#ive been trying to artificially run from it more lately like

[dockaspbrak]

The night time dread is so severe rn;;;

[hummingbird-of-light]

June of Doom 2024 Day 4 (@juneofdoom)

4. “Does that hurt?”                              

| Impalement | Fracture | Punishment |

~

As she was led away from the rest of the imprisoned landing party, Christine Chapel was already aware that things were not going to end well for her.

The path led her and her captors through long corridors lit with artificial light and for the first time Christine got an impression of how huge the research center on the planet Gaduz IV actually was.

A team of scientists and doctors had beamed down from the Enterprise to the planet with the aim of helping the humanoid beings living there to develop a new vaccine.

It should have been a simple mission. The team was to help the natives, who had been members of the Federation for quite some time, while the Enterprise underwent repairs at a nearby starbase.

Too late they had realized that the research center had been taken over by rebels and the ship had already been out of range when Christine and the others realized what was going on.

"You'll never get away with it," growled the nurse, giving the two male creatures that were dragging her along an angry look.

"Oh, but we already are. The research center is ours. From here, we can pass the virus off as a vaccine and spread it across the entire planet. And then our world will finally be rid of all the wretched, frail creatures. Only the strong will survive."

One man's yellow eyes sparkled with delight as he uttered these words and his partner nodded in agreement.

It was just crazy! Chapel simply could not and would not understand how someone was capable of such a thing.

"Provided, of course, you earthlings don't try to cause any more problems." The hand holding Christine only squeezed tighter and the nurse gritted her teeth.

"Oh, I'm sorry, does that hurt?" One of the kidnappers laughed maliciously and Christine gave him a dark look. If she could move freely, she would have punched the guy in the face – hypocratic oath or not.

"I'm sure we'll make a good example of you to discourage anyone else from trying to rebel against us." The man to her left grinned with pleasure and a shiver ran down Chapel's spine.

She had protested loudly when she and the rest of the landing team had been locked up. One of the older scientists had been injured by the rebels in the process. And now she would be punished for her behavior.

The small group came to a halt in front of a door, which opened with a hiss and Christine froze.

There in the room was a metal chair, which was obviously used to hold people in place. The nurse was quickly led over to it and forced to sit down.

"I'd love to inject you with the virus to see what effect it has on humans, but I doubt it would do anything to a healthy woman like you." The taller of the two captors stepped over to a table on which all kinds of medical instruments were lying.

"But I'm quite certain that we can disfigure you in such a way that all the other prisoners will see it as a warning."

The smile on the local's face grew even wider than before as he turned to Christine, a scalpel in his hand.

"Best we start with your pretty long fingers. Anyone who resists us will never touch anything again."

Chapel's breathing quickened as she watched the alien apply the blade to her right thumb. It didn't take long for a hellish pain to fill the nurse as the metal cut first through her flesh and then through the bone.

She wanted to scream out loud, but the second kidnapper placed one of his big paws on her mouth from behind.

Finger followed finger and Christine felt hot tears running down her cheeks faster and faster. It hurt so much!

"There we have it. So ... what else?" As the last finger fell to the floor, her tormentor seemed to muse for a moment. Then he laughed. "Oh, of course! Anyone who resists us is not worthy of our sight."

Christine's eyes widened and she shook her head quickly. But it didn't help. The rebel put the scalpel aside and instead reached for a syringe filled with a dark liquid.

The next punishment was much quicker than the previous one, but no less painful.

Tears and blood mingled as Chapel screamed as loud as she could into the hand that was still on her mouth. The pain of acid burning in her eyes was unbearable and it didn't stop when her sight finally went out completely.

She heard the laughter of her captors and knew it wasn't over yet.

"Oh, I have one last thing. Anyone who resists us will never speak a word against us again."

Chapel pleaded and gasped as the paw detached itself from her mouth. But she didn't have time for big words.

Fingers grabbed her tongue and pulled it out of her mouth. And when Christine felt a cold blade touch it, she sensed that this punishment would be the last.

One cut ... then it was over.

[thebinkinator-3000]

here is my story snippet haha i kind of hate it but oh well. maybe i'll like it more tomorrow but who knows. ive stared at this page too long today i think

In 1989 space flights became commerical. They were a huge success among the upper-class and became a regular vacation trip. In 1991 the first Mars colony was established, and by 1996 everyone who could afford to move there did. Then they went further into the stars.

In 1997 Earth was ravaged by aliens. It wasn't exactly an unprovoked attack, they didn't like humans poking around in space. After three months of hell, the humans on Mars decided to show a scrap of humanity and help the remaining Earthlings out. They destroyed the alien's ships, but were unaware of how many remained elsewhere on the planet. A reluctant treaty was formed from the human's need to survive and the alien's need for preservation. With the condition of Earth, adjustments needed to be made. They combined their science and technology and began experiementing. Humans and aliens alike were cross-bred, mutated, and even roboticized. After a decade of failures and causalites, they finally suceeded in a mutation without physical or mental side effects. The missing key had been a child. They were mutating beings too old, it had to be done young.

Click. Bzzz. The shuttle room was filled with cold air, accompanied by bright lights. Glen stood, the baked moss of his terrarium crunching under his feet. It was about two and a half months overdue for replacement, but he didn't care. It was good enough for him. He stepped over the short glass barrier of the terrarium and picked up his clothes off the floor. He donned them quickly and began walking to the next room whilst trying to tie his thick black hair back. After a minute of wrangling he finally suceeded and heated one of his few remaining food canisters. He crossed the shuttle room to a scrawny desk that looked as if it might topple if you looked at it wrong. Atop the desk sat piles of papers, machinery and metal scraps, and a big white computer monitor. There was a keyboard and mouse too, somewhere. He carelessly shoved aside the junk to reveal them, then turned on the computer. He sat in the equally scrawny chair in front of the desk and ate his food. The computer was an old model, late 1990s, and despite its numerous upgrades it still took about 10 minutes to turn on. Once it had finally booted up, the computer automatically opened a tab showing Glen all of the latest scumbags and criminals on the run. While the humans in space were attempting to establish a federation of somesort, bounty hunters thrived on backwater planets like Earth. "1,000 tok. Zirsk, Loth. . ." The computer began to list off several bounties and Glen listened half-heartedly, picking at the scraps of his meal. He listened on for about two minutes before one caught his interest, ". . .24 (custom). Maid equipped with Artificial Intellegence. . ." Before the computer even finished talking, a quick tap on the mouse revealed more information alongside a full body picture of the robot. It had a very unique build, largely decorative but it still had a full range of movement. That was a big design flaw in a lot of HS-class bots. The bot had a sleek, curvy body with pointed joint plates. The head was topped with a black visor-dome, under which were dainty lips painted a shimmery purple. He didn't like robots much, they made him uneasy, but they were one of the few beings capable of fighting and quick thinking without being trained. That made them fun to fight. He got the robot's last known coordinates from the computer and went to the cockpit. He flopped down in the pilot's seat, hit a few buttons, and he was off.

heres art of glen ig. i dont have much art of kyrie (the robot, its her nickname) on my phone atm so you get a kinda half-assed animation

@sundere1181

[mariacallous]

Just after 2 am Pacific time on Monday morning, several OpenAI staffers—including its chief technology officer, Mira Murati—posted in unison on X: “OpenAI is nothing without its people.” Sam Altman, who was dramatically removed as the company’s chief executive on Friday, reposted many of them. By then, Altman already had a new job. Satya Nadella—CEO of Microsoft, a major investor and partner of OpenAI—announced late on Sunday night that Altman and his cofounder Greg Brockman would be joining the tech giant to head a new “advanced AI research team.” Nadella’s statement seemed to suggest that others from the startup would be joining Microsoft.

By hiring Altman and Brockman amid the chaos at the top of OpenAI, Microsoft has managed to acquire one of the most successful management teams in artificial intelligence without having to buy the company—whose pre-chaos valuation was $86 billion.

“Satya now looks like one of the most epic kingmakers,” says Nathan Benaich, founder and general partner at Air Street Capital and author of the State of AI report.

At least three other senior researchers—Jakub Pachocki, Aleksander Mądry, and Szymon Sidor—have reportedly left OpenAI.

“The head and the arms and one of the legs [of OpenAI] have gone to Microsoft,” says tech analyst Azeem Azhar, author of the newsletter Exponential View. “This is an enormous opportunity for Microsoft because it gets to take Sam Altman and Greg Brockman and probably a large part of the leadership team, and many of the very best engineers and researchers.”

At Microsoft, Altman and Brockman will have access to huge amounts of capital and compute power, Azhar says, as well as the tech giant’s support to develop other parts of the AI tech stack, including chips and consumer electronics. Altman was reportedly trying to raise billions of dollars from investors for a new chip project in the weeks running up to his firing. Altman and OpenAI had also been linked to a hardware venture with former Apple head of design Jony Ive that was reportedly hoping to build the “iPhone of AI,” backed by Softbank’s Masayoshi Son.

“I’m sure [Microsoft] will give Sam the leeway to go up and down the stack,” Azhar says. “Microsoft itself is developing its own chips for AI. Well, Altman’s group can probably help with that now, and they will be developing consumer electronics like surface computers and so on. Sam can start to head into that direction now through this group.”

Microsoft shares slipped on Friday as news of the problems at OpenAI spread. OpenAI’s technology has been integrated into a number of Microsoft products, including its Bing search engine, and the two companies’ fortunes had been seen as deeply intertwined. The news that Altman will be moving to the company is likely to restore confidence, analysts say.

“[Microsoft] hired this key asset and now he will oversee OpenAI from Redmond along with Nadella which is music to the ears of investors,” Dan Ives, senior equity research analyst covering the technology sector at Wedbush Securities, said in an email. “If Microsoft lost Altman he could have gone to Amazon, Google, Apple, or a host of other tech companies craving to get the face of AI globally in their doors. Instead he is safely in Microsoft’s HQ now leading the company’s key AI efforts.”

In an increasingly competitive AI industry, this is more than just steadying the ship after a chaotic few days for Microsoft. “Microsoft would never have thought they would get this level of talent, right? And especially at the senior level,” says Imran Ghory, general partner at VC Blossom Capital.

What it means for OpenAI isn’t clear, but the weekend’s events have also punctured a pervasive myth that the company’s lead in the industry is bulletproof. “The weekend’s chaos has shown us that no one is immune from the laws of corporate physics. Considering Sam’s centrality, it’s the most baffling decision from an AI lab I’ve witnessed,” he says. “People who are investing in OpenAI took the view that it was invincible. History teaches you that no one is invincible."

[ask-prime-starscream]

Now what? - The future of this blog

Currently I have five Alternate Universes float around in my head and maybe you’ll like them to come to life here? I plan fanart, comics and maybe some graphic novel style with art and written text. Please share your thoughts and opinions. <3 I. How to raise your sparkling - TFA AU

After Starscream got captured by the Elite Guard, they start to experiment with his CNA to create Autobots with flight ability. However, Starscream manages to free himself and out of spite he snatches the two protoforms right out of their incubator. But he doesn’t feel pleased with himself for long. On the run and with now two demanding sparklings craving his attention, killing Megatron and ruling the universe isn’t such an easy goal anymore...

II. Metroplex Asylum - IDW1/Cyberverse AU set after TAAO

Based on the scrapped idea for Starscream to return with amnesia, after his Quintesson form got destroyed. I would let this take place in the Cyberverse universe, but IDW1 provides so much better world building and consequences, so it’s set there. Windblade fights Vigilem alone in her own head until Starscream logs in to help. During the procedure, Vigilem manages to almost totally override Starscream’s brain-module which forces Airachnid to call a halt before it’s too late. She fries the unwelcome foreign pattern inside Starscream’s head, causing irreparable damage. When Starscream wakes up again - something they didn’t even hope for - he has only a fleeting grasp of some events (mostly early war), tends to terrible mood swings and is obsessed with Windblade, who feels responsible for him, but can’t handle his unfiltered feelings towards her. In the end they have no other choice, but to put the Chosen One, the leader of Cybertron, into an institution full with other bots with mental health issues. While Starscream bends over backwards to make sense of his surroundings and is generally at peace with himself, the past, present and future won’t stop haunting him.

III. Endless Utopia - IDW2 AU

I already started this comic until I put it on hiatus last year. However, I have nine pages in the making and plan to update this soon and hopefully at a faster pace. This AU is based on the idea of a “Nicescream”. Even though his life is more than complicated, he found his own little happiness. But pre-war Cybertron won’t leave him alone.

IV. Moon City - No specific universe with a pinch of Armada

Decades after the war between Autobots and Decepticons ended, earth is a mostly unhabitable place thanks to climate change and World War III. The only flicker of hope for the average human survivor is Moon City, a base built on the moon with artificial atmosphere and Cybertronian technology. While it provides a life in luxury and first of all health, not everyone can enter and the cost of living is sky high. Alexis Thi Dang got the grades to be accepted at the Moon City Academy, but scrapping the money together to keep studying is a daily struggle. Desperately searching on the network for ways to get benefits, she stumbles over the possible solution: In this city of the future, humans who are partnered to a Cybertronian are extremely privileged. Especially the winners of the war, the Autobots, are highly demanded partners. The Council of Humanity even runs a secret project to create a techno-organic mix-race which is supposed to be the answer to the new living conditions in space and possible colonies in foreign atmospheres. Anybody contributing to this goal has their place in Moon City ensured. Alexis however, is among the population just an average Jane, so she cannot even dream of finding a Cybertronian who wants to hook up with a human. Therefore she surfs the dark net and finds a fishy organization willing to provide her a partner... Starscream is on the run since the war ended and hides in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter where he scratches together all the energon he can find. One day he gets roused by humans searching for the same... and Cybertronian spare parts. Barely able to flee, he looks for a safe haven and meets Swindle who is into some not so legal businesses and makes Starscream some not so confidence-inspiring promises to smuggle him into Moon City, the only place of Cybertronian standards he can reach for now. Desperate, Starscream agrees... and gets paired up with Alexis. The beginning of a “wonderful” partnership.

V. Starscream the Movie - No specific universe

I once wanted to create a canon divergent Bumble Bee the Movie fic. This was born out of the idea that both Bee and Starscream are stranded on earth, but I rewrote the whole thing into basically “What could a movie about Starscream look like?” So, we got everything. His creation, his place among the Decepticons, his relationship with Megatron and of course his flock, Skywarp, Thundercracker, Slipstream... a benevolent doctor called Knock Out and the joys of being a giant robot thrashing planets with primitive species and Autobots trying to protect them.  Starscream’s winning streak goes to his head though and results in his fall from grace. He is basically degraded to hunt down insignificant Autobot bases and his first target is Bee on earth. This is probably my most ambitious project and that’s why I can’t reveal too much.

(VI. A forgotten grave - IDW1)

Short comic about Megatron who wants to meet Starscream one last time before his execution. Based on this:

Q: How did the LL crew - specifically Megatron - react to the deaths of Optimus, Soundwave, and Starscream? 

A: Let's specifically focus on Megatron - he would've been conflicted about all three. Would've been most cut up over Starscream's death, because there was a lot of unfinished business between him and Starscream, and the reformed pacifist Megatron never got to meet Starscream. That probably eats away at him. Closely followed by Optimus. Would've been incredibly interested in what Soundwave had done and would've been proud of him. Imagine he would have been bitterly affected by all three deaths in slightly different ways.

While Megatron shows NEVER any regret about how he treated Starscream in the comics, I’ll just take this word of god here and do something with it.

---

Well then. Any thoughts? ;D

[headoverjojo]

Hey can I request a scenario where all of La Squadra survived to Bruno's gang but s/o (who is like a sibling figure), and then one day they discovered that she/he is in fact still alive but held captive by another gang, this gang saved her but instead of healing her they were keeping her in a comatose state (or artificial coma). Then the squad went to save them. Feel free to ignore if it's too specific or what so ever!

Hello there, honey :3 Ooooh I loved this request so much!! I hope you’ll like it! I had so much fun writing it :3

La Squadra di Esecuzione finds out that their sibling-like teammate is alive but kept in a comatose state by a rival gang and they go to rescue them

(Under the cut for length, blood, murders, and so on!)

Risotto and his men always thought that seeing the Boss’ demise would have been sweet. And it had been, all in all. They never felt such a satisfaction, a pleasure like that. Seeing the fear and the panic in his eyes, when Gold Experience Requiem nullified without any effort King Crimson’s power, had been… sublime. And that kid, Giorno… he was a good boy. And he had showed more than once to be a born leader. With some assistance, support and time to learn, he would have become the greatest leader of the whole Italian criminal world, Risotto thought.

It would have been absolutely perfect, if all his teammates were there. Gelato, Sorbetto… G/N. Sorbetto and Gelato’s deaths were still painful wounds, but, now that the Boss, Cioccolata and Secco, the very people who had planned and acted to kill them, were dead, it was more… bearable. It still stung, like an old wound never completely healed, but it was way more bearable. Now that they have been avenged, they could rest in peace. But G/N…

They hadn’t even found their body.

Bucciarati and his kids didn’t know what happened to them, as no one of them ever faced G/N. They had been intercepted before they could even try to stop Bucciarati and kidnap Trish; just later, when the Squadra finally faced Cioccolata and Secco, they found out that the two were responsible of their death too.

None of the Squadra members held back, when they finally had the chance to give them the final blow.

And still… the body was nowhere to be found. They had searched everywhere, in every corner, in every dark alley. They had scoured every centimeter of the drainages, they had interrogated every informator they still had. And they hadn’t find even a trace of them. The new Don had helped them, of course, but not even him and Passione’s great resources could do anything. G/N just seemed… to be vanished in thin air.

Nevertheless, they never gave up. They all loved G/N, they loved them fiercely. They had been the glue that even in the darkest times had kept together the group. They had been always here for every single one of them: they were the one who always calmed down Sorbetto and Gelato when they had a fight, leading them to forgive each other; they were the one who, when Risotto was feeling down, usually around his cousin’s death anniversary, sat down with him, with two glasses of liquor, to make a toast in his cousin’s honour, and to listen to his stories about him. They were here when Prosciutto had panic attacks due to all the anxiety and responsibilities that weighed on his heart and when Pesci needed few words of encouragement. They always listened actively to Melone’s happy ramblings about the last news on a scientific magazine, and they always helped Illuso to perfectly organize his archives in the mirror world, chatting with him. G/N was the only one able to calm down Ghiaccio when he was deep in one of his furious rampages, and the only one who saw Formaggio without his usual cocky and smug facade.

And now they were gone.

The Squadra, however, wanted to honor them one last time, to give them a proper burial. They wanted them to have a place where G/N could rest in peace and where they could go to pay their respects. G/N deserved this. But, without a body, they couldn’t do it.

Their hunt had been frustrating and useless until a cold December day, more or less eight months later. That day, when they made their usual weekly round of interrogations, one of their informators shared something interesting.

“There are rumors, you know… about the Artiglios. I’ve heard they keep captive someone… I’ve asked about it, of course, and you know how persuasive I can be, yeah, do you remember when- the man stopped, when he saw Prosciutto’s jaw tightening. It wasn’t a good sign… maybe it was better to go straight to the point. An irritated Prosciutto wasn’t good, he knew it too well. -Anyway, I’ve offered this dude a couple of drinks, you know, the strong ones, and oh boy he started to sing like a nightingale. He said they had found this person and that they were barely alive. They thought they were a poor soul and, well, they decided to heal them, hoping they would have been useful to them. And well… when they finally cleaned their face from all that blood, they recognized them. It was your teammate, you know, G/N, the one who seems to be vanished. They have them, as far as I know, but honestly I don’t know if your G/N is fine, if they chose to stay with that gang or what. Maybe they died. I don’t know, the guy fell on the waitress’ tits and the barman kicked him out. I would have done the same, if you want to know that, absolutely.” Prosciutto grimaced, disgusted. Still… those infos had ignited again a sparkle of hope in his heart. Maybe they finally had a track to follow…

“And does your dude have a name?” the hitman asked, with a silky voice. The man gulped, shivering. He really didn’t want to be in that poor man’s shoes…

“Antonello Nocera, but he’s known as Svelto. Don’t ask me why, someone says it’s because he’s as fast as a water snake when he has to run from the cops, someone else because, well… he’s not really skilled in bed. Whatever. You can find him at the Torre Nera, drinking until he forgets who he is. I advise you to get there before he’s too far in his dreamy world.” the little smelly man tipped his hat to Prosciutto, before disappearing in the dark alley, careful not to be spotted by anyone. Prosciutto sighed, fishing a little hand mirror from his pocket. Illuso was there, and he knew that, through his mirrors, the whole squad had listened to the news.

“Get him to the HQ, Prosciutto. He’ll sing like a nightingale for us too.” Illuso said, with a malicious grin. Prosciutto nodded, closing the hand mirror with a little snap, and marched toward the infamous bar.

He really wanted to hear Antonello Nocera sing as loud as he could.

-

Antonello Nocera, or Svelto, was even more a coward than what they thought. Risotto didn’t even had to make him spit razors; a small blade piercing his forearm had been more than enough to make him cry and confess everything he knew.

And so, the team found out that their G/N, their beloved G/N, was alive. They were, in fact, kept captive, and this lift from their heart a weight they didn’t even realised was there. They hadn’t abandoned them… they had been forced to do it. And their teammates would have brought them back, at any cost.

The plan was simple: enter, kill whoever was on their path, take G/N and go back to the HQ. If the Artiglio gang was lead by a wise leader, they wouldn’t have tried to stop them or to get their revenge. If not… they would have tasted the rage of the whole hitman team.

The night of G/N’s rescue was even colder than the prior days. Even Ghiaccio, who usually bear the cold like it was nothing, was freezing. The team waited until the patrol was at the other side of the building, an unimpressive grey block of concrete, to break in.

Formaggio, who was already inside thanks to Little Feet, opened for them the door. While they were entering, Melone noticed, in a corner, a couple of bodies, but no blood; Formaggio knew how to kill discreetly, when he wanted to. They silently run from room to room, dismissing everyone they met: Ghiaccio froze to death a guard who was coming in their direction; The Grateful Dead silenced forever the men in the surveillance room, and Pesci literally teared a guard’s heart from his own chest with his Beach Boy. Illuso tricked a small group of potential dangerous obstacles in the mirror world, and a single motion of Risotto’s hand made appear on five guards macabre bloody smiles on their throats. The Artiglio gang had abducted one of their team; they would have shown no mercy.

Finally, they made their way to the last room. It was mostly dark, and the only little light came from few medical machinery that surrounded a hospital bed. Their heart skipped a beat when they saw, under the thin light grey cover and many small tubes, G/N. Their body was worn and weak, they… they seemed a corpse. And, when they called them, when G/N didn’t even flinch when Formaggio screamed their name and Ghiaccio shook them, the group of men really thought it was, by now, too late. However, Melone, showing more authority than in the past few years, silenced them all. He went near their bed, studying the data on the machinery and their condition with sharp eyes. Then, he checked the IVs and grimaced, understanding what was happening to them.

“So, Melone? What’s this? Are they fine?” Pesci frantically asked, anxious. Melone nodded, after studying also their medical records, sighing.

“They’re in an induced coma. There aren’t brain damages… The Artiglios just kept them asleep with a cocktail of benzodiazepines and remifentanil. Maybe they wanted to use them as bait or as informator… I honestly don’t know and I don’t care. We have to carry them out.” he said and, when he noticed that Formaggio was already going to tear out the IV needles from their arm, he immediately stopped him.

“No! It has to be done slowly, or they’ll suffer permanent damages! We have to carry them out with the IVs. At the HQ I’ll start the awakening procedures.” he ordered, with a harsh and professional tone. With some careful maneuvers, the whole group managed to carry G/N and all the IVs out of the room. Risotto and Pesci, the strongest ones, carried G/N with incredible care, and Melone carried the IVs; Formaggio and Illuso opened the way, and Ghiaccio and Prosciutto closed the group. They didn’t meet any other obstacles and, once they were out of the building, Risotto turned to Formaggio and Ghiaccio, with an unmistakable look in his eyes.

Burn everything down.

The two stayed back, while the rest of the group carried G/N to their headquarters, surrounded and protected by the darkness. When they were near their HQ, that same darkness was lightened by high and huge flames bloomed behind them, right where the enemy gang’s headquarters were. Formaggio and Ghiaccio had accomplished their work.

Now… now they just had to wake G/N up, and everything would have been ok.

This time, for real.

[astudyinimagination]

So... I was inspired to write a Sherbeth fake-dating-for-Christmas fic and @wellmanneredthief and @lost-without-my-detective were my enablers. :D I don’t know how often I’m going to be able to post and this is going to be way more ramble-y and fluffy than I usually do but here it goes.

Also playing a bit fast and loose with SH22 canon; if you know the show, you’ll know it when you see it. ;)

And sorry for the horribly unoriginal title. If I come up with a better one, I will change it!

Holmes for the Holidays

1. White the Fading Forests Grow

“I still don’t understand why we’re doing this, Inspector.”

Beth Lestrade sighed but didn’t look away from the road, gripping the steering wheel of her rental as she turned north onto U.S.-31 from the South Bend International Airport. “Watson, what’s not to understand? My family wants me to be set up with some nice guy, so I’m giving them that. For this Christmas, anyway.”

She felt rather than saw Sherlock’s look of amusement. “And next Christmas?”

“I will cross that bridge when I come to it. Live in the moment!”

“Yes, please do.”

“Relax.” Beth signaled and moved left to pass a semi truck. “This isn’t as bad as New London.”

“Yes, but it’s on the ground. I would have thought this city was big enough to warrant air traffic.”

“Nope, that’s just the big cities and their urban sprawls, and South Bend is still too small and too far outside of Chicago. You’ve just spent too much time in New London, that’s all. Relax.”

“I will when we’re clear of the urban traffic.”

She risked a quick glance at Sherlock Holmes — he was clutching his armrests. “It’s the side of the road throwing you off, isn’t it.”

“...it might be.”

“Okay, it’s okay. We’ll be in the countryside soon, all right?”

“But, Inspector,” Watson piped from the backseat, “the most direct route is to take this freeway straight up to South Haven.”

“Yes, the most direct route, but not the prettiest. I’m taking you guys the scenic route, just as soon as I can hit a Michigan road I know. And then Sherlock can relax, too.”

“Too kind.” His tone was bone-dry.

“Relaaaax. Traffic is thinning out already and also we’re in Michigan now.”

“I’m still not sure why we didn’t use a Michigan airport,” said Watson. “There are two closer to your parents than South Bend is.”

“Mm, a little bit closer but not as direct. The flight to South Bend was the shortest and most direct, and now we have a little time to kill to enjoy the scenery.”

“I must say, the scenery is already quite pretty.”

Beth smiled. The scenery was pretty. Most of the land surrounding U.S.-31 in Southwest Michigan was either farmland or woodland, and it was all liberally coated with snow. The snow wasn’t necessarily a given for seven days before Christmas, and Beth was grateful for it.

“Okay,” she said aloud after a few minutes, “here we go.” She turned off the freeway and headed northeast. “We’re hooking up with M-139, and that’ll take us basically all the way to St. Joe, turn on to M-63, and then take that north until it meets with the Blue Star Highway and that rides us all the way up to South Haven.” She glanced at Sherlock. “You’ll get to see the lake along the way.”

He arched an eyebrow. “Saint Joe?”

She sighed. “That river we just passed? The Saint Joseph River. Look, a lot of Catholics settled in this area.”

“Irish, Germans, and Poles, from what I’ve read, followed by African and Latin Americans.”

She raised both eyebrows at him. “You researched the area?”

He shrugged. “I was curious.”

She shook her head. “Just look out your window and let me know if you spot any deer.”

“Is that a danger?” Watson sounded concerned.

“Eh, a little bit. Not as much now as in the fall, but I do remember I almost wrecked on time on a little gaggle of does on a country road.”

“Perhaps the freeway would have been safer,” Sherlock muttered.

Beth sighed. “Just wait till we get to the lake. I promise you it’ll be worth it.”

❄️❄️❄️

Less than an hour and no deer later, Holmes had to admit that Lake Michigan was worth the detour. Beth’s own hometown was also on the shoreline, but he could understand her impatience to show off her Great Lake. The water was green-grey beneath a pale grey sky, and the waves were choppy enough that for a moment, he felt disoriented, thinking that he should have been able to smell salt in the air. But there was no salt in this particular inland body of water, no tang to the air above it, just the bite of winter.

“Beth, it’s magnificent,” he murmured. “I’ve never seen anything like it.” Although it did remind him achingly of the English Channel, and his little cottage on the South Downs.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her beaming. “Isn’t it great? Technically, Lake Michigan and Lake Huron are a single body of water, and as such, they’re the biggest body of freshwater in the world, and on its own, it’s still the fifth-biggest.”

“It’s very impressive, Inspector.” Watson had a camera out, and was snapping pictures. “I imagine it’s calmer during the summer?”

“It depends. While you guys are here, though, you should definitely see a Great Lakes sunset if the sun shows. It’s beautiful.” Beth’s eyes were distant, her smile dreamy, and the wind off the lake whipping her hair around her, and Holmes realized he had never seen her looking quite like this. What are we doing, performing this little charade? It had seemed an innocent-enough idea at the time...

“Yes, well…” He cleared his throat and turned away from the view. “I imagine your parents are wondering what became of us.”

Beth waved a dismissive hand. “I told them I was gonna do a little sight-seeing with you guys. It’ll be fine.”

They both blinked the next moment as a light flashed, and Watson smiled innocently at them, his camera pointed in their direction. “Sorry.”

❄️❄️❄️

The drive northwest to the lakeside had been mostly fields, quiet and white, the very image of “a picture print by Currier and Ives.” The drive north along the lake was more wooded and less peaceful, the road often running close to the shoreline. “A hundred years ago, the lake was further back,” Beth explained, “but erosion has always been a problem and, early 21st century, it was helped along by climate change. A lot of homes were lost — their foundations crumbled right out from underneath them.”

“That’s horrifying.” Watson sounded aghast.

Beth nodded. “No matter how far we advance, we can never manage to control nature.”

“And that’s probably just as well,” Sherlock said quietly.

Soon enough, they were entering South Haven, and Beth was always hit with a wave of nostalgia as she returned to her hometown. She had eventually adjusted to living and working in New London, but at heart she was still a small town girl, and she was pretty sure she would come home when she retired.

“What a charming little town,” Watson remarked.

Beth smiled. “It is pretty, isn’t it?”

“Festive,” was Sherlock’s comment. “Not as overdone as some parts of New London I could name.”

“I actually like the huge displays.”

“Of course you do. You put up an artificial tree in my sitting room in the middle of November — of course you like the ostentatious light shows.”

“Oh, c’mon, you like the tree, you know you do.” She glanced over at him, and he was trying not to smile. “Ha.”

“Your parents aren’t in town, Inspector?” Watson asked as they drove further from the downtown area.

“Nope, they’re on the other side of the highway, in the country. Just a few more minutes.”

❄️❄️❄️

The Lestrades’ home ended up being a few miles east of the highway, sitting a respectable distance from the road: a renovated old farmhouse, pale yellow with white trim and surrounded by trees. Old… but Holmes had a notion that the house had been built decades after he’d been born. At least the place looked homely. An enormous Christmas wreath graced the front door, and smaller ones decorated the windows.

This scheme is insane.

But it was far too late to back out now. As Beth parked the car, a woman in her fifties emerged from the house, her hair dark, her skin pale olive… but those brilliant blue eyes were Beth’s.

Beth grinned and sprang out of the car, hurrying towards the woman. “Mom!”

Definitely no backing out now.

[vinculafidelis]

HOLDEN STEVENS is a 28 year old PANSEXUAL, CISFEMALE, SHE/HER here in Firebrand City. People say they look a lot like ALLISON WILLIAMS. They are LIVELY but can be HEEDLESS. They are a HUMAN SLAVE in Firebrand, they work as a SEXWORKER.

{ penned by reg, 26, cst }

i.

holden was born into a family of wannabe aristocratic lowlives: old money, social ladder climbers and bottom feeders who had gotten richer and richer through dubious ways that nobody was exactly clear about. But the Stevens always started at the bottom and somehow elbowed their way to the top. Their alliances and loyalties were never clear, they were ready to sell their souls to the highest bidder, switch teams at the drop of a hat.

ii.

holden was the youngest of twelve, all siblings destined to be married off into even richer families, bigger names and even royalty from around the world, nothing else mattered: they went to boarding school, finishing school, anything to make them poised, polite, worldly, educated, graceful, charming.

iii.

holden was a spitfire. she never seemed able to sit still or stop talking, she asked many questions and wanted to learn everything. she was definitely a charmer, a smart ass that had everyone in the room cracking up more often than not. Her charisma, paired with her wits, her looks and her athleticism were sure to make her rise to the top of the food chain when she was off age to be married to the highest bidder.

iv.

And then there was a war.

v.

holden was not stupid, far from it. Especially being in her mid and late teens when all the talk about war exploded in and around her house. The mansion had always been wrapped in artificial quiet, “shop talk” was unbecoming, especially around the “ladies”, and she despised it. So she started eavesdropping more and more and she was impressed at the amount of times she would hear her father and his business partners and her older brothers talk about vampires and dragons and supernaturals and deals and money, money, so much money. And she had never been a fan of her family and the way they had done things but it was enough to make her blood run cold and make her lose sleep for the rest of her life as a “free” human to know that they were preparing to turn against their own kind; human against human, coward sycophants that wanted to earn the favor of whoever was in the lead of this war.

vi.

it backfired. it backfired so badly. The Stevens’ business was as trustworthy as skating on a lake of thin ice. Holden was captured along with her family before she could even realize what was happening, yanked from under the bloody rubble of her luxurious childhood home and strung out along with the rest of them like an offering to their new overlords.

vii.

it took about three hours of torture before holden’s father sold her out and the teen had to roll her eyes because seriously? she was theirs anyway now. and seriously? three hours? it took about two years before holden saw the light of day again, her family gone and she had no idea how she had stayed alive. well, she had some idea.

viii.

turns out, she was pretty good at making people believe she was worth something (whether she was really worth something, well...) with her body, with her words, with her wit, with her smarts. She knew how to quickly adapt herself to survive, to be wanted (even if this new way of being wanted left her sore and scarred and aching) and apparently in this new world ruled by creatures that were both terrifying and mesmerizing, this was how Holden was to make a living.

ix.

