see how you like getting shot.”

“Room Six,” he said pointing down the left hallway, “please don’t kill me, I’ve got kids.”

“Rela-” Anna was cut off by another cry from the man.

“That was a lie, I don’t got kids,” he cowered from her, “I still don’t want to die.” She lowered her finger and didn’t justify this display with an answer. She walked down the hallway and tried the door with the number six on it, only to find it locked.

“Did you think it wouldn’t be locked,” Hilda asked her, looking between the handle and Anna’s face.

“I mean, it might not have been,” She said, suddenly defensive.

“It’s the middle of the night,” Hilda said, pushing past Anna and knocking on the door, “Bali, are you awake? It’s me, Hilda.” She called into the room.

“It’s the middle of the night,” Anna parroted back to Hilda when there was initially no reaction, but then they both heard the sounds of feet shuffling towards the door. “I guess not.”

The door opened enough for a woman with dull blue eyes to look out “Hilda?” She asked in a rather dull tone. “Do you want to come in?”

“I’d love to,” Anna said before either girl who apparently used to be her subordinate , and Bali stepped out of the way for the mind mage to make her way into the room. “Do you remember me?” She asked plainly and Bali looked her up and down.

“Yes, but you’re dead. Hilda said you died.” She responded flatly.

“She also said that Ivan and I were lovers,” Anna said confidently.

“She never said that,” Bali responded flatly.

“Who’s Ivan?” Hilda looked somewhat disgusted at this turn of events. “Why would you lie about that?”

“Anyway,” Anna pulled on her mana bonds in preperation for a dive into Bali’s mind, see if she couldn’t put humpty dumpty back together, “I’m going to make you better, Bali.” Or try, but Bali didn’t seem like she’d mind if Anna failed.

It was sudden blackness and Anna was falling through an empty void with only sporadic islands of memories marking the passage of space. Every part of her mind urged her to break contact and that staying here was a bad idea but those were the kinds of ideas Anna liked the best. Using her willpower and mind, Anna slowed her descent and started creating ground beneath her feet. Once solidified, she was standing in the ruins of a mental labyrinth, it was one that was made to be solved through cleverness but whoever got through was apparently the kind to blast holes in walls and act like they were smart. She followed the path of destruction until she came upon a specter and more Islands of memories, shattered and orbiting what looked like a small sun. “Wow,” she said, putting her hands in her pockets, “much metaphor, very deep.”

The Specter turned around and had a certain malice in its eyes “Nikita,” it said, “I was meant for you, I was meant to destroy you.”

“You did a pretty shit job of that then,” She said, flinging some counter magic to deflect on an oncoming blast, “so I’m guessing you’re here to keep her mind from being repaired.” She deflected another spell and tried to counter but it fizzled as soon as it left her hand.

“This mind is my domain, you cannot defeat me you pathetic woman!” The Specter started launching a barrage of spells that she either tried to counter to dodge. The air was rife with magical energy “Now, to strip you of that pesky identity.” As the spell was cast, the residual energy was shaped and she saw the spell copied over and over all around her. “So goodbye, Nikita.”

“Goodbye, Nikita,” She responded and as the spells all rushed to hit her at the same time, she unleashed a burst of magical energy, a form of countermagic designed to deal with situations exactly like this. Each spell that raced towards her fizzled into nothingness and nothing the Specter did could prevent it. She walked towards the Specter, cracking her knuckles.

“I’m incorporeal, your brute strength is no-” She sent the specter sprawling to the ground with a well placed punch.

“We’re both incorporeal, you dipshit,” She said, punching the specter again. “The difference between you and me,” another punch to keep the uppity little shit down, “is that you’re the mana construct of a worthless little maggot.” The Specter pushed itself back up but got knocked down again by Anna’s fist and she grabbed it by the head. “And I’m,” her eyes were glowing blue she she channeled her mana into breaking the spirit apart piece by piece, “A GODDAMN PLANESWALKER!” There was an explosion and all was calm as the pieces of Bali’s mind stopped rotating and were slowly pulled towards the small sun.

Anna took in a deep breath as she came back to the real world, Bali was laying unconscious beside her. “Are you alright?” Hilda asked, going in for a hug. “You collapsed, and then she collapsed, everyone was dropping and I was worried that you wouldn’t come back.”

“Yeah,” Anna put a singular arm around Hilda while propping herself up with the other one. She looked to the unconscious Bali was now breathing regularly, “I, I don’t know what happened but whoever broke her mind left a construct behind to make sure it wasn’t put back together.”

“What-what happened to it?”

“I killed it of course,” Anna said, as if to suggest any other solution would be silliness. “Let’s rest here for the night, Hilda.” She said, breaking away to lock the door. Wouldn’t want any strange people to barge in. “Tomorrow we can storm the castle and take back the city.”