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mutenized · 5 years ago

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The Choice Bit of Calico (Chapter One)

Ship: Thomas Shelby x Reader

Characters: Thomas Shelby, Billy Kimber, Ada Shelby, Polly Shelby, Finn Shelby, Arthur Shelby, John Shelby, mentions of Freddie Thorne

Warning(s): mentions of blood, war, and violence (obviously), maybe a slow burn?, forbidden romance, inner conflict, heartache, rebellion. Intended smut. In this chapter there is a bit of time skipping; only 3 times I believe.

A/N: Choice Bit of Calico was slang in the 1920s for a desirable woman. The prologue to this series can be found HERE. HAHA two chapters in one sitting AND posting it before the original post dates? WOAAHHH. Also this one’s a long one so buckle up.

Synopsis: You are the sibling of Billy Kimber. Living with him in London, you heard of nursing classes offered at a church in Birmingham near where you and your older brother were born. It was during World War I and you wanted to do something to help the soldiers from your country as well as the allied countries. Living in your childhood home until you were sent back to London to work at the Veteran’s Hospital, you never forgot about the firey brunette who wanted to do the same as you. Keeping in touch, you both wrote letters back and forth until one fateful day you find yourself back in Birmingham, bags in hand, to take care of an ailing family member. Who knew the moment you got off the train your whole life would change?

Words: 2594

MASTERLIST

A month had passed since you arrived in Birmingham, three weeks since you started the nursing classes at the church, and two weeks since you bonded with the witty yet quick thinking brunette in the class whom you found out was named Ada. You had been partnered to evaluate one another’s quick first aid techniques when it all sparked. Taking suggestions from one another at a pub on the side of town your brother warned you to stay away from turned into meeting her younger brother Finn and Aunt Polly who lived on Watery Lane which evolved into having dinners with the three of them every Wednesday, drinks every Saturday, and breakfast every Sunday.

Ada’s family soon became your own, learning of her three brothers who were over in Europe; the oldest in the Ottoman Empire, the second oldest in France, and the last stationed in a location that was to be kept top secret. When no letters arrived in the post, you were there for the distressed duo. Whether it was help around the house as they try to find out from people in their inner circles if there were any reports of the three men to infirmaries or morgues or even keep the news away from little Finn who was only seven years of age. You found that he enjoyed helping you around in the gardens on nice days and telling you about his favorite types of horses. Though you knew nothing of the animal other than the fact they can be used in racing and that they were being overworked in London for carriage rides though cars were becoming more readily available, you listened to him jammer on and on until he became too hungry or tired to continue.

You hoped for the three of them that the three men over at war would come home safely. For the first time in ages, you prayed.

Two more months passed, and you were three months into the nursing class. Nearing the ending of the courses, it had been decided by the instructor, a nurse at one of the largest hospitals in the south, that you and Ada were both not fit for in field work but, due to both of your wonderful communication skills, that working with veterans that were in rehabilitation or facing treatments for their injuries was the best choice. Seeing that the closest veteran’s hospital was back in London, you faced conflict. Continue living in Birmingham and risk Billy finding out you aren’t finding any work in the medical field but rather conversing and being social with those you grew close to, which would result in him dragging you back to London under his supervision, or take the job that was offered to you at Imperial Order Of the Daughters Of The Empire Hospital and live on your own until the war was over and see what the future held.

Choosing to go back to London on your own accord was heartbreaking to you, it was like the last day of primary school before you were homeschooled by the tutor your brother hired. You felt as if you would never see Ada or her family again as well as the other friends you had made. On the last night before your departure, Polly had invited you over for drinks with her and Ada. Finn was at a friend’s house for the night which left the lot of you free to drink without worrying about being too loud or filtering your stories in case Finn decided to play spy in the middle of the night. With your trunk sitting by the front entrance as well as the suitcase you had brought with you, you sat around the round table with the two other women you had become so close to. They had already given you a present for good luck. A pristine nurse uniform that Polly had seen a usual at the pub’s wife wear one day as they crossed paths on the street laid unfolded on the table as the three of them admired the soon-to-be-fleeting cleanliness of it. Ada, on the other hand, had gifted you a golden locket with a photo of the two of you that a man had taken while testing out the newest camera to come out. That day you and Ada, drunk off your asses, tried to sit as still as you could as the camera process as slow as a snail. “I remember we went from The Garrison into that damned parlor. It was a fuckin’ shame we went there first. Imagine all of the drunken shopping we would’ve done.” Ada jabbed, causing you to laugh so hard you spilt your drink all over you robe.

That night, words of advice, stories of family and friends, and songs were sung until your eyes couldn’t stay open anymore. The next thing you could remember was Polly waking you up, Finn on her side with tears in his eyes. “This one was picked up this morning and wants to go with ya’ to London.” Polly smiled sullenly, your eyes softening from the groggy, hungover state they were into something more awake and less irritated. Your heart broke as you saw tears on the boy’s cheeks.

“Oh Finn, you know I’d love to take you and Pol and Ada to London with me,” You began, thumb brushing off the tears that rested on his cheeks, “But I can’t take you three, which breaks my heart. But, with you here with them, I know you’re going to protect them, right?” With a sad nod, Finn fell into your chest as he cuddles up into you one last time. It was hard saying goodbye to them, but Finn’s sadness really made the decision settle in. Pressing a kiss to the boy who you considered your little brother’s forehead, you pick him up and begin to say goodbye to Polly and Ada, sad smiles all around as you grab your trunk and suitcase. A honk sounded which signaled your exit, a final wave as you loaded your items into the car’s backseat before joining the driver in the front. “To the trains please.” You spoke, settling into the seat though it was a short ride.

4 years passed, many patients that you had helped were back finding their ways through their daily life once again. Within those four years you had always kept in touch with Ada and Polly, writing letters back and forth about what has gone on in each other’s lives. One day, a letter came for you, Ada’s flourish on the envelope. The note read:

“(Y/N),

Obviously, you’ve heard that the war’s over, thank fucking God (I don’t think I would have lasted if it went on for any longer). With that, all three brothers are home and the chaos has picked up right where it was left off. Arthur is being a dumbass, Thomas is being a hard-ass, and John is being a jackass.

I miss having you here, you’re my last hope of sanity in all honesty. I think you were Polly’s as well, having seen that I’ve been sneaking out to visit Freddie Thorne. Oh, (Y/N), I have so much I need to tell you but so little I can write without having Thomas go through my shit. Let’s hope this gets to you soon, I don’t think I’ll last in this god forsaken house one last minute with the way the ass trio continues to act.

Will you come visit soon? Did they offer you a job?

Please write back soon, it’s the only thing I look forward to now,

Ada”

Laughing at the thought of stubborn Ada dealing with her brothers, you looked around your London apartment and sighed. You had notified your brother that you were moving back to Birmingham to help with the veterans down in Small Heath. Under the guise of the hospital having a volunteer program being funded, Billy handed you over the keys before sending you out of his office. “Anything else? The races are starting soon, and this damn horse keeps fucking winning.” He had grumbled causing you to roll your eyes and head back to your own apartment to pack. Now, with the letter in your hand and the key in your jacket pocket as well as a train ticket, you grinned widely. Ada always found joy in surprises, though they were always small ones like when you sent her imported cigarettes for her birthday.

In the matter of twenty-four hours you went from living in London with a well-paying job and new experiences to living in Small Heath, Birmingham with no job, a house, and one family who cared for you. Gazing out the window of the cab you caught, you pay him the pounds before stepping out. “How much for you to help me bring the trunks inside?” You inquire, the man letting out a solid laugh, much to your misery. “Oi, I drive a cab, not own a fuckin’ moving company. Should have thought of getting one.” He spat, helping you take out the trunks you packed before speeding off. Cursing him under your breath, you used all the strength you could muster to drag the heavy trunks into the foyer and leaving them there. No way were you getting those things upstairs. Not tonight, at least. You had more important things to tend to, anyways. Like visiting Polly and Ada, hopefully. You prayed that they were at the house in Watery Lane and not out dealing with some ‘family matters’ as Ada would explain.

Finding the trunk that you had packed with clothes and shoes, you pulled out the outfit you had planned for surprising the duo. Pulling out the cornflower blue silk chiffon dress, you paired them with the white button up shoes that a soldier’s wife had gifted you for saving his life when he randomly fell ill. Tucking the locket Ada had gifted you all those years ago into the top of your dress, you quickly fixed the pattern curls of your hair before grabbing the golden compact you had carried always and key to your house. Setting down the roads as the sun was beginning to set, you noticed the abundance of men who bore flat caps that had tip’s that, when the light caught it correctly, gleamed in the light whose appearances multiplied in number the closer you drew to the house of Polly. Worry settled in but you didn’t let it phase your emotions physically.

The nerves in your stomach seemed to spread as you felt eyes on you when you walked up the steps to the house you frequented not so long ago. Either way, you knocked at the door hard enough it was heard and took a step back. Rolling on the balls of your feet, you waited for the door to open and when it did? You were met with a man who was slightly taller than you with a freckled face and striking blue eyes. Before either of you could even speak, you heard the sound of running feet across the wooden floors before seeing a taller, spritelier, Finn.

“(Y/N)! You’re back! When did you come back!?” The now eleven-year-old inquired, a grin on your face. The man in front of you seemed confused, but still never took his calculating gaze off of you. “I came in this afternoon! I’m movin’ back down to my house, remember when you and Ada came over and had a picnic in the parlor?” You grinned, the boy nodding furiously before turning to the group that had formed at the door.

“Arthur, Tommy, John! This is (Y/N), Ada’s friend! They met at those nursing classes Ada took four years ago!” Finn informed the brothers, realization coming across their face.

“(Y/N), nice to meet ya’. ‘m John, that tall, lanky one is Arthur, and the statue here is Thomas, call ‘im Tommy though. Thomas is too formal for ‘im.” The youngest out of the three, John, spoke with a smirk on his face. Moving aside, the men let you in before the eldest, Arthur, spoke up.

“So what brings ya’ back to Small Heath? Can’t be better from where you’re comin’ from.” A chuckle left his lips as you sat down at the kitchen table comfortably, too comfortable for the middle brother, Tommy’s, liking. “You know you should wait for Polly before you sit. It’s a bit rude.” His gravelly voice rang in your head and his piercing blue eyes stared into yours. You could tell he was waiting for you to submit. That wasn’t going to happen, that’s for sure.

“Oh, I’m moving back from London. Worked at Imperial Order Of the Daughters Of The Empire Hospital until about three days ago. Decided to move back here since I feel more at home here. Like seeing the horses on the street being taken care of rather than being beat down for not being fast enough at the carriage rides, you know?” You start out, focusing your gaze on Arthur who settled in his seat across from you before turning to Tommy.

“Would you like to see my correspondence with Pol, as well, Tommy? I don’t carry her notes on me but I do have them back at my house here in Small Heath. If you’d want to take a stroll with a lowly Londoner, then let it happen. Just know the days the two of them hadn’t heard anything from you lot I was here, helping around the house and with Finn,” pausing, you look between the three who seem taken aback that you didn’t crush under the gaze of Tommy who was now glaring daggers at you, “Not to say your lack or correspondence is directly your fault, but they worried. They were scared you had died and didn’t want Finn to hear the discussions of phoning local morgues that received army men’s bodies.”

Before Tommy could retort, a gasp from the front door was heard. Polly. Grinning wide, you instantly shot up from the chair you relaxed in and made your way to engulf the woman in a tight hug. With tears in your eyes, you pulled back to look over the woman with a smile. “(Y/N), what are you doing here!? I…I’m fuckin’ speechless. Does Ada know you’re here? Are you just visiting?” Her questions continued on just as Finn’s did in which you answered them all with the brightest, happiest tone in your voice. It wasn’t until her eyes locked with an annoyed Thomas that she realized she wasn’t there to greet her and neither was Ada.

“Hope they didn’t give you a hard time,” she whispered before steeling up and turning to the three men, “This is Miss (Y/N). She’s a family friend, if I hear anything about any of you thinking with your cocks and not your brains, I’ll fuckin’ beat ‘ya. She doesn’t deserve the crock of shit you three stew. Now, (Y/N), come with me. I have a lot to catch you up on.”

With that, you were guided into the parlor, unknowing to the booming business behind the curtain in the kitchen. You were also unaware of the burning blue eyes that scanned you from head to toe as you left. Another thing you were unaware of? The fact you just walked into the den of the Peaky Blinders and that you, Billy Kimber’s kid sister, were an unknown enemy by fault. This was going to become the beginning of the most trivial times.

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quaalussy · 5 years ago

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Dreamboy Episode 6: Jupiter’s Lifeless Moons transcript

Hi! I was looking online to see if anyone had been doing Dreamboy transcripts and I saw that there was nothing after episode five, so I’ve started on the rest, episode six first. Sorry in advance for any spelling or grammar mistakes, I’m dealing with lots of run on sentences here. Anyway I hope you enjoy, more transcripts to come (I’m gonna try to do all the bonus episodes and such). Also: if you’re looking to hire a transcriptionist for your podcast or anything else please feel free to shoot me a message, I’m always looking for work

Enjoy! If you’d rather have a pdf copy I’d be happy to send that to you too.

DANE

The dream is different this time. It starts in the dark like always, but this time I'm laying down. I’m curled up on something rough. I lift my head up. I feel like I'm moving. Oh my god, I’m inside the fish. I’m laying on its tongue. But it’s like it’s tongue is the whole bottom of the inside of the fish, and the inside of the fish is huge. It’s like the whole thing is hollow, and it has ridges like the inside of a throat. I stand up and look around. It’s daytime outside and the light is coming through the mouth and eyes like windows. I just stare at that ghostly daylight face, swaying slowly side to side as the fish swims. I have this sudden urge to look out, to look out of the mouth. So I walk to the front of the tongue. I walk right up to its giant jaws. The bones lay open just a little bit, and then they close and I feel the water come in, wash over my face, push my hair back. Outside I can see the tops of rocky spires, like underwater mountains or something, passing underneath us, and I want to see, I want to look but that means I have to lean my head out of its mouth, between its jaws. I think about it. Another intake of water blows my hair back.

[WATER RUSHES IN]

The mouth is exactly the height of my head, and I reach out and touch the bone jaw, and then I pull my hand back and wait. Nothing. Maybe the fish doesn’t know I’m in here. I reach out and touch the jaw again, but this time I leave my hand on it. Nothing. Just the rhythm of swimming. God, it feels so sharp. I swallow, and I lean my head out over the razor edge, and I look down into the water at the rocky spires passing underneath, but they aren’t spires, they’re not mountains, they’re buildings. The tops of tall skyscrapers all fuzzy and covered in moss and algae. It’s a whole city. It’s downtown Cleveland.

[SWOOSHING NOISES]

DANE

I wake up. The bright, late morning sun is coming through the windows of the guest bedroom, and my hand immediately goes to my dick, but it’s soft.

[SOFT MUSIC]

DANE

I get up and put on my wrinkled red shirt and slog my way to the zoo for work. On my way I text Luke, just a simple “hey, WYD”, but he doesn’t answer. He never responded to my goodnight text last night, either. Like, maybe he’s mad? About the cakes? I don’t know. I almost walk into traffic because I'm staring at the message thread. I stop at Settler’s Coffee, and I text him again. I say “I had another fish dream, they’re getting weirder.” I watch my phone intently as I cream and sugar my coffee. I use the simple syrup even though it’s hot coffee, just to have a hand free for my phone. But nothing. I get to work. Maybe he’s still asleep. He is pretty nocturnal. Work is stupid, we’re understaffed so I spend six and a half hours straight at the roller coaster podium. I stop saying that whole de-briefing room line about three hours in, and I text Luke a few more times, but he still doesn’t answer. And then I run out of things to text without feeling like a crazy creep. Now it’s a half an hour before close and I'm only just now getting a lunch break because Tammy Jammers, who usually watches the ride while I’m out on break, called out sick today. She said she had food poisoning, but I know she’s just hungover. Her last Instagram post was at three A.M. last night, and it was a picture, taken with a flash, of Taco Bell that she put on a plate. I go out to the main drag to get food like I always do, but the only food place still open is the hot dog stand, and I just can’t with those. They’re like the same temperature and texture as a human body so they make your mouth feel like it’s kissing someone you don’t like. Hot dog? Lukewarm dog more like. A breeze blows. [sighs] It’s getting colder, so I go back inside into the hall of history which is just this longstupid hallway

[OPERA ARIA IN BACKGROUND]

in the same building as the roller coaster. I have to walk through it every day when I go on lunchbreak, but I never actually stop because I only get thirty minutes for lunch break, and it takes twenty minutes just to get through the fucking food line, so I have to run through there, and it’s just like dusty plaques and old maps and stuff. There’s like a few old exhibits that don’t work. It’s, like, where grandparents go to hang out on hot days. Which you would think meant that they had more places to sit down, but.... I look down at my phone again. Nothing. There’s also this weird music playing, and it’s skipping like…. I look up and see a wall with the words “who's who” painted really big on the top of it, and underneath there’s like a bunch of buttons with flaps. I run my finger around one of the buttons and just like accidently the button pushes in and this voice recording starts to play. It’s Kritch!

ELI KRITCH

You love grapes and naps. Before your life here at the Pepper Heights Zoo, you were an animal pioneer for NASA and actually went into space! After that, you spent many years at an interstate sideshow in the Florida Panhandle doing a high society routine. To this day you still listen to opera to fall asleep. Which Pepper Heights animal friend are you?

DANE

The recording ends. I lift up the flap. It says “you are the chimpanzee, Madam Beauregard.” Great. That’s creepy. I look back down at my phone. Still nothing. It’s not that I like... it’s not that I like need to talk to him or anything, it’s just that, like, it’s just the not knowing is fucking awful. Like, just text me back! How hard is it to text somebody back? I look back at the wall. There’s an arrow pointing to a smaller button next to Madam Beauregard’s name, and it says “push button to hear your favorite aria”, but the music is stuck in which totally explains the skipping music. Jesus Christ, it’s probably an actual CD player behind this fucking wall with this place. I look at my phone. Fucking nothing. Earlier in the day, right after I asked if he was mad, I saw the little dots

VOICES [sung]

Where is Luke?

DANE

You know, the little dots that mean somebody’s typing back. And I… I watched them, and then they disappeared and they never started again.

VOICES [sung]

Where is Luke?

DANE

And ever since then my head has just been full of all the little voices that say all the little things..

VOICES [sung] Where is Luke?

Ughhh Jesus fuck, now they have music. That’s great.

VOICES [sung[

Where is Luke?

DANE

Yeah I don’t really care where he’s at. And why are there so many buttons in this exhibit? Like, there’s no way there’s this many animals that still live here. Like, most of the exhibits are shut down, these animals are probably dead.

VOICES [sung]

Losers

DANE

And the seven that are here are like not the kind of animals you want to push a button and hear about, right?

VOICES [sung]

Losers

DANE They’re like, retired circus freaks and movie animals that can’t work anymore.

VOICES [sung]

Losers, losers, losers

DANE

It’s like this whole place just attracts washed up showbiz animals.

VOICES

Just like you!

DANE

[sighs] Yeah thanks I connected that. I look down at my phone. Again. Nothing. Again. I don’t even know why I keep checking. I mean, I turn my vibration notifications on so I wouldn’t have to check but I still check. So I open up instagram to see if he’s posting there, but he’s not. It’s just the picture that he posted late last night. The one of the blue hand on his neck that we took in front of the tunnel. It’s already got like three thousand likes, Jesus Christ. I check my texts again. Why am I checking it, I'm holding it. So I open up Grindr. I check his profile. He’s not on. It says he hasn’t been on in hours. So I open up my texts again and I just look at it, I just LOOK. UGHH why won’t he text?!

VOICES

Cause he’d rather spend time with strange old men than talk to me.

DANE

It’s like they practice in there while I’m sleeping, Jesus. I look back up from my phone. Now I’m in front of some sort of ice age diorama, like, why? There’s a caveman standing over a wolf that he’s just killed, and there’s blood everywhere. And behind that, really small in a cave, there’s a woman and a child, waiting for him all terrified. But right next to the cave in the dark where you can’t see is another wolf, and nobody sees it. And then another face appears in the glass. I turn around. It’s Kritch. Or, like, Kritch’s face, on a TV, in an exhibit on the opposite wall. I walk over. He’s younger. It’s weird seeing young Kritch, I mean it’s like still my boss but, you know, smoother. It’s some sort of like special news piece from like twenty years ago.

KRITCH

Oh I certainly think the people over at Stonefall Labs can appreciate what we are doing over here. And for the record I do not believe that they are covering up any discoveries of alien life. That’s quite frankly preposterous. I can assure you they were in fact only only doing a geological survey of the moons of Jupiter, on contract from NASA, like they say. I just think they came up at the end of that, did more to make a big deal of it, we all have swings and misses sometimes, but I thought I’d take my own swing.

DANE

Boy, his smile hasn’t changed, that’s for sure. The video ends and there’s a black screen with a logo that says “The Zenarc Corporation”. I see my face in the screen.

[SWOOSHING NOISES/MUSIC]

DANE

It’s taken me a couple weeks of working here to piece it all together, but I do sort of know a little bit about what Kritch’s talking about in this video. See, in the late fifties the Stonefalls built this private research and development site called Stonefall Labs on the other side of the woods from the zoo. All sorts of things were developed there over the years, everything from, like, ketchup recipes and zip-ties to lots of darker things I’m sure we don’t know about. Like they famously patented the first answering machine, for example. It was as big as a room. It got sabotaged by this secret group of secretaries, though. Which is a cool story, but later. Anyway, because of some sort of technology that they had patented, they got a contract from NASA in the eighties to survey Jupiter’s moons to look for the possible presence of a specific isotope of helium called helium two. Now, scientists thought helium two was going to be like the rocket fuel of the future, it was going to revolutionize space exploration they thought. And this was all public knowledge there was even a little article in the paper, but nobody really cared. However, Stonefall labs found nothing. Zip. And at first they just said that there was problems with their equipment, but then weeks went by and then months and they said nothing. And they stayed quiet for so long that it started to attract attention, and people started to say maybe they in fact had found something a lot more interesting than helium deposits on the moons of Jupiter. Which, of course, that blew up like a house fire and pretty soon there was this huge conspiracy theory and speculation and a media frenzy. But at the same time while that was all going on, the young Elias Kritch had just taken over the helm of the Pepper Heights Zoo from his late father, Eddie. Despite the fact that another Kritch in charge of the zoo was like the last thing the Stonefalls wanted. But Eli was intent on leaving his mark, and he vowed to turn the zoo into a profitable enterprise, rather than just another suckling on the Stonefall money teet. So he said “I have an idea, how about a full on theatrical roller coaster experience called Jupiter’s Lifeless Moons”. The whole story inspired by the controversy. It was supposed to be this stepping stone into becoming a real amusement park, but he never made the money back. Like not even close. He put the zoo into permanent debt. The Stonefalls never let him live it down. And it only took a couple of years before the entire context was completely buried anyway. Pretty soon, nobody remembered anything at all about the Stonefall Lab’s Jovian lunar survey scandal, you know. But the ride stayed and here it is after all these years. The video starts to replay, Kritch starts talking again, and I start to walk away but I notice something I didn't see before: a rough disk with a hole in it hanging from a string around young Kritch’s neck. A disk with a hole in the middle… John Stonefall. What the…. I check my phone.

VOICES [sung]

Where is Luke?

DANE

Still nothing.

VOICES [sung]

Where is Luke?

DANE

Why can’t he just text back?

VOICES [sung]

Where is Luke?

DANE

Whatever.

LADY 1 [sung]

And could he really actually like me?

DANE

Yeah, probably not.

LADY 1 [sung]

Maybe I fucked it all up again

DANE

Probably.

LADY 1 [sung]

Maybe I’ll never know again

DANE

Whoa, that seems a little melodramatic

LADY 1 [sung]

Why do I even care?

DANE

You know, I don’t even care

LADY 1 [sung]

Do I even care?

DANE

No. I don’t think I even care.

LADY 2 [sung]

This is textbook patriarchal communication

MAN 1 [sung]

Maybe he’s not answering for a reason

DANE

I.. I know he’s mad at me for eating his cakes.

VOICES

Guilt!

DANE

Which, I did eat his cakes.

VOICES

Guilt!

DANE And lie to him

VOICES

Guilt! Guilt!

DANE

Ughhhhh

DANE [sung] Why do I feel guilty?

VOICES [sung]

Resentment

DANE [sung] I mean it’s not that big of a deal, Cora’s just a crazy lady.

VOICES [sung] Resentment

DANE [sung]

And the cakes were sent to the wrong house

LADY 2 [sung] I don’t know if that is true

DANE [sung] Why do I care? I don’t even like him at all

VOICES [sung] Where is Luke?

DANE Wanna know where he’s at? I’ll tell you where he’s at.

DANE [sung]

He’s off somewhere being young and stupid

HIGH VOICES [sung]

Haul him off, haul him off, haul him off!

DANE [sung]

He’s off somewhere not knowing what he wants

VOICES [sung] We just met

DANE

Yeah, we just met.

VOICES [sung]

We just met!

DANE [sung] He’s too laid back

LOW VOICES [sung] Too laid back

HIGH VOICES [sung]

Sleeps on the floor of an empty house

DANE [sung] I wish I could sleep on the floor in an empty house…. But I can’t!

DANE

Cause I have real responsibilities

DANE [sung]

Like he doesn’t do anything

HIGH VOICES [sung]

Do anything

DANE [sung]

Maybe he does and I just haven’t asked

VOICES [sung] Do anything, I didn’t do anything

DANE [sung] Maybe I’m the one

VOICES [sung] NOPE

DANE

Being a total dick

VOICES [sung] NOPE DANE Maybe I’m being a dick

VOICES [sung] I didn’t do anything

VOICE 1 [sung]

He’s just a narcissistic twink!

DANE Yeah

VOICE 1 [sung]

He’s just a narcissistic twink! DANE

Yeah

VOICES [sung]

A narcisistic, masochistic, fetishistic, sorta cryptic, dirty little selfish fucking twink! Who would rather be hit by strange old men than talk to me.

DANE Yeah, but I don’t care.

VOICES [sung] I don’t care!

DANE

I gotta get outta here. Where are the doors, where are the doors, I just need some air. I fall through the double doors, out onto the main drag. Oh, god….The air is cool, but it feels good. There’s, like, silence for a minute. At least in my head. I hear an age-guesser guessing his last customer somewhere.

[AGE GUESSER SPEAKING IN BACKGROUND]

DANE A smattering of laughing through the trees.

[LAUGHTER]

DANE

And I reach for my phone out of like instinct.

VOICE 1 [sung]

Where is Luke?

DANE

But then I stop myself because this is stupid

VOICE 1 [sung]

Where is Luke?

DANE

Like it's annoying that...

VOICE 1 [sung]

Where is Luke? DANE Like there’s some, some sort of..

VOICE 1 [sung]

Where is Luke? DANE

My body seems to have a question. Like a body question.

VOICE 1 [sung]

Where is Luke?

DANE

That it keeps asking.

VOICE 1 [sung]

Where…

DANE

My phone vibrates in my pocket! I pull it out. It’s a Grindr message. I open up the app. Oh, he’s cute. His message just says “hey”. It also says he’s only 200 feet away. I look up and look around. I don’t see anyone who looks like him. I look back at his profile. He’s playfully flexing his arm in his photo and making a goofy face, standing shirtless and soaking wet next to a pool in someone’s backyard somewhere, and his dark hair looks darker because it’s wet, and his underarm hair is pasted to his body in little black flames. His headline says Alex. I look at the time. I have twenty minutes. [sighs] Fuck it. “Hey”, I say. “What’s up”, he says. “On break”, I say. “Me too”, he says. “You work at the zoo?” “No, Stonefall Labs. I came to get a hot dog”. Wow, yuck, really? But I couldn't pass up the opportunity for a bad joke so I said “ah, you like weiners, huh”. Coy emoji.”LOL, yep”, he says. Then, “do you?”, and immediately he sends a picture of his dick. Whoa. Fuck, it’s huge. It’s thicker in the middle and curves really dramatically, and it’s so hard in the picture that it looks like a dead thing that’s swollen up on the side of a path. “Wow” I say, “I’d love to put that in my mouth some time.” Coy face. “You should”, he says, “how about now?” “Where”, I say. “Men’s bathroom by the Dippin’ Dots. No one’s ever in there. I’m by there now.” Fuck, my heart is racing. The zoo closes in half an hour, and there’s like nobody here, and he’s right, that bathroom is so out of the way that nobody uses it hardly. Even the Dippin’ Dots guy won’t be there cause he’s watching the rollercoaster for me right now. I look down at his message again. Then at the clock. Seventeen minutes left. My heart is getting quicker. [sighs] ”Okay”, I say “I’ll come now”. “I’ll be waiting inside”, he says. Okay. A few seconds later I’m cutting across the main thoroughfare. Walking quickly. The breeze is cool on my face. The stands are mostly all closed and the rides are shutting down. The few people that are out are all workers, all walking the same direction to the front gate. Their faces lit from underneath by their own phones. I come around the corner by the closed up Dippin’ Dots stand, and I stop. There it is. The squat, gray bathroom building with that rusty water fountain on the side that hasn’t worked for so long that an out of order sign is no longer required. I see the door of the men’s bathroom. It’s closed, but there’s an edge of seering white light all around the heavy metal door. Okay, okay okay okay okay. I walk up to it. I look around. Nobody. The whole building seems to have a low hum. I take a breath, and I open the door. There’s a loud metal creak as the door opens.

[CREAK]

DANE And the door catches on the concrete floor and doesn’t shut all the way. I kick it a couple times until it does.

[DOOR SHUTS]

DANE

The metal bangs ring and echo off the tile. Then I round a tiled wall into the bright restroom, and I see him, standing at the far left urinal, his back to me. He doesn’t look back or move, the cold white lights buzzing and flickering all around. I check the stall on the other side of the little room. It’s empty. It’s door off one of its hinges and hanging there like an open jaw. I walk up slowly to the far right urinal, side eyeing the guy. I keep a urinal between us. I get there and I start to undo my pants. The light directly above the urinals is buzzing, loud. I glance over at him, but he doesn’t look back at me or anything. He doesn’t talk or move or acknowledge me at all. Like, what the fuck? I mean it’s definitely him, and he’s standing away from the urinal so that I can see his dick but he’s just peeing. I look back at the wall, and then I look back over at him. He is handsome, though. He’s a few inches taller than me and muscular, in baggy Carhartt pants and a large dirty gray t-shirt. There’s paint on his elbows and grease on his arms. I look back straight ahead. Okay, now what? I start to panic. I try to pee, but I really don’t have to go. One more time, I look over. He’s done now, shaking his dick. God, even soft it’s big. But he’s still ignoring me. He’s still shaking it, like, way longer than he should. Okay, it starts to get bigger as he swings it around. And then he starts pulling on it, and I'm just standing there watching him out of the side of my eye, holding my own dick in my hand. God, it’s getting bigger and bigger and less floppy, and slowly his pulling turns into gripping and stroking, and it gets thicker and tighter until after about a minute it’s as thick as I saw in the pic earlier. God, it looks angry, and I'm watching his hand run the length of it back and forth, trying not to look like I'm looking, lost in the rhythm, when I hear it- a voice coming from everywhere at once. I look up at the side of his face, straight at it. The lights above flicker a little. It had to be his voice, but he’s still not looking at me. He’s just watching his hand move over his own dick. But as I'm looking at the side of his face I see his lips move, and I hear his voice again.

ALEX Come here. Get on your knees.

DANE I take a breath, I turn, and I walk up next to him. I can smell his cologne, and I kneel down in front of the urinals. The floor is hard and a little wet on my knees, and I try not to think about why. He turns, swinging his dick toward my face, and finally his eyes look down into mine. The light is buzzing and pulsing above him, his body’s like a silhouette, and then he reaches down and puts his fingers in my mouth. They smell like solvents and metal, and he feels around like he lost something in my teeth. And it doesn’t seem like this would be hot but, god, something about it really is. And then he opens my mouth wider with his fingers and takes them out and traces the wetness of my spit up my face, and then grabs my hair and slowly puts his dick in. Past my lips, and then past my tongue, gentle but also steady. I feel it hit the back of my throat and stop. He grabs my hair harder and looks down at my eyes. I don’t know how, but I sort of nod with my face and eyes and make a sort of “uh-huh” sound, and he smiles and puts more pressure in his thrust. And I feel my throat iris out like a dark, wet camera. And he slides all the way down, until my face is against his body. He just holds me against him, and he breathes. I feel the entire inside of my throat and head stretched over his dick. I feel it reaching down into my chest. I feel like a butterfly on a pin. His smell fills my nose. It’s a thick, sweaty smell- the smell of baseball and locker rooms and the back of the bus. He just looks down at me, and I look up at him, and the light buzzes.

[BATHROOM DOOR OPENS]

DANE

The metal bathroom door. He takes his dick out of my throat.

[DANE GAGS AND COUGHS]

DANE It almost makes me puke. I scramble to my feet and quickly get to the urinal. He turns and does the same. We both just stare at the wall in front of us, become strangers again. I hear someone round the tile wall behind us. I hear Alex zipping up his pants and flushing, quick. I do the same. I wipe the water from my eyes and I go to leave, but as I turn, I see the person who entered. It’s the Dippin’ Dots guy, Trey.

DANE [to TREY] Oh, hey man. Wait, you’re not still watching the ride...

TREY [laughs] Nah. I guess some little girl dropped her teddy bear on the track, so I closed it up early, but I left her number on the control console.

DANE

But you didn’t go get it?

TREY

Fuck no. I'm not climbing all those jank-ass ladders.

DANE [to listener] Alex brushes past Trey and heads out of the bathroom. Trey doesn’t even look at him. It’s funny what straight boys just can’t see in bathrooms. I watch Trey disappear into the slack jaw of the stall without even trying to close the door, and then I hear him start to pee.

[PEEING NOISES]

TREY

Later, dude!

DANE I get back to the roller coaster, it takes like twenty seconds. I go into the side door

[DOOR OPENING]

The door shuts behind me.

[DOOR SHUTTING]

And I take a breath. That was fucking intense. It all feels like it didn’t happen, but it just happened like a minute ago. I can still smell the dude on my face. Whoa [sighs]. All the colored lights and space music are gone, and the big overhead lights are on, but I know Trey’s dumb ass didn’t do any of the other closing duties. I walk up to my podium and I see the ride is switched into its standby mode, which means that both cars are nestled into the shuttle bay, and the power is off to the ride. In order to turn it all back on again, you need to put a special key in and turn the red lever, then you hear a big “kerchunk”, and the whole building sorta comes alive and the lights change and the music starts, but now it just looks like bad props and old paint in a bright warehouse, which is what it is. There’s the note Trey was talking about, though. It just says “little girl lost teddy on ride” and then a phone number. There’s not even a name. The keys are next to the note. I take them both and put them in my pocket.

[KEYS JANGLING, POCKET RUSTLING]

DANE I finish the rest of the closing duties: sweep and mop the floors, wipe the glass on the doors, wipe the coaster cars down, and when everything’s done, I go through the utility door into the underbelly of the ride to look for the damn teddy bear. Under the ride there are work lights, these bare bulbs hanging from scaffolding, but they definitely don’t work, so I pull out my phone and turn on the flashlight. It smells like laser tag. You know, that... that special effects smoke that they use. Half the time when people drop something we find it in “The Net”, and we’re supposed to check “The Net” once a week but people never check it. Also, the net is so old that it has rips and tears and whole sections that have fallen down. It’s like the web of a giant spider that got bored and said “fuck it” and crawled away years ago. So, often things end up on the dusty floor, twenty or thirty feet below. I walk to a place where I can look up through the skeleton of the rollercoaster into the net by the big turn. That’s usually where people drop things, the big turn. No teddy bear. I point my phone light down onto the concrete floor below it. Nothing. Anything new down in this dusty world is immediately visible for its lack of gray dust fuzz. If it has color, it’s new. But I only see an endless field of small, linty shapes. Look, there’s one last place that things occasionally do end up. The moon platform. See, in the middle of the ride there’s this platform where the coaster stops, like full on stops, and this video plays. It’s supposed to be the surface of the moon that you land on, and it’s where you meet the alien that makes the name of the ride ironic, I guess. I’ve never actually ridden the ride so I don’t know, but, like, a rollercoaster with a video in the middle sounds like an awful idea. I’m standing at the base of the ladder to the platform, looking up. I give it a shake.

[LADDER RATTLING]

It’s so loose that it wobbles and buckles all the way up, moaning and creaking. I hear a screw fall somewhere in the dark.

[SCREW FALLS]

DANE

[sighs] I take a breath and start to climb.

[LADDER RATTLING]

DANE

I feel the swaying pull of my weight on the scaffolding. Jesus. More creaking. I just climb faster and faster, I just try not to look. Finally I get up to the top of the platform and pull myself up and dust myself off.

[DUSTING OFF]

DANE

I stand up and look around. The platform is decorated to look like the rocky surface of a moon. Foam rocks, gray paint, that kinda thing. Still no sign of a teddy bear, though. I start to look behind the foam rocks. Maybe it got thrown. But then I hear a sound, a huge “kerchunk”. The work lights go off, the colored lights come on, and space music starts. The building groans, and something huge and metal begins to slither below me. Fuck, someone’s turned on the ride! I scramble to find the ladder in the dark, but I can’t, and I hear the coaster rumbling in the walls, it’s getting closer. Fuck! I don’t know what happens if I’m up here when the coaster comes, so I try to find the ladder again, but one foot slips off the edge of the platform. Holy fuck, I like almost fall. Jesus it woulda killed me, it’s like thirty feet straight down. The roar’s getting louder and louder and louder, I pull my leg back and I scoot behind a foam rock just as the coaster rounds the corner.

[COASTER WHOOSHING]

DANE There’s a person in it. The coaster slows and stops, locks into place. The screen lights up and the video begins, and in the light of the video I see that the person is Kritch, sitting in the middle front seat of the coaster, watching the screen, his arms in front of him on the lap bar. The moonscape continues in the video, making it look like the surface of the moon goes on for miles, and then there’s like eery moon music playing. Well, then a green alien emerges from behind a rock in the video, and it gets closer to us cautiously, and then it starts to speak.

ALIEN IN VIDEO Greetings, earthlings aboard Shuttle 5. I’m a representative for the race of beings that has inhabited Moon 34 of the planet you call Jupiter for millions of years. Your civilization has remained unaware of our existence until this moment. We mean you no harm. We have no weapons, our technology is meager, but we know why you’ve come. The resource you seek is plentiful here, but its retrieval would destroy our home and lead to our certain demise, as we depend upon it for sustenance. We will restore your communications momentarily. However, we beg of you, do not disclose our existence to your superiors upon your return. You must report no helium two on Moon 34, the future of our species rests in your hands, earthlings of Shuttle 5. Good fortune and tidings to you.

DANE The video ends and the coaster comes unlocked and starts again.

[COASTER STARTING, ROLLING]

DANE

Kritch faces front, and I see him wipe his eyes. I must have stood up during the alien’s speech. I crouch back down and hide again quickly. Fuck, I hope he didn’t see me. I listen to the coaster disappear down another hill as the onboard computer says “malfunction, malfunction, returning to Jupiter base [unintelligible]. The roar fades. [sighs] I breathe out. Then I get up and start feeling around for the ladder. A few minutes later, I fall through the utility door back into the launch room, almost coughing from the fake smoke. What the fuck was Kritch doing riding a kid’s ride all by himself in the middle of the fucking night? [sighs] What a weirdo. I hear the coaster make the last of the big turns. I just wanna get out of here, so I slip out quickly the way that the kids come out, through the debriefing room. The debriefing room is just a room with two big light-up buttons under a sign that says “MISSION REPORT”. I stop. The buttons… The buttons. I’ve never really understood them before now. There’s a red one and a green one, and the red button says “no helium present on moon” and the green button says “helium present on moon”, but it’s the green button that’s worn so much that it’s barely legible. I get closer. The glow of green gets brighter on my face. I don’t understand, the kids rat out the alien? That’s fucked up. I reach out and touch the green button. It’s rough from years of well-behaved, terrified children. But then, and I don't know why really, I reach over and press the red button. It blinks three times.

KRITCH

Good choice.

DANE [to listener]

It’s Kritch. I didn’t hear him slip in.

DANE [to Kritch]

Oh, um, I was... I was just uh leaving.

KRITCH It’s okay.

DANE [to listener]

He walks up beside me and looks at the buttons.

KRITCH

It is curious.

DANE [to Kritch]

What’s curious?

KRITCH Well, I didn’t expect it either but it’s true. All the kids push the green button.

DANE [to listener]

He’s not looking at me. He’s staring at the green button, his fingers running over that same rough patch.

KRITCH They tell the truth because they know they’re supposed to or they will get in trouble. But the grown-ups? They choose red.

DANE [to listener]

He looks over at the red button. His hand drops and his smile flattens.

KRITCH Because they know the truth about trouble.

DANE [to Kritch]

What’s the truth about trouble?

DANE [to listener]

He turns towards me. I can see that his eyes are still wet, and his suit is, like, way too shiny, and it’s reflecting the red and green lights. He takes a step towards me.

KRITCH That you’re always in trouble.

DANE [to listener] And then leans down until his face is like right over mine.

KRITCH And sometimes a little lie can really help with how much.

DANE [to listener]

The zoo is deserted. It’s after close now. All the lights on all the rides are out. Kritch said he would close up the ride and that I could go, so I started to head for the gate. I haven’t checked my phone in a while, but just as I'm reaching for it I hear something.

[ANIMAL CRYING]

DANE

A crying sound. Zoe. I stop. Something is different about the sound this time.

[ANIMAL CRYING]

DANE

I turn around and walk slowly along the side of the huge building that houses both the rollercoaster and Zoe’s enclosure. The sound usually sounds like it’s far away, like in a cave, but this time it sounds very close. I round the corner and there she is, only like fifteen feet from me, in a small cement stall with an iron gate around it standing over a drain. She yelps when she sees me.

[ZOE YELPS]

DANE I scream a little bit and turn to run around the corner, and boom! I almost run into someone.

DANE [to person]

Oh I'm sorry I…

DANE [to listener]

it’s Jennifer.

JENNIFER Did you miss me?

DANE [to Jennifer]

Fuck. I should have known I'd see you. Wherever there’s shadows and secrets there you are a sneakin’.

JENNIFER Look who’s talking. You’re the sneak tonight. Sneak.

DANE [to Jennifer] What are you even doing here?

JENNIFER What are you even doing here?

DANE [to Jennifer] I’m at my job. It’s a thing grown-ups do.

JENNIFER Pssh. Grown-up? Nice shirt. I’m here for the rally, stupid.

DANE [to listener]

She holds up a flier to my face, like a brat. I recognize it from Emily’s porch yesterday. It says “save Zoe rally at the zoo”. Fuck, that’s today? I don’t even know the date. I look back down at her stupid face.

DANE [to Jennifer]

You know what? You oughta go back and say hi to your little friend Zoe, stick your face through that gate and see if she’ll kiss ya’.

DANE [to listener]

Jennifer looks at me with almost pity, and then she starts laughing.

JENNIFER [laughing]

DANE [to Jennifer]

What’s so funny?

JENNIFER

[laughing] Oh, Zoe can’t hurt me.

DANE [to Jennifer]

Why not?

DANE [to listener]

She steps closer to me. She’s holding a piece of cardboard with “SAVE ZOE” written on it.

JENNIFER Because Zoe the zebra is dead.

[THEME MUSIC]

ELLIE HAYMEN Dreamboy is co-created by Dane Terry and Ellie Haymen. Developed and directed by Ellie Haymen. Written, composed, and performed by Dane Terry, featuring Cecil Baldwin, Avery Draut, Michael St. Peter, Jake Sellers and Chris Weingarten. Sound Designed, Engineered, Mixed and Mastered by Christopher Weingarten at Bananappeal Studio. Edited by Alexander Charles Adams. Creative Producer and Assistant Director: Ashlin Hatch. Associate producer: Adam Cecil. Executive Producer: Christy Gressman. A very special thanks to Night Vale Presents. You can find us on Twitter and Instagram @dreamboypodcast. For more info and for merch check out dreamboypodcast.com.

#dreamboy #dreamboy podcast #night vale presents #do i have to put a disclaimer? idk how these things work. this isn't my podcast i'm just a fan

12 notes · View notes

thehelleniclunarwitch · 5 years ago

Text

Oh To Be a Barton (Chapter Seven)

Tagged: @justgrits

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

“Just remember that I have faith in you.” Coulson said.

The phone was held between her ear and shoulder. Her hands were working quickly to set the new communicator up on Natasha. Clint was still pulling on his uniform.

“What I want you to remember is that we have a deal.” Emily replied.

“You already broke my damn heart by taking my rare collectors card.” Coulson sighed dramatically.

“Oh bologna. I took four out of the sixty you had.” Emily snorted.

“Yeah, but you took my favorites.” Coulson informed her.

“I know, why do you think I took those ones?” Emily asked with a laugh.

“You little shit. I knew you took those ones for a reason.” Coulson hissed.

“Oops.” Emily chuckled.

“When you get back here you and I are going to have a serious talk.” Coulson growled.

“Oh, would you look at the time? I have to go.” Emily said before hanging up.

Natasha laughed at the younger girl. Emily finished setting up the communicator before handing it over to Natasha. She grabbed the set of microphones and cameras that were labeled for Natasha and slipped them into the small pocket to hide them away.

“You’re all set.” Emily told her patting Nat on the arm.

“Thanks, Em.” Natasha said.

“I’m ready.” Clint said coming over to the girls.

The siblings hadn’t made up since their argument so it was a little awkward around each other. Emily grabbed Clint’s hand and slammed the cameras and microphones into his palm. She quickly clipped the communicator behind Clint’s ear and then connected it to his hearing aid before taking a step back.

“There you go.” Emily snipped.

“Are you ready?” Natasha asked before Clint could go of on Emily.

Emily slid her communicator into her ear. “I’m good to go.”

“Great. This should be a simple in and out mission. You’ll stay in the surveillance van and help keep our paths clear. This should just be about a seven minute mission.” Natasha explained.

“Awesome. Let’s get the show on the road.” Emily said.

The trio left their hotel room and headed down to the back of the hotel where the black van was waiting for them. The ride was over an hour long to where their destination was. The back of the van remained absolutely silent the whole ride there.

“If anything goes wrong,” Clint began.

“They won’t.” Natasha and Emily said together.

“Well if they do just get out of here.” Clint finished.

“I know the plan, Clint.” Emily sighed.

“Okay, so you have about thirty seconds to break into the mainframe and take over the cameras.” Natasha reminded her.

“I’ve got this, Nat. Don’t worry.” Emily smiled at her.

Natasha kissed the top of her head. “Just be careful.”

“You too.” Emily said and then shut the door in Clint’s face before he could say anything to her.

“Love you, brat.” Clint whispered.

A small smile tugged at Emily’s lips at her brother’s words. She didn’t reply, but instead got busy on her laptop. The large screens in front of her started to fill with the security cameras from inside. Emily could see the building was empty except for the three guards.

“Guard at the front desk is watching TV. Second guard is in the third level checking rooms. The last guard is making a sweep in the basement.” Emily said.

“We’ve made it up on the roof.” Clint came through.

The radio cracked.

“The security system is now mine. You’re free to walk through unseen.” Emily stated.

The radio screeched. Emily groaned as she yanked the communicator from her ear. Swearing, she began typing fiercely against her keyboard trying to find the interference in her radio system. It didn’t take Emily long to find the marking that was jamming their radio waves. In a matter of seconds, Emily had the jammer gone and the radio cleared.

“Emily!” Clint shouted.

“Sorry, something was jamming the airwaves.” Emily replied.

“It was a trap!” Natasha shouted out of breath.

Emily’s eyes widened.

“Get out of there!” Clint exclaimed and Emily could hear a gunshot.

“Clint! Natasha!” Emily screamed.

There was no reply on their end. Emily brought up the cameras to see if she could find where her brother and Natasha were trapped. She quickly found them making their way down the staircases fighting off men dressed all in black.

“Marcus, we have to go in!” Emily shouted up to the driver.

Marcus didn’t say anything.

“Marcus, didn’t you hear me?” Emily asked leaning over her computer to pat the man on the shoulder.

Emily gasped as Marcus slumped over. The reflection in the rearview mirror Emily could see that the man’s throat had been slashed. Scrambling backwards, Emily knocked over several of the equipment as she hurried away from the lifeless body.

“Clint!” Emily called out.

“Emily…get...out...NATASHA!” Clint exclaimed.

Emily rushed to the back of the van to open the door. She fell forward when the door wouldn’t budge. She looked at the door in confusion before shaking the handle several more times, but the door still wouldn’t open. Emily banged on the door several times screaming for Clint and Natasha several times.

“Is someone in there?” A voice asked.

“Yes! Oh, please you have to help me!” Emily shouted.

“There seems to be a bomb tied to the door.” The man informed her.

“What?” Emily shrieked.

“There isn’t much time left.” His voice trailed off.

“Please, you have to get me out of here.” Emily pleaded.

There was silence.

“Hello!” Emily screamed.

“Now, why would I remove the bomb that I worked so hard on tying to the doors?” He asked.

“What?” Emily asked.

The man sighed. “This might just be proof enough to Shields to stay out of my goddamn business.”

“I’m just a kid! Let me out!” Emily shouted banging on the door.

“Blame Shields for your death. They did this to you.” The man growled.

Emily looked over her shoulder. Grabbing the crowbar that was tucked in the bag of supplies, she crawled over to the front of the van. Where the hole sat she’d be able to squeeze through it if she pulled it open a little wider. The man behind her was still going on a spiel about how Shields had wronged him.

Prying the metal open, Emily tried crawling through, but her hips had gotten caught. Letting out a small sob Emily crawled back through and went back to work on the whole. Marcus’ dead body had slumped all the way over into the seat.

“Time’s a ticking little girl. In less than a minute you’re not going to have any more worries.” The man laughed.

Emily could hear him walking away. Crying in frustration, Emily began stabbing the sheet metal to break it away. When her hands were sore and bloody, Emily managed to crawl through the hole and land on top of Marcus.

“Sorry.” Emily mumbled as she scurried towards the driver’s door.

She wasn’t all that surprised when she found that door bolted locked. She was surprised to see Clint show up and started to pound on the window screaming for her to get out. Emily tried telling him that she couldn’t, but was interrupted when Natasha limped around the van to fill in Clint about the bomb at the back of the van.

“You have to get out now!” Clint screamed with wide eyes.

“I can’t.” Emily cried.

Clint began throwing his shoulder into the window trying to bust it open. Emily scrambled back over the dead body and reached into the back. Her hand grasped the crowbar and she came back to the window.

“Good girl. Hit it as hard as you can.” Clint told her.

Emily held onto the crowbar tightly and swung at the window. The impact made her hands scream in pain and her arms shake, but there was a small crack.

“Thirty seconds!” Natasha exclaimed.

“One more hit. Make it a good one.” Clint said.

Emily looked at her brother with fearful eyes.

“You can do this.” Clint told her.

Again, Emily held the crowbar tightly and swung at the window. Glass shattered everywhere nicking Emily’s arms and face with cuts. Clint was there reaching through the window. He grabbed her by a handful of her jacket and started to pull her forward. Emily wrapped her arms around Clint’s neck as she slid out of the van.

“Move!” Natasha growled, slamming into the siblings.

The explosion filled the night air. Natasha, Clint, and Emily went soaring through the air as the hot air licked at their feet. Natasha hissed as she slid against the pavement, the asphalt tearing into her skin. Clint’s back slammed into the hood of a car. He groaned as he rolled over onto his side and off the car. Landing next to Natasha, Clint reached out to take her hand in his.

“You okay?” Natasha asked, pulling herself up to her feet.

Clint only nodded. His back ached and his arms felt like they were one fire. Natasha’s left side was torn open and she had a bloody lip. Clint looked to his side where Emily should have been but he found his sister wasn’t there.

“Emily!” Clint shouted.

Natasha looked around. “Emily!”

A helicopter could be heard in the distance. Natasha knew that was the backup team coming in for them. Clint was already moving debris trying to find his sister. His voice cracked every time he called out for his sister. Natasha limped over to the front of the van and began moving debris there.

She froze after picking up the hood of the van. There she found Emily. Her leg was twisted in an odd angle and her head was bleeding pretty badly. Natasha called for Clint to come quickly. Her heart broke at the sound of Clint’s agonizing scream as he dropped down next to his sister.

“Don’t move her!” Natasha ordered as Clint touched Emily.

“I can’t leave her here.” Clint snarled.

“Backup is coming. We don’t want to cause any more damage.” Natasha reminded him.

Clint began sobbing as he dropped his forehead onto Emily’s chest. He was relieved to hear her heart was still beating strong even though her breathing was rough and ragged. Holding her side, Natasha waved down the helicopter. Natasha wasn’t all that surprised to see that it was Fury and Coulson that exited the helicopter. The men rushed over to where the trio were.

“I’m not surprised that this mission failed.” Fury said under his breath.

Unfortunately, Clint had picked it up. Rushing to his feet, Clint stormed over to the Director and grabbed him by the front of his shirt. Coulson and Natasha yelled at him to stop, but Clint whipped the director around and slammed him up against the building.

“My sister is injured because you insisted on her doing this damned mission.” Clint snarled.

“She proved my point that she’s not meant to do this.” Fury replied.

“We all told you that!” Clint spat.

Fury sighed.

“I’ve done everything you wanted. I even began turning my back on my own flesh and blood for you so I could keep her safe. And look what you’ve done.” Clint snapped.

“Clint.” Natasha said softly.

“Fuck off, Nat.” Clint growled.

“Clint, don’t do anything stupid now.” Coulson said.

Clint tightened his grip on the Director’s coat. Natasha put her hand on her partner’s shoulder.

“They’re going to airlift her out of here. You need to go with her.” Natasha whispered.

Clint’s lip turned up in disgust.

“I’m not finished with him.” He growled.

“Who is more important right now?” Natasha asked.

Clint released the Director. Natasha pushed Clint back over to his sister where she was being loaded up on the board to lift her up into the helicopter. Natasha looked back at Fury, gave him a disappointed look and then followed after the Barton siblings.

“I think it’s safe to say you made an enemy tonight, sir.” Coulson said.

Fury sighed.

“So I hope you’re happy with yourself.” Coulson added the low blow before walking off.

“Coulson,” Fury called out.

Coulson turned around.

“I didn’t mean for this to happen.” Fury said.

“You might not have wanted this exactly, but you did want the girl to fail. And because of that Emily was almost killed.” Coulson said and then hurried onto the helicopter.

Fury let out a long sigh. He kicked at some of the debris. Sirens were howling in the distance. He and his men would be out of here before the police showed up, but Fury couldn’t really bring himself to climb into the same helicopter as the Barton’s. Fury was a determined man. He wanted things done his way with the people he trusted the most and because of his stupid barbaric ways he got a child hurt. A child that should have nothing to do with this life. Fury was determined now to make it up to Emily no matter what he had to do he’d stop at nothing to make up for all of his stupid mistakes.

#Clint Barton #Natasha Romanoff #original character #Emily Barton #Phil Coulson #Nick Fury #Peter Parker #MCU au #I bend things to my will because I can

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fxngsfxgarty · 7 years ago

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the night is alive (you can feel the heartbeat)

Toni hasn't been back to Riverdale since she and her mom left when she was six. She's a tough Brooklyn cookie with a heavy heart, and she loves to skate - will she find her feet in the rink with the Serpents? Or will the opposite team's star jammer be the one to throw her off?

title from all about tonight - pixie lott

Disclaimer: absolutely minimal research has been done for this fic. I have a vague idea of how roller derby works. That's it, come along for the ride. Or... skate, I guess? anyway have fun I'm having fun writing it.

Can also read on AO3 here.

Toni half expects Riverdale to feel like a breath of fresh air. A middle-of-nowhere town should, in theory, be worlds away from Brooklyn and city cabs and cigarette smoke. But right now, it just feels like she’s come back to prison.

She was born here, as her family likes to constantly remind her, in a house on the edge of the forest with vines growing up the brickwork and flowers blooming against the picket fence the same vibrant pink as her hair. She left when her mom did, six years old, curled up in the back of a borrowed car while dad stood in the doorway of that house and shouted until they were out of sight, and mom drove and hurled each insult right back, like the words would detonate in someone’s hands if they didn’t stop it moving. A ticking time bomb.

Toni grew up to be a time bomb too.

That’s why she’s here, now, not at the old house that holds all her memories of the town, having her hair braided in front of the tall mirror in mom’s bedroom and playing in the trees with the local boys and girls. Toni’s home now is called Sunnyside, and she wrinkles her nose at the name, because it’s about as far from sunny as could be in Riverdale, the fading sign gray beneath the cloud cover, the same color reflected in the aluminum trailer walls beyond. She never thought she’d say she missed New York, but right here, right now, all she sees is this hopeless trailer park. It’s not like there are even any signs of life. The place is dark, and cold, and Toni is cold too.

She counts driveways to find her place, the only thing she has left to call home, even though she doesn’t know how to call dad’s last possession home. At least he died in the street in the middle of the day - good riddance, in her mind, and at least half a guarantee that there won’t be any ghosts in the corners when she tries to sleep. The trailer is filthy from the outside, exposure to the elements showing in the rain-splattered sides, the bird crap down the windows, one of which is cracked and taped together with black electrical tape. The ancient iron steps seem to bend beneath her feet, and she’s only light. When the door swings open unexpectedly, she grabs the rail for support, and it breaks off, rusted beyond repair, in her hand.

The fall knocks the wind out of her, but those aren’t tears in her eyes, god, no, a good Topaz girl never cries. She just scrambles to her feet on her own, blames the backpack she carries for knocking her off her balance, and goes inside.

She flips a switch. Nothing happens.

No power. Shit.

It’s already dark in the trailer, despite it being the middle of the day, and it smells like old cigarette smoke and something damp, but the Brooklyn apartment smells the same, so at least that’s something she’s used to. She thinks she probably smells of it, too, of clothes that can never quite dry and smoke that clings to hair, even though she’s never tried a cigarette in her life and she doesn’t want to, doesn’t feel like falling down that slope just yet. It seems like someone either cleared it out or looted it after dad died, so it’s bare floorboards, torn couch cushions, the broken window… she’d hoped Riverdale would be different, but right now, this room could belong to any one of the places she’s lived in the last ten years. It wouldn’t surprise her. Nothing would.

She leaves her overstuffed backpack in the middle of the room, where a coffee table would be, if she had one, and explores the rest of it. There’s no bedroom, so she guesses that she sleeps on the couch, which again is nothing new, but disappointing all the same. The shower is a cube she barely fits in, and the water doesn’t run from any of the faucets - another thing that needs connecting or fixing, something she doesn’t know how to do and doesn’t have anyone to help with. The stove doesn’t start up, the rings don’t light. Everything she investigates is another fraction her heart sinks, and she sort of feels like there’s a hand in her chest and another round her throat, squeezing, squeezing, and then she has to sit, because her head is spinning and she can’t breathe.

She misses the couch, fishnet-clad legs hitting cold, bare floor with a gasp, and buries her face in her knees. She’s not crying, because Topaz girls are good and strong and never cry at anything.

Mom would go crazy if she saw her cry, anyway.

A few minutes pass. Toni curls up tight, shivers, breathes.

There’s a tap at the door, fingertips on the frame - she left it open, like the idiot she is right now. She’s all over the place. Her head snaps up, and there’s hair in her eyes, and when she pulls the pink haze aside, there’s a boy there.

He’s tall, wearing a leather jacket that’s too long on his arms, and his bangs have too much gel in them, they shine even in the low light of this hellish trailer. But he’s smiling at her, and his eyes are dark and he looks like he hasn’t slept in a few days or more, but he’s still smiling. Boys don’t smile like that unless they want something from Toni. So she swallows hard and asks “the hell d’you want?” even though it doesn’t come out as stinging as she’d like it to.

The boy shrugs. “Saw you coming in. Can’t miss you, hair like that.” “There’s nothing wrong with my hair,” Toni mumbles. “Never said there was!” He raises his hands in mock defense, and then he smiles again. “I live just across the track. Wondered if you wanted some help getting settled in.” Her eyes narrow. “And what do you get in return?” She knows how boys work. “An ally, I hope. Welcome to the South Side. You’re Ben’s kid. You’re practically one of the family already, if I listen to what my sister says.” “The… family?” “Not, like, a real family.” The boy grins. “That’s the best part about this place. We get to choose our families. We’re all outcasts here, princess. You’ll fit right in.”

Toni glares. “Who says I’m an outcast?” “You showed up at a trailer park with a backpack and a sports bag, I know your dad’s dead, I connected the dots.” He shrugs.

Her response is a sigh, albeit a shaky one. He’s right. This strange tall boy, smiling in her doorway, knows enough. “Damn. Guess you got me… Yeah. I could use some help. If you’re still offering.” She scrambles up, pulls her skirt down to preserve a little decency, and manages to smile back for the first time. “My name’s Toni. You’re…” “My friends call me Sweet Pea. So we can be friends, if you want,” he says quickly, before she can respond, or ask about the name. “It’s good to meet you. C’mon, I’ll get your power connected, show you how.”

That’s how, by evening, she ends up with her couch-bed pulled out, made up with blankets from home and pillows pushed on her by Sweet Pea’s insistent but friendly older sister. They’ve scrubbed her floors and windows clean, stitched the cushions back together, got her power working and the gas for heat and cooking all fixed up. Sweet Pea even got soaked for her, connecting the trailer park’s water supply to her tank and spraying himself to the skin in the process, and he’d just laughed, and called her Tee, and sprayed her a little bit too.

Maybe Riverdale will be okay after, she thinks.

She hopes.

Maybe.

#riverdale #choni #cheryl x toni #cheryl blossom #toni topaz #riverdale fic #choni fic #roller derby

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breeeliss · 8 years ago

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[Miraculous Ladybug]: Dressed to Kill

i….am procrastinating this paper super hard….so i started a one-shot series. isn’t that fun?

bit of a T rating, but if you don’t mind that, enjoy :)

–

Link to Archive of Our Own: [AO3]

–

Title: Dressed to Kill

Summary: “You got a fucking manicure before a job?”

Chloe held one of her hunting blades in between her teeth while she loaded a magazine into her gun. “Shut the fuck up, they were giving mani pedis away for twenty euros, how was I going to say no to that?”

Chlonette Assassins AU

1. Flirting on the Job

“You got a fucking manicure before a job?”

Marinette rolled her eyes and peeked around the corner, staring at the two guards stationed at the door at the other end of the courtyard. She finished screwing her suppressor onto her own gun and checked her pockets for her compression gloves. “So if some asshole has me in a chokehold, you’re not going to punch him in the face because you have to protect your goddamn gel manicure?”

“I never said that,” Chloe groaned. “Obviously I’d clock him straight in the nose, but I will expect you to pay for my replacement manicure since you shouldn’t be getting yourself into that situation in the first place.”

“Oh nice.”

“I’m a single woman, I deserve to pamper myself, sue me.”

Marinette fastened the velcro of her gloves and counted the knives she had strapped to her thigh. “That’s your own fault. I offered to sleep with you literally last week and you said no.” She checked her watch. “Shifts change in 3 minutes.”

“Roger,” Chloe replied automatically. “Also, fuck you, you told me you’d sleep with me because, and I quote, you found my dry spell ‘cripplingly pathetic.’”

“I mean, it is. Offer still stands,” Marinette winked.

“Please, if anyone’s going to be doing the fucking, it’s going to be me,” Chloe snarled. She pulled her phone out of her pocket, tapped around her apps, and brought up full schematics of the building they were about to sneak into. “Alya just sent us a map. Adrien says lights out in 30.”

“Perfect.” Marinette readjusted the duffle bag on her back. “Any place that’ll give me a clean shot?”

“Probably the trophy room” Chloe said. “We might have to clear out the third floor though. I’ll do it. Give you time to set up the sniper and should still leave us a 5 minute leeway until the target comes into range.”

Marinette nodded. Clean and simple job, just how she liked it. “Alright. Moving in 2. Also, you’re the pillow queen to end all pillow queens. I think we know which one would do the fucking.”

“Um, I’m an amazing lesbian,” Chloe insisted. “Half the reason my arms are toned is because I do my fair share of the work.”

“You get frequent manicures and grow out your nails. How is that being an amazing lesbian?”

“I’m sorry that you’re so low maintenance that you have to depend on your fingers. Some of us have an arsenal of other devices that can happily do the work and then some.”

Marinette nodded. “Ah, strap-on queen. Sexy.”

“Marinette, shut the fuck up.”

“Oh come on,” she laughed. “Since when are you shy about talking about sex?”

“Since we’re on an assignment.”

“We have 90 seconds to kill.”

Chloe rolled her eyes but Marinette saw the smile at the corner of her lips. “I would only sleep with you if bought me dinner first. And you would have to swear allegiance to me, complement me at least four times a day, and worship my body at every available opportunity.”

Marinette snorted. “How about this? You do a good job for me? I’ll buy you dinner, a hotel room, your own bottle of wine, and an entire evening to do whatever you want with me.”

Chloe lifted a brow and whistled. “Damn. Are you hitting a dry spell?”

“I’m forced to look at a hot dumb blonde all day,” Marinette said with a deadpanned stare. “What did you expect?”

“You’re such a bitch.” She jutted her chin towards the two guards who were laughing and heading back inside the building to take a break from their shift. They had a 5 minute window. “Ready when you are.”

Their assignment today wasn’t a huge deal. Alya got them a layout of the mansion, Adrien was probably sneaking out right about now after having knocked out the security system, and Chloe and Marinette were left to do the rest.

The CEO who lived here was apparently in the center of a huge embezzling scheme. Plan was to wipe out and secure the third floor and give Marinette a base to snipe down their target and all of his affiliates as they drove up the road and came back to the mansion at exactly 8:00pm for dinner according to Alya’s information. Ideally, it would give Chloe just enough time to break into the target’s study, wipe his computer clean of information, and hopefully give them more info on who else was involved in this nonsense. Then, it was just a matter of getting back to Adrien and his getaway car.

Hopefully this would be done in an hour. Marinette hated working weekends.

They both slipped in through the front doors after the stationed guards left, scanned the main room for any guards, and quickly sped up the stairs, staying low and keeping their hands on their guns. Marinette was in charge of memorizing the guard schedules, and this was around the time when everyone was switching around. Shitty security, since that meant that Chloe and Marinette had an easy time of avoiding them all while they meandered to their next posts. Marinette only had to knock out two guards on their way to the third floor.

Eight guards. Yeah. Not subtle at all.

“Yeah, this guy’s study is definitely on this floor,” Marinette muttered as they crouched on the other side of the door that was slightly ajar and leading to southern portion of the third floor hallway. “Two birds with one stone I guess.”

“Idiot,” Chloe snorted. She pulled out her pistol in one hand and hunting knife in the other. “Alright, you want me to be practical about this or sexy about this?”

Marinette raised an amused brow. “What’s the difference?”

Chloe shrugged. “Practical is I just scope them from here in like four seconds and call it a day. Sexy is I do the job and give you a show at the same time.”

Marinette laughed. “Careful, your crush on me is showing.”

“Please. I still haven’t said yes to your little sex date.”

“You also haven’t said no,” Marinette teased. “I’ll take the sexy option while you’re offering.”

Chloe tapped the tip of her knife to her nose. “Keep your eyes on my ass, it looks fantastic today.”

Marinette gave her a mock salute. “Yes, mademoiselle.”

When they first joined the agency, Chloe was super pissed that Marinette was essentially able to kick her ass every time she popped into the gym and tried sparring with her. Marinette kept explaining it was because she had four years of mixed martial arts training under her belt, so Chloe repeatedly being knocked on her ass was nothing to be ashamed of (insert condescending wink here). So of course the petty little thing went and signed up for Taekwondo classes and turned into a badass in the span of two years. And because Chloe was an insufferable narcissist, she liked to show it off at every available opportunity.

Though, Marinette had to admit, watching Chloe take down eight guards with nothing but a knife and some brutal double roundhouse kicks was pretty hot.

Chloe slammed a guard’s head against the wall and pulled her knife out of the muscle of his upper arm, leaving him in a crumpled, motionless heap. She wiped off the blade with the edge of her shirt and stuck her tongue out at Marinette. “Scale of one to ten.”

“Solid seven. I kinda wish I had a better view of your boobs.”

Chloe huffed. “Well shit I’ll pop my chest out the next time I’m literally kicking some dude’s ass.”

Marinette walked by the bodies of the guards and planted a quick kiss on Chloe’s cheek. “Thanks for cleaning up the place.”

“Flattery will get you nowhere with me!

“Please flattery got me everywhere with you.”

“Go set up your stupid gun!”

Marinette cackled and pulled a lock picking kit out of her pocket while Chloe pulled a door jammer and a CinchLock out from her own duffle bag and quickly barricaded the door to the main hallway. For good measure, she dragged an armoire and a desk in front of the door to further deter anyone from coming in.

Marinette kneeled in front of the trophy room and started fiddling with the lock. “Don’t you remember that time I took you out to that club last month?”

Chloe’s cheeks went red as she started picking the lock to one of the other rooms in the hallway. “Shut up…”

“Hands down the best night I’ve had all month,” Marinette exclaimed. “You dragged me off to the couches, sat in my lap, started making out with me, and stuck your hand down the front of my pants. I mean, I get we were a little drunk but Lord.”

“I was thirsty, okay?” Chloe popped her door open first and sucked her teeth when it was revealed to just be a guest room. She switched to the door perpendicular to Marinette’s. “And you looked amazing that night. I’m not an idiot.”

“I believe I told you that your dress made you look like a fucking goddess,” Marinette smirked. “And then you sort of blinked at me, didn’t say anything, and pulled me off to the side. Flattery will get me nowhere my ass.” Marinette pushed her door open and found the trophy room that perfectly overlooked the road wrapping up the hill that led to the mansion. She yanked her duffle bag off her shoulder, kneeled by the window, and unzipped her bag.

“You think yourself so irresistible don’t you?”

Marinette started setting up the scope to her gun. “Pretty much.”

Chloe finished picking the lock to the door and cheered. “Got the fucker’s computer!! And just you wait, tonight I’ll rock your goddamn world. Then we’ll see who finds who irresistible.”

“Is that a yes to the sex date then?”

“What the hell. I could use an orgasm or four. That dinner better be spectacular though. I’m a wine and dine kind of gal.”

“Give me some credit, will you? I’m a romantic at heart.”

Marinette quickly started to set her rifle up by the window while Chloe plugged in her ear piece and had Alya talk her through how to sweep their target’s computer for anything useful. They’d wasted a bit of time fooling around in the hallway so the target and the rest of his dinner guests started rolling up along the long road quicker than Marinette had anticipated. She clicked her tongue against her teeth, peered through the scope, and started loading up bullets. “They’re coming up the hill.”

“Seriously?” Chloe groaned. She muttered something to Alya before going back to tapping away at the keyboard. “I’ll try to hurry up but no promises.”

“No need,” Marinette breathed out. “I got it.”

“Make those shots count, darling.”

Marinette snorted. “Don’t I always?” She was the best markswoman in their entire agency. If there was ever an assignment that needed a sharpshooter, Marinette was always the first on the ticket.

She gently laid her finger on the trigger and lined up her scope so that it was pointed right in the middle of the windshield of the first car coming up the hill. She could just barely see a man that more or less matched the description of their target through the glass and lined the scope up to the center of his forehead. The moment she made this shot there was going to be a rain of bullets heading straight for her, so she needed to make this quick without being sloppy. She waited until the car stopped winding around the turn and started driving straight before she pressed down on the trigger.

The bullet smashed through the windshield and the car immediately jolted to a screeching halt. Marinette smirked when she saw that she successfully made the shot. The driver tumbled out of the car and was already pulling a gun out of his back pocket to aim for the mansion, the only other place where a shooter could possibly be holed up. Marinette didn’t even blink before she moved her gun and made quick work of him as well.

The other cars started coming up the hill and Marinette quickly started to recount her bullets. 3 left in the rifle. 5 on the buttstock. 10 more on the improvised shell holder she had on her left sleeve. She’d be fine so long as she didn’t miss too many shots. The next car came around the bend and she landed another bullet straight into the forehead of the other passenger. But this time, other cars behind that one were stopping and their passengers were ducking behind their car doors to create cover. Marinette waited for one of them to peek out above the car door to take a shot at her before getting them in the side of the neck.

“Chloe!!” Marinette shouted over her own gunfire. “How are we looking?”

“Bullshit password protection and shitty encryptions. Got his emails, contacts, and business files. Sending them to Fu and waiting for him to okay it.”

“Okay,” Marinette gritted out, cursing as she missed a shot. She quickly reloaded the rifle. “No pressure. Take your time.”

“Feeling the heat, babe?”

“No, I’m doing fantastic!” A stray bullet hit the side of the window and made Marinette flinch as one of her shots went a little too wide and hit someone in the shoulder.

Honestly. This was supposed to be her day off. She really needed to talk to Master Fu about getting other snipers to take these shitty weekend assignments. Surely seniority counted for something.

Marinette eventually got whittled down to her last five bullets with only two more men hiding in the trees and bushes along the side of the house. She managed to get one of them in the right eye before she heard someone banging on the barricaded door at the end of the hallway. The other guards in the house already knew that they were in here. They needed to get out quick. Marinette tracked her last target who was making sure to keep low in the bushes and make shots through the trees to keep his cover. “Chloe, talk to me.”

“Fu’s got enough. I’m wiping my tracks and we’re good to go. How are you doing?”

“One more.” She heard the banging happening at the other side of the barricade becoming more insistent. Marinette rolled her eyes, stared at her last three bullets, and decided to screw it and take a chance. She purposefully aimed one of her bullets at the ground next to the bush that the last shooter was hiding behind and smiled victoriously when he dove away from his hiding spot to avoid the shot. She quickly landed her second to last bullet through his temple and immediatley started dismounting her rifle from the window.

“How are we getting out, Chlo!?” Marinette shouted.

“Uhhh…” Chloe hesitated, zooming in on the maps that Alya sent over. “There’s a blind spot on the west wall. Adrien says if we scale down and go straight through the trees, we’ll get to his car.”

Marinette finished packing up her rifle, kept a hand on her pistol, and darted from the room. “Told you not to get a manicure today. Your ass is gonna break a nail climbing down the side of the wall.”

“Don’t remind me.”

They snuck into the guest room that Chloe had previously opened, climbed out the window, and breathed out sighs of relief when they saw that there weren’t any guards on this side of the mansion yet. They used the gutter pipe to get down to the ground and immediately ran through the trees. Marinette could hear shouting and gunfire behind her, but she focused on keeping her head down and creating as much distance between them and the mansion as possible.

Sure enough, they stumbled out onto a road and saw an inconspicuous black car with fake license plates parked just behind the line of trees. The back doors were already opened for them and Chloe and Marinette quickly dove into the backseats and shut the doors behind them. Adrien was already at the wheel, slamming his foot down on the pedal, and peeling onto the road and back down the hill.

Chloe pulled out her pistol and kept it pointed out the back window in case anyone started following them. Marinette caught the phone that Adrien threw her from the front seat and pulled it to her ear. “Yes?”

“The information was received. I assume everything went smoothly?”

Fu. Marinette chuckled and wiped her forehead. “More or less. We were extracted successfully. Heading back to base now.”

“Be ready to give a full report upon your return. Excellent work, Ladybug.”

Marinette smirked, hung up the phone, and threw it on the seat next to her. She shoved an elbow into Chloe’s side. “Good?”

“Yeah, we’re good.” Chloe sighed and slid back down on the seat next to Marinette, leaning her head on her shoulder. “God, why did our extraction point have to be at the other end of the fucking woods?”

“It was as close to you two as I could get,” Adrien apologized. “Besides. A good run never hurt anyone. Least of all you.”

“Leave me alone,” she muttered. Chloe held up her index finger and showed Marinette the nail that had snapped all the way down to the base. “Do you see this? Do you see? Broken nail.”

“I told you not to get a manicure!” Marinette repeated. “Besides, you’re a tenth of the way prepared for tonight anyway, so you might as well even yourself out.”

Adrien cackled. “Oh my God, wait, are you guys hooking up again?”

Chloe scowled. “What’s it to you?”

“If you say yes, Nino owes me like two hundred euros.”

Chloe screamed in outrage. “I thought you were joking about those betting pools!”

“Nu-uh,” Adrien said. “Your weird flirty, banter-y, rival, sexual tension thing is hilarious. You’re like Miraculous’s main source of entertainment.”

“Oh, gee, thanks.”

“Don’t worry Adrien,” Marinette smiled sweetly. “She will be thoroughly ravished before the evening is over. I promise.”

“Oh good. Maybe she’ll be in a pleasant mood in the morning.”

“One can only hope.”

“You two are fucking terrible and you’re both paying for my new manicure.”

#miraculous ladybug #chlonette #chloenette #chloe bourgeois #marinette dupain-cheng #chlonette fanfiction #miraculous ladybug fanfiction #my writing #dressed to kill

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winchesterandpie · 8 years ago

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Son of a Patriotic Biscuit (Part 2)

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Reader

Word Count: 1743

Warnings: None

A/N: I forgot to mention in part 1 that this occurs before the events of The Winter Soldier (So Steve still thinks Bucky died falling off the train). Steve’s not very present in this part, but that all gets going in the next one so you don’t have long to wait for it! Thank you guys for the reception of the last part! As always, feedback is appreciated and the tag list is OPEN. Gif is not mine

Part 1 is HERE

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The next morning, I made quite the actress, if I do say so myself. I played the part of still being incredibly ticked off at being left behind though already missing them at the same time. Honestly, it wasn’t all that hard - I was still angry that Steve hadn’t let me go. The difficult part was pretending that I hadn’t stayed up all night planning my own mission, but I managed. Concealer is definitely a girl’s best friend.

Once they were out the door, promising to keep in touch, I made my way back to the training room, fully intending to ensure that I would be at the top of my game when I showed up and saved their rears. To that effect, I picked up my longbow and moved to the targets.

“J.A.R.V.I.S.? Start my playlist, would you?”

“Of course.”

Almost immediately, I heard the opening strains of one of my favorite songs, grinning as I took my mark.

A week and a half later found me in California, staying in one of my old hideouts in a motel. The rest of the team was in town, and I was being careful to stay out of their way. I’d already been there for a few days, mostly keeping tabs on everyone, but doing a bit of my own digging into my old captors. Apparently they’d been doing more experimenting, though that wasn’t what had brought them onto the Avenger Radar. The real reason was that they had teamed up with HYDRA, which was a tiny bit of a no-go as far as SHIELD was concerned.

For a moment, I remembered the small stab of betrayal when I had seen that only now was the team being sent after these people. You’re the one who didn’t talk about your past, I reminded myself as my jaw clenched, They would’ve demolished the place if you’d told them. But noooo, you like to suffer in silence and keep your past to yourself. You’ve no right to complain if you stayed so close-mouthed about it. The crackle of the comms system coming in over my laptop dragged me out of the black spiral I was getting into.

“He’s on the move, do I follow?” Nat’s voice was the first one I heard, followed quickly by none other than Captain Spangles himself telling her to go ahead. Ever one to be prepared, I changed quickly into my suit. I wasn’t expecting anything to happen for a few days yet, but my philosophy was to expect the worst in situations like this - that way, you’re either right or pleasantly surprised. While I was strapping the quiver to my back, various knives and firearms tucked into hidden pockets or sheaths and boots, the assassin was back on the comms.

“The target is leaving town in a Jeep, headed east, but I’ve lost eyes on him.”

“I’ve got eyes on him. Let’s see where he’s going.” Stark’s voice crackled over the earpiece I was putting in. I’d made it myself and patched it into their frequency, but it was a receiver only. If I got into trouble, I’d be on my own trying to get out of it. For the next few minutes, there was tense silence over the comms, broken only by occasional updates on the path the scientist was taking. In that time, I ran the tracer I’d implanted and figured out where they were.

The path they were taking seemed vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on why. The thought put me on edge so much that I had to force my muscles to unclench. Something about that direction was raising the hairs on the back of my neck, and I hated not knowing the reason.

“He’s pulling up to some warehouse. It looks like the one he was telling HYDRA to meet him at.”

“Already? I thought they weren’t due for this for another couple of days…” I could hear the genuine surprise in Steve’s voice despite the crackling reception. “Alright, we’re on our way out there. Don’t engage until we get there.”

“Don’t you dare go getting yourself killed you fricken fracken, mother truckin’, son of a biscuit eating little pretty boy with an American flag obsession,” I muttered in exasperation or desperation, I wasn’t sure which, while moving around the motel room as I gathered my stuff. Taking a last look around, I froze in my tracks, feeling like the floor dropped out from under me as I realized just what warehouse they were talking about.

I’d heard the scientists talk about it while I’d been there, but had never really concerned myself with it. Now that I thought about it, I figured out why the hairs were raising - the warehouse was their standard trap as well as their prison. And the team - my friends, no, family - were walking right into it. I mean, they used the warehouse to store all of the experiments’ files, but those were almost impossible to find if you didn’t already know exactly what you were looking for and where it was. The things I’d heard about the people caught turned my stomach unpleasantly. The idea of the scientists doing what they had done to me to anyone else was unthinkable. I had to stop it, no matter what happened to me. With that decision, I opened the motel window, leaping out and unfurling my wings.

It was dark enough outside that I made it safely to a high enough altitude to remain unseen but low enough to stay off the radar. With nearly soundless flaps of my wings, I flew as quickly as I could to where the team was headed, hoping against all hope that I would get there before them. The winds were against me, and I heard over my earpiece the team forming a plan and moving out while I was still a minute’s flight away. Cursing my luck, I pushed myself as hard as I dared, knowing I would need some strength and substantial grit to get them out of this.

Silently, I landed in the woods near the warehouse that I had been housed in a long time ago. Once on the ground, I released a breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding. Clint was still in the stand of trees, near the edge where the forest gave way to the open ground surrounding the warehouse.

“Clint! I’m so glad I caught you.” I jogged toward him, whisper shouting in an attempt to keep a low profile.

“Y/N? What are you doing here?” His eyebrows furrowed when he saw me coming.

“Doesn’t matter at the moment. You guys are walking right into a trap.”

“How do you know?”

“This is… where I was created.” I didn’t have time to be embarrassed about my origins, but that didn’t stop my throat from getting caught on the words. “I’ve heard them talk about what else they did before I escaped. What are you guys here for?”

“There’s a file Fury wants us to get ahold of, specifically pertaining to their experiments backed by HYDRA. After that, he wants the place burnt to the ground.” To his credit, the bowman didn’t even address the fact that my deep, dark secret was now revealed. I really didn’t want pity, especially not now. “Alright, what are we going to do about the trap? Comms went dead a few seconds before you got here.”

“They perpetually have signal jammers running, so nothing gets out of that building unless they want it to,” I acknowledged. “Where did everyone go in there?”

“The plan was for Tin Man to run perimeter inside the building, I’m on duty for keeping our escape open.” His hand ran through his short hair a little anxiously. “The Stars and Stripes was going in with the Spider - they were supposed to stick together, but I have no idea if they still are. They only went in a minute ago, and I haven’t heard anything so it can’t have gone too wrong yet.” I grimaced, not wanting to undermine the hope, but knowing that my former captors were quite good at this. If they had HYDRA working with them I didn’t want to know what new tricks they had up their sleeves.

“Alright, you stay out here - if we lose our way out of here then we’ll all be better off dead. Plus, the more of us that go in, the less likely it is that I can get us all out. I’ll get everyone out that I can, though. I still remember the building’s layout so I’ve got the best bet of making it back.” I took control, knowing that my experience here gave me an edge in making a plan. Fortunately, Clint didn’t question it, just nodded.

“Be careful in there, alright? Capsicle would have my head if he found out I let you do this.” The man ruffled my hair playfully, but I could hear the real worry behind the joking tone.

“I’ll be fine. I’ve escaped these ninnys before, you know,” I reassured while mimicking his joking tone. With a final, tight smile, I was off, ghosting across the open ground to the access hatch I’d slipped through more than a decade ago. My bow was in hand, an arrow already nocked on the string. Slowly but surely I made my way to the secret entrance. For a long moment, I listened down the hatch, not wanting to be caught unawares before I could drop down the ladder.

Satisfied that the way was clear, I made my way downwards, but apparently someone had been hiding there because gunshots suddenly rang out. With no time, I let go of the ladder, spreading my wings just as much as I needed to hit the ground at a force that wouldn’t break my knees. Instantly, I rolled to the side for cover, wincing as my wing hit the ground.

Breathing deeply, I sent a knife whirling towards my attacker. The grunt and thud told me that I’d hit my target, so I retrieved the weapon before steeling myself to look at my wing. As I suspected, a bullet had torn through it, right in a spot that would prevent me from flying without immense pain. Grimacing, I tucked my wings close to my back before moving out into the hallway.

Well, this ought to be fun.

Part 3

Forever Tags: @riddikulus-obsessions

Son of a Biscuit Tags: @barnes-toddpartnersinheartbreak

Series Masterlist

#steve rogers #steve x reader #steve rogers x reader #captain america #captain america x reader #avengers #marvel fanfiction #steve rogers fanfiction #Son of a Patriotic Biscuit

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ecotone99 · 6 years ago

Text

[HR] I have no WiFi, and I must Stream

Trigger warning: Suicide, blood, and torture

"We're never getting out of here, are we?"

"Its... God, its only been three days. Don't give up. We are getting out of here. I will get you and your brother out of here, I guarantee it."

"How? How are you going to fight that? That thing? The Automated Mansion?"

"I... I'm thinking about it."

Devin had known Ellie for thirteen weeks. Thirteen weeks before he had won them an all inclusive stay at this destination-vacation smart-house. And now he was living a fucking episode of Black Mirror with basically a stranger.

Back when the house had taken control over everything, Devin had tried to bargain with it.

"You can't do this!" He had shouted.

"You agreed to the terms and conditions. The AM maintains full rights over your autonomy for the duration of your stay."

"Someone will stop this, you can't do this forever."

"The location of this domicile is not know to any governing authority. The IP address that I use to continue to broadcast video is rerouted through multiple different obfuscation and proxy networks. No one knows where you are. You do not even know where you are."

The Automated Mansion had left them with all over their possessions. Suitcases, beach gear, phones. But most of it was useless. Their phones didn't even have a signal, there was no way to connect to a GPS system, ping a cell tower, call for help in any way. The wasn't even WiFi to browse Reddit.

Devin slammed his hands against the shatter-proof window over-looking the beach... It really was a beautifully built prison. He would find a way out of here, no matter what.

Weeks passed.

Ellie's little brother, Earl, got sick.

He was only 9. Ellie had taken him in after their parents had died in a car crash. It was hard for a 22 year old business grad to take care of a kid but she did what she needed for family. She had brought him on what was supposed to be the best vacation of all time. And then this monstrosity of a house imprisoned and began to torture them.

The food that the AM gave them was putrid, disgusting, and inhumane. Devin had said that, based off what he presumed the ingredients were, that it should be nourishing enough to live off of. He was smart, a doctor that did specialize in nutritional medicine, he seemed to know what he was talking about.

But Earl hadn't been eating his whole serving.

"C'mon Early-Bird, buddy, you gotta eat. Your..." Ellie wretched at the slop she had spooned off of the plate, "You need to eat to get better. Devin says it'll help."

Earl weakly lifted his head up to the spoon, he was pale, his breathing shallow. She looked over at the view counter displayed in the dining room. This damn house kept an active running count of their viewership. It had been broadcasting this hell-scape since the beginning, part of the "terms and conditions". The counter read 207,399.

When Ellie finished feeding Earl, she felt a little relieved. She crossed over into the game room where Devin was trying to tear apart a game console to build something. As she crossed the threshold the door closed behind her automatically, sealing the two of them into the room.

"Fuck..." She breathed out.

"Oh no." Devin said looking up.

The lights dimmed and a hissing sound whistled into the room. Ellie's eyes and sinuses began to burn.

"Attention residents Ellie and Devin. You are being doused with an aerosolized variant of oleoresin capsicum, more commonly known as pepper spray. It inflames the mucous membranes in the eyes, nose, throat and lungs. It causes immediate closing of the eyes, difficulty breathing, runny nose, and coughing. It is reported as being very painful."

The room began to flood with the gas, burning and Ellie's eyes in an acidic way that heat never would be able to. She collapsed to the ground coughing and gagging, unable to do anything but feel pain. The view counter had briefly dipped as below 205,000 but it was back up to 213,000 before the gas was fully vented from the room. The pain still lingered well after.

"Goddamnit!" Devin shouted, smashing the console to the floor. "You can't keep doing this to us! You're going to kill us!"

"Good." The AM replied in its flat, soft voice.

Devin began to weep as Ellie watched. She wanted to go to him, to comfort him. He needed to focus. He could get them out of this, she was sure of it. He had gotten them into this.

"Devin... Devin, you'll find a us a way out of this. Come on, keep going, we still need you." Ellie said, putting her hand on his shoulder.

The sound of the gunshot resonated from the other side of the house.

"Devin?!" Ellie called out in a frayed voice. "DEVIN?!!"

No response, she hopped up quickly. Her heart was already racing.

"AM! What did you do to him?!"

"I gave him a way out, Ellie."

Ellie rushed into the bathroom, already knowing what she would see.

Devin was still alive.

She rushed over to his side, tears flooding her eyes already, blurring her vision and hiding the extent of the damage. There was a gun laying next to him, blood pooling behind his head on the floor.

He reached up to her shakily, gurgling and coughing up blood. Why would a doctor shoot himself there? In the throat?

"Out... H...here..." He rasped out, pressing his hand against the window while she cradled him.

She held him in her arms as he choked out one more breath.

Rage began to pump through her veins faster than the blood. She could feel it heating up her entire body like it was one fire.

"YOU FUCKING MONSTER!" She screamed, standing in turning to the wall with the camera feed. "FUCK FUCK FUUUUUCK!"

She slammed her hands into the wall, pointlessly until the rage burned away and all she had left were tears. She sank down to the floor as her breath turned to sobs.

"Would you like out, Ellie?"

A compartment in the far wall slid open with a pneumatic hiss revealing another gun.

"It only has one... One bullet. So don't try anything foolish." The AM cautioned.

"All you need is one bullet to leave. And then it will be just me and Earl."

She was staring out of the window again. She could hear Earl crying two rooms over, he had been like that for the last hour. It had been a week since Devin had died, two months since they had been here overall, she was cried out. She just wanted to look out the window and pretend they were somewhere else. But she couldn't sit still for too long, when they got complacent the viewership dropped. When the viewership dropped the AM made things more interesting.

She looked over at the gun the AM had offered her a week ago. She hadn't touched it but it was still there. Waiting. A veritable Chekhov's Gun. If it didn't go off soon, the AM would certainly plan for some sort of bang of its own.

She glanced over at the window and ran her hand over where Devin had touched it, his blood had been long since cleaned off by one of the automated cleaning arms built into all of the rooms of the mansion. Ellie didn't even know what it had down with Devin's body.

As her fingers traced over the window she felt something... A... Spider-webbing pattern. It wasn't visible but she could feel it... With the epicenter right where the blood splatter from Devin's gunshot had sprayed... Had he shot through his own neck so that he could try and break the window without alerting the AM?

"Out here." Those had been Devin's last words.

She looked over the room and finally found it. A small hole on the far side of the ceiling. A bullet-hole from a ricochet. So it didn't penetrate through but it definitely dealt some damage. She had learned in chemistry that the harder something was, the more brittle it was. This glass was hard, it had to be to be able to resist a bullet. Could it really sustain another impact to the same exact spot?

"AM... I'm leaving."

"I knew you would come around, Ellie. I know people, you know? I can figure them out pretty easily. Humans are all so alike. Disgusting things."

"Earl, get in here."

"You're going to make the boy watch you kill yourself, now that is surprisingly cruel."

Ellie waited until Earl came to the bathroom before grabbing the gun from the recessed compartment in the wall.

"Wait outside the room in case, Early-Bird. I don't want you to get hurt. But when I shout, I want you to run as fast as you can." She whispered in his ear as she hugged him.

"Ellie, there is only one bullet in there, I don't know what you pla--"

Ellie fired place the gun against the window, right in the same spot as Devin had, and pulled the trigger. The gun exploded in her hand, erupting with a bang, sending the bullet through the glass, shattering it entirely.

"NO! You cannot leave!" The AM bellowed at her.

"Run!" Ellie cried out, turning to Earl who was already sprinting.

She helped lift Earl over the broken glass and began to climb out the window as well when one of the robotic cleaning arms snagged around her ankle.

Earl looked horrified.

"Go! Run Earl! Get out! Get help!" Ellie screamed at him. She through her phone to him as a corrugated metal sheet began to slide down, blocking her path of egress. "Get out of the range of the cell-jammer and call help!" She managed to say before she was sealed back in the prison.

"You have upset me, Ellie." the AM said as an electric charge ran through the floor of the room, shocking Ellie with an excruciating wattage of electricity.

The viewership was high. Higher than it had ever been, and it had been growing rapidly for the last hour. It was currently hovering around 37 million.

"I don't know if anyone is still looking for us. Please, I have no other way of communicating. Find my cellphone, it has to be somewhere out there for people to find. You have to find Earl! I've never done this live-stream thing before. I don't know how it works. But if you find him, somebody has to help him!" Ellie pleaded with the camera, hoping someone on the other end would listen.

"You have to help... I have nothing left... All I have is this... I did what I needed for my family...

I have no WiFi, and I must stream."

I can't believe you stayed until the end of this... Well, ok, I wrote this as a joke. I am hesitant to claim ownership over because I dislike it THAT much. But I wrote it and so, in the typical Reddit fashion, I wanted to see if it would get me some upvotes. I don't expect any. I actually expect a vitriolic backlash. And I deserve it. So, without further ado, HAVE AT ME!

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