And thus she ended as a sexworker in Firebrand City. Dialing her charm to the maximum, trying to enchant, to delight, to present herself as a vision straight from the patrons’ wildest fantasies so that nobody will resist her, so that nobody will deny her. Because at this point, whether it’s pleasure or intense pain, being wanted has become a dangerous addiction for Holden. Solitude, rejection, loneliness, boredom, idleness will let her grief, trauma and other unexplored inner demons come out to play and she has no time or resources for that. And maybe somebody will spare her some warm aftercare and then she can slightly unravel.

[earthlyambition]

The intentions with this post have been circling in my brain for days. But now that i'm actually getting the chance to write, i feel at a loss for words.

My need for activism surrounding animals has been at full force lately. I have seen all of the debates, watched all the documentaries, and read all the books regarding the injustice and specism around non human animals. I finally felt ready to take my activism into my own hands, and visited my first dairy farm. With this being said, I had never announced that I was an animal rights activist. None of the employees or other guests on the farm knew my intentions. And to be quite honest, neither did i. I knew that i was going to do whatever i could to keep my cool to bear witness to these beautiful animals. But what i didn't know, was how my emotions were going to play a part in that. I have always been a pretty emotional being, and i was trying my hardest to not let that get the best of me and cause a scene. I knew that nobody there would listen to the extent i was wanting, so in a sense i felt hopeless. I did learn something while on this farm. I learned that even the most “humane” farm has awful brutal conditions for these animals.

This farm was an hour away. I went alone, which meant on the drive down, I had plenty of time to mentally prepare for what I was going to witness. I had this thought in the back of my mind that for some reason, “maybe it won't be as bad as i think it's going to be”. After all, the milk bottles always seem to talk about “ happy cows” and cartoonized them into “loving to provide” for human consumption.

Arriving at the farm, I instantly felt my nerves take over. I walked in with a shaky voice into the lobby, and waited to be taken to the “ milking room” by the farmer on site. My group and I walked down a long narrow hallway that soon was greeted by an overwhelming smell of rotten food, feces and manure. Once we made it to the milking room, i was shocked. I couldn't believe that this small room was used to milk over 400 cows, daily. They had several cows crowded and crammed into this room. The cows tried to back away any chance they could get, but couldn't because they were so confined in between metal rods and surrounded by other cows. There was one cow in particular that caught my eye. She had her head rested on a bar that held her close by. She looked exhausted, from being constantly bred and milked her whole life. This broke me. Every wall I had built up leading to this moment brought me back to square one. I felt vulnerable and to be honest, quite embarrassed. But more than anything, i was angry. Angry that everyone around me saw this as normal. I felt like the only one in the room that saw the situation from the victims perspective. I tried to reason with the rest of the group and see it as a necessity, but its too hard to look at it that way when there are so many alternatives that don't cause suffering. I quickly calmed down and realized I was here for the animals, and my motivation shot back up.

After the milking room, we were taken next to the line of cows leading up to the milkroom. We were told that there would be baby calves for us to “pet” and for anyone to get the chance to “milk a cow” for the first time. It broke my heart to watch this sweet mama be touched and pulled at by random strangers, while her baby sat across the room pinned up. Her baby had been taken hours after he was born, and would soon be sent to slaughter, because he wasn't born for the means to be milked someday.

I spoke with many employees that day. I asked questions, made comments, and expressed my concerns regarding the wellbeing of these animals. I forced them to answer questions regarding artificial insemination, slaughterhouse send offs, and touchy subjects about the whole process of taking the babies from their mom. These workers seemed happy to do their job. It seemed so normal to them, that when someone asked these questions, it took them by surprise. I asked an employee if he ever felt upset or saddened when the cows were sent off to slaughter and he shrugged and said “well, when they stop producing enough milk, there isn't much we can do”.

The owner of the company shared that he can “get the cows to do whatever he wants them to do”. Despite the “happy cow” persona, these cows were being held and forced against their will, and I can assure you that they were not happy during the process. 

While they offered cheese and milk samples, I snuck off of the tracks of the tour and went behind the farm. I saw hundreds of day/week/month old baby calves, locked up in what seemed to be small dog houses. Every single one was trying to run and jump in the small space they were “provided”. I couldn't help but cry to these babies. The world let them down. They needed their mother. But, the dairy industry took their mothers from them, for societies cereal and coffee. Before long they will be put into this industry for about 3 years until they are sent to be slaughtered.

This experience was a start to a long journey for me. I am learning more and more every day about how to help educate those around me, and how to better myself. Being an empath and a vegan has been a very narrow road for me. I often become angry, and sad simply because its difficult to have such a small voice in a big world. I often wish it was easier to reveal these industries to those i care about, but everyone having their own choice plays too large of a role for me to intervene. If there's anything i've learned at the beginning of this journey, it is to be gentle with myself. It can sometimes be hard to come to the conclusion that I live in a not yet vegan world. I have learned to listen more intently. and sometimes, it may seem as though someone is being ignorant, but their views just differ from mine. Ive learned patience and so much perseverance in this process and how passion is beautiful. 

[justoneday-namjoonii]

Color Me Moonlight. IV

☾ • I • II • III • IV • V • VI • VII ☽

› Summary: Some flowers are not to be plucked, for their thorns are far too sharp for any hand to graze, yet, she was touched. She was soft, delicate, she didn’t know it, but something so beautiful could never be bad. She grew up in a garden of loneliness, does she have a place to bloom? He gave her a place, and they bloomed together.

› pairing: Taehyung x reader/OC › genre: angst | m | fluff | sci-fi au | supernatural!au | mutant!au | hybrid!au |

“Let me get this straight...” The chief pressed his temples, “you lost her at a red light!?”

Jeon cringed at the embarrassing circumstance for an agent of his caliber. “Chief, I don’t know what to tell you. She was in the car and when I got on the phone, she just ran.” He rustled his hair, a deep sigh leaving his mouth.

“What do you want me to tell senator Greene? He is expecting to hear that we’ve cleared all regions. That girl shouldn’t have been able to outsmart you, Jeon.”

He was silent. “I’ll do whatever you need me to do sir-”

The Chief's phone rang. Senator Greene.

Sweat built at his brow before he hesitantly picked up the phone.

“Hello, Senator,” Greene spoke, it sounded like faint whispers to the agent. “To be honest with you sir, no, not yet.” He narrowed his brows. “Just one. A female, sir.” He nods in an acquiescent manner. “We will sir, definitely. Goodbye.”

Jungkook swallowed. “What did he say?”

“That girl is our first priority, and it’s up to you to find her and get her to the SRMA. Immediately. They think she might be the one they’re looking for.”

“Yes, sir.”

He woke up first, eyes fluttering open slowly at the feeling of warmth under his arm. He sat up, trying to recall the events leading up to this situation. His first thought was, why am I here? And more importantly, how did I get here? He looked down at you, there was tranquility about you that he has yet to witness until now. There is something about your presence that just draws him in, like a light in the dark. In efforts not to wake you, he slowly gets out of the bed, feet touching the cool floor before tiptoeing to close the door and let you sleep.

It was oddly comfortable, and smelled like a loving home – this couldn’t be your room.

You yawned, stretching your arms and legs as you took in your surroundings. The things that happened last night unveiled in your mind like preserved memories embedded in your consciousness. You revealed your secret to and was convinced that the two of you are birds of a feather, creatures of the same creator. Yet, you’re still wary of him. Trust isn’t something you’re entirely used to – it’s just difficult for you.

The control you once had over yourself is slowly faltering. The energy once tightly concealed inside of you is threatening even the smallest of things. You literally had to consciously steady your breathing, force your hands to stay still, and keep your thoughts from flying all over the place.

You could hear a whisk bumping up against a plastic bowl, you smelled vanilla waffles baking, his low humming to the jazz playing from a Bluetooth speaker.

Barefooted, you shuffled to the door and peaked out—nope, you weren’t alone. Taehyung stood at the refrigerator and it looked like he was cooking. For some reason, that sight made you smile, even a fancy CEO can appear wholesome with his heart slippers. You walked out of the bedroom, shyly making your presence known. He glanced back at, a grin coming to his lips at the sight of his baggy clothing hanging on you. You noticed his eyes were back to that artificial brown again.

“Good morning.” He smiled.

“Morning...��

“I made eggs, bacon, and waffles. If you don’t eat that, I have yogurt and fruit, also coffee and tea...” His hair was messy looking, it was endearing to see him in clothing other than a suit his hair looking far from tidy. 

“Do you want me to make you a plate?” You inhaled deeply and a pleased expression came to your face—he took that as a yes and he started to make it.

“Thank you, everything smells great... You watched as he sat the plate at a seat right next to his own. You can’t even remember the last time you’ve awoken to a home-cooked breakfast, let alone meal in general.

He sat down right after you, a cup of juice in hand, “Do you have any plans for today?”

“No...” You cut a piece of waffle, rubbed it in a puddle of syrup, and ate it. “I would’ve gone to work but the word probably already got out about me.” You swallowed. 

“If it’s alright with you, I’d like to stay here for a day or so- Just until I can find somewhere to go, then I promise I’ll be out of your hair.” You pressed your lips tight, your hands retreating to rest snug in your lap, purposely avoiding eye contact. You thought about it, you felt burdensome for staying here. “Or I can run to my place and-”

“No, I’d feel better if you stayed here. It’s not exactly safe for you out there, have you seen the news?” You shake your head no.

He slid his phone over to you. “I think you should expect to stay here for a little while.” He put a forkful of food into his mouth.

You picked it up and the first headline said—Suspected Sato Experiment On The Run. The article vaguely described your appearance and your heart began to throb and goosebumps erupted on your skin. You sat his phone down and let out an exasperated sigh, your face was burning at the thought of being wanted. He could practically feel your blood pressure rising, your chest straining in anxiety.

“Don’t worry, you’re safe here.” He placed his hand on top of yours, a startled flinch from you made him recoil a bit. “If they try to take you, which I won’t let happen, they’ll have to take me too, yeah?”

“I guess so...” You slid your hand away so you could finish eating, and that’s when you realized you were sitting next to someone just like you. You two were sewn from the same thread, you were the same kind. There was no need to be fearful around him, you could trust him, right? You revealed your most cherished secret to him—that had to mean something.

“If you're done, pass me your plate, I’ll put it in the dishwasher.” You hurriedly grabbed your plate so he could set it in the dishwasher. Even from only staying here for a number of hours, you admired how well he functioned in a domestic and organized environment. It seemed like he had a place for everything and everything had a place. As he tended to the dishes, you eased up next to him at the sink—helping him with this seemed like the least you could do.

You grabbed the empty pan that he used to make eggs and looked for the dishcloth. “Can I use that?” You pointed to the cloth on the counter to his right. He looked down to see your hands in the bubbly dishwater.

He smiled at your efforts. “You don’t have to do that, I can get it-”

“No, I want to.” You were not about to be waited on hand and foot, especially considering he was doing you such a huge favor.

“The rag, please?” He nods, pursing his lips at your insistence. He handed you the dishcloth and you continued to clean the pan. He took the clean pan from you, and to your dismay, he started to dry it for you. Just as you were about to clean off the dining table, Taehyung gently grabbed your arm.

You paused, staring up at him. “Yes?...”

“You trust me, don’t you?”

“Yeah, sort of.” You paused. “When you came into the room last night you didn’t try to do anything so I don’t see why I shouldn’t trust you...” You muttered quietly, tearing your gaze away from him in remembrance.

He couldn’t hide the blush on his cheeks at the reminder of what he did in the absence of his mind. “I’m sorry about that, I honestly don’t know how I got there.” Scratching the back of his neck, he pressed his lips in a straight line. “I assume our connection has something to do with it. I don’t know if I’ll be able to help it going forward, I’m just drawn to you,” He smirked, brushing his fingers over the shell of your ear. “even in my sleep. Just lock your door and I’m sure that’ll solve the problem.” You both laughed, bridging that awkward gap of silence.

You weakly smiled, drying your hands off with a paper towel. “Why do you wear your contacts inside? No one can see you here.”

“It’s a habit,” He never thought about it until now, “and anyone could knock on the door and I’d have to rush to put them on, it’s just easier to put them on as soon as I wake up.” That made sense. You both eyed each other, a mutual comfort being the reason you hadn’t walked away. He was all smiles when he looked down at his phone, but his eyes widened and the smile vanished.

Had the time flown by so fast?

“Sorry to run but I gotta get ready or I’m gonna be late.” He ran off to his bedroom and you went to the opposite side of the house, where your room is.

For the first time in a few hours, you checked your phone. You had a few missed texts from Hoseok.

[10:14PM]: Hey, can I still drop your book up off in the morning?

[8:20AM] I have your book, I gotta head to my 9 o’clock meeting in a little bit

[8:31AM] Y/n, you normally check your texts pretty fast so I’m getting kind of worried tbh

[12:43PM] I’m on my lunch break, can you text me to let me know you’re okay?

Your thumbs went at your keypad immediately, attempting to type something to let him know that you’re alive.

You: I’m so sorry I missed your text and I’m sorry not showing up this morning, I’ve kind of been caught up with some personal stuff. Please don’t be worried, I’m okay, I'm just spending time with a friend for a little bit :) Thank u for checking on me Hobi, it means a lot. P.S u can keep the book for a little longer

You set your phone on the nightstand. Never having crashed at someone's place before, it was natural for you to feel like a bit of a burden. Do you just stay here while he’s gone? What if you get hungry and eat something that you weren’t supposed to and he gets mad? What if someone with a key to his place comes to pick up something?—It was all too much to think about.

“If you need anything, just let me know,” Taehyung spoke loud enough for you to hear.

It’s not long before you hear the front door shut and lock, he’s gone and you’re here alone. Might as well see what the world is up to, you flopped on the couch and turned on the TV. As soon as it turns on, the news pops up.

“Good afternoon and thank you for joining us for the 12 o’clock news. I’m Priscilla Moore, and today we are joined by a very special guest, Senator Nelson Greene. Welcome, Mr. Greene and thank you for being here.”

“Happy to be here Priscilla.”

That voice.

That’s the voice you heard on the agent's phone, the person who wanted to check you personally. It’s sickening, utterly appalling to know that you are in this situation and you don’t have many options. For one, you don’t know why he wants you specifically. Maybe he doesn’t trust the examination process and does it himself from time to time. You found this whole ordeal unsettling.

November 14th, 1995.

“She’s due in 4 months,” Jane sat in her office, doing some things on the computer, “do you have a name picked out?”

Mai, Jane’s close friend and colleague sat across from her, filling out files and forms for her.

“You’ve been calling her Yves ever since you found out about her, I’m kind of used to it now.” She smiled. “It’s quite fitting.”

“I’m honored.” Jane grinned. “I’m not gonna lie, she is one of my favorites.”

“You haven’t even met her yet!” Winnie laughed. “How could you know if she’s your favorite?”

“I just know. Thanks to you Winnie, she has the most potential to excel. She is the purest form...” Jane had explained to them countless times that Winnie is one in a million case. As soon as Winne found out she was pregnant, she and her husband made the decision to give their child life like no other. “The most prominent supernatural gene is flowing through your blood and with the proper procedures, it can be awakened.”

“You know that one of the mothers is due into two months and her baby has attributes like Yves, he has similar gifting of life and energy, I’m not sure in what way yet though. But his mother has had symptoms like you; feeling extreme highs and lows in energy, the heightening of the senses, things like that.”

“When will we know what she can do?”

“I’m not sure. The process has thousands of layers, we could think she’s gonna come out one way but she’s something completely different. What I do know is that a large-scale mutation, we’re modifying everything. A nucleotide is added and taken, her genus is like a puzzle.”

“Are you forgetting something, my love?” Winnie’s husband walked into the room.

“We agreed that our first child if it was a boy, he’d be named after my father, and if it was a girl, she’d be named after your mother.” He shook his head, Winnie had a habit of going with the flow of things like this but that’s because she wasn’t a huge tradition person.

“Oh yeah.” She pouts. “Sorry, Jane, she’ll still be Yves in our hearts but her birth certificate will be my mother's name,”

She placed a hand on her stomach gently, “Y/n.”

“Good morning Mr. Kim, you’re coming in later than usual.” 

Margaret couldn’t help but notice the change in her bosses tendencies, rarely did he ever come in late early in the week.

“Yeah, I slept a little late today. What’s on my schedule?”

“The Venet group emailed their presentation draft to you this morning, they’re waiting on your critiques. Oh, and you have a message from the SRMA, I left it on your desk.”

“Alright, thank you.” He made his way into the office, eager to get some coffee in his system. He pressed a button on a remote to open up his automated blinds to get some light in the room. The view was also somewhat of a stress reliever for him, it had a calming effect.

Even being away from you for a little over an hour, his thoughts are starting to drift to you, which unfortunately prohibits his ability to work efficiently. As difficult as it might be, he had to single his thoughts on work, then you. He grabbed the mysterious envelope from the SRMA and opened it up.

His eyes skin over the letter, his brows furrowing. The letter is informing him that all of his employees have been cleared, which is odd because that’s not true. You were the reason why he was receiving reminders 24/7, but now all of a sudden the messages stop?—This is suspicious. He knew for a fact you hadn’t gone to the SRMA for anything and weren’t planning on it either. Thinking it was just an error, he stuffed the letter in the drawer and chose to further investigate it later.

He clicked on a file that said ‘Personal’ and when it opened up, he smiled. The final photos that he took a few weeks ago got framed and the company sent photos of the finished product. His love for art and photography makes up for the stress that comes with this job.

An hour or two had gone by and he was completely immersed in his calls, tasks, reviewing schedules – he almost didn’t notice the knock on his door. He glared at the door, Margaret didn’t say he had an appointment or that anyone had walked in.

“Come in.” He spoke with a slight hesitance but when the door opened, he realized it was just his dad. “Dad, I didn’t know you were dropping by.” He looked back down at what he was doing.

He took a seat in the chair in front of his desk. “I thought I’d stop by for my lunch break, see what you were having.” He smiled, happy to see Taehyung was working so hard.

“Margaret ordered something, it should be here shortly. Let me wrap this up and I’ll be all yours.” He quickly finished typing up the month's marketing schedule sheet and pressed save. Finally, he sighed, leaning back to stretch his neck and arms. Taehyung gazed out of the window with half-lidded eyes, judging by the look on his face, his dad knows when something is different.

“Is there something on your mind Taehyung, you look like you’re in deep thought.”

“I might as well tell you.” He inhaled, exhaling before looking at his dad. “It’s about the girl I told you about.”

His father had a tinge of joy in his eyes, assuming his son had made this girl a girlfriend of some sort. “Oh?” The thought alone made him smile. “Have you decided to introduce me to her finally?”

“Well, she’s special...” He spoke softly, eyes looking down at his fingers. “She’s like me.”

“Like you n what way?”

“In a biological way...”

“Biological? You mean- You’re saying she may have been a part of the 1989 project...” Tae nodded. The man's eyes widened, his thoughts singled in on what Taehyung meant by that. If he was speaking in terms of biological similarities, given Taehyung is the only child from his biological parents, that would only leave one option – she must be a product of Jane Sato. 

“How do you know this?”

“I had met with her a few times and I could feel that there was something about her. There’s this connection we share, it’s hard to explain but when I’m around her I feel this energy emitting from her, but she acts unaware of it. I can feel her emotions stronger than I have with anyone. And dad, when I look at her, she doesn’t always have an aura of color around her...” He stressed that unusual fact, “and when she does, there’re shades I’ve never seen on anyone before...”

“It took a while to get her to admit it because she’s been hiding it all her life. She was kicked out at 18 for what she is and she’s been alone ever since.” Taehyung mentally recalled the story you had struggled to tell him last night. “She said she’s never told anyone before, just me.”

“So she knows about your eyes?”

His fingers lightly touched the skin under his eye. “Yeah, I showed her...”

“Does she have that same trait?”

“No- Well, when we were-...” He hid the blush on his face, trying to figure out how to word this correctly. “–Talking,  her eyes changed for maybe 5 seconds, then they went back to normal, that was the first time that had ever happened to her.” His father nodded, what Taehyung was telling him only confirmed the suspicions of who you really were.

“How old is she?”

“She’s around my age,” He didn’t see the significance of your age but he answered nonetheless, “maybe a few months younger.”

“Oh,” He sighed, “I see. Then she must be the girl they’re looking for.”

Taehyung swallowed. “Yeah, I’m letting her stay with me. She avoided checkups until they made it mandatory. When she didn’t go, an FBI came to her house and tried to take her to the SRMA. She said the man on the phone with the agent said he wanted to ‘check her’ himself. That’s when she made a run for it and ended up at my place.”

“Has she gotten checkups or tests done before? When you were growing up I always made sure to examine you and make sure your gifting wasn’t interfering with your everyday life.” He was more concerned about your health and well-being more than anything now. “She may need supplements to fill in what her abilities might be taking for energy.”

“She avoids any type of medical treatment altogether, she’s afraid that they’ll find out what she is. I don’t blame her.”

There was a knock on your door. “That’s probably the food.”

He got up and sure enough, that was the food from his favorite sushi restaurant. He grabbed the bag and took it to his lounge area near the coffee machine. “Let’s eat.”

Taehyung took out the chopsticks as his dad walked over to sit across from him. “You know, I think you should meet her. It’d be good if she could get medical attention or just get to know someone who cares about her well-being/”

“I can come over tonight. I’ll bring some of the supplements that you used to take just in case she needs it. I have a million to ask her.”

“I don’t know if she’ll be okay with a lot of questions, she doesn’t care for people prying into her personal life.”

He’s learned that the hard way.

September 12th, 1997:

A massive fire broke out.

High pitched speakers blare from every corner of the facility, people were fleeing from the raging flames and deadly black clouds seeking to devour them. Bone-chilling shrieks from stranded patients could be heard as people were fending for themselves. The fire broke out in the volunteer experimentation residence.

“Get out of there!” Dr. Fai yelled as he ran down the halls towards her, his coat over his nose and mouth, black soot dirtied his hands and glasses. He grabbed her arm, pulling her away from the hallway leading to an even larger fire – why was she trying to run down there?

“No, I have to get them out. They’re gonna die-” She yanked her arm away but the smoke was getting to her, she could barely stand straight.

“The volunteers and 4% are fine! There’s is no one else! Let’s go before we both get killed!”

He didn’t know about the babies.

**

Two other people from the facility, including Dr. Kim, were in the midst of crying toddlers and infants, trying to calm their state distress. A majority of the mothers were gone aside from maybe one or two.

“Everyone listen.” A lady he had never seen before held a child in her arms and spoke to the few adults in the room. “Grab them and follow me, we need to take them to the pediatric hospital.”

Dr. Kim didn’t question it, he grabbed two children, he held a little boys hand and held a quiet 1-year-old girl in his arms. Oddly, the child holding his hand was one he often helped test with Jane—he had the most stunning eyes.

When they transported the children, the woman leading this escape escorted them all to the private emergency floor. The little girl in his arms was now with a nurse, being fed a warm bottle and the little boy was in the playroom along with some of the other children

“Dr. Kim.” The nurse practitioner, Millie, walked over to him. “Can I have a quick word with you?”

“Of course.”

She sighed. “So, I’d thought I’d give you some background on who I am and how I knew about The Flower Garden. I work with mothers and children in this sector of the hospital, I was alerted by Kelly that no one was coming to help with these kids, presumably because they didn’t know about them. I knew about the project, I helped for a while, especially with childbirth.”

She wrote something down as she continued. “Anyways, these children will all have to be examined and if all goes well, they’ll be put in the foster system. But as you know, these children are not normal by any means,” The stood in front of the playroom window, watching the kids play with multicolored toys. “I don’t know what they can do. For the safety of society and themselves, I've arranged to have them transported to families all over the world who are willing to raise them as their own.”

His eyes widened a bit, he was taken aback. “Why all over the world?”

“I don’t know if you know this, but a select few of them have the M2-gene, they are the purest form of molecular, biological, and cellular mutation. They’re not regular human beings. As they get older, we can’t risk having them in one place for the government to poke and prod at, it’s just not safe. And God forbid they grow up and procreate, that’s what Jane wants eventually. But her plan isn’t full proof, she created a breed of something that we have no idea of their capabilities, anything could happen to them. This is the best option for them in the long run.”

These children are Jane Sato’s life project, all she’s ever wanted to achieve but it’s all over now. He processed the fate of those poor children, wondering how long she had been planning this. “All of them will go?”

“Well, there are a few being handed over to family members, maybe two. But other than that, yeah.”

“What about him?” He pointed to the sweet little boy with gorgeous eyes.

She looked to where he was pointing. “Oh, little Yuuma. his mother resigned from the program when he was 2 months, he’ll probably stay here due to his more noticeable traits, he’s a sweet child but I don’t think he’ll blend in very well with society...”

“I want to adopt him.” He spoke with not a hint of hesitance in his voice.

She recoiled, surprised that he’d consider such a kind and difficult thing. “Are you sure Dr. Kim? That’s quite the responsibility, and you’re at the height of the practice-”

“Absolutely, I have an older daughter. And besides, I know the child, I helped care for him from time to time.” He took quite a liking to the child, he felt as if he could raise him as his own. Especially with the knowledge he has of the system Jane had in place, he could do this. “I’ve taken quite the liking to him, he’s like my own.”

“Alright then, I’ll get those adoption papers for you and you can take him home first thing tomorrow morning.”

She went on her way, leaving Dr. Kim to monitor the child from the window. The most striking feature of little Yuma had him wondering what his gifts were, why he had physical manifestations of what he was capable of. Then again, it could just be a birth defect due to the cellular treatments. He walked into the little room, and just as he expected, Yuman ran right up to him – well, more like stumbled.

“Well, hello again.” Dr. Kim smiled, finding that the child seemed to be made for him. “I’m happy to see you too.”

“Look!” The child grabs him by the hand to show him what he had drawn with the crayons that were no bigger hand than his tiny hands.

“Here you are,” She came back, handing him the papers, “his official birth certificate says Yuma, with no last name. You’re welcome to change that.”

“Well, I’ve always loved the name Taehyung.” He looked at the kid, seeing that he was focused on his second drawing, “I think it fits.” He gazed loving at little Taehyung. “When I look at him, he’s proof that all honest wishes come true and everything will be alright even when facing difficult times.” He grabbed the paper and pen. “Kim Taehyung...”

You rummaged through the closet, finding a few things you could slip on as a disguise. “This should work...” You put the baseball cap and face mask on so all that can be seen is your eyes. It doesn’t seem like the best decision the leave his place but if you want to stay here for another day, you need your own stuff. His lotions and soaps are very nice but you prefer yours.

You put on a t-shirt and what you were wearing yesterday, and you were ready to go.

For some reason, your hands felt icy cold—nothing too new. But as you clenched your fists, hoping to get some good circulation, they warmed up a little. Due to your unconscious suppression of what you assumed to be your energy, you always felt a drastic change in temperature.

“Go and come back.” You exhaled, that’s all you had to do – not so hard. You went to the front door and walked out, on a mission.

You made the decision to call a cab to get to your place because if you were to walk it’d be midnight before you got there. You got into the cab that you had flagged down and gave him an address near to your home.

On the way there, as you tried not to appear anxious or suspicious, you got a text from Tae. ‘I’ll be heading home soon, do you need anything?’ You exhaled in relief, you thought he found out that you left for a second there. ‘I’m ok, thank u tho’

With that quick response, you tucked your phone into your pocket.

“We’re here miss.”

You looked up to see you were at your intended destination—finally. You thanked and tipped the guy before going on your way, the cafe not far from your home. You walked the distance, feeling your nerves tense at the realization that you’re walking around as a wanted civilian. All you could think was, this is so stupid, but also, I need clothes.

You tiptoed into the elevator, thankful you hadn’t run into anyone as you shoved the door closing button. Get your stuff and go without interruption, that means avoid Jan. She’s probably already gathered that you weren’t home last night, if she catches you, the questions will never cease.

Luckily, you made it to your apartment and quickly went inside, locking the door behind you. You went to your room, grabbed one of your weekenders, a backpack and started stuffing them with as much stuff as you could. Toiletries, clothes, your computer, and a few personal necessities. You only hoped Taehyung wasn’t coming home early if you could remember your office hours correctly, he shouldn’t be headed home for another 20 minutes.

“You’re getting off rather early for a Monday sir.” Margaret peeked up from her typing on the computer, seeing Taehyung exiting his office.

“Yeah, I’m going to get some rest. I might be traveling to Saipan or Milan tomorrow, not sure yet.”

“Oh, for the sales pitch at the luxury resort.”

“Yeah,” He waved, “I’ll see you tomorrow, goodnight.”

He made his way to the elevator, sighing deeply. His father had left not too long ago so he could meet Taehyung at his home with medicine and some things that he thought might help you. It was comforting to know that despite him not knowing you, he trusted Taehyung enough to trust you. Heck, even if you said you trusted him, he knew you were still wary about him. But when you had shared that kiss last night, he knew at that moment that you had never let your guard down before. He couldn't stop thinking about it, how could he? He’s lived his entire life assuming he was the only person like him. To know that you exist gives him a sense of hope.

He pulled into the garage and in a moment's time, he was walking to his front door but he stopped in his tracks—something wasn’t right. The fervor, sweet energy wafting off of you and into him as he approached you, it wasn’t there. He couldn’t feel it and his heart sank.

She’s not here. He didn’t have to unlock the door since it was already unlocked, stepping inside and just as he expected, you were nowhere to be seen.

He took out his phone and called you, it went to voicemail almost immediately. His initial response was to panic, you could be anywhere, you could’ve been taken, anything. He quickly removed his suit jacket and pushed his hair back, he wasn’t sure if he needed to go look for you, call you or-

The door began to creek and you peeked from behind it, a good bit of luggage in your hands and a condemned expression on your face.

You struggled to pull your bags over the lip of the door, but when you did, you staggered.

“Hi...”

“Where have you been?”

Pulling off the mask, you walk your luggage to your room as he follows. “I needed some of my things.” You lifted your luggage to lay flat on the bed so you could take some of your things out. “I didn’t think you’d be back for a while so I went to my apartment.”

He stares in disbelief. “There are people probably willing to hurt you if it means taking you to the SRMA, and you thought it was a good idea to just go out?” He was pacing—his agitation permeating the room like a heavy humidity that you didn’t want to be around.

“Nothing happened, I was careful not to come into contact with too many people. You shouldn’t be upset with me, I just needed some clothes...” You pulled out your pajamas, setting them on the nightstand with your toothbrush and toiletry bag. Honestly, he didn’t know if it was worth arguing about since you clearly saw no problem with it. But he would be lying if he said he wasn’t fearing that something bad had happened to you.

“I understand.” He wrapped his arms wrapped around you from behind, his chin resting against your head gently. “I’m just glad you're okay.” He inhaled your scent, exhaling near your ear soothingly—his breathing made your legs tremble. He nuzzled his head against yours. “You’re worried...Why?”

You turned to him. “You’re worried that I’m worried,” You grab his hand from their comfortable place on your back to go back unpacking your things, “I don’t need a supernatural connection to know that.”

He leaned against your bed. “So, what’s wrong?”

“I’m technically unemployed now...” You confessed. The realization that you hadn’t been to work or contacted your manager, you felt you surely weren’t still on the payroll anymore. 

“I haven’t contacted my manager or anything, and I haven’t checked my emails.” You shake your head. “If I’m not doing any work, I don’t have a job. That’s just basic logic.”

“You’re forgetting I’m the CEO.” That was true. “I’m moving you up. I’ll contact your location and let them know what I decided. You’ll be an assistant consultant for camera testing at HQ, it’s a pretty lonely  job but it’s not bad, I’ll pay you well.” You were a bit stunned, he’s offering you a job at his office, he’s giving you the opportunity to be at the top of the company, with him.

“Really?” You were surprised. 

“Absolutely.”

“Thank you, Taehyung-” You pause at the sound of footsteps, jingling keys, your brows furrowing in concern.

“Are you expecting someone? Someones coming to the door...” You shy away.

“Um,” Fearing your reaction, he pauses, unsure of how to tell you, “I invited someone over.”

“Who?” You backed away subconsciously, and Taehyung could feel you bracing yourself—the air around you dropping to a startling temperature. You scrunched your nose, “They have a bag of bottles-...Pill bottles or something.” Your suspicion grew as he walked out of your room, you followed him.

“It’s my dad, I asked him to come over and meet you. Are you okay with that?”

Is he serious?

“Why would I be okay with that Taehyung?“ He cringes at your tone. There was a knock on the door, two the be exact. 

“I don’t know your father, and I don’t appreciate you not asking me if I was okay with this beforehand. Why does he need to meet me?”

Instead of answering your question, he went to open the door and you quickly retreat to your bedroom, furious. You push the door closed and lock it—how dare he. You couldn’t believe it. What made him even consider that’d be okay with this? His father is a doctor for goodness sake. And you do not like doctors. You trust Taehyung, you feel the connection and everything, you know he’s one of you but

He sighs, letting his father in with a frustrated roll of his eyes when he got a sense of your aura turning foul, brisk – unpleasant entirely. And he knows you’re doing it on purpose, your trying to have an attitude about this to show how upset you are about him not asking beforehand. Like he would tell his father not to come over.

“So, where is she?” His father looks around, confused as to why this mystery girl wasn’t there to greet him.

“She’s afraid to talk to you.” Admittedly, he had foreseen this happening but he was hoping for it to be wrong.

“Did you tell her I was coming?” He could understand your reaction if you were unaware of the arrangement.

“Well,” He tilts his head, “no, I didn’t think she’d have a problem since she knows you’re my father and all, maybe I should’ve said something beforehand...I’ll go talk to her and see if she’ll come out.” His father nodded as he walked to the guest bedroom that you spitefully locked.

He knocked.

“Hey, he just wants to talk to you. He’s not here to hurt you, ok? Just come out, please.” There was a long pause of silence, then he heard low footsteps approach the door and the jiggle of the doorknob. Slowly, you opened the door and looked up at him.

“I don’t know him...” You frown, arms crossed in defense.

“He just wants to help, and he came all this way for you, just give him a chance.” Taehyung flaunts his big ole’ puppy eyes, practically giving you no other option than to sigh and comply. 

You didn’t know if you’d regret this later but it’s not like you had much to lose. Groaning in defeat, you start walking. “Fine.”

You walk past Tae and when you enter the living room, his father instantly stands, eyes landing on you. He stares curiously at the sight of you, just as he anticipated, he can feel a change in the air and it has to be because of you.

“I’m Y/n,” You awkwardly extend a hand, clearing your throat, “it’s nice to meet you...”

“I’m Taehyung’s father, Kim Taewoo.” You two shake hands’ briefly, and you’re eagerly taking a seat far from him. Taehyung opted to bridge the gap by sitting by you and by his father who was in the armchair.

“So,” Your tone is unsure but to the point, “what do you want to know about me?”

“Well, firstly, how is your health? I was a bit worried, Taehyung told me a bit about your story and he says you haven’t received medical treatment for your condition.” He spoke like a true doctor, it made you regret agreeing to this.

“I don’t have a condition, I’m not sick and there’s no cure for what I am. I’ve been called a monster...and if I go to the doctors, they’ll treat me like one...” You rubbed your hands together, antsy under the man's scrutiny.

“You’re not a monster dear, just like I’ve told Taehyung his entire life, you’re not a mistake or an accident...You’re a gift. ” You blinked at his odd father like words, those were words you weren’t used to hearing from anyone. He pressed his lips in a straight line before speaking again. “So, you found out when you were around 10?”

You nod.

“What did you notice first?”

“My hearing, one day I realized I was really sensitive to sound, it caused some problems in school...” Your eyes followed his hands as they reached for a notepad and pen, you gnawed on your bottom lip in curiosity.

“Oh, sorry,” He noticed your sudden confusion, “I’m just writing down what you’re saying dear, is that okay?”

You nod. “That’s fine...”

Taehyung glanced at you, taking a moment to slide his hand into your own, catching your lowered gaze. It was as if he was absorbing you and giving you bits of him to soothe your mind.

“Do you know what your powers are?” You had never had anyone call what you have powers—you never thought of what you have as a power, it’s just a part of you that you try to suppress.

“No, I just know my senses are heightened and I have an attachment to energy, I don’t know how to explain it...” You were starting to get uncomfortable given you had never talked so openly about this. “I guess I conduct it or something, when I touch things or if I’m upset.”

He looked at you, his eyes sweeping over your familiar facial features. There was something about your eyes that bewildered him, there was a softness—a gentleness in the air around you. 

“Y/n, does the name Yves sound familiar to you?”

Your ears perked at the name, so did Taehyung’s.

“Well, Taehyung had...” You leaned in to speak to Taehyung. “I thought it was maybe a mistake or he was just sleep talking but-...” A heat came to your cheeks at realizing what you were about to say to his father, “Taehyung called me that in his sleep.”

Taehyung recoiled, a blush on his cheeks—why didn’t you tell him sooner and what was the cause of him saying that name?

“I did?” He scratches the back of his neck. ”That’s funny, that name isn’t familiar to me at all.”

“Well, that’s what you said.” You look up and realize Mr. Kim is in deep thought. 

“Mr. Kim? Is everything okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost...” Uneasiness began to buzz in your stomach, you weren’t sure what he was thinking.

His mind was racing. For years he believed Jane would never be able to get two of the M2-gene carriers in one place—he hoped it would never happen for the carrier's sake. Never had he even dreamed of meeting another child like Taehyung. Jane Sato would kill to have the two of you, she’d do anything to get you two. Her two favorite creations, pretty little Yves and sweet little Yuma.

“Taehyung,” He looked to his son lovingly, solace in his eyes, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner...”

“Told me what?”

“Where you came from...” His aura seeped with affliction, so much so that Taehyung felt physically affected by it.

“You told me, an experiment by Jane Sato...So is Y/n, right?”

That’s what he’s been told all his life, was it not the truth?

“Yes, but you’re not like Zoe Akasma Hawn or the mutants you see on TV, you’re very different –” He thought about the most fitting term to use, “special. You didn’t undergo mutation as an infant, you were mutated on in the womb not long after conception, both of you.” You were both silent, your ears fixated on his words, and eyes furrowed in shock.

“Jane was a very close friend of mine. She had a classified project called the Flower Garden. I was one of the only few people who knew about it...”

- Flashback -

“This is the Flower Garden, that’s what I call this place. In each of these rooms, there’s an expectant mother. They have willingly given up their unborn child to be a part of something bigger, something that will change the course of genetic evolution and human mutation as we know it. Each and every patient allowed me to experiment on their children 3 weeks to 2 months after conception. These children, my children, will be the most beautiful creatures to grace the planet. I was able to reverse any type of genetic imperfection that the baby may have and bend it to my will, replace bad genes with perfect ones.”

“You look shocked, say something.” She sighed, already seeing the disdain on his face.

“Jane, you-” He lightly grabbed her arm, taking her to a secluded corner.

“You’ve been genetically altering unborn babies? Are you serious? Doesn’t it harm the mother?”

“I have a Ph.D. in any science and medicine you can think of, I know what I’m doing. The baby’s state is not dependent on the mother, these are the purest form of my project, they’re perfect. And Dr. Kim, some of these babies would be parentless if it weren’t for my program.” She was starting to get upset now. “I have a woman here, she wasn’t prepared for a child, at all, she didn’t know what to do and I gave her a second option. Her child, he’s showing the most signs mutation. When he’s born, he’s going to be stunning, I can already tell.”

“How were you able to get this past the medical board or the government? These are fetuses your playing with Jane.”

“First of all, I’m not playing with them. They’re like my own flesh and blood, I wouldn’t do anything to hurt them. And second of all, a government official signed off on the program, he’s helping fund it.”

He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Look, I just- I don’t understand it.”

“Come with me, I want you to meet one of the mothers, she comes every other week.” She grabbed his hand and took him to one of the rooms. With a light knock, they entered the room.

“Hello, Dr. Sato.” The woman smiled, she looked about 4 months along.

“Hi, this is Dr. Kim, I wanted him to meet you.” She smiled, Dr. Kim greeted her politely. “I thought you’d be the best person to explain why you’re doing this, he doesn’t quite understand it.”

“Well, it’s simple really. I’m young, I didn’t expect to have to deal with a baby at 21, I didn’t want to get rid of him, that’s just not who I am…So, I went to an adoption clinic, that’s when I met Jane.” She paused. “She told me that he could live a life unlike any other. I didn’t understand then, but in my third trimester, I met a two-year-old who could calm anyone, with just a touch. It was unexplainable, and I thought, I could give my child a gift that some would change the course of humanity. That’s all it took for me to believe.” She smiled in content, a glimmer of joy in her eyes. “Jane’s doing something that nobody else has dared to do, and I trust her, all of us do.” Jane beamed with pride, she had built a connection with all of the parents.

“Little Yuuma is due in December, we’re thinking he’ll be a new years baby, but December 30th is the plan.”

- Flashback end -

Taehyung wore no expression, not a hint of emotion on his face and it made you feel awkward. He knew his birth mother was young and gave him up for adoption but he never knew the details. You were taken aback by his fathers words as well, the whole idea of a program based around experimenting on babies turns your stomach. You could see his confusion, it was hard to process all of this, you understood that more than anyone.

“So,” You interjected, “d- Did you know my parents? Their names were Winnie and Jun...”

Mr. Kim smiled. “Oh yes, they were good friends of Jane from college, they were two of the few the doctors and scientists willing to help with her research. They believed in her belief that through technological advancements, the idea of physical imperfections, chronic illness, genetic disorder or even the common cold can be made history through rigorous genetic and biological alterations. Mutating ill patients was phase one, phase two was taking hundreds of volunteers and testing on them until she gathered enough participants with the M2-gene.” He glanced at his son, then back at you.

“What’s an M2-gene?”

“It’s a genetic trait passed down to a handful of humans, it’s a sign of supernatural gifting if you will. Jane devoted the final project for her doctorate to prove it’s existence. All of the children in the Flower Garden had at least one parent who possessed the gene, and if not, if she caught it early enough she could create a synthetic replica of the gene and attach it to the fetus’s DNA strand.” He looked at you. “And Yves, that’s what your mother and Jane called you even when you hadn’t been born yet. But both names should be on your birth certificate. And Taehyung,” He looked at Tae who was off in his own world but looked up at his father,

“Jane had named you Yuma, a name I actually grew fond of when I’d come help take care of you on my off days.” He beamed at the lovely memory of Taehyung as a toddler. “But when I adopted you, in order to shield your identity, I had to change your name. She named all of the children actually, most names corresponding with the power they possessed.”

“All of them?” You furrow your brows. “How many of us are there?”

“Maybe 10, I never got the exact number. But the rest of them were sent all around the world with parents assigned to hide their identity, your the only known two in this country right now, at least that I know of.”

“Do you know what we’re capable of? Or why we’re connected? Because the more we’re around each other, the more I feel like our meeting isn’t a coincidence.” Taehyung was adamant about you and him having a connection, he could feel your energy, it gave him a slightly euphoric sensation—a sense of tranquility.

He made a thoughtful expression. “I don’t know, Jane said you two shared similar powers, your mothers had the same symptoms during their pregnancies. When you were born though, I used to hold you Taehyung, and I’d feel a calmness, Jane said it was one of your gifts, to emotionally influence. And Y/n,” He looked at you, “Jane kept you very hidden, so I’m not completely sure what you can do, I don’t even think she was that sure...” He spares Taehyung and you a sympathetic glance.

“I’m sorry you had to live so long without knowing son. I thought maybe keeping you from it would help him mold into society better, I wanted you to live a normal life.” Taehyung looked at his father, his aura was dim, his heart was heavy with remnants of guilt from keeping this from him. “I love you Taehyung, I just wanted to keep you safe.”

Taehyung was understanding, he was grasping this in the best way possible but you were a different story. He could read your emotions, it was like you didn’t know how to process it – you were in shock. He considered holding your hand to comfort you, but there was so much tense energy around you that he was afraid of what might happen if he touched you.  

“I’m sorry Taehyung-”

“There’s nothing to be sorry for. You adopted me and gave me a life that I’m lucky to have, I’m thankful for you.” He touched his father's shoulder. “I wouldn’t have known what to do if I were in your position but I do know I wouldn’t be here without you.” He wore a kind, understanding smile that skillfully masked his current concern for your well-being.

It’s all sinking in.

Your parents, the two people in this world that were supposed to protect you and love you, gave you up for the love of their careers. How could anyone give up their unborn child to a project full of outlandish ideology and uncertain experimentation? You had always thought about your parents, in your mind, no matter what your uncle said, they had to have loved you. Every fiber of your being wanted to believe that they wanted the best—but how could you believe that now? You clenched your fists, were struck frozen with thoughts of your future, your past, even at this very second.

“Y/n,” Dr. Kim cleared his throat, relief in his calm expression. At the short bit of silence, glancing down at the of bag medicine he realized one of the reasons he came here. “I brought a few things for you.”

You’re eyes trail down to his bag. “I made these for Taehyung when he was young, they’re supplements. When he was a child, he would get overwhelmed and unable to control his abilities. Sometimes he’d get deficient in vitamins and other times his power would keep him up for no reason, he’d say he could see lights, even in the dark, he couldn’t control his ability then. I thought you might have a similar issue so I brought medicine that helps steady the heart rate.” He extends the bottle to you.

“Um,” You reach out your hand but hesitate, biting your lip, “I don’t see auras or anything like that, I think I’m okay.” That was a half-truth that Taehyung could easily see-through. “Thank you though.”

“I think you should try it, at least once.” Taehyung grabbed the bottle and sat it on the coffee table in front of you.

“But I’m not a child, it might not even work for me and I don’t have any trouble controlling my abilities.” Now that was a lie. Concealing your powers are not controlling them, the two are very different.

“Double the dosage.” He suggested. Your eyes cut to Taehyung, secretly despising his excessive attention to you and persistence.

“Alright then,” Dr. Kim stood up.

Yes, he’s leaving, you thought.

“I’m here if either of you needs anything, alright?”

“Alright, thank you.” You bid him farewell and Taehyung walked him out.

“Thank you for coming over,” Taehyung stood outside of the door to talk to his father in private, even though you could probably hear him, “and telling us all of that.”

“It was long overdue. After everything she’s gone through, I’m just glad she’s not alone. She seems like she’s had it pretty rough in life because of what she is.”

*

*

You walked into your bedroom, and you could still hear them talking but turned a deaf ear to it out of courtesy, it’s the polite thing to do. Today was quite an adventure. You went out into a city where the  FBI is looking for you, just to get some clothes. You come back to Taehyung’s place to be met with his father who thought it was a grand idea to bring you some drugs. You rarely take medication, if ever. The occasional ibuprofen for a headache or tea and vitamins for a cold is fine, but drugs with words you can’t even pronounce? Not your forte.

There was so much going through your head right now. This is the first time you’ve ever heard the truth. The real truth. The truth about Jane Sato, your parents, and about how you came to be. You didn’t know if you were angry, sad, or just plain confused, it was a lot to take in.

Taehyung was still outside so you decided to go wash the day off of you and jump into your cozy blue PJs. You walked into the bathroom, cracked the door, and discarded your clothing. You threw your clothes into a small pile and hopped in the shower, letting the warm water run down your body.

Your eyes squeezed shut, you tried to push back your angry thoughts. You were feeling hurt, confused, flat out abandoned. The parents you had idolized, wished you had the chance to spend time with were the ones responsible for what you are. How could this be a gift? All it’s ever done is to bring you pain and suffering. It’s gotten you kicked out of your own home, fired, almost assaulted—and they thought making you this way was a gift? You couldn’t understand it. You’re not all human and the older you get, the more obvious that is.

When the front door closed, you heard Taehyung walk to his room and close the door. Not long after, you heard the water running in his shower. It was then that you realized you had been standing in this shower for quite a while, it’s about time you get out.

You reached for the shower nozzle to turn the water off, but your hand rested there for a few seconds before turning.

“Ah!” You jerked back and at the same time, you heard a shriek coming from the far end of the house and you cringed at the sound. The water went scalding hot all of a sudden. Dumbfounded, you quickly wrapped a towel around you and eyed the shower.

“What the heck was that...” You mumbled, going over to the counter to get your pajamas on. First the light bulb, the subway car, then this? Maybe I do need to take something... If you keep having incidents like this, there’s no way you can go out into the city and not get found out.

You walked out of your bedroom and walked up to his room door and knocked. “T- Taehyung?” Again, you knocked and the door opened.

You looked to see him in a dove white robe and he was patting his hair dry, his contacts were out too. He grinned. “Come in.”

For a moment, you just stared at him and it took a few seconds for you to hear him tell you to come in. When your feet started moving, that’s when you finally got a good look at his room—and you thought your room big. His room made your room look like a coat closet.

“About the water,” You stood awkwardly, trying not to look as he was slipping some clothes on with the bathroom door slightly open, “I heard you shout when the water got really hot,” You nibble your bottom lip, “I didn’t do it on purpose, I’m sorry.”

“That was you?” You nod. “I figured as much.”

He idly buttoned up his pajamas. “That’s not your fault, I’m sure it burned you too.” You went to the cozy love seat near the window where he had a brewed cup of herbal tea on a little table beside it.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I didn’t want to tell your father but ever since we met, I haven’t been able to control myself like I used to.” He reached over to the coffee table to get his tea and you suddenly stood up, standing in front of him. 

Your brows knitted tightly. “Is the same thing happening to you? Because you don’t seem to have any visible problems.” 

He took a seat on the edge of his bed. “I get an occasional migraine here and there, but other than that, I feel like having you around has actually been beneficial for me. I wish it was the same for you...” He took your hand, bringing it up to his lips.

“I’m feeding off of your energy and your powers are reacting.” He gazed into your eyes, drawing you into the abyss of his captivating orbs. 

You scorn at the term, ‘powers.’ 

“Taehyung,” You frown, “you’re so content with all of this. I just found out my parents gave me to some sick doctor who made me- Made us into- I don’t even know...” You step away from him to sit on the edge of his bed. 

“I don’t know how I feel about myself, I want to be okay with it but I’m not,” He turned to join you, laying across his bed, supporting his head with his hand. 

“Out of all of your time knowing you had these abilities, did you ever once love something about it?” He grinned when you dropped on your back, laying a shy distance away from him. 

“Love? It comes in handy sometimes but it used to get me in a lot of trouble. Movie theaters are a pain, I haven’t gone to one in years because all of the sounds hurt...Bright lights, smells, touches, it’s all amplified for me. I’m just lucky I can control that most of the time now. If I’m not careful I can burst light bulbs, mess with temperatures like I did to the water here, it’s kind of scary to live with because it’s so unpredictable, so I suppress it.”

He studied you with half-lidded pearly eyes. “You’re hypersensitive...I am too but it’s mainly just my sight.” For a split second, his eyes glimmer, almost intensifying the already luminous tones in it. 

“Do you want to know what color you’re emitting right now?... You’re purple,”

He tight-lip grinned, eyes squishing from his happy cheeks, “I’ve noticed that whenever you’re relaxed, happy, or if you have one focused emotion, you’re this purplish hue. I’ve never seen it on anyone else before but I’m really drawn to it.” He rolled on to his stomach and crawled over to you slowly, not getting too close, he kept your personal space in mind. 

“I have to be honest with you, I want to feel your energy in every way possible...” His wording was so very honest, it made you flush a little. “And it's amplified at night.”

You gulp. “I- I don’t think it’s smart to be near each other than,” You sheepishly confess, “we don’t know what could happen, y’ know? Like, um, because of our energies and everything... ”

“On the contrary, I think it would help us.”

Of course, he thinks it would help us.

“Of course you do.”

“No, I’m serious,” He whines, “when you’re asleep, your presence is blissful, it calms me.”

“You’re over-exaggerating.” You got up and stretched your arms. “I’ll see you in the morning, goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Yves.” He purrs, a smirk ever so present on his lips. You abruptly exited the room, and to your distaste, he followed. Heat began to rise up to your cheeks and to the tips of your ears. You weren’t sure if it was from the annoyance of the name or the fact that your body’s out of whack—either way, you didn’t want to hear the name again.

You pause in your tracks, glaring back at him. “Don’t call me that.”

“That’s technically your name.” You didn’t even respond, what were you supposed to say? Legally, you aren’t even supposed to be in this country, so why go by technicalities? 

You stand there, not breaking eye contact—for his eyes could possess you if you weren’t careful. You’d never admit it, but when you look at him, you can hear a little voice telling you to let go and let him in. You hate it and force yourself to ignore it.

“Y/n, I’ve been thinking and I want you to know that-”

Before he could finish that sentence, you were in your room with the door shut. All he could do was sigh, and stand in his living room. He was determined to be with you, to feel your energy even if you didn’t think you wanted it—he knew you were hiding it.

You sigh, sitting on the edge of the bed and lazily slipping your bunny bedroom shoes off. “Hugh...” Finally, some peace and-

Taehyung suddenly barged into the bedroom and you jumped back in surprise.

“You’re being rude.”

“What?- Rude?” You rise to your feet.  

“Yeah, I was talking to you and you just walked away.” He up walked to stand right in front of you. “What is the matter with you?” For a moment he just stares at you as if to pry into your soul and uncover your secrets, he’s planning something, you can sense it. 

During that stare off, you can practically see a light bulb come to his mind and you brace yourself. Thinking this night could hide no more surprises, you see him fiddling with the buttons on his pajamas. You panic of course – nononono, what is this — what is he doing? Your eyes widen to the size of saucers when he walks to turn the light off.

“Um, hey, Taehyung – what’re you doing? Tae,” You try to shield your eyes but your curiosity brings you back to his perplexing actions, “Oh my g-” His chest is now exposed and your cheeks go spread with red like a cherry bomb, “keep your shirt on, we’re not-” You stutter as he comes closer, “I-I’m not-”

“Shh, it’s not like that,” His tone is calm as he gets to the third or fourth button and stops, “you need to see this.” You’re still sitting on the edge of the bed as he towers above you, his gaze making you shake anxiously.

“W-what-...” He takes your hand and places on his warm, bare chest. And just to make sure you don’t move it, he kept his hand on yours. “I- I don’t understand.”

“Shh...” He shushes you for the second time and you finally get the memo to save your questions for later. His eyes fall shut with a breathy sigh, and when you finally take a peek your hands on his chest, you nearly leap out of your skin.

“Oh my god!” You squeal, “Oh my god, oh my gosh-” Luminescent veins began to brighten up from your fingers up to your wrist and so on, “What's happening?” You try to yank your hand away and that’s when his eyes opened, burning more vibrant than ever. Rather than telling you what was going on or releasing your hand, he uses his free arm to pull you against him.

“C- calm down and don’t move, please...” His voice trembled as if your movement pained him.

Your eyelids flutter shut and you fall limp in his embrace, you lost a fight to deep sleep. Not long after that Taehyung falls to sudden fatigue and drops back on the bed with a low thump to the mattress. Your still, unconscious form lying quietly on his chest.

Darkness.

Your eyes shoot open at a pang in your chest, you’re flat on your back and all there is to be seen is obscure nothingness. 

You slowly look around as you carefully stand to your feet. Where am I. Physically, you felt no notable change but your mind felt as though you had transcended to another plane?

“H- Hello?” You flinch at the booming echo of your voice. You peered down to see you were still in your pajamas and barefooted.

“Where am I...” 

With a bit of hesitation, you begin to walk around, still grasping on the sleeves of your top for dear life—that’s when you heard a voice that was definitely not your own. Hello?

You freeze dead in your tracks at the sound of a familiar resonating voice. His voice sounds as if it were a part of your consciousness. Where are you? His voice draws nearer and you start walking to where it might be coming from.

“Stay where you are,” You’re running now, eyes darting everywhere but the path in front of you. “I’ll come to you!-“

A force slammed into you at the same speed and you Taehyung. This is his fault. is suddenly in your line of sight and you quickly get up.

“What did you do?!”

“Why are you blaming me? I didn’t do this.” This felt weird, it was like he was floating but grounded on to something solid and it was holding him down. He frowned, he was just as surprised as you—he had intentions but this wasn’t one of them.

You couldn’t stop yourself from rolling your eyes at his profession. “Then why were you holding my freakin’ hand and body on your chest against my will? Huh? Explain.”

“I don’t know, I’ve never done this before.” He looked around, just as confused as you. He breathes, tilting his head at what he sees. “I just wanted to tap into your emotional psyche. You’re so tense sometimes and since I can feel it, and it’s uncomfortable, my intention was to level with you, relax you a little bit...” His words trail off. “Not do this, whatever this is...”

“I don’t like this...” You mumble arms wrapped firmly around yourself. At the shift in the air, you realize that he’s not as calm anymore.  

“I think we’re in an alternative consciousness, a dream or something...” He walks past you, eyes focused on something behind you.

But there’s nothing behind me-

You gasp at the drastic switch in the once bleak scenery. 

It’s an eerie room, dull green lights, bushels of flowers lining the newspaper-covered walls. Ivy hung loosely on the two windows with views you had never seen before. A little old television was mounted to the corner of the room and it glitched, nothing but a continuous replay of a distorted picture.

Cold. It’s ice-cold—freezing. 

You’re standing in a shallow little body of water in the center of the room, it seemed bottomless, dark. Taehyung knelt in front of the small pool, dipping his hand in the water as if it were familiar. It’s coming to him now, the melancholic flowers, the oddly placed body of water—he’s seen this in a dream before.

“I’ve seen this before,” He stands to his feet, “in my dreams...I’ve been in this room.” You swallow, heart rate suddenly at the will of his words—his voice.

“Your dreams...” You repeat his words as you cautiously stepped out of the water, shivering at the cold surface you’re now standing on. “T-Taehyung, h- how do we get out of here? It’s freezing...” 

“You’re cold? I feel fine.” He sounds surprised, but you were more shocked that his teeth weren’t chattering like yours. He walks to you to investigate, touching your goosebumps-covered arms. Concern etched into his expression. “You’re like ice...you’re trembling.” He wraps his arms around you, hoping to supply some type of heat for you. “Is that better?”

“Why aren’t you cold?-“ 

You let out a high pitched shriek of sheer agony and fall out of his embrace. The sound of glass shattering erupted in your ears like a bomb and you collapsed to your knees.

“I-it hurts!” Tears begin to well up in your eyes, “it hurts, it hurts!” You cover your ears with both hands, trying to shield out the sound, but it did little to nothing. You just cried and cried, begging for deliverance from the pain, “Make it stop!”

“I know it hurts,” He tries to remain cool and collected, “but we need to emulate what we did to get here in order to get out.” He tried to keep you still but you steadily rocked in a panic.

“Do you hear me?” You nod weakly before giving him your hand. Just as he did before, he placed your hand on his chest and pulled your bodies together in an embrace. He sensed your inner turmoil, your confusion for life, and the constant suppression—it’s trying to eat you alive. 

“You need to breathe and relax, stop bracing yourself.” At this rate, it was about time to switch into a different gear and bring the pressure. “Calm down-”

You cry out. “I’m trying!-“

“No, you’re not!” His tone gives you unwanted chills. “I don’t want to force you to let your walls down, I’m trying to give you the freedom to do it yourself but you won’t do it. Do you want me to force you? Is that it? Because I swear I will if I have to, Y/n.”

Your blood is boiling at this point. It’s not easy to control yourself and he knows that.  

“I am trying! It’s just not working!” You shoved him away and got out of his hold. 

“This is unfair! How can you expect me to get out of here? I can’t control it! I don’t even know what it is!”

That'll do it. 

Unbeknownst to you, your eyes speckled with fiery saffron and amber, a color change he had never even seen on himself. Warm energy began to course through his veins and engulf his senses, you’re close. 

“That's good,” He praises you, “take that feeling and use it to focus on waking yourself up.” Despite your unstable state, he wrapped his arms around your waist. “We’ll do it together.” He swipes a finger across your jaw and you lean into him, eyes fluttering as you breathe in.

Heeding his instructions, you shut your eyes, concentrating all of your energy on breaking out of this.

Light.

You feel the warmth of soft light and you reach out to it—your eyes shot open and you're laying on Taehyung, who is still holding onto your hand for dear life. You breathe in relief, pressing your head against him in search of physical proof of your arrival back to the real world. Sure enough, Taehyung's heart is beating and he exhales lowly under you. If you're honest, you're very thankful for him right now. If he wouldn't have pushed your buttons the way he did, who knows how long you could've been trapped in there.

"Taehyung." You pulled your hand out of his grasp and shake him lightly. "Wake up, I'm back, it worked." His eyes remain shut, you start to panic a little.

"Hey, wake up! I didn't come back here to be by myself. Come back, can you hear me!?" You pat his cheek lightly.

"Ah, don't do this to me. Are you seriously still in there? How? Wake up! I can't go back in there so I need you to wake up so I don't want to do something stupid to get you up. Please." 

Nothing. He's as still as a log and you're faced with two choices; try to go back in there with him, or do something to him to wake him up.

"I'll splash you with water," That might work, "yeah, that might wake you up-" Just as you try to leave the bed you're pulled back and met with his goofy smile.

"You were trying to wake me up so you don't have to be alone,” He coos, “you do have a heart."

"I can’t believe you- Taehyung, we're not doing that again." You’re half relieved and half disappointed that he’s back.

"Are you kidding? We have to understand what it is. It must be unique to our bond so eventually, we should go back." He speaks so casually about it.

"Well, not any time soon." You shake your head. "Go back to your room Taehyung," You dismiss his teasing and crawl up to get under your covers.

"No," He gets up close to you, "you know if I leave, I might eventually come back. To avoid the trip, I'll just stay, if that’s okay..." Disregarding your wishes to sleep alone, he crawls in bed beside you.

"You don't have to pretend like you hate it, I can feel your feelings, you’re relaxing because I’m close to you." He pulls you to your side to face him. He can feel your feelings. That should have crossed your mind given how many times he's said it but it hasn't. It made you wonder, how do you make him feel? Though you hide it, you do care for Taehyung and you have feelings for him, but they're feelings that connect you to him against your will, that's why you fight it.

"Is this okay?" He had to ask, "I do want you to be comfortable with this..." Your heart lurches at the thought that he wanted you to consent to this above all.

"Y- Yeah, it's fine..." He soothes a hand on your head, "This is something-" You pause, scratching that sentence. "Nevermind..." You trail off.

"No, don't do that, talk to me," His eyes soften, "I like when you talk to me about how you feel, it makes me feel closer to you..." He bats his lashes sleepily, "You were saying?..."

"This is something I've never experienced before, being emotionally and physically close to someone...You seem to be adjusting fine but I'm a mess. And even though I try not to show it, I want to connect with you. I try so hard to ignore it but I feel like I shouldn't anymore, after what just happened..." His lips parted, eyes not leaving you for a second. "I've been unfair to you, and I'm sorry. This is new for you too and you're just doing what's instinctive in your DNA." You shy away from his intense eye contact, it made you nervous.

"I- I've always been lonely,” You stutter, “my whole life, and no ones ever showed me this much attention before.” The more it comes to the light, the more you realize how misshapen you are the aspects of human relationships. “You’re the closest thing I've ever felt to love..." 

“Then I want you to always remember this...” He firmly presses his lips to yours, he moves to cup your jaw and you twitch. He’s warm, intoxicating, everything he longed for you to feel—you were feeling it right now.

The proximity alone was enough to have you melting into his touch. He slides his lips against yours with an audible sound and cocks his head to the side. The mutual feelings in the air added to the intimacy, the tight coil building up in your chest as you smile into the kiss. He's leaning into you, tasting and cherishing the shy nibbles you take on his bottom lip. A thumb swipes a stray tear from your cheek and you gently pull away, eyes finding his with a timid glance. He presses soft kisses under your ear, hands snaking around your waist as he erupts in a sweet fit of giggles. Abashed, you clear your throat and divert your eyes.

"Look at me,” He sees the weary look in your eyes and quickening of your breath. “I'm just happy we're together, I feel like I'm complete with you. You’re the part of me that I've been missing my whole life, and that's not just my genus talking, we're meant to have each other and there's no doubt in my mind that I'm really starting to love you..."

His words were entirely sincere. Even for the considerably short time, he’s known you, he knew he never wanted to go another day without you. The burning desire he had for you would not allow him to go on without you. He wanted you to know, that even after the arguments, tension, painful sentiments, he could say those three words—I love you. 

To say it so loosely might ward you away so he held back, but it came out, not caring about your reaction. You can't lie, you tend to doubt a majority of things that seem too good to be true. But this is different, he has proven himself trustworthy and that soothes your worries more so than anything else. Taking was a nice change, you had never done that so much before getting involved with Taehyung. But it makes you feel lighter. Like the weight of your troubles weren't pounding on your back, it's freeing. Being with him is freeing, it feels natural to have him near you. You're meant to be together and your body's responses prove that.

The electricity coursing through your body only amplifies when you're with Taehyung. Even though you don't know much about your powers, it becomes painful the more you try to suppress it, especially around him. Since he said he basically feeds off of you like a source of energy, that might be why it's getting harder to suppress it, he's drawing it out.

The heart monitor beeped, the constant sound becoming a part of the white noise. The patient laid peacefully, lashes fluttering at the cool air coming from the air vents. She turned off the light, leaving the room with a quiet shut of the door.

She went back to the office, dreading a load of files to sort through. When she walked in, it was clear by the stack towering as high as a foot that she'd hand this off to an intern or something. She has better 'things to worry about than dosage instructions. Like she's done many times before, she begins to sort through the patients and put them on the hand-off table in the corner.

Knock knock. There's a knock at the door, "Who is it?" Before she can grant entrance, he casually walks in, that gray suit being as recognizable as wine on white.

"Jane." He smiles.

"Nelson," She relaxed at his arrival, "I thought you were gonna drop by in the morning, this is a surprise."

"I was in the area so I thought I'd pay you a visit." He slid a hand into his pocket as she walked over to take a seat on the little couch by the window. "How are you?"

"Fine." She replied simply, not looking t elaborate any further— the small talk was never a favorite of hers.

"Did you see the news from this morning?" He went to sit across from her. "I had an interview."

"I did, but I only caught a few minutes of it, your interview was good."

"Yes, it came out well. Have you read any articles or tabloids about the project?"

"I try not to read about it too much anymore, it just disgusts me how they distort my work the way they do, I can’t bear to read it anymore."

"That's understandable." He nods, eyes trailing from his hands to her gaze that's on the window. "But, there's something I know you’ll be happy to hear. We found one, a child of the Flower Garden."

She freezes, eyes glued to the image of the skyline through the window. He's said this before she got her hopes up, and they were wrong. She saw it foolish to take his word for it this time.

"You've said that before Nelson, I'm not getting my hopes for nothing-"

"We have proof, Jane. She works for one of the fortune 500's, and since those big companies have a list of policies regarding SRMA clearings, we were able to weed out suspicious people. She has never gotten cleared, in fact, she ignored all of the cities warnings to get cleared. As a result, I sent a federal agent out there to make sure she got cleared but she ran from him."

"That still doesn't prove anything, if they scare anyone I'm sure that person might run..." She wasn’t buying it.

He feels through his pockets for a moment, then shows her a photo. “This is her.” There you stand, smiling for an ID badge and she nearly loses all ability to comprehend. She inspects the photo with a hand on her chest to keep from tearing up, it can't be.

Yves, her life's work lives.

[gaming-grandma]

Pokemon: Let’s go

It is hilarious to me, beyond any bearable laughter pain, that the majority of negative reviews for this game is that it’s “Not my pokemon” “not a true tribute to gen 1″ and such, when this game is the first ACTUAL homage to the original series since the first games actually released, and is a joyously heartfelt compact experience with a surprising amount of game in it. 

I’m going to talk about a few things first.

1) This is not a main series Pokemon game. It was never even intended to be one. Nintendo said it was not one. It was never advertised as one. It was even said, at the release of this game’s title, that they were working on a separate main series title for the switch. And yet. There are numbskulls going around acting like they discovered the cure for the black plague when they spam people with “THIS ISN’T EVEN A MAIN SERIES POKEMON GAME!” congratulations; that is the point. You have achieved cognition.

2) This game is more true to Pokemon Yellow than leafgreen firered, fight me. There’s no abilities, no item holding; mechanics are basic and simple- encountering is less of an artificial time lengthen-er and more interesting and fun and doesn’t make you want to drive your skull through several buildings. The game does this weird thing where it’s fun. It keeps the simplicity of Yellow and cuts off all the unnecessarily stupid mechanics that are hallmark of Pokemon games, ones especially prevalent in yellow because they were even more inconvenient than later main series titles; your Pokemon box is in your inventory, you can mass release Pokemon, you can see what Pokemon you’re encountering in the overworld, you don’t need to have dedicated HM Pokemon. 

3) it’s actually less hand-holdy than sun/moon. I’m at the stage in life where I’ve accepted sun/moon are bad games and I have no reasons to like them; when I replayed moon i kept track and realized that in every single route/city/area in the game there was a lengthy, unnecessary, boring cutscene until around the second island, and if i’m remembering wrong it’s only by 1 or 2 areas. After the second island it’s about every other area that has pointless waterfalls of dialogue that contribute nothing to anything except copious amounts of items to your inventory. In Pokemon: Let’s Go, it cuts to the chase: you get helpful items from beating trainers in one freaking dialogue box that is quickly skimmed before exiting the battle animation, your (albeit spineless) rival gives you quick-beat fast lines and items without wasting your life away. The game gives you the same advantages sun and moon did in about 1/100th of the time wasted.

4) it’s not a main series game but it plays as one in a lot of respects, so I’m going to compare it to main series games in many ways. 

Now that I've got those off my chest. I’ll go over basic pros and cons.

Good things:

Amazing foundation for gen 8. Pokemon follow you around is wonderful, and what we’ve been begging for since HG/SS. Mechanically the best game in the entire franchise, cuts down incredibly on time-wasters. If you like Pokemon go then you’ll like catching Pokemon in this game. Your partner Pokemon is not useless crap after the first gym, and is in fact very useful even in the late game despite not being able to evolve. Chaining for IV/shiny is as brain dead easy as it’s ever been, in a good way. Pokemon encounter pools have changed a lot, you can run into some cool stuff in the wild if you hunt carefully enough, and encountering Pokemon is fun for the first time ever.

Bad things:

No bike... Very salty about the removal of bikes from these games. Bikes are like, my favorite part, sue me. Yes, there’s mechanical parallels with Pokemon you can ride that run super fast, but it’s not the same i tell you. If you don’t like Pokemon go you’ll hate catching Pokemon/grinding in this game. Was disappointed you couldn’t evolve eevee/pikachu, but it makes a lot of sense so it’s fair. The “rival” is a spineless wimp, as they all have become more and more like a cuddle pillow ever since g/s/c. I would argue D/P/Pt had a great rival, so maybe exclude that one. Catching Pokemon feels strictly linear. The higher level the Pokemon get, the stupidly harder they are to catch. At least in main games you can false swipe/sleep/paralyze and try from there, but here hitting EXCELLENT ultra balls + razz berries is about the best you can do, and is absolutely no guarantee that you’ll even get 2 shakes. At least you don’t have to waste time whittling them down, you just have to waste time throwing 5x as many balls at them. For the harder ones at least. 

In conclusion:

Pokemon Let’s go is an uplifting tribute to what makes Pokemon fun and approachable for everyone. It cuts all the shit from the main series and makes it a more focused, consistent experience about Kanto where all your favorite original Pokemon can follow right behind you! It’s definitely worth the price, the multiplayer is cute and helpful in catching harder Pokemon, but not immersion breaking. Jesse and James from team rocket are in this game. What else do I need to say? It’s a fun distraction until the next main series title. A breath of fresh air after the disaster of Gen VII, and gives me high hopes for Gen VIII if they keep even half the mechanically changes of this game.

4/5

[feel199x]

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚apple of my eye ˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆ Chapter IV

I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X

gang member!han jisung, gang!au, florist!reader

masterlist

a/n: (tiny evil laughter)

warnings: gun mention at the end!

 Jisung was still there when you woke up, entangled in his arms. But he was already awake, even with fatigue making his eyelids droop slightly. You were worried that Jisung would disappear again, without reason or explanation, but here he was. Looking out for you even when he must’ve been overworked with his band business. You moved slightly, wanting to attempt to make breakfast for the both of you when he wrapped his arms around your waist, peppering kisses on the back of your shoulder. “Just a few minutes more,” he persuaded, “I don’t want to ever leave.” And you wish you could, you wish you had. You stroked his hand, tracing small circles on the back of it. “I have to make breakfast,” you whispered, “And open up shop. Make calls.” He rested his head on the crook of your neck. “No you don’t,” he whined, “We can just stay here.” He sounded so tired, so exhausted, and rightfully so. So, you didn’t argue.

Instead, for a few more hours rather than the suggested minutes, you laid there. Entangled in each other’s limbs, in comfortable silence and warmth. But as the noon sun rolled around, you felt more compelled to do something productive- to move past the stressful month and get back to your regular routine. You fought through Jisung’s pout and made a modest breakfast, sipping tea as Jisung refused to leave your side, sitting behind you on the living room floor, mindlessly kissing the nape of your neck as the TV news filled the room with white noise.

Around the late afternoon, you were able to drag Jisung downstairs, keeping you company as you called your frequent clients, informing them that you had opened again. They were all relieved to hear that you were alright, and that the shop was back up and running smoothly again. Some of them even stopping immediately by, bringing comfort gifts and ordering new arrangements. Still, the feeling of uneasiness rested in the demon pit of your stomach. But nothing was outwardly out of place. At least, nothing you could see. You tried to repress the feeling, a record player you had fished out from under your bed playing some soft jazz music. You were teaching Jisung to make some flower crowns out of daisies, and he was surprisingly very good at it, not needing your help after a half hour.

“Sungie.”

He paused to look you in the eyes, gently grabbing your hand to give it a tight, reassuring squeeze. “What is it my love?”

You grew flustered at the pet name, playing with the flower crown you were working on with your free hand. But for the past two weeks, all you could think about what a beaten up Jisung. You worried endlessly about him, that night was emotionally fulfilling and draining, but you had to soothe a question that pounded into your brain.

“That night..,” you hesitated, glancing nervously at him, “That night you kissed me. How did you..who hurt you?”

He made you turn to face him, hands resting on your waist. He grabbed both your hands, still maintaining eye contact. “Is that what’s been bothering you?” he asked sadly, “Is that all you’ve been thinking about?” You nodded, refusing to make direct eye contact with him. “I just had a run in with an asshole,” he explained, “You should’ve seen him though, he was much worse off.” He laughed, trying to lighten the atmosphere, hating how tense and serious it was. “Besides,” he added, planting a kiss on his biceps, “These babies would never let me down.” Your shoulders relaxed a bit, the tension in them releasing and you threw a handful of daisies at him, laughing and smiling at his ability to dissolve any sort of oppressive undertone.

He wasn’t telling you the truth, the full truth, but there was no way you could’ve none at the time.

“How’s stray kids?” you asked, “Do you have any gigs coming up?” A flicker of nearly imperceptible worry passed through Jisung’s eyes. You’d always admired the deep brown of his eyes, especially the way that sunlight shone on them, making them warm like melted chocolate and golden sun flecks swirling within them. You could draw his eyes from memory, and seeing his worry made the uneasiness creep up your chest.

“We’ve been pretty busy,” he turned to work on a second flower crown with the daisies you threw at him, “Becoming a lot more popular than we had intended. I’m sorry I haven’t been able to be with you more.” You played with his hair, tucking a few unruly strand behind his ear.

“Any time with you is a good amount of time.”

A smile spread across the face, the type that made you swoon, the type where all other smiles would be ruined for the rest of your light time. He pinched your cheeks lightly, stretching them out as he teased you. “You don’t have to be so cute okay,” he fake scolded, a smile still on his face, “If you say stuff like that, my heart is going to burst.” You make an unintelligible noise as he kept messing with your stretched cheeks. But eventually he stopped, hugging you instead. “You’re my favorite person,” he said quietly, “Thank you for being here.” He stayed in that position for a few minutes, as you played with his hair, his head resting on your chest due to his seated position. The record music still played, giving the room an ever softer, escapist feeling.

But reality had to hit sometime.

You noticed the sun setting, the orange glow filling the room in a warm, soft light. The flowers’ color illuminated by the glow. The light through the stained glass piece leaving a puddle of prismed colors on the side of Jisung face. He had never looked so relaxed, so soft, so angelic as he did now. The world felt like it calmed down, slowed, even if it was for those few minutes. You stroked his hair, before you moved to lock the shop’s door, evening approaching- and business dying down. You normally never close earlier, but today you felt you deserved it. You locked the door, shutting the blinds and the warm orange glow disappeared.  Leaving you and Jisung in artificial, fluorescent light.

That’s when the first shot was fired.

[doomedandstoned]

The Curious Case of Dr. Sludgelove and His Awesome Cosmic Adventures

~By Billy Goate~

There's something to be said for the enduring power of a Stanley Kubrick film. There's no denying his potent storytelling, especially when it's inspiring a new generation of bands to write music about 2001: A Space Odyssey. I mean, wasn't that movie released in the late-60s? It's tech is dated, as are much of the effects, yet here we have young musicians writing minor epics about Dave's star-tripping Jupiter run, raging apes, and that gosh-darned monolith. Hmmm, well if you look at your typical Sunn Amp, it's no wonder. Thing is a picture of solitary grandeur, to say nothing of its omnipotent, knee-bending sonority.

In our last globe-hopping journey, we landed in Mexico City where we met a band called MOONWATCHER, known to project scenes from the film while playing open amphitheaters at the dead of night. Our travels next take us to Hungary, a scene I've sorely neglected over the years. More specifically, we're going right into the heart of the action: Budapest. It's the birthplace of the great pianist-composer Franz Liszt, who is arguably the first rock star for taking his solo piano performances on the road, which ignited the swooning throngs.

Some of you may have been exposed to the Hungarian doom-stoner sound already and not even realized it. Bands like Apey and the Pea, for example, have demonstrated that Hungarians like their music spicy, served up with verve and gusto. I decided it would be a good time to open up the window and take give you all a peek at this world through the eyes of a band I stumbled upon at random a few weeks back, who endeared themselves to me almost from the start with their name: Dr. Sludgelove. C'mon, how can you not love it?

Another thing I admire about the band is their dedication to concept. The presser they sent out was helpfully annotated with scene-by-scene narration of each track, which I've decided to share with you as I walk you through them. Finally, we're going to meet the band and find out what they can tell us about what it's like to be Doomed & Stoned on their side of the planet. Buckle up, boys. We're about to take a ride with a pair of wild men out into the final frontier.

Dr. Sludgelove is:

János Papp

Attila Temesvári

János Paronai

This is the story of their excursion into the universe of Stanley Kubrick, relayed in their own words.

My Space Odyssey

I. Dawn of Man

This is the first song off of Dr. Sludgelove's debut album, inspired by the Stanley Kubrick movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. In this song, humanity has just been born. Apes are living their everyday lives, which is just about struggling, fighting for food, and finding a place to sleep. They gather into groups -- the groups are fighting with each other, as well. The Earth during these times is very unfriendly place, with big and wrathful storms. Green can be found barely in this region and the vegetation is not very rich.

At some time, in the morning a big black prism is just appearing in front of our group at the ape cave. The shape, color, and smell is just something that has never ever been seen on this planet before. It is a monolith. An ape shows interest at once, as he caught sight of it. He moves closer, wants to touch it, but at the same time he is afraid of the unknown. He starts to dance around it. Others are appearing, as well, but they have bigger fears and choose to watch him from a decent distance. After a while, our hero just decides to tap on it. Then after some quick taps, he constantly touches the Monolith, but nothing visible seems to happen.

My Space Odyssey by Dr. Sludgelove

After some days, the ape finds some bones of a guinea pig, which are just lying in front of him. He starts to play with a piece, but he realizes after a while what he can do with it. He holds it high, then smites it with all his power. At this moment, he realizes how to use something to achieve bigger force than he is able to provide with his bare hands. He has just started to use a tool! This is also the start of the intellect, which drives humanity to reach bigger and bigger improvements. The Monolith gives the possibility of having a better, more developed life than the miserable life of apes. This moment starts everything, a pathway to the modern person's future.

II. Discovery One

In this second song, humanity is in space, travelling between planets in the Solar System. There is a base at the Moon, which can be visited by the average person, as well. Traveling in space is not such a big thing any more.

My Space Odyssey by Dr. Sludgelove

After discovering the Monolith in the surface of the Moon, a group of elite astronauts and scientists start their travel to the planet Jupiter to discover an anomaly, marked by the Monolith on the Moon. Most of the scientists are in hibernation, though two astronauts are awake during the long journey to supervise. An artificial intelligence, called HAL9000 is supporting them, dealing with all the low level controls of the spaceship.

III. HAL-9000

In this song, HAL-9000 reveals his true colors, as he tries to kill all astronauts on the spaceship. Dave Bowman, the last astronaut, decides to switch off HAL's intelligence to stop its influence controlling the whole ship's whole ecosystem. During the switching off operation, Dave needs to wear a spacesuit, as maybe HAL will try to kill him by providing no oxygen. Because of the spacesuit, we can hear Dave breathe during the entire track. This gives a sense of great tension to the whole song and originally for the movie scene, as well. We can hear as HAL tries to convince Dave that everything is alright and it will have no problems continuing the mission successfully.

My Space Odyssey by Dr Sludgelove

In the meantime, Dave pulls out computer cards from HAL's central unit, so HAL gets more and more simple-minded. At a certain point, HAL tries to convince Dave by appealing to his emotions as it states it is AFRAID! During Dave's actions, the music is heavy, a really metallic riff suggests that Dave is doing some harmful thing to HAL. When Dave finishes with the shutting down process, HAL goes into standby mode. Then he starts to "sing." This is the first thing that was taught to HAL back in the day, when it was created by its instructor, Mr. Langley.

IV. Alone Into The Void

After Dave Bowman successfully switches down HAL9000's high-level functionality, he continues the mission and heads towards the direction of Jupiter to investigate the enormously big copy of the Monolith found in the Moon. This is the focus of the fourth song. His colleague Frank Pool and all of the scientists held in deep hibernation were killed by HAL 9000 and the connection to Earth is also cut.

My Space Odyssey by Dr Sludgelove

During the long journey, therefore, he is really alone. The way to Jupiter lasts for long months. He tries to focus on the mission, but because he is lacking communication partner, Dave thinks a lot about his future, what he will find next to Jupiter, how the Monolith will behave, what will happen when he encounters it. A lot of questions and a lot of pressure on him and the prospect of the unknown drives him to depression, as he prepares to meet his doom.

V. My God, It Is Full of Stars!

For the fifth song, astronaut Dave Bowman encounters the Monolith. He says the following phrase just before losing contact with Mission Control: “The thing’s hollow -- it goes on forever -- and -- oh my God! -- it’s full of stars!”

My Space Odyssey by Dr Sludgelove

During the journey, he sees these stars as flashes, as the known three dimensional world falls apart. Time, direction, and all the usual physics does not make sense here anymore. Bowman is transported via the Monolith to an unknown star system, through a large interstellar switching station, and sees other species' spaceships going on other routes. Bowman is given a wide variety of sights, from the wreckage of ancient civilizations to what appear to be life-forms living on the surfaces of a binary star system planet.

VI. Death of Man, Born of The Starchild

After a journey through the wormhole, Dave Bowman finally arrives during the last song. The Monolith creates an environment for Dave to exist in that would not harm him in any way, making it look like a hotel room filled with familiar items to assuage any fear and appear welcoming.

Dave can't believe what he sees, but leaves the pod and explores the room in his suit. He sees the telephone and telephone book, but the phone doesn't work and the telephone book is blank.

He explores more and finds the refrigerator, where there is a variety of packaged food, but it is all "blue substance, about the weight and texture of bread pudding. Apart from its odd color, it looked quite appetizing." There are clothes in the closet, which are a bit out of date for Dave's time.

My Space Odyssey by Dr Sludgelove

Dave decides to trust the environment. "But this is ridiculous," Bowman tells himself in the novelization by Arthur C. Clarke. "I am almost certainly being watched, and I must look an idiot wearing this suit. If this is some kind of intelligence test, I've probably failed already. Without further hesitation, he walked back into the bedroom and began to undo the clamp of his helmet. When it was loose, he lifted the helmet a fraction of an inch, cracked the seal and took a cautious sniff. As far as he could tell, he was breathing perfectly normal air." He eats the blue food and drinks the water, showers, dresses, and he turns on the television.

Refreshed and exhausted, Dave lies down on the bed, turns off the light and "...for the last time, David Bowman slept." The Power behind the Monolith then transforms Dave into the Starchild, the next evolution of man.

Encounter With Dr. Sludgelove

I'm afraid 'My Space Odyssey' has only whet our appetite for more from Dr. Sludgelove. Where does the band go from here?

We are just starting to dive into the Hungarian stoner/doom/sludge scene. Our first release is more than a year old, but the needed band members have just been recruited. We started to rehearse and were able to find rehearsal room, so a lot of technical problems were solved in the last few months. Now we are planning gigs more gigs, after performing for the first time in this configuration during the spring. We are mostly close to Baby Gorilla Records and bands like Third Planet and Lanterni. We are planning gigs together first in Budapest, after that probably in some bigger cities around the country. Our one year goal is to be a band in Hungary that's invited to support a bigger foreign name, when such an act comes to play here. Our second album also will come out around the summertime, with the help of the sound engineer of the well-known band Red Swamp. Also merchandise, CD, and cassette releases are planned.

You mentioned a couple bands from the Hungarian scene. What are some others that doomers and stoners might check out?

Maybe the biggest name nowadays is Apey and the Pea. They usually play to sold out parties in Budapest, tour the whole country, and perform in foreign countries and festivals more and more. Their first releases were more grunge and stoner, then they delved into doom and sludge. Their most recent release is sludgier and contains thrash elements, as well. They are the best in Hungary right now.

Some other names worth checking out are Red Swamp, Lemurian Folk Songs, Űrhajó, Grizzly, Lanterni, Entrópia Architektúra, Alone in the Moon, Mighty Manlifter, and Third Planet, just to name a few top of mind.

For outside bands looking to tour through Hungary, what are some good booking agencies?

There is Baby Gorilla Records -- overall, really nice guys. They are managing and representing around 8-10 bands in the stoner, sludge, doom, noise, and prog rock subgenres. Also dealing with record releasing, of course, in addition to artwork, and organizing label nights, where their bands are usually supporting bigger names from foreign lands. While we're not on their label roster, we played one of their label nights in May, supporting the British band Famyne.

Thulsa Doom Booking is another one. They organize gigs for smaller foreign bands. Also they have their own group of bands, which they manage. They organize the underground festival called Thulsa Doom Fest, which you might have heard of.

Cudi Purci Booking is a bigger fish in this pond. They organize gigs with big foreign bands in the genre, like Elder, High on Fire, that kind of thing. They also organize the so-called Desszert Fest in Hungary.

What are some places that people like to hang there?

So, I'm listing some places where metalheads usually go out. Durerkert hosts a lot of live gigs in all rock and metal genres. This is a really cool place, we like it very much.

BARhole Music is the place where today's "rock stars" go to hang out in Budapest. If you want to meet with members from bands like Apey and the Pea, you will likely bump into them there.

Három Holló is a coffee house and restaurant at daytime, a cultural gathering at night -- including host to a lot of heavy music gigs and festivals.

Gólya is a cozy little place, which has lots of possibilities for smaller bands in our genre to perform live.

Follow The Band

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[luckywildrover]

ABOUT

Name: Jamie Murphy

Alias: Rover (or ‘Lucky Rover’)

Birthday: July 10th, 1992

Age: 27

Gender: Male

Job: IT Specialist // Face and Brains of LuckyWildRover, a large social media channel that predominantly focuses on video content. However, since the latter is linked to the online persona, it’s not common knowledge.

Skills: Can quickly learn how to use computer programs, coding. Parkour and good agility. Has a strong, accurate gut feeling

Struggles: Has unharnessed electrical powers: will give static shocks when stressed, and has shot out electricity when overwhelmed with an emotion. Photosensitivity: has to wear special glasses to prevent him from getting eye strain or headaches while surrounded by artificial lights.

Distinguishing features: Large lightning scar on his back, stretching from his right shoulder, down his spine, to his left hip. It would give a faint glow when his electricity is active, but it’s only noticed when the scar can be seen.

-

Positives - Energetic, Optimistic, Friendly, Bubbly

Negatives - Stubborn, Prone to over-work, Can mask own problems, 

-

 Jamie Murphy was born and raised in a rural community in Ireland. His family was large and closely-knit, with his family home being built on the land his grandparents owned. There was always something going on, a new adventure to be found in the nearby fields, jobs to do on the farms, games to play with cousins and lessons to be learned. 

One of his favourite lessons was when he learned about the Irish culture and traditions. His grandfather was a famous storyteller in the community, and could regale tales of Celtic mythology and local legends with such skill that Jamie would go to bed with images spinning in his mind. He grew up convinced there was more beyond what we could see - the fae were experts in hiding, after all. There was magic hidden everywhere if you looked hard enough! Imagine - a world where a chance encounter could lead to something wonderful and unforgettable! This outward view of looking at the world with curiosity stayed with him, as he graduated with a honours degree in Computer Science and travelled to America to pursue his dreams. Magic might not be a thing, but technology was a magic all its own.

Once there, he moved to the city to catch up with Cormac. Cormac was his cousin, and undoubtedly his closest friend growing up.The two were similar in age and looks to the point of there being a running joke in the family that they were secretly twins. Cormac had moved to America after finishing school and hit it big once he graduated university. He founded a social media channel - LuckyWildRover - that became very popular in a short amount of time. While Jamie didn’t quite understand how it happened, he was happy to spend time with his cousin while settling to life in the city. His own job focused on temporary contract work, so Cormac helped him find his feet in a little rented space.

It was a strange life, but Jamie couldn’t complain. He was happy, had a sense of security, and had good company. Life was starting to turn into something good, but this is only the start of the story.

A late-night walk home turned into a threat when a man approached him. His hood was up, and there was no trace of a face underneath. Even when the light should have given a hint, it was like the stranger was made of shadows. A knife was pulled out as the stranger pounced. Jamie’s training in parkour meant his reflexes were sharp, and he dodge the initial attack and run. He hadn’t gotten far before he was grabbed from behind and slammed into an electrical box. The knife was plunged into his shoulder with such force that it tore through and damaged the electrical box. A powerful surge of electricity shot through Jamie’s body, and the force of the knife being pulled out of his body had him drop like lead to the ground. He watched the other raise his knife again with fearful eyes… But a third figure approached. 

“You have failed your task,” the third said to the attacker, “This is not who we want.” Without so much as an apology, the pair walked out of sight as Jamie passed out.

He woke up in hospital, with one arm bound in a sling and an IV drip attached to his other arm. Cormac had been pacing the length and breadth of the ward, relief as clear as day as he hurried over. However, it switched to panic as Jamie attempted to explain what happened to him. At that moment, it was decided that Jamie would be hired by Cormac while his arm recovered. 

The following months found Jamie in a rather unusual setting. Not only was he going through a slow recovery process and adjusting to a new job, he also was adjusting to being more prone to static shocks and seeing little sparks shoot out of his hands. All he could hope was learning the ropes of the LuckyWildRover channel would be easy. Thanks to social media, he had an idea of how the life of someone like Cormac ought to work… Except it didn’t apply. Despite his face being on the camera and the channel’s focus on him, very little of Cormac himself was known. Fans, and even those who worked for and with him, only knew Cormac by Rover, his screen name. No video update mentioned Jamie being around or what happened. Even Jamie’s joke of the two doing a ‘spot the difference’ video between the nearly identical cousins was shot down. “Everything runs as it ought to, Jamie. No better way to do it”. Despite this, the pair worked rather well together, and the arrangements that had been set up continued long after the doctor gave Jamie the all-clear. While he did have some small jobs here and there, Jamie’ primary job was to be someone Cormac could bounce ideas off while he worked, and help out where he could. He had a chance to learn how to set videos up, how to prepare a script if it was needed, how the system worked to record screens, video game footage, whatever might be required. But when Jamie asked why he was learning all of this, Cormac shrugged and admitted that it was nice to talk to someone he knew about his job, rather than being known as just the stage name. The joke of Jamie being the substitute while Cormac went on a sneaky holiday didn’t go down so well.

This continued for a year, until one night Jamie had spent the night playing video games and chatting with his cousin in the latter’s house. He crashed on the couch, and woke up the next morning to discover that Cormac had vanished from existence.

Not in a ‘he fled the country’ manner, but more so that Cormac had literally been erased from existence. In a panic, he searched the entire house, the recording setup at the bottom of the garden, all the familiar settings, but to no avail. It was only when Jamie knocked a childhood photo while scrambling to find the phone did he realise this wasn’t a matter for the police. It was a photo taken at their grandparents’ 40th wedding anniversary, where all the cousins were crammed into the tiny sitting room for a photo. Even though the photo was ten years old, Cormac wasn’t there. He had stood beside Jamie that day. Any photo Jamie had was intact, but all other traces of the streamer vanished. Online social media statuses didn’t include him in the family groups, photos had him absent… It was like he was never there.

For two days, Jamie was at a loss, mourning the disappearance of a man no one could remember. But why could he remember? What happened? It was like the stories his grandfather had told them back in rural Ireland, where people would make a mistake and be vanished away by something like the fae. It seemed so improbable, but it was all his frantic mind could conclude.

Then… A phone call.

The editor of LuckyWildRover called, wondering where Rover was and if Jamie knew anything. At first, he was delighted that someone remembered, but the joy sunk to his stomach when he remembered the editor only knew the channel persona. The mood quickly flipped as he learned that fans were asking about Rover, wondering why the streamer had disappeared.

All at once, Jamie realised that Cormac’s strange approach to business was deliberate. If there was magic afoot which erased his identity, his legacy would remain since the channel wasn’t about Cormac. He promised he’d look into getting an update, and hurried back to the studio at the bottom of the garden. A proper search of the desk revealed a notebook addressed to Jamie.

“If you’re reading this, things have gone to shit. Everything runs as it ought to, and no one can know what happened to me. I’m sure you understand why I can’t tell you what’s happening, but you need to keep this going. Everything you’ve learned was for this, everything you need to help you is here. All I’ve worked for is my loophole. I’ve made sure everything I own also has your name attached to it. Don’t let it vanish like I did. Rover.”

The channel and the house were all Jamie had left of his cousin, and he would be damned if he’d let it all disappear. Until he figured out a way to bring his cousin back, he’d have to man the channel and try to find answers.

Everything runs as it ought to. No better way to do it.

This is Rover. Welcome to the show.

[morgueghost]

💕, 🌈, 💖, 💘, 🍰, and 🍩 please!!!! love u!!

love u 2!!!!

💕- are you crushing on someone?

THIS QUESTION IS ILLEGAL AND IM INVOKING MY 5TH RIGHT AMMENDMENT,,,,,

🌈- things I find attractive in girls/guys

o man i find EVERYTHING attractive tbh like,, licherally if i have feelings for someone i find everything abt them cute its ridiculous lol BUT like in general i rlly love smiles & laughs when they’re loud & genuine,, i love when ppl talk abt things they enjoy bc it lights up their face & eyes u kno!! n i looooove when ppl have nice hair like,, its rlly important 2 me,, idk if i cld date someone who didnt take care of their hair lol id make a regiment 4 them bhfdbghj

💖- have you ever been in love?

UHH i think so!! ive been in friend love but like.. idk abt real love :’( when im In It i always think im in love but then it just.. fades.. n then im like *thinking emoji* is/was that love or do i just want it 2 be love?? so idk! 

💘- 3 ways to win your heart?

OH GOOD QUESTION BUT HARD,, there’s so many ways but i THINK these r the 3 most important,, from most 2 least important:

1 - make an effort 2 talk to me,, like frequently,, like tell me abt ur day n how ur feeling n things that r going on w u,, show me things that remind me of u n like. respond if i send u things that remind me of u lol!! basically just,, interact,, with me,, show me that im on ur mind more than just when i initiate things u kno!!

2 - TOUCH ME!! like hug me, touch my arm to get my attention,, hold my hand,, kiss my cheek,, run ur hands thru my hair,, just be touchy w me!! im so super tactile n like,, nobody around me EVER is so im licherally always touch starved,, its rough :’) so it means a lot when ppl touch me casually n like. meaningfully?? idk if this makes sense rip!

3 - be genuine!!!! like just b urself n b unapologetic abt it,,,, when ppl r so themselves that it makes me feel good 2 b myself?? thats the shit!! it makes me feel so good!! i love seeing ppl just b genuine abt who they r it makes my heart so warm n full!!

🍰- strawberry or vanilla?

UMM OK 4 sure strawberry,, but only like scent n like flavor,, actual strawberry? bad texture, cant eat them, evn tho i want to :’( strawberry jam/jelly? too many seeds, cant eat them, evn tho i want to :’( so only like,, artificial strawberry,, unfortunately :’(( but nvr vanilla i rlly dont like how it smells or tastes?? like vanilla shakes r ok but like. othr than that i dont rlly like vanilla tho!

🍩- current mood?

im like right on the edge of manic! ive been RLLY low lately so manic is better than that but im trying 2 like,, balance the edge of it so i dont go actually into being manic gbhdh

[semi-imaginary-place]

so i tried watching the gay skatingboarding anime. so far the skating’s been a thin excuse for anime bullshit like kuroko no basuke levels of anime superpowers. the difference between people’s public/professional lives is pretty funny though. also want to point out how artificial the rough inner city street aesthetic is. Like some one with big money set all this this up to give the skaters the illusion that they’re rebels acting outside the system when in reality they’re more like hamsters running around a playpen designed for them. Like the graffiti isn’t there because independent artists put it there or because there’s a gang war going on, no its there solely for aesthics, window dressings for an empty interior.

magic snowboarding powers lol

please wear some protective gear. pleeeeaaassse like a helmet at least.

aww its the lonely kid genius. why am i still watching this show its so stupid.

oh i also could talk about how there’s no female characters. like all the women shown are framed in relations to men ex: groupies, or as that one dude’s girlfriend, etc.

are miya’s parent’s ok with him staying out this late? I know japan’s one of the safest places in the world but still.

DONT LITTER CIGARETTE BUTTS THAT NICOTINE GETS INTO THE WATER AND POISONS EVERYTHING

and this is why you need to wear protective gear kids. don’t end up in the hospital because you wanted style points like this idiot.

wow they really made the main antagonist as gay as possible. its good that he’s asking consent about everything i guess. this dude has theater instead of blood in his veins. im gonna ignore the general creepiness towards langa

AAAHAHAHAHAHHA

damn first female character and she’s cool. good job. down with corruption!

ok yeah i was wondering this earlier but when a snowboarder gabs with one hand they’re pulling against their feet which are locked down, what is keeping langa’s board on his feet when he does that?

oh ow that actually hurt. damn. words hurt reki, you’d better apologize later. dont weaponize a promise made out of care like that

i mean its not going to happen for thematic and character arc reasons but wouldn’t it be a wild pivot if this all was an isekai setup?

this is the most anime thing ive watched in years. if you can suspend disbelief on the magic skateboarding and and general anime nonsense it truly has some solid emotional beats

mid way through when the tournament arc got announced i thought about ow it might end. like the primary plot line was reki and langa reconciling and the subplots were the corruption investigation, cherry and joe confronting adam, and snake trying to get adam to quit skating. i was thinking there was a good chance that langa drops out to chase after reki. like langa is hella competitive but if reki sneaked in to watch but then ran away there’s a good chance langa would chase him. I thought there was a possibility that snake and adam would skate together as that would resolve their plot thread. i did not expect reki to get dragged in as a substitute though i really like how it was done. reki from the start has been really interested in designing skateboards. like he’s a carpenter, a graphic designer, an illustrator, a mechanic, what can’t he do?? and i liked how those skills and knowledge are why reki won.

outside of the personal drama. return to normal as sequel bait. mixed feeljngs. adam arrest, closure of S. cowards but also there is room for more. like adam is stuck in the same bullshit. imagine if he actually faced consequences for his actions. i admittedly don’t know much about the japanese legal system.