#lookee here!! I DID A THING

[gumpistol]

" oi, happy birthday gum-boy." the cyborg's voice drawls. a genuine smirk appearing on his face before he takes off his own hat, only to place it on top of the straw hat with a small chuckle. " yer' a handful to deal with but it makes ya' more interestin'. "

          gum-boy...

   ❝ huh, i guess i am kinda chewy— ❞ no context is given for the odd comment, though the pirate appears to be recalling something, as charcoal hues direct a distant, unfocused gaze downward. but Luffy's attention snaps back up to the cowboy as the hat is placed on top of his own, and he blinks once, then twice. out of habit, a hand raises to rest on top of the stacked garment, as he would any other time if only straw was in its place. 

   absently, calloused fingers move along the hat's material, feeling out the crown shape, then dropping to its brim. with lips drawn inward, he lets out a nasally hum.  and demeanor suddenly shifts, as lips curl into a toothy grin and Luffy snickers. ❝ thanks fancy flower guy!! ❞

      the smile softens.  ❝ my brother has a hat like this one too! ❞ 

@destdevel / 𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐘 𝐋𝐔𝐅𝐅𝐘 𝐃𝐀𝐘!

[theobjectofmyobsession055]

Boothill x SingleParent!Reader: Lassos and Lullabies Chpt. 6

Me? Updating a fic twice within the same week? It just might be a sign of the end times lololol.

This chapter isn't super long, but I still really enjoyed writing it, and I hope y'all enjoy reading it! Please let me know what you think in the comments!

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Finally, finally, after weeks of tracking this big-wig IPC scumbag he finally had him right where he wanted him. Cornered, staring down the barrel of his gun. Boothill took a few slow, menacing steps towards him, cocking his pistol with a threatening click for effect. “Well, well, well, lookee what we have here. An’ here I thought you’d put up more of a fight.”

The IPC exec’s back hit the wall, and he fell down onto the floor, scrambling backwards. “C-c-can’t we talk this out like civilized folks? I-if it’s money you want, you can have it! J-just please let me live!”

He clicked his tongue. “No can do, pardner. See, ‘mercy’ went off the table the second you sons of nice ladies decided to destroy my planet.” The man trembled violently in fear as the barrel of Boothill’s gun pressed up against his forehead. “Now, any last words ‘fore I blow yer brains out, muddle-fudger?”

“I-I—”

The sound of a familiar ringtone stopped him in his tracks, the cheery tune of some pop song playing from within Boothill’s pocket. His grip tightened on his gun. “Don’t move.” He fished his phone out of his pocket and checked the caller. Hot Momma. His nonexistent heart skipped. “I gotta take this.”

“But you—“

“Shut yer trap, I said I gotta take a call!” The exec shut right up as the barrel of his gun pressed further into his forehead. He swiped on the ‘accept’ button and brought the phone to his ear with his free hand. His voice was almost sickeningly sweet as he greeted her. “Hey sugar, whatcha need?”

Y/N’s soft voice came from the other side of the line, slightly distorted from the shitty reception. “Hi Boothill, is this a bad time?”

“Nah, never a bad time for you, doll.” He readjusted his grip on his gun and mouthed ‘not a word’ to the IPC exec.

“Good, good. Do you happen to know anything about animals?”

“Depends, what kinds ‘a things?” He knew his fair share about cattle and horses from his ranching days, but that was about it.

“Y’see, Lottie found this injured cat out in the parking lot, and I was wondering if you might know anything to help me nurse it back to health. I think it’s got a broken leg.”

He thought for a moment. He was always more of a dog person, but he remembered helping patch up the barn cats once or twice after a scuffle. “Sure, I’ll see what I can do. Just gotta finish takin’ out the trash then I’ll be right over.”

She let out a relieved sigh. “Thanks, Boothill, you’re the best.”

“Aw shucks, it’s nothin’. See ya soon, sugar.” He hung up and stuck his phone back in his pocket. His demeanor did a complete one-eighty as his eyes locked back onto his target. “Now, where were we?”

Amid his chattering teeth, the exec managed to stammer out with a mixture of confusion and fear, “…Y-you have a girlfriend?”

BANG!

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

“Thank you so much for coming by on such short notice,” Y/N said as she ushered him into the apartment.

“S’no problem, don’t worry ‘bout it.” He waved away her thanks. “Now, where’s the little critter?”

She closed the door behind them, her brows pinched together in concern. “She’s in Lottie’s room. She’s not wanted to take her eyes off her, she’s real worried about the poor thing. I told her she probably just wants to rest, but she won’t hear it.” She sighed.

That melted his mechanical heart. “She’s a good kid. Lemme take a look an’ see what I can do. But don’t get yer hopes up, I’m no vet or nothin’.”

Y/N brought him to Charlotte’s room, where she sat on the bed looking into a large box. A quick peek into the box revealed a sleeping tabby cat. A closer look showed him that one of the cat’s hind legs was bent at an odd angle. Charlotte looked up at him with watery eyes. “Kitty gonna be okay?”

That look on her face tugged at his heart strings. He took another look at the cat, examining its injured leg closer, even as it woke up and growled in protest. He let out a low whistle. “Yup, it’s gotta broken leg alright. Doesn’t look too bad though, could be a lot worse. I can splint it, but you might wanna get her to a vet.” He turned towards Charlotte with a comforting smile. “Yeah, the kitty’s gonna be okay. Just gotta make sure we get her taken care of.”

Y/N let out a relieved sigh. “Oh thank goodness. Thank you so much. Do you think there’s anything else we could do to help in the meantime?”

“Hmm…” He thought for a moment, trying to remember any tricks from his ranching days. “Well, ya probably wanna give her a bath, make sure she doesn’t have any fleas or nothin’.”

“Bathtime!” Charlotte jumped off the bed, bouncing in excitement.

Y/N laughed. “Ah, so bathtime is fun unless it’s yours, huh? I see how it is.”

Charlotte giggled, the sound almost a little impish. It made Boothill smile. “I’d be willin’ to help out once I’ve got her all patched up, it can be hard tryna get a cat to take a bath.”

“That’d be appreciated,” Y/N said, looking up at him gratefully. “Can’t say I’ve bathed many cats in my life.”

He tipped his hat at her. “Not a problem, doll.”

The cat fought him a bit as he hooked her leg up into a sling, as expected, but she quickly realized that biting and scratching metal did more harm to her than to him. After checking to make sure their dish soap was safe for animals, the three of them huddled around the sink to give the cat a bath. Charlotte stood on a step stool to look into the sink, bouncing on the balls of her feet excitedly. She chanted in a little singsong voice, “Bathtime, bathtime, bathtime!” over and over again.

The cat hissed and snarled as Boothill carefully but firmly held her down so Y/N could rub soap into her fur. It took quite a bit of wrangling, but eventually they managed to get her cleaned up. But right as Boothill passed her off to Y/N to be dried off, she swiped at her, causing Y/N to cry out and recoil in pain.

Boothill immediately set the cat down and rushed to her side. Y/N hissed, clutching her bleeding hand to her chest. “Damn, she got me good.”

“Let me see,” he said, stern but not unkind. His circuits thrummed with adrenaline, his synthetic blood roaring in his ears. Why was he so on edge? It was just a scratch, he didn’t need to be as worried as he was.

But he was worried. Fuck, his hands nearly shook as he gently cradled her injured one to examine the scratch. The cat had dragged a nasty red line right down the center of her palm, fresh beads of bright red blood pooling in the creases of her hand. His ears rang as he stared at the blood dripping down her wrist, down, down, down, until the droplets hit the floor.

“Boothill? Hey, everything alright?”

Y/N’s voice snapped him out of his momentary trance. He hated the way he stuttered as he said, “Y-yeah, I’m fine. Let’s get ya cleaned up, make sure it don’t get infected.”

“Mama! You okay?!” Charlotte stood up on her tip toes and looked up at her mother, hugging her leg.

Y/N smiled down at her reassuringly. “Mama’s just fine, baby. The kitty just got scared and scratched me, is all, nothing to worry about.”

Boothill swallowed down the lump that had formed in his throat and guided Y/N back to the sink to run some clean water over the wound. She clenched her jaw a little as the cold water met her stinging skin. He gave her a sympathetic look. “I know, sugar, I know it ain’t pleasant. Trust me, I’ve taken care of all sorts of cuts and bruises in my day. I’ll take care of ya.”

He sat her down at the kitchen table with some bandages and a tube of antibiotic ointment. As he started dressing the cut with a cotton swab doused in the ointment, he shook his head and lightly chastised, “You gotta be more careful when handling an animal, darlin’, ‘specially one’s that’re injured. Ya never know how they’re gonna react, could end up being dangerous.”

Y/N hissed quietly through her teeth, cringing a little from the stinging sensation as he finished dressing the cut. Despite her discomfort, she grinned. “Right now with that ointment, I’m feeling like you’re the dangerous one. That stuff smarts.”

Boothill grew uncharacteristically quiet as he finished wrapping up her hand. Dangerous. Yeah. It was a quality of his he usually took pride in, all the better to strike fear into the hearts of his enemies. But right now, sitting in Y/N and Charlotte’s small apartment, it felt… damning, almost, to be referred to as that. At the very least, it was an important reminder for him. He was dangerous, one of the most wanted men in the galaxy. He ought not forget that, lest… lest someone else he cares about gets hurt.

He stared down at Y/N’s bandaged hand, still cradling it in his larger, metal one. “…Maybe you should be scared of me, then,” he said softly.

She looked up at him for a moment, confused. Then, it was as if a light turned on behind her eyes. She slowly flipped her injured hand over and wrapped her fingers around his, squeezing ever-so gently. She gave him a small smile. “Maybe. But I’m not.”

His eyes snapped up to meet hers. Her gaze conveyed a genuine ease, but most of all, trust. She’d said it so easily, so nonchalantly, like it was just a given, like it didn’t mean anything at all. But it did mean something, at least to him it did. He couldn’t remember the last time someone had trusted him, not really. To be fair, he wasn’t exactly the kind of person who deserved it.

His eyes darted away from hers. For some reason, all that sincerity made his stomach turn. He let out a low chuckle and shook his head in disbelief. “Well, then you might just be even crazier than I am.”

Once Y/N’s hand was all taken care of, they went to go check on the cat. Charlotte quickly located it, tucked away in the far corner of the kitchen behind the fridge. The second it spotted them, its back arched and its still-wet fur puffed up, hissing and growling like no tomorrow. Boothill whistled lowly. “Well ain’t she madder than a wet hen? Might be best to leave her be for now.”

Even with the thing all coiled up like a rattlesnake, Charlotte looked at it with stars in her eyes. She tugged on Y/N’s skirt, looking up at her pleadingly. “Mama, can we keep kitty? Pretty please?”

Uncertainty crossed over Y/N’s face. She glanced over at Boothill, who just shrugged as if to say, ‘Your call.’ After a moment of hesitation, she sighed. “Oh alright, why not? I’ve always been a cat person anyways.”

Charlotte squealed with delight and squeezed her mother’s leg in a tight hug. “Yay!!! Thank you Mama!”

Y/N chuckled, looking down at her fondly as she ruffled her hair. “You’re welcome, baby. Do you know what you wanna name her?”

“Buttercup!” Charlotte chirped out immediately. Boothill wouldn’t be surprised if she’d been thinking about it since the second she discovered their snarling little friend.

He huffed out a laugh and shook his head. “Buttercup, huh? Real sweet name for a thing that looks like it wants to bite all our heads off. You sure it ain’t feral?”

Y/N playfully elbowed him in the side. “Oh stop it, I think it’s cute. That’s a great name, sweetheart, Buttercup it is. How about later we go to the pet store and buy little miss Buttercup some treats and toys to welcome her to the family? Does that sound fun?”

Charlotte beamed up at her, nodding her head and bouncing on her toes excitedly.

The way Boothill ended his day was so vastly different from the way he started it that it was almost comical. From sneaking onboard an IPC ship and executing a top exec, to lounging on the couch with a little girl tucked into his side and a cat curled up in his lap. Oh, and not to mention the beautiful woman sitting right beside him, looking as content as could be as she watched her daughter snuggle up to him. It was almost like…

No, he dared not even think it. That was a dangerous thought for someone like him. But even so, that didn’t mean he couldn’t let himself enjoy this rare moment of peace in his chaotic life. It didn’t need to go any deeper than that. And for now, that was enough.

[pastlivesandpurplepuppets]

Nixon met Winters at the station. The first thing he noticed was that his friend was in full uniform. “Thought you were eager to be a civilian?” he asked. “I’m working on it,” Winters replied. “Just give me time.” Nixon flagged a cab that took them to the posh, twenty-story Yale Club at Vanderbilt Avenue and Forty-Fourth Street, and began showing his former commander off to his alumni friends. The next stop was the hospital where Nixon’s mother was a patient. “She was very, very nice and pleasant,” he recalled. “I can remember her very definitely trying to say nice things, the right things, like ‘I’ve heard a lot of good stories about you’ and so forth.” When the sun went down the two wartime comrades went out on the town, or rather, Nixon took Winters out on the town. Not surprisingly, Nixon dragged his friend to nightclubs and bars, where the young man from Lancaster would sit, fidgeting in his chair, while Nixon downed drink after drink. “I was not used to that kind of thing at all, it was all new to me and I was very uncomfortable,” Winters recalled. “But there I sat all prim and proper.” Ironically, although it was Nixon who was getting drunk, it was Winters who nearly got into a barroom brawl. While the two were sitting at a table at one of Nixon’s nightspots, a man who had had almost as much to drink as Nixon staggered up to the pair. He spotted Winters’ uniform, the brass buttons and golden oak leaves gleaming in the light. “Well, well,” he said in an alcohol-laced voice. “Lookee here. We got a soldier. And an officer to boot. What are you doin’ here, General?” Winters ignored him. “Hey, General, are you deaf?” he prodded. “Blow,” Nixon told the man. “I ain’t talking to you, fella, I’m talkin’ to this nice, neat-looking soldier boy.” Winters saw anger flash in Nixon’s eyes, and his own slow fuse was starting to burn. “Look at that fruit salad,” the man said, noting Winters’ array of ribbons. “You must be a hero, General. Are you a hero?” Winters did not respond. “Are you too good to talk to me? You’re not a hero. You’re a sucker.” Winters had just about enough of this drunken fool when a waiter, knowing trouble when he saw it, hustled over and snatched the man by his upper arm. “Why don’t you find a nice corner somewhere else to drink?” he said and shouldered the man to another part of the room. “I could barely hold myself in,” Winters said later. “I was getting ready to kill that son of a bitch.”

~ Larry Alexander

[effy-writes]

HIIIII!!! SO I HAVE A REQ FOR A FIZZ X READER (you can add asmodeus too if you want) WHERE IN EP 6 READER GETS KIDNAPPED WITH BLITZ AND FIZZ :3

HIII SORRY THIS WAS PUBLISHED LATE IVE BEEN SUPER BUSY THE PAST COUPLE OF DAYS. and i didn’t know if you wanted the reader already be dating fizz or platonic or smth so i made it where fizz and the reader are best friends and they ended up confessing their feelings bc they thought they were gonna die at the end

and thank you for requesting! hope you enjoyed <3

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

Fizz x GN! Reader: Confessed

Ozzie knows that you and Fizz has been best friends since childhood, so he called you to go with Fizz to run some errands because he doesn’t want Fizz to go alone. Of course you said yes because you wanted to protect him, so you and Fizz were currently at the Greed ring.

“Fizz, you sure you wanna do that clown tryout thing? You know how Mammon is.”

“Ugh not you too. Did Ozzie tell you to come talk to me about it?”

“Well, maybe. But still, you look so stressed whenever you’re working with Mammon.”

“Don’t worry about me-”

He got interrupted by running into Blitz, like literally running into him. Since childhood you obviously hung out with Fizz way more than Blitz, (so of course, Blitz doesn’t like you as much. Well more like he doesn’t hate you as much as he hates Fizz).

“Oh, wow. Lookee who it is.” Fizz crossed his arms.

“Oh, fuck... You again...Y/n? You’re still hanging out with him?”

“I didn’t abandon him like the way you did.”

“I didn’t- you know what fuck it never mind.”

“Stalkin' me now, huh?” Fizz replied to Blitz.

“Oh, don't fuckin' flatter yourself, clown. I have my own life, y'know, without YOU in it.”

“Uh huh, sure! Blitzo.”

“The "O" is silent now, bitch! And gee whiz, we've been in each other's relative vicinity TWICE, in the last FIFTEEN YEARS! That would make me, THE SHITTIEST STALKER IN HISTORY!”

“Twice... IS ALREADY WAY TOO MUCH.”

You watched as the two bicker at each other. You were about to say something to cut this interaction off but all of a sudden the three of you were touching bodies. And in a blink of an eye immediately got slammed against the wall. The wall slamming knocked the wind out of you.

“Funny to run into ya again, "Blitzy!"” Striker laughed as he pulls out his knife and slides toward Fizzarolli, pointing it under the chin. “And with a famous friend...” Striker looked at you and tilted his head, “Who the fuck are you?”

“Who the fuck are you?”

“I asked you first!”

“I asked you second!”

“Oh, fuck me.” Blitz groaned.

“For the record, we are not friends.” Fizz announced.

One thing led to another. Crimson tied up the 3 of you, and put duct tape on Fizz’s mouth. You tried to break out of the ropes to protect Fizz but it was no use. Since you kept making a lot of noise Striker put duct tape over your mouth while Crimson was leaving a prerecorded message.

You realized that Crimson was going to send the video to Ozzie. Does Ozzie know that I’m here with him? Fuck..he’s going to be so pissed that I let this happened.

After the message, Striker ripped off the duct tape of your mouths and threw the three of you into a cage. Fizz stammers in fear while Blitz scoots back. You got closer to Fizz, trying to calm him down since he’s a little claustrophobic.

“Oh, chill out, jester. Christ on a stick, it's like you've never been tied up before!”

“Sure, but not by a bunch of psychos! And a piece of shit!”

“Am I...? Okay, am I the psycho or the piece of shit?”

“Both!”

“Yeah, that checks.”

“Instead of yelling at each other we need to find a way to break out!” You whispered.

“Y/n why are you with him anyway?” Blitz jabbed.

“We’re best friends.” You shrugged.

“And Fizz still didnt ask you out?

Fizz gulped, completely discarding this topic, “Ohh, playin' that card, huh? Ok... What about you? Seems your tastes have gotten more... "regal", lately. Heheh...”

“Yeah, well unlike you, I fuck who I want, when I want. I'm not gonna be tied down to some big blue-blood asshole.”

“You could've fooled me the way Princey was cozying up to you at Ozzie's.”

“Wait, you were at Ozzie’s? And on a date with the prince?” You interjected.

“Hey! Stolas only cares about having a rugged peasant raw-dog him into his mattress, it's nothing... y'know...It's nothing else...”

“Then why were you even there?” Fizz questioned.

“OTHER very important reasons, of course!”

You tried to wiggle yourself out of the ropes while in the midst of Blitz and Fizz arguing yet again. Hearing the way Fizz spoke about Ozzie made you have a pain in your gut.

Striker interrupted the discourse that was happening, and then proceeded to say all of the things wrong with the taboo relationships that Fizz and Blitz had with royal blue bloods. Obviously Fizz got defensive, which made Striker threaten him.

“Leave him alone!” You yelled out.

Striker glared at you and let go of Fizz, “Looks like you want him, don’t you?”

“Excuse me?”

“I see the way your face changed from pissed off to sadness once jester over here started talking about his boy toy.” Striker grinned sinisterly.

You glanced over at Fizz who had wide eyes, “No, I’m just sad because I have to be locked up in a cage with people who won’t stop fighting.” You said as a matter of fact.

Striker shook the cage before jumping down from it. You looked back at Fizz and softly smiled, not knowing on what to say without expressing your feelings for him.

You stayed silent as Blitz was finally able to get you and Fizz out of the cage, but once you guys all fell out and was met face to face with mafia members things got serious.

You and Fizz made a run for it while Blitz was fighting them off. “We have to help him.”

“What? No!”

“Fizz please. If we don’t we might die.”

Fizz didn’t want to help the person that stabbed him in the back, but he did wanted you to live. “Fine.”

And with that you and Fizz tried to kill off as many members as possible. Fizz doesn’t know how to fight, but you do know some fighting moves.

“What the fuck, Fizz?! How is someone this flexible, this useless in combat?! At least Y/n knows how to fight.”

“I’m a performer! I don’t do danger!”

With a few of the demons out for the count, Blitz, Fizz and you made a run for it.

“Well good to know you're still a wimpy circus puss that needs Y/n to protect you, sounds like you’re using them!”

“Where did you get that from!” Fizz yelled.

“Because ever since we were little they had to protect you! Especially after that accident!”

“AN ACCIDENT?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!”

“Guys we seriously need to stop arguing we HAVE to focus getting out of here!” You yelled.

“You didnt even sound grateful that Y/n was with you! And you were the one who wanted them and not me!” Blitz shot the mafia number that was coming from behind.

“I DIDNT SAY ANYTHING ABOUT ME NOT WANTING YOU TO SEE ME! I WANTED YOU TO.” Fizz huffed, “I wanted my best friends to see me.”

All three of you guys had a look of realization. “Ohhhh.”

“Look, Misunderstanding or no, it's hard to just forgive you. It's been fifteen years and... That's so much time... But! I guess you didn't really ruin my life.”

“What, you're telling me getting blown up didn't ruin your life?”

“It was painful... and challenging, and y'know FUCK YOU STILL, BUT... It's not like I'm broken. And I now have someone who understands me and...” Fizz looks at you and softly smiled.

Blitz looked at you too, “Where were you in the fire?”

“I was with Fizz. He uh…pushed me out the way and he got blown up instead of me.“

Striker snuck up on you guys and got a hold of you three, “You been a pain in my ass long enough, Blitz. NOW, I'm gon' break you like a FUCKIN' HORSE!”

“Ohh don’t you dare talk sexy to me!”

“You're still on the horse thing?!” The two of you said.

Striker and the goons cornered you guys even more. “Fizz! Remember how you used to distract my dad so I could steal his booze?”

“I mean, yeah? Why?”

“Yeah well, I need to get up to that window there to bust us out.”

“Ohohooo! One distraction, comin' up!”

The moment Fizz started to perform you helped Blitz break out.

“Since when did you become a personal body guard for Fizz?”

“Since he saved me from that fire. I feel like I owe it to him.” You replied as you and Blitz created a tower of boxes to get to the window.

“I didn’t mean to blow him up, Y/n. I’m sorry that I did and it WAS an accident!”

“I know, I believe you. Don’t worry about it, okay? He’s doing good.”

Blitz used a blow torch to open the window. “I’m sorry I didn’t even try to contact you either. I was just..I don’t know.”

“Dude it’s okay. Stop apologizing- You just fucking dropped the blow torched.” You deadpanned.

“Fuck! Okay uh..give me those extremely convenient bombs.”

You turned around and saw them. “Oh, would you look at that.”

You guys set them around the window and took some steps back before pushing the trigger, making the window explode into a massive hole.

Fizz stretches up and allowed Blitz on his back while using his other mechanic arm to hold you and swung you guys out of the warehouse.

The whole building caved in as you three made a run for it while laughing. Your hand was still in Fizz’s, and since he can’t feel you assume he doesn’t know you guys are holding hands.

In the midst of you guys talking Striker grabbed the two of you. You stomped on his foot, but instead of him letting go you and Fizz, he only let go of you, making you drop and before you could get up and stepped on your neck, cutting off air flow.

“Y/n!” Fizz shouted.

“I'm THROUGH losin' these fights! This worthless little pet REEKS of his over-bloated master... I'll at least enjoy gettin' rid of 'im.”

Blitz sweats a little, then finally shooting the gas tanks, making them explode. Striker scurries away and the moment he did Fizz helped you up while you gasp for air.

“Are you okay!?”

You looked at your surrounding areas, flames all around you two. “Fizz! We’re going to catch on fire!” You screamed out.

Fizz tried using his mechanical hand to reach out to get you two away but it malfunction. “Fuck!”

“Fizz, I always had feelings for you since we were little and I really wished I said something before we die.”

Fizz saw Blitz hop onto a crane and hold his hand out to grab you guys. “We’re not going to die I promise, here hold on to me.”

You held onto Fizz as blitz swung you guys out of the fire and onto a safe area.

“YOU BLEW US UP AGAIN YOU PRICK!” Fizz yelled.

“I know. But this time I stuck around.” Blitz saw that you guys were still holding hands, “And I overheard Y/n express their feelings for you because they thought you guys were gonna die. So uh, congratulations! If I didn’t try to blow you guys up then Y/n wouldn’t have confessed SO, yall welcome.”

“Fuck you.” You and Fizz said in unison.

~~

Before you and Fizz met face to face with Ozzie, he wanted to talk to you. “I-”

You interrupted, “It’s okay if you don’t have feelings for me. I understand and it was very impulsive for me to say that. I know you and Ozzie-”

“We’re polyamorous. I want you in our relationship.”

“But what about Ozzie?”

“He won’t mind, in fact he’s always been telling me to invite you joining us because he knows I’ve had feelings for you since we were little.”

You smile out of relief and wrapped your arms around him to pull him into a kiss. “What are we going to say to Ozzie?”

“We’ll walk up in there and just tell him we’re in a relationship.”

“Are you sure he won’t mind?”

“Y/n,” Fizz placed his forehead onto yours so he could feel you, “Today he told me to ask you out. Everytime we hang out one on one he’s always telling me this. I’m just glad you were the one to say it first because I do NOT have the guts.”

“In my defense I thought we were gonna die, so if it wasn’t for Blitz we wouldn’t be having this conversation.” You kissed Fizz, “I love you Fizz, I really do.”

“I love you too.”

[bitterkarella]

Robert E Howard: howdy pardnas, it's me Robert "2 Gun Bob" Howard Lovecraft: 2 gun bob! King: 2 Gun Bob! Koontz: it's 2 Gun bob! Poe: 2 gun bob! Barker: how many guns was that? i forgot Poe: it's 2 guns, clive Poe: you know it's 2 guns Poe: don't be an instigator

Howard: Gather round, hombres! i got a rootin' tootin' tale of two-fisted thrills! Howard: it'll really put the yippee in your yippee ki yay! Howard: submitted for the approval of the midnight society, i call this Howard: the tale of what if there was a vampire Howard: IN TEXAS!

King: omg are you saying that this vampire Howard: that's right, pardna Howard: this vampire is about to MESS WITH TEXAS!

Howard: lookee here, some ornery varmint didn't like my Texas vampire story! Howard: so i'm calling you out, GP Olson Howard: of Sheldon, Iowa! Howard: y'all ever cross my path and there'll be a new grave up on boot hill!

Lovecraft: [sweats] GP Olson of Sheldon, Iowa?! Howard: that's the varmint Lovecraft: not GP Olson of Sheldon, Iowa! Lovecraft: the very name gives me the vapors! Lovecraft: oh god oh god i think i'm going to faint King: why? what's with this guy? Lovecraft: he's SO annoying

King: who's this you're talking about? Lovecraft: he's just this really annoying fanboy who won't leave me alone Lovecraft: but what would you expect from a degenerate swede? Lovecraft: they're barely even white!

August Derleth: oh boy GP Olson of Sheldon, Iowa? isn't he the worst, howard? Derleth: he's so annoying the way he never leaves you alone! Derleth: and keeps trying to insinuate that you're pals Lovecraft: Derleth: not like us, we're pals, right, howard? Lovecraft: [sweats]

Lovecraft: ugh now this GP Olson's written me ANOTHER letter about how vampires work! Lovecraft: he's always sending me letters trying to explain how vampires work! Lovecraft: i'm not some rube who just fell off the turnip truck! Lovecraft: i know how vampires work!

Barker: how do vampires work howard Lovecraft: i-i Lovecraft: i don't have time for this! Lovecraft: google is free! Bram Stoker: i can explain how vampires work Lovecraft: don't you start now too!

Lovecraft: listen to this nonsense! Lovecraft: "and another thing, stop bad-mouthing vampires in your stories! Vampires are SAINTS." Lovecraft: he's accusing me of being prejudiced against vampires?!? Lovecraft: Lovecraft: it's true that they run the banks, tho

Lovecraft: i am not prejudiced against vampires! Lovecraft: i dated one! Lovecraft: right Sonia? Sonia Greene: this is why we broke up

Howard: stand back pardna, i'll put a stop to this! Howard: [shooting letter with his 6 shooter] Barker: yeah this is about as effective as when mary stabs a Polidori letter Mary Shelley: that's very fuckin effective, actually Barker: how so? Shelley: makes me feel good

Poe: let me see that letter, howard Poe: [reading letter] "every day actually contains 4 simultaneously occurring days" Poe: wait a second i recognize this handwriting Poe: clive, did you write this? Barker: haha did you see how mad howard got

Poe: that's really not cool, clive Poe: as a writer, you should be more sympathetic Poe: have you never gotten really annoying fan letters? Barker: it's still funny Mary Shelley: it's real fuckin funny

[levi-venn]

Pirate Droids of the Onyx Cinder

Chapter 4: Rewards and Resistance

Characters: K-2SO and SM-33

Summary: Kay refuses to admit that he might have developed a friendship on Bracca. He denies it! Don't look at him. >:C

Ch1 | Ch2 | Ch3 | Ch4 | | Ch5 Part One | Ch5 Part Two | Ch6 (Coming Soon!)

Available on AO3

Ugh.

It was irritating that SM-33 was right about Bracca being profitable. Not that Kay wanted to come up empty on this sepia-stained junkyard planet, but the pirate droid was so damn insufferable about it. 

Singing his ridiculous space shanties, cheerfully pulling droid part after droid part and adding it to an ever growing pile, and those kraytshit optimistic quotes from his former captain.

What was he so happy about? 

They were alone . SM-33 may not see the need for human companionship, but with every step Kay took in his new body, he continually expected to see Cassian alongside him. Cassian’s eyes used to light up when they'd scavenge something good. He'd tell stories about him and his father cleaning scraps for credits.

…Though he was telling these stories to Melshi, not Kay.

But Kay was there to listen, too. He always listened.

“And lookee here, another pile of acoustic signalers!” SM-33 held up a trio of round orbs, clacking them like gambling dice.

“Are you expecting me to cheer for you every time you find another droid part?”

“Nah, just like showin’ ya another bit o’ hope!” SM-33 added the signalers to a rusty crate overflowing with treasures he found. 

“Congratulations…once again.”

Kay looked at his own pile. He had found a droid finger, possibly from a protocol droid. Useful in case…one of them lost a finger.

The discard pile towered over Kay's singular find. 

A scrap rat wiggled its way out of a discarded, chewed up tube and scampered towards the finger. It sniffed it once, snatched it, and disappeared into a nearby hole. 

His treasure pile was now nonexistent.

Kay wasn't cut out for scavenging. He was a security droid. He was a protector and a slicer. And he was becoming quite the gambler.

He missed Yavin IV. 

He missed playing Sabaac with Cassian and Melshi. 

He missed being part of a team. Even his KX ImpSec team was better than this. Here he felt…useless.

“Esso? What's eatin’ ye?”

Kay looked up. SM-33 had another find in his hand - a pristine polarity sink. How did he find that so quickly?!

Kay remained kneeling. “I don't know what you mean.”

“Don't play dumb with me, shipmate. Out with it.”

“Nothing is eating me.” 

Though he wished the ground itself would swallow him up. 

“I see what's happenin’, shipmate.”

“I'm sure you do.”

“I do. Yer sinkin’ into a rut and I ain't havin’ it. Come with me. I know just the thing that’ll rev that reward matrix.”

“Is that supposed to be a euphemism?”

SM-33 emulated a laugh. “Nope! As literal as a mynock shittin' upside-down. C’mon,” he said, extending a hand to Kay. “Ain’t no harm in takin’ a looksee.”

Kay looked at the offered hand.

He stood on his own. 

SM-33 hobbled towards an upended star cruiser that looked like a belly-up purgill. The thick layer of brown dust hadn't entirely consumed the ship. It had been dumped recently.

Kay followed, climbing over overturned passenger benches and pushing through thick cords like they were jungle vines.  “I don't see how another freighter is going to cheer me up. What I want is my old life back.”

“Aye, don't we all,” SM-33 said. “Would give anythin’ to be my Captain’s right hand again. Life be ever changin’ and we adapt or we rust.”

“At the moment I'd rather-”

Kay froze when he walked into the cargo hold, the last rusty word dissolving into absent-minded static.

“Oh.”

“Oh, indeed!” SM-33 said, his voice echoing in the chamber. The overturned chamber was a smooth, curved durasteel dome and above them, still strapped into an intact cargo net were a stack of small crates. Kay zoomed in on the individual labels of the unassuming packages: Lubricant containers, servo wires, internal repair units, autofusers…

“...Sonoreceptors…” Kay read aloud. “These are priceless. Why are they still here?”

“The Republic will get to this ship soon enough, but they got a whole planet to filter through n’ their focus is on Imperial tech, not droid goodies.”

“Why haven’t you ‘plundered’ this yet?” Kay asked, though he may have answered his own question when he touched the smooth walls.

“Can’t reach ‘em,” SM-33 wiggled his peg leg. “Tried to climb up the outer hull and it nearly broke me into pieces.” He turned fully to Kay, silver eye gleaming in a way that if he had been organic, he would be sparkling with coyness. “Ya don’t have any ideas on how to get them crates down, do ye?”

Kay rolled his lenses. “I know what you’re doing.”

“What am I doin’?”

“You’re trying to make me feel useful.”

SM-33 threw up a hand. “K-2SO, take a look at ye! Yer as useful as they come. Yer problem is yer still thinkin’ like a KX-series. Yer more than that. More than yer programmin’ and whatever them Rebels filled yer head with. Ye wanna be yer own droid? Ye want freedom?” SM-33 pointed upwards. “There’s our answer n’ yer gonna be the hero that gives it to us.”

Kay angled his head up, gauging the distance between the crates and the ground. “We’ll need to cushion the impact to reduce the damage the cargo will take on impact. We'll bring over those bench seats from the passenger area.”

“Aye, aye, Esso!”

They gathered up as many benches and chairs as they could find, tearing them up and laying the padding out beneath the cargo net. 

Walking to one side of the hull, Kay rolled through his new programming installed by Skrapp. Placing his hand on the wall, he let the data work through him, sending signals to his fingers. Prongs ejected from his fingertips, sinking easily into the durasteel.

“Interesting.”

Never in Kay’s life did he imagine “skittering” would be added to his functions, but it was exactly what he did. Latching easily to the metal surface, Kay skittered across the surface like a-

“Look at ye!” SM-33 cried out. “Like a spice spider huntin’ for its next high. That be ye!”

Kay rolled his lenses but it was hard to ignore the pleasant crackle in his circuits. Somewhere in a deep forest of wires and whirring servos, there was a small twitch to a specific chip Kay thought was broken. It felt…nice. Like a bolt loosened, like cooling gel against a heat sink.

Kay tried to ignore the sensation. A glitch in his reward matrix, surely.

The last time it worked properly Jyn had given him a blaster on Scarif.

Before that, it was when Cassian chuckled after Kay called General Draven an insufferable meat bag.

And now…it felt like a festive sparkler on Empire Day. 

At the top of the dome, Kay hung upside-down, studying the net and cargo. He kept his gaze fixated on the net. “Are you ready?”

“Made ready, Esso!”

Even the ridiculous nickname didn't damper his matrix…and though he would never admit it, he felt the name may have added an extra spark or two.

Kay moved his shoulders back and up, extending his extra limbs from his back plate. The recalibration was awkward, and it took several annoying seconds to sort through unfamiliar data before he understood the precision logistics.

“Incoming.” He carefully extended his left arm, the buzzsaw slicing through the thick cords with ease. Crates rained down from the net, cascading onto the torn up cushions bouncing benignly. 

“Look at these beaut’s!” SM-33 held up a few boxes high in the air victoriously. “This’ll last us decades if we play our cards right. Let’s get back to the ship before sundown. Can’t be stumblin’ around in the dark when this planet’s more rust than dirt.”

Kay turned head 180 degrees to look down at SM-33.

And immediately regretted it.

It was one thing to be strapped into the co-pilot’s seat of Cassian’s U-wing, knowing that Cassian’s chaotic maneuvers and Kay’s quick reflexes would see them through scenarios that defied failure odds in the eighty percentile. 

But he wasn’t strapped in here. He was clinging like an idiot to a too-smooth dome high in the air with the ground very, very far below him.

“What’s wrong, Esso? You stuck?”

The abysmal odds of surviving this fall skyrocketed, the calculations skewed by his own anxieties. He would surely shatter into a dozen pieces. He didn’t want to relive disembodiment all over again. 

He didn’t want to…cease to exist.

“...Kay?”

“I am fine.”

“Good! Now jump!”

“Are you mad? I won’t survive the fall.” 

“With them new stems of yers? Of course ye will! Assassin droids got state-of-the-art reorientation programming. You’ll always land on yer feet like a lothcat belly floppin’ onto pillow.”

Kay searched his data banks. The coding checked out. He could - in theory - just let go.

But he didn’t want to.

“Don’t ya trust me? I ain’t gonna lose ya now that we’ve finally become a crew. If I say ye can take the fall, I mean it. Now drop!”

“Is that an order, Captain?” Kay said, sarcastically.

“I’m only yer Captain in matters of piracy. I’m sayin’ this as yer friend, Esso." SM-33's lens shone up at Kay, his back straightening and long neck extending with emphasis. "Trust me.”

Friend…

The involuntary flutter in Kay's circuits was entirely unbidden…as was the memory that immediately followed.

“I’m telling you this as a friend…” Cassian had said those words…to Melshi. Kay sat quietly and observed the way Cassian put a comforting hand on Melshi’s shoulder. Not a light pat or a brief smirk. The hand squeezed Melshi's shoulder and it seemed to calm the other human. The way Cassian smiled at Melshi was open and honest and wider. 

It was also always directed at Melshi. Not the KX-series droid always sitting right next to them. 

K-2SO let go. The world spun immediately as his body automatically reoriented itself, landing safely onto the cushion in an easy, feline crouch. 

“Huh.”

“Atta droid!” SM-33 clapped Kay on the shoulder. "Beautiful landin' that was!"

Kay looked at the hand on his shoulder. 

“Oh uh, sorry,” SM-33 pulled his hand away too soon. SM-33 gathered up the crates and loaded them into a second floating carrier for Kay to take. “All yers. Great job, Esso.”

A compliment. No sarcasm or begrudging indifference. He did a great job. 

Kay had saved Cassian, Melshi, and the injured human on Coruscant. He took out several imperials, including using one meatbag as a shield while blasting the rest with a blaster rifle. It was very impressive. Kay thought he was impressive. 

“I assume any doubts about my value have been erased.” Kay said this with confidence, his reward matrix preparing to be indulged.

“You can speed up now,” Cassian said. He didn’t look at Kay.

“You’re welcome,” Kay said.

“Hard right coming…”

Cassian didn't look at him the rest of the way home.

“Not used to bein’ so spry, eh?” 

Kay shook himself from the memory and followed SM-33 back to the ship.

“KX-series droids don’t need to be ‘spry’. I was an unstoppable force. I could throw humans fifty feet in the air.”

SM-33 slowed his gait down to walk alongside Kay, not ahead of him as a captain should. “Ah, I love how the meatbags soar through the air when ya punch ‘em. Love me a crisp upper-cut, can clear ten or twenty feet with that move.”

“It is satisfying.”

“My favorite is burnin’ ‘em. They never see it comin’.” SM-33 extended an arm and a small metal disk formed from his gauntlet. “My shields absorb the heat from blaster fire and slamming it into the face of a confused humanoid…ain’t nothin’ better.”

“That does sound fun.”

"Aye, last time I pulled that move it was defendin' my little captain on Port Borgo. Excitin' time. She was a good captain."

Kay looked down at the pile of supplies on his floating carrier. “Did your captain appreciate it?”

“Appreciate what?” SM-33 asked.

“You defending her.”

"Oh sure. She came back for me, y'know. I was in a junk shop after the fightin' was over. She weren't my cap'n long, but her and her lil crew were good kids. Just lookin' to get home n' I was happy to oblige when my programmin' allowed."

"What about Captain Rennod?"  Perhaps he just missed Cassian’s implied gratitude.

“He…well…” SM-33 seemed to be chewing on the thought.  SM-33 swung his head towards Kay. “Why ye be askin’?”

Kay stood in the hallway of the Coruscant apartment complex. There were dead Imperials everywhere. He did this for Cassian…and for the thrill of it.

“Cassian,” he said, proudly. “I’ve cleared a path.”

“Give me that.” Cassian took the blaster rifle from Kay’s hand. He didn’t look pleased. 

“I would like to keep it,” Kay said, reaching for the rifle. “I find it fun and effective.”

“No.” Cassian said. And that was the end of it. The next time he would carry a blaster, Jyn Erso would be handing one to him, on the last day he saw Cassian alive.

“No reason.”

“Did yer captain ever give you thanks?”

“No,” Kay said. 

“Oh…” SM-33 swung his head away. “Mine neither.”

SM-33 lowered the ramp and they brought their treasures inside the main hold. Kay took the time to carefully unload each package onto the workshop shelving, while SM-33 took the whole carrier and dumped it onto the ground.

"Careful!" Kay snapped, looking at the parts scattered at his feet. Something large slammed into his thigh. "Wait...what is that?"

"This?" SM-33 reached down and pulled up a large floating orb. "This be our new shipmate...if we can get it workin!"

"That's an Imperial Torture Droid," Kay balked.

"Really? I figured its of 'o them an interrogation models."

"It's the same thing," Kay said. "Throw it out. They're insane little buggers."

"Now, don't be hasty. I could've thrown out that head of yers if I was so quick to judge." SM-33 put the Interrogation droid on the workshop table. "Now hand me a spanner. We got some work ahead of us."

[mayormonty]

Howdyy!!

Do you know how to do origami of stars?? I'm trying to figure it out and Google is NOT helping me. It's aight if you don't know how (⁠.⁠ ⁠❛⁠ ⁠ᴗ⁠ ⁠❛⁠.⁠)!!

“Eh? What is it, kiddo? Origami?” He says, “Aha! The art of folding paper! Of course!”

He says, “Though these hands have grown weak with age… I did like paper crafts. You see, young’un… My Kamilla used to love origami… She could fold the most magnificent things I’d ever seen… My missus was truly wonderful… She could do practically anything! She was so talented, so bright… my shining star.” He recalls mistily.

“Hmm… She could’ve taught you how to fold anything, really!” He says, “She would’ve loved to teach you everything she knew… Kamilla…”

“…”

“Ah, you’d like me to tell you how to make a star, young chap?” He asks. “Letsee if I can remember…” He says, scooting his chair to get a piece of paper and a pair of scissors out of his drawer.

“So… If this old crone can remember correctly… You- You take the paper and…”

He cuts the paper into a thin strip. “You take the scissors and cut a thin strip.”

“Then… Oh, what was it? Hrm… Kamilla showed me how to do this a very long time ago…” He says, holding the paper strip. “Ah! Ya make a loop with the paper and form a sort of… knot!” He demonstrates.

“Hrm… And then you tighten it, till it flattens… And you fold the paper over itself to form a pentagon.” He says, shaky hands folding the paper slowly and gently. It seems like Monty’s hands are being guided by a memory… As if Kamilla is showing him how to do it again, like she did all those years ago.

Monty holds up the paper, now formed into a small pentagon. He cuts off the excess at the end with the scissors. “Okay, lookee here, kiddo! You take the pentagon, then ya pinch it like this!”

He pinches in the spaces between the corners on all sides, forming a little star.

“And there you have it, lad! An origami star! Kamilla loved these… She had a jar full of these little stars.” He smiles. “Ah… She truly was my other half…” He says. His eyes are misty, but a smile graces his weary, wrinkled face.

“Oh, there I go again, reminiscing… I’m sorry, child, I don’t mean to talk your ears off!” He chuckles, “I hope that this helps you learn… If not, I hope you find out… Sorry if this old man’s ramblings didn’t teach you anything…”

“Well, try and make your own star! I hope you’re successful.” He speaks, jovially.

“Kamilla…” He whispers, looking out the window wistfully.

[invisible-slytherclaw]

First Impressions (Working chapter title)

Hi, this is the first chapter of a fanfiction that I will be posting to Ao3. This chapter has already been posted on there and I am currently not planning on posting all of my full chapters onto here so if you do like this then you can find it on my Ao3 @ invisible_slytherclaw under the title "Hogwarts with the Marauders"

This is a first draft and has only been read by me so apologies for any mistakes.

______________________________________________________________

"GRYFFINDOR!"

I sat on the stall, unable to move for what felt like hours. Honestly, I was just glad that it wasn't Slytherin. I'd had the misfortune of bumping into some of them on the train and well... at least the wonderful red haired girl who helped me is in my house. Lily Evans I believe her name was. It was so kind of her to offer me to sit with her for the rest of the ride

She waved at me from the table and motioned to the empty space next to her. My feet and legs had gravitated my body towards her before my brain could tell me to. 

"Isn't it great that we're in the same house? I'm glad there's at least someone I know in my house. Severus said there's no way he'd be in any house but Slytherin. I was so worried I was going to be all alone, you know?"

"I guess we're in the same boat."

"Yeah, we are." Her dark red hair swayed as she nearly jumped out of her seat, eyes glistening with an idea, "I know! Let's make a promise, no matter the friendship groups we end up forming or wherever we end up in life, if we ever feel lonely or need a talk we go to each other."

"Okay, I promise."

Lily held out her right pinkie finger, "Not just promise, pinky promise."

I curled my pinkie finger around hers and nodded.

***

In the common room, they had created some sort of party to help some of the first years get to know each other and the older students. Lily and I agreed that we'd use this opportunity to split off and meet as many people as possible. That way, if one of us managed to make any more friends, we could introduce them to the other. Whilst she went off to talk to a group of girls in the corner, I managed to find a boy huddled in one of the chairs reading a book. His light brown hair curled at the end, almost covering the scars on his face. 

"Hi."

He looked up, his brown eyes staring into mine, "...Hi."

"What book are you reading?"

"Oh, just the charms book. Trying to get ahead on reading whilst I can for when- in case I fall ill or something."

"Sounds like a smart plan."

"Thanks. I'm Remus. Remus Lupin."

He extended his hand for me to shake. It also had many scars, but this did not deter me from taking him up on his welcome.

"Emelia. Emelia Leto."

He seemed to freeze for a second - shocked at the fact that I took his hand with no hesitation.

"You're not afraid of my scars?"

"No. Why would I?"

"Everybody else does."

"Oh."

"Can I have your attention everyone?" 

A boy with messy black hair and glasses stood on the table addressing the room. Another boy stood next to him, his hair was shorter and neater, his cheekbones lookeed so sharp that one could possibly believe that they could cut through glass. They waited for everyone to turn their attention towards them.

"I, James Potter-"

"And I, Sirius Black-"

There were whispers at the announcement of the second boy's last name, though not as many as there were during the sorting ceremony. However the boys moved on with their speech, somewhat undeterred by the hushes breaking the silent attention. 

"Declare that we will become Hogwarts' greatest pranksters of all time!"

The silence was almost defeaning. It was like they were expecting a round of applause. I looked at Remus as he rolled his eyes and I couldn't help but join him, letting out a soft giggle. 

The second boy - Sirius - spoke again, "And we'll be starting... NOW!"

The next thing anybody knew, there were dungbombs all over the room. Everybody ran up the stairs towards their dorms, trying to escape the stench as quickly as possible. I waved a quick goodbye to Remus before joining the rest of the crowd. 

***

It was pleasing to discover that I would be sharing a dorm with Lily. Lily had also been able to meet our other two roomates in the common room before the abrupt ending of it. All of us agreed that it was so luckily that we all ended up with lovely roomates and sighed in relief at the knowledge of the fact that there wouldn't be any problems with our arrangement. 

I ended up taking the bed on the far end of the dorm. Lily took the one next to me. Next to Lily's was Marlene McKinnon. She had long blonde curly hair, and blue eyes that seemed to have a mischevious sparkle. She was also the tallest of all of us (although not by much). 

Finally, there was Dorcas Meadows. She took the bed nearest the door because she said she was generally an early riser and thought it would be best that she was the closest to the exit so as not to disturb anyone when she would leave early in the morning. Dorcas was thin and dark skinned with braided brown hair that went down to her shoulders. 

We all spent what felt like hours getting to know eachother before we bid goodnight, all wanting to get plenty of sleep for the first day of our education at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

[roidesvoleurs]

The dust settles, and he's got glitter everywhere: in his hair, sweatstuck to his upper arms and chest; even in places where the good Lord's light don't shine. Now, don't get him wrong--Remy LeBeau loves a good reason to celebrate, but this day's a little more special to him.

It's his first Pride since discovering he might not just be into the lovely ladies. Who would have thunk it, though? Mid-thirties is a hell of a time to start questioning your own sexuality, but Remy did what he does best: he makes it a pretty problem, descending on NOLA Pride in a wave of debauchery and diablerie that would make a hedonist blush.

Aki's at his side--mostly because Remy dragged him along. One night of fun ain't going to set them back none when all they got is a goddamn whisper and a brick wall.

He They need this.

Or so he declares, homemade crop top and sin-tight leathers on, a pin in his ear and hair teased skyhigh. NOLA always loves a good party, and it wouldn't do to be dressed less than his best for her, the best city in the world. The crush of bodies is welcoming, beckoning--and who he is to resist that siren's call? He makes out with whoever grabs for him, a wild laugh ripping through him as beads and promises are passed.

He feels...free.

There's no expectations of him. No baggage. He can just have fun just like in the old days. Except now, he's not limited to noticing the beauty in the womenfolk. He reaches for a cute twink, cupping his face in his hands and smacking a playful kiss on chapsticked lips, before moving on to a hairy bear that reminds him of someone and he's going to stop that train of thought right there.

Even the good things must come to an end, and the aftermath has Remy clinging to Aki, dazed and flushed with pleasure and covered in glitter. He hasn't felt this good in God knows when. But even those feelings can get swept away when confronted by a gaggle of Good Ole Boys. Remy stiffens, jaw jutting out mulishly.

❛ Well, lookee here, boys. I think we gots ourselves a coupla a--whatchamacallits? Fairy boys from de freakshow carnival down the way. ❜

Big Bubba hocks a loogie. ❛ Ain't nothin' but two queers. ❜ The leader, a rat-faced slimy fuck that reminds Remy so much of Ramrod minus the Irish accent, laughs, a nasty sound that has the hairs on the back of Remy's arms stand up. He risks a look towards Aki, splaying out a hand on the other's chest.

In doing so, he brings attention to his eyes, and the leader is quick to point. ❛ And muties t'boot! Whew, it's like y'all are beggin' for a asswhoppin' tonight. C'mon, boys, let's show dese fine folk what happens to freaks when they meet their betters, hein? ❜

@mutatiio

[obxsummer]

Full Pogue // Ghost of You

summary: the cameron family can't seem to keep their hands off you, sending you and sarah on the battle to get off the coastal venture and reunite with your friends

warnings: the usual obx angst, cursing, physical violence, injuries

navigation -- series masterlist

--

Exhaustion was starting to set in harder than it had before, especially when you were tucked under JJ’s shoulder in the back seat of the Twinkie. Kie was on the floor, a join between her fingers as she sat next to Pope. John B and Sarah occupied the front seat, your brother intent on driving back to Figure Eight in attempt to find Rafe. What you didn’t expect was a slewd of cop cars to be blocking the road up ahead, ruining your course of action.

“Oh shit. They found the truck.”

“Chill, chill, chill, chill,” Pope hushed Kie’s distress as bright blue lights filled the darkness of the van. You sat up fully once a flashlight glossed over your eyes, JJ’s hand refusing to leave your skin despite the cops now approaching. 

“Well, lookee here,” Shoupe commented sarcastically as his light illuminated John B’s face through the open window.

“Evening, officer,” Your brother responded while keeping his face emotionless.

“Sherrif.”

“Right, sheriff. Forgot,” John B corrected his error without intent behind his words. He motioned towards the totaled truck ahead. “Speed kills, huh?”

Shoupe’s light hit your face again, making you wince and hide further into JJ’s shoulder before it moved again to find Kiara. “I pulled the tags, and I know whose truck that is. Hey, Kie. Did you drop your weed pen back there?”

“Sheriff, I just wanna say that this is all my fault. She had nothing to do with this. I take 100% responsibility,” Pope explained.

“Nothing to do with it? You wanna try that again?” Shoupe repeated before shaking his head. “Your parents reported the truck missing four hours ago, and the keys were missing from the house. I’m taking you home. Or I can pull you all in for leaving the scene of an accident.”

“Okay,” Kiara finally admitted defeat. Shoupe directed Officer Plumb to open the van door to let your friend out. Kie wasn’t even phased at the action and turned towards you guys. “Hit me up later and make sure I’m still alive.”

The sound of the door closing sent everyone into silence. You waited for a moment before the blue lights started to disappear and John B followed the tow truck that had the total vehicle on the flatbed. You knew where you were going in hopes of finding the cross and the idea definitely didn’t help the events of the night settle.

“Babe,” JJ’s voice was quiet as he pressed a kiss to your temple. “You don’t have to go. We can take you home.”

You shook your head softly, fingers ghosting over the bare skin under his shirt that you had sought out for warmth. You had come this far in the whole thing; there was no way you were stopping now. Surviving the Cameron house had been accomplished before.

The street lights provided barely enough coverage once John B pulled up outside of Sarah’s house. The five of you climbed out and ducked below the wall per Pope’s word in an attempt to see better. 

“He’s got the truck,” JJ whispered as he glanced over the concrete structure. You could hear the hiss of the brakes as Rafe parked the vehicle and killed the engine.

“How much you wanna bet Rafe has the cross inside that truck right now?” Pope asked as you watched the eldest Cameron enter the large house, not without pausing to look over his shoulder.

“There’s only one way to find out.” Sarah started making her way towards the gated entrance before John B was running after her in concern. You could hear broken pieces of their conversation, especially the part where your brother said he wanted to talk about their relationship at that exact moment, which just pissed Sarah off. 

John B stepped back with a smile on his face like a kid on Christmas and it made you roll your eyes. You watched Sarah creep up the driveway, busying tying the piece of your brother’s bandana around her neck as she did so. At least one good thing would come out of tonight.

“Hey! Did you want me to perform your vows while you’re at it?” 

“Did you say ‘be safe’?”

JJ and Pope didn’t hesitate to poke fun at your sibling once he returned to your group. You ignored them, eyes focused on your blonde friend as she glanced inside the passenger window of the truck. She flipped around to raise her arms in confusion when she didn’t find an answer. John B motioned for her to come back, but he was ignored when she pointed inside to signal where she was going. 

“No, no! Don’t go inside!” Pope whisper-yelled as he watched her disappear into the front door. He turned towards John B. “Do the bird call!”

Your brother attempted the worst bird call in history that almost made you blow your cover by bursting into giggles. You shook your head at them as they attempted to do it the right way. “Losers. I’m going over.” You pushed yourself up on the concrete wall before hopping over. John B made a move to follow you but was interrupted by the sharp honking of a horn. You took a glance back, realizing they were caught by security and started running towards the house. 

You stared at the doorknob, a rush of fear running through you at the idea of entering this house willingly. It took a quick second to convince yourself that you were doing this for Pope, and even for Sarah. You weren’t about the let her walk into this house with her murderous brother on a rampage. 

The door was silent as you pushed it open, thankfully stepping into a silent room as you closed the door behind you. You knew this house more than you ever wished to, and being back here was weird, but as long as you avoided that room, you hoped it would be okay. 

Walking up the stairs, you headed in the general direction of Sarah’s room in hopes that she would maybe hide there first. The dark room was empty upon your arrival. “Sarah?” You whispered as you tried to navigate around it without bumping into anything.

“Oh my God, Wheeze. We gotta make this quick, okay?”

A sharp gasp left your mouth before you slammed a hand over your lips to keep quiet. Rafe’s voice echoed around the empty space as his footsteps hit the stairs nearby. He was clearly complaining to the youngest Cameron which told you that he didn’t find your friend just yet. His voice became distant before you heard quieter footsteps. 

Turning the corner, you could see Rafe’s silhouette in Wheezie’s room through the crack in her door. Without wasting a second, you were darting down the stairs in hopes of finding Sarah. Thankfully, the blonde girl ducked out of a bedroom at the perfect second. You had just enough time to place your finger over her lips before she screamed. A moment passed before she processed it was you and tugged your arm to lead you down the stairs. 

You followed her outside to where the truck was parked in the wrap-around driveway. “You came after me?” Sarah almost yelled as she turned to you in shock. “Are you insane?”

“In my defense, everyone was going to follow me!” You told her as she shoved the keys in her hand into the lock on the back doors. “I didn’t want to leave you alone!”

She ignored you and finally got the door unlocked. Handing you the keys, she twisted the handle as the metal creaked and swung out to reveal the back of the truck to you both. You didn’t even attempt to find the cross when the first thing you noticed was a pair of eyes staring back, unblinking. The second thing you noticed, was that it was the face of Limbrey’s partner, Renfield. Sarah’s fingers dug into your shoulder as the two of you stepped back with the realization that there was a dead body, here, in front of you, in the truck that Rafe had been driving.

An aggressive yank had a gasp falling from your lips before your back slammed against the metal of the truck. Tears sprung to your eyes as your already sore back and shoulder sparked pain down your spine. You were suddenly face to face with the person who you couldn’t seem to escape. 

Rafe’s expression broke into a devilish smirk at the idea of having you back into his hands again. “I really wish you didn’t do that.”

“Get off of me!” You spat back fingers digging into his wrists that were heavy on your shoulders. You shoved him aggressively, the two of you wrestling for a moment before Rafe’s arm was arround your throat and holding you tightly against him. Sarah yanked on her brother’s hood, choking him back before he latched onto her hair, literally dragging the two of you back into the house. 

The tile floor beneath you was chilly as Rafe tossed you forward without a care for your well-being. Sarah’s body collided with yours a second later before the door slammed shut and clicked locked. 

“What the hell!” Sarah grabbed the first bottle of wine she could find and threw it into the wall where it shattered into pieces. Another bottle, this time champagne, followed as you attempted to pull yourself off the floor. Your spine was aching with each movement and you knew it was just a matter of time before the injury got worse. You couldn’t keep doing this running thing forever.

“Rafe! Let us out!” Sarah pounded on the door aggressively, her facade breaking.

“I’m not letting you out, Sarah. Not until you calm down, okay? I’m trying to be civil here.”

“You asshole!” You were on your feet next, your hand colliding with the wood as rage filled you. No way you were about to be trapped back in this house again. Your saving grace was the form of Sarah Cameron beside you, reminding you that you weren’t alone.

Another voice joined the conversation, one that Sarah recognized right away. “Rose? Rafe locked us in!” She turned towards you, her hand grasping yours to offer any comfort possible. 

“You fail to understand that constantly, don’t you? Huh?” Rafe’s body slammed against the door causing you to jump back in shock. 

“Shut the hell up!” You snapped back, your foot connecting with the barrier. You couldn’t believe this was happening all over again. 

“Is that Y/N? Rafe, what the hell is going on?” Rose’s voice carried through the wood, now becoming your only hope of help to getting out. 

Stepping back, you sat on the couch in the room and placed your head in your hands as you tried to breathe. Sarah continued to bang on the door, ignoring Rose’s pleads to calm down. She turned to you when the answering stopped, collapsing into your side with a heavy breath. The silence of sniffles and cries continued until the lock on the door clicked and opened to reveal Rose.

“Girls?”

The two of you clambered off the couch towards her, Sarah crying about calling the cops as she stumbled into the large arm chairs in the hallway. You sat next to her, pulling your legs up into your chest as you glanced around the room in an attempt to keep an eye out for the inevitable. 

“What happened?” Rose asked as she tried to coach Sarah through her breathing. “Y/N, hey. What happened?”

“There’s a dead body in the truck,” You answered simply as you stared ahead emotionless. You took the teacup Rose offered, letting the liquid burn your throat without waiting. “Rafe killed Renfield.”

Rose hesitated for a second, listening as Sarah choked through more details while she waited for her tea to cool down. She eventually took the chance to sip on the warm drink, her breathing calming as she was forced to hold in air. “L-Last time Rafe did that… Dad took the blame, and you see where that got him.”

“Sarah, you’re absolutely right,” Rose agreed as she placed her hand on her stepdaughter’s knee. “I told your dad so many times that there was something wrong with Rafe. You just need to calm down. It’s gonna be okay.”

Taking a deep breath, your head felt light from the crying and yelling you had done. Leaning back, you crossed your arms over your chest, the exhaustion from running nonstop settling in. Glancing over at Sarah, you could see panic slowly fill her face as she looked to you. Her eyes drifted to the teacup and suddenly, your adrenaline crash made sense. 

“What’d you do?” You whispered, your hand reaching out to grab onto Sarah’s sleeve. This feeling of helplessness and dread was sickening.

“What’d you do?” Sarah repeated the question as the teacup crashed to the floor so she could grab your fingers. “Rose.”

The woman in front of you dug a pill bottle out of her pocket. “I’m really sorry. Nothing bad is going to happen, I promise. I promise. I need you to rest okay? When you wake up, everything’s going to be okay. I had to do whatever it takes to keep this family together, Sarah.”

Your eyes were heavy as you tried to blink the fuzziness away but sleep… sleep sounded so so good.

Rose stared silently for a moment, her heart aching at the idea of putting you anywhere near Rafe again, but they were compromised and she couldn’t risk leaving you here and running back to your brother. Not when the feds were already on their case. It would just risk further investigation and that was the last thing she needed. After assuring you were both unconscious and conversing with her stepson about the body and where to go, she called Wheezie down to help move the final pieces. 

Wheezie stared at the sight of you and Sarah, mostly asleep against each other in the foyer. “What happened with them?” 

Rose shushed her and wrapped your arm over her shoulder, pointing for the younger girl to do the same with Sarah. “They’re fine, it’s just been a long day. Y/N was freaking out about being back in the house and so Sarah freaked out and they wouldn’t stop crying. I gave them an anti-anxiety pill. They’ll be fine.”

Sarah and Wheezie were lugging behind, the younger girl struggling with the weight of her sister. Rose pulled the car door open, ungracefully dropping you inside before running to help get Sarah in too. She wasted no time to climb in the driver’s seat and start the car.

Across the lawn, JJ’s heart fell out of his chest at the sight of you, unconscious, in Rose’s arms. He knew he shouldn’t have let you hop the fence, but you were stubborn and he couldn’t risk getting you caught with them in the first place. 

“What’d she do to them?” John B whispered as he watched the scene unfold. The idea of losing both of you to wherever Rose was going was not about to become true. Not after you had made it this far. When Wheezie shut the door behind her and the car started moving, the two boys took off in an attempt to stop it.

Your eyes attempted to focus with the blur of lights. You could feel Sarah’s shoe in your side, the leather seats behind your back. The clothes on your body were not your own but you didn’t have the energy to piece it all together.

Hands smacking against car windows made you jump. You could barely recognize your brother’s voice, JJ’s right behind him before they faded away. Taking a deep breath, you filtered it as a dream and fell back into a peaceful sleep once again. 

--

Waking up was nowhere near as comfortable as to when you fell asleep. The ground beneath you felt wobbly unlike the smooth bumps of a car and there was nothing but the hum of machines to fill your ears. The pounding in your skull was mind numbing and the sun shining in your eyes didn’t help either. With a deep gasp, you sat up sharply to see the small room you had been left in. Soft sweatpants and a tank top covered your body along with a zip-up jacket, most likely remainders of clothes that had been in the house from when you were trapped there.

Sarah was nowhere to be found and from the looks of it, you were alone. Glancing out the windows, your heart sank at the sight of a never ending ocean which meant you were on a boat going who knows where away from your brother, JJ, and your friends. 

Moving to your feet, you grabbed the door handle in hopes it would be unlocked but that obviously was a long shot. You groaned, hand slamming against the wood in annoyance before sitting back in the chair you had originally been in. The sound of footsteps approached quickly before the lock clicked and the door opened. 

You didn’t know what you expected when you looked up - a miracle hopefully, but the glaring eyes of Rafe Cameron were easy to ruin that dream. You closed your eyes tightly, digging your fingers against your scalp as if it would wake you up from this real life nightmare. 

“Y/N, Y/N, Y/N… I told you we might as well be friends at this point. Make our lives easier.”

“Leave me the fuck alone, Rafe,” You grumbled as you stared at your ruined shoes beneath you. The less you had to look at him, the better.

A harsh hand grabbed your hair, yanking your head back to you were forced to look up. “You’re so lucky I convinced Rose to bring you up here. She was going to leave you at the house, all alone.”

Your hand grabbed his forearm and squeezed it tightly until he finally let go. “Am I supposed to appreciate that? This isn’t the first time you’ve stolen me from my family, you fucking psychopath!” The harsh sting on your cheek was expected and after you got over the initial pain of the slap, you couldn’t help but laugh at the situation in front of you and got to your feet. “God! What is it going to take for you to learn that I’m never staying with you, I hate every part of your being, and no matter how long you think you can keep me here, JJ and John B will find me, and you are going to lose. I will make sure of it.”

Chest to chest with the face of the person who haunted your sleep, the rush of anger and adrenaline in your veins held you still as you looked him in the eye. You refused to be scared of him, not when you were hundreds to thousands of miles from your family. 

The silence was teirrifying in itself before Rafe tugged your arm and led you out of the room. You didn’t bother to ask questions and refused to let him know you were nervous. He turned a few corners, grip getting increasingly tighter before practically launching you into a room like the one you had been. 

The first person you saw was Sarah, her face exhausted and annoyance evident in her features. You were thankful to see her, knowing the two of you might have a chance of getting out of here together. All of that hope disappeared the second the person sitting across from her turned to look at you. Ward Cameron, alive and well in front of you. It was almost silly to think your group would finally get a chance at the gold, or even the cross again.

Ward ignored your presence in the room, continuing to explain to Sarah about his remorse for not calling her, for the whole lie of his death. Rafe didn’t hesitate to make a shitty comment about being the only grateful child. His fingers ran across the bare skin of your neck making you tense as you stood there, frozen.

“That’s psychopathic. Both of you,” Sarah shot back, her eyes drifting from Rafe behind you to her father.

“I promised Rafe that he would’t go to prison for helping me,” Ward continued, “I had to make good on that promise.”

“Not that you care.”

“Did it look like I didn’t care when I thought Dad was dead?” Your friend defended herself as she glared at her brother. 

Rafe shook his head. “It-It actually looked like you cared about running off with some asshole-”

“It looked like all you cared about was the inheritance!” Tugging your arm out of Rafe’s grasp, you shoved him away from you in favor of sitting on the couch near Sarah. 

Ward eventually got both siblings to quit screaming before turning towards her again. “I know you’re angry right now, and rightfully so. The important thing is that it’s all behind us now. It is. We’re gonna live a new life, a-and Y/N can stay with us. All of us, together.” 

“Oh, hell no,” You mumbled under your breath, palms coming up to rub your eyes in hopes that you would blink and be back at home with JJ. You couldn’t even be surprised about the way everything went down, and of course, Rafe gets to drag you into it because Ward doesn’t care what he does. 

Sarah stared at her dad blankly as he attempted to convince her that the destination would be paradise. You kept watching as he slid a stack of tourist papers over to her. She leaned forward to catch them all in her hands before shoving them back towards Ward. “I want to call my friends, and I want to call my boyfriend. Can I at least just tell them that Y/N and I are okay?”

To your shock, Ward nodded. “Yes, of course you can. As soon as we get there, you both can call John B. He knows you’re here, right?”

You let out a bitter laugh, “No. He doesn’t. Your psychopathic son kidnapped us and your crazy ass wife drugged us!” Your brother would much rather throw himself into the ocean than let something like this happen.

Ward copied your laugh and threw all the crumbled papers into the garbage. “He came by the house not long after you two fell asleep. You know the cross you’ve all been looking for? Rafe was able to get it. Turns out, that I guess historically, it belongs to the Heywards.”

“Yeah, we know.”

“Well, it turns out that the most important thing to me, is you, so I gave John B the cross for you. And I let Rafe bring Y/N, because you need someone you can trust, and I know that’s not me right now.”

You and Sarah shared a glance, completely unbelieving of any word Ward was speaking. You crossed your arms over your chest. “Oh, and John B was okay with that?”

Ward came to crouch between the two of you. “Well, um, I had just given him a half-billion-dollar artifact, so, yeah. He seemed pretty okay. I don’t know what to tell you, girls”

You wanted nothing more than to kick him straight in the face and to watch his blood pour across his dress shirt. This family was fucked up and you weren’t staying here much longer to find out how bad. Whether you had to swim to the closest island or find a way to sneak out yourself, you were gonna do it. 

Rose and Wheezie came in a few moments later, Wheezie very much excited about the idea of going to a privately owned island. Sarah completely ignored her sibling in favor of looking up to avoid eye-contact. It didn’t take long for the awkward silence to win, with Rafe and Ward heading who knows where and Wheezie leaving in search of cards for you, Sarah, and Rose to be left. 

Sarah nudged your foot slightly, giving you a look before she groaned and stood up. You watched her carefully, not sure what exactly she had planned but giving her the space to do so. Suddenly, she stumbled across the room, catching Rose’s attention.

“Whoa, Sarah. Hey, what’s wrong, sweetie?” The magazine she was holding was discarded, her attention now fully on her stepchild.

“I just think I’m gonna be seasick,” Sarah whined as she leaned against one of the counters. 

Rose stood up from her seat, claiming she had ‘just the thing’ to cure Sarah’s faux sickness. While Rose occupied herself with digging through the closet, Sarah was waving you along out the door that Wheezie had accidentally left open. The two of you slipped out into the yellow-lit hallway and made your way through an open door to the cargo area. Glancing around, your eyes caught sight of the one object that definitely wasn’t supposed to be here: The Cross of Santo Domingo.

Tapping Sarah’s arm aggressively, you caught her attention before pointing towards the object that was resting in a large wooden crate. With a roll of her eyes and a newfound anger, she continued out of the hallway until you guys finally came to fresh air. You took a long look at the ocean, no sign of land anywhere near, before following Sarah up a flight of stairs towards the main cabin.

From the window, you could identify two crew members inside but a freehand walkie talkie close by that you could snag given a distraction. Sarah motioned to two almost empty buckets of paint that were set nearby. She grabbed one and waved you towards the doorway before tossing it across the deck. One of the crew members turned immediately at the noise as Sarah ducked to hide. 

As the crew member stepped outside, you had just enough time to grab the walkie talkie and step back out to where Sarah was hiding. Fingers shaking as you dialed 911, neither you nor Sarah even saw a crew member approaching when the radio crackled to life. 

“Dispatch 60290.”

“Hello? Hello, my name’s Y/N, I’m on a boat called the Coastal Venture. I’m with Sarah Cameron, we’ve-we’ve been kidnapped. I need-” Someone grabbed the radio of your hands with a demanding shush of silence. You stared at him with wide eyes as he kept your shoulder pressed against the wall and raised the radio to his ear.

“Yeah, that’s just my teenage daughter playing pranks again. Yeah, sorry.” He ended the call and applied more pressure to keep you in your spot as Sarah watched, concern. “You’re in deep shit, kid.”

Another crew member came to watch you and Sarah while the previous one, you assumed the captain, busied himself with calling Ward. The man was quick to come to your location, giving you and Sarah a glare as he stepped in to speak with the captain. 

Taking a deep breath, you slouched against the side of the boat and slumped down against the wall. You just wanted to get the hell off this ship and as far away from the Cameron family as you possibly could. Rafe’s weird obsession with you was becoming a little too real at this point, especially if he’s somehow convinced Ward to bring you along as if it wouldn’t just raise questions.

“Are you okay?” Sarah asked as sat down next to you. She knew it was an obvious question and that you probably didn’t want to talk to her, but she felt like she needed to ask.

You shrugged, eyes scanning the ocean around you. “I thought I would be free of this… repetitive endless loop. I don’t know why your brother is so obsessed with me, but Sarah… if it comes between staying on this boat or jumping into the ocean, I’m out,” You admitted as you looked over at her. “I don’t expect you to follow me, it’s probably a death wish, but I can’t stay here.”

“I’d come with you,” She admitted in a heart beat. “Somehow I just know you and I would do better out there than we think.”

Your small conversation was interrupted when Ward slammed the door of the cabin shut and stomped towards both of you. He didn’t hesitate to grab the hoods of your jackets and drag you down the stairs to the main level. There was a moment of quiet, one you dreaded because you knew the screaming match was on the other side. 

“Do you want them to take you?” The question was low and heavy as it slipped from Ward’s mouth.

“We didn’t ask to be here!” Sarah defended as she tossed her hands around in frustration.

“You’re here, and you’re staying here!” Ward screamed right back, the tone of his voice enough to send you into shock as you stumbled back away from him. It had been months since you’d heard him yell that way and it still struck you in the gut the way it had before. He was terrifying, and he scared you, and worst of all, he knew it too.

Sarah smacked her dad’s hand away in order to grab yours and pull you with her as she stormed away from the scene. What the two of you missed, was the sight of your brother looking over the railing with the painful realization that Ward Cameron was alive. What you missed, was that your friends managed to sneak on the boat and were looking for you and Sarah, risking their own lives and recruiting Cleo to help their mission. Your body felt like it was floating, no doubt your brain’s defense to keep you away from all the memories threatening to cave you in. Part of you regretted hopping over the wall to help Sarah that night, but honestly, you didn’t. You didn’t want her to go through this alone.

Turning the wrong corner, your luck ran you straight into Rafe Cameron, who had obviously been waiting for your arrival. He took your moment of distraction to grasp onto your wrist and twist your arm painfully behind your back. A sharp whimper left your mouth as he pushed you along, Sarah screaming and fighting her dad behind you. 

“You Pogues never learn your lesson, huh? Someone always has to get hurt.” His statement was venomous yet you still wanted to roll your eyes at him. Kook King Rafe Camerone wouldn’t be winning every battle, you would make sure of that. Especially once you got off this boat with Sarah, one of his biggest prizes would be swimming away before he could blink. 

Rafe pulled you into a dark red room, an alarm blaring nearby for unknown reasons, but it was enough to give you a headache. “This is what happens when we can’t trust you,” Rafe tried to reason.

You laughed and moved away from him when he dropped his grip. “Oh, yes. Because you and your dad are so trustworthy!” You shot back as Ward and Sarah stumbled in the room together. “We saw the cross. The whole ridiculous speech you gave about trading it was see through. Do either of you ever tell the truth?” 

You felt like a little kid arguing with your dad as you did so often. He always took John B’s side, never yours. He never let you do anything that your brother got away with. Your whole life, you were second place, limited, weak. And here you were, back in the same scenario with Ward and Rafe screaming at you and Sarah. 

“Since you both clearly cannot make good decisions, I will make them for you!” Ward turned towards you after he finished yelling at his daughter. “Decision one, you will not see John B or that Maybank boy again. Ever. You’re both coming with us, for good. One day, you will see. You’ll grow up and you’ll see I’m doing this for you.” He pointed at Sarah before making a move to leave.

“No, you’re not!” She clipped back. “Everything you do is for yourself. You are greedy. You are selfish. You are manipulative, you are a liar.”

“I am your father.”

“And you are a murderer.” 

The loud smack that followed made you gasp as Ward’s hand landed against Sarah’s cheek. With wide eyes, you launched yourself on Ward’s back and wrapped your arm around his neck, choking him with force. 

“You sick son of a bitch!” You screamed as he tried to pull you off to no avail. Rafe’s hands yanked at your jacket before Sarah launched at him with a wrench she found nearby. Ward’s fingers grasped as your arms as he gasped for air, but you weren’t giving up so easily. “Oh, how’s it feel, Ward Cameron? Is this how you killed my father? Tossed him in the ocean to never be seen again? Payback’s a bitch, isn’t it?”

He moved sharply, nailing your spine into a ridge in the wall that had you crying in pain and releasing your hold on him. You didn’t hesitate to collect yourself off the ground, pulling Sarah’s arm from where she had just knocked Rafe in the back of the head so the two of you could get out of there. Sarah turned and locked the door as quickly as possible, but the heavy metal did nothing to mute the screams coming from the other side. 

A broken order to meet at the tween forward hull came over the PA but neither of you bothered to listen to it and continued to run as far as you could. Sarah turned a sharp corner, leading the two of you straight to where a decent sized lifeboat was dangling over the water. She tossed her sweatshirt inside and moved to unlock all the latches keeping everything tied up.

You followed her lead, grabbing anything that looked useful before hitting the lever to move the lifeboat further over the water so you could lower it. It hit the water shortly after, both of you sharing a smile of success before you started throwing the ladder off the side to climb down. Throwing the last rung off the side, you stood up straight with a smile. “Let’s go home, Sarah.”

When the blonde girl didn’t answer, you turned around to see her in a staring match with her father who had managed to escape the lock on the door. She took a step back into your hands, pointing a sharp finger at her dad. “You get the hell away from me! I’m not doing this shit anymore, I’m not going with you!” She shouted angrily.

Ward surprisingly nodded. “I know, I get it. I mean it took a while because I didn’t wanna believe, but… I finally understand what everybody was trying to tell me. You’re not one of us. Right? Not anymore. And you never will be. But now, the problem is this… what do I do now?”

“You let us go,” Sarah said, the nerves clear throughout her body as she stood in front of him. You could tell she was terrified and after the events of today, you didn’t blame her. 

“Let you go?” Ward repeated before laughing. “Let you go back and tell everyone that I’m alive and tell them where we are and what we’ve done? Baby, come on now. You know I can’t do that.” He placed his hands on her neck softly. “I don’t know what to do with you!” 

In a swift movement, his grip tightened and he pushed her back against the metal side. You screamed in shock, jumping forward to grab Ward’s throat and throw him off balance. He seemed to be expecting it though, and with a harsh shove, you were colliding with the other wall of the boat. 

Your body was sending big red flags with even the slightest of movements. Your shoulder ached, back scorching with pain, but you refused to watch Sarah die at the hands of her own father. Attempting to sit up, you grabbed the side of the boat but a sharp pain up your spine kept you grounded.

“Sarah! Let her go!” You screamed in hopes that someone, anyone would hear and stop Ward. You knew you were hopeful to think anyone would even come in between him and murdering someone, but you had to try.

“Get off her!”

A blur of pink flooded your vision as someone ran forward, yanking Ward off of Sarah. The Cameron patriarch crumbled to the ground with the force of the punch before you were able to focus your vision enough to recognize your brother was standing a few feet away. He didn’t hesitate to hold Sarah in his grasp, the two of them mumbling reassurances as you managed to pull yourself into a sitting position.

“John B!” Your shout was a split second late as Ward managed to get back on his feet and tackled your brother from his spot. Sarah yelled out in shock, her hands grasping at her dad in a futile attempt to make him stop. John B managed to elbow Ward in the ribs to gain enough time to pull away and kick the older man in the stomach.

Once John B had the upper hand, Sarah took a second to run to your side. “I gotcha, here.” Her hands were gentle as they helped pull you from the ground, a sharp hiss leaving your lips as you did so. All the nonstop running and chaos more than likely irritated previous injuries and subjected you to new ones. There wasn’t any time to worry about it now, though.

John B managed to hit hard enough that Ward’s skull connected with the low side of the boat causing an instant formation of blood. You watched as your brother crouched down to taunt the man who had ruined so much of his life. “Is this how you did it? Is this how you killed my father? You just threw him in the ocean?”

Tears burned your eyes as you listened to John B almost repeat the exact same thing you had said to Ward not too long ago. As much as you tried to avoid it, you were just kids. Kids who were mourning their father who had been lost. There was no closure, no happy ending, and you were thrown head first into this crazy whirlwind of treasure hunting with no form of guidance. 

“I never got to say goodbye because of you. This is all your fault.” 

John B shifted to pick Ward up by the fabric of his shirt, leaning to throw the man overboard as he pictured his father in a similar position. He hesitated, taking a second to look at Sarah, who gave him a teary nod. Your brother looked to you next, taking in the exhaustion on your face and the tears on your cheeks as you held yourself in a hug. He refused to let you watch him do this, and he refused to let Sarah feel alone because of him. 

Deciding against what he really wanted to do, John B let go of Ward’s shirt. Sarah let out a visible sigh of relief but didn’t say a word. Your brother was quick to jump back into action. “Hey, we gotta go, okay? I got you, we gotta pick up the others.”

He turned to you a second later before pulling you into a bone crushing hug. A sob threatened to break free from your throat at the feeling of being held by your older brother, the realization that he actually didn’t forget about you this time overwhelming. You couldn’t care about the pain rushing through your body with every movement, you were just glad he was here.

“You’re okay, promise,” He reassured as he let go to hold your hand instead. Turning back to Sarah, he grabbed her hand too before the three of you placed yourselves on the edge of the boat. You could see the lifeboat down below and there was no time to climb the ladder at this point. John B gave a quick countdown before you jumped into the dark ocean below. 

The water felt cool for a moment, relaxing the tension in your body as you swam to the surface. John B and Sarah were there seconds later, all of you swimming as fast as possible towards the lifeboat. Grabbing the ropes along the side, you kicked your legs as hard as you could to get some momentum to climb up the boat. Each movement caused a tingling sensation across your back, but you had come way too far to stop now.

John B climbed up next, reaching out to help Sarah before he moved to start the engine. Just as it kicked to life, you watched as two more people jumped from the deck of the boat into the water. John B quickly steered the lifeboat in their direction until you could make out Pope’s familiar face alongside a girl you hadn’t seen before.

Hands reaching out, you and Sarah grabbed onto the girl and pulled her aboard as John B hauled Pope up next to you. “Oh my God!” Sarah practically screamed as she recognized the girl you had just pulled from the water. “Cleo, holy shit!”

“Long time no see, girl,” Cleo responded as she hugged Sarah tightly. You didn’t bother with introductions, figuring it could wait until you weren’t fighting for your life in an endless ocean.

“Where’s J and Kie?” 

Your brother’s question had you turning towards him in concern. “JJ?” You repeated your boyfriend’s name in shock that the whole damn crew had managed to sneak onto the boat without getting caught. 

“We’re gonna find them,” John B assured you as he began to turn the boat towards the other side of the Coastal Venture. 

The rush of water in your ears was almost deafening but even still, you could hear a distance scream, “John B! Help!”

You could make out Kie’s head as she strugged to swim above the rocky waves. Your heart sank as you recognized the blond hair barely moving next to her. “JJ!” 

Similar screams echoed behind you as hands fought hands to grab onto your boyfriend and relieve Kie of his weight so she could climb up. You and John B managed to pull him up in between the two of you as you tried to wake him up. The sight of blood on his forehead terrified you.

“J, come on.” You were so sick of crying all the time, but nothing scared you more than the idea of JJ not being here. “Come on, come on!” You tapped his cheek aggressively, trying in vein to snap him out of shock. You were so overwhelmed with trying to wake him up that you didn’t notice the lifeboat engine stalling, or the face that Rafe had a gun aimed straight at you. 

“JJ, please!” Your voice cracked with tears that you couldn’t hold back as the reality that JJ might not be coming back from this fight hit you full force. “You can’t leave me, you promised! Wake up!”

An aggressive cough finally escaped his mouth as he let out all the water he had inhaled while unconscious. A wave of relief took over as you finally relaxed next to him with your hand still on his shoulder in fear that he would disappear if you let go. Everyone crowded him with words of concern as John B continued to steer you all away. 

JJ followed the feeling along his arm up to your worried face. You stared back at him, a small smile on your lips with ugly tears no doubt still on your cheeks. His expression was blank, probably confused from what he woke up to, but he was okay, and that was all that mattered.

“Sup?”

You collided against him, hands searching for any bare skin you could grab to just feel him, and hold him, and ground yourself. JJ shifted to sit up so he could hold you properly, letting you settle into his lap once he got his thoughts together. His arms were snug around you as he pieced together that you were okay, and you were here, with him. No more Rafe Cameron, no more kidnapping. You were safe in his arms.

“Just always looking for attention, huh?”

JJ laughed, one of his hands letting go of your waist to gently touch the side of his head. “What the hell happened?”

“Blunt end of a machete,” Kie answered simply, grabbing one of the towels you had thrown aboard to hold it against JJ’s head to stop the bleeding.

“Next time, duck.”

As the boat continued to coast away from the Coastal Venture, vows of the treasure hunt not being over were promised, but you couldn’t bring yourself to care. You were just thankful to have your family, here, in one piece more or less. That was all that mattered.

Your group settled into a rather comfortable conversation, everyone catching up on what was missed. Cleo was apparently the girl who had helped Sarah and John B in Nassau, saving their lives more than once. Your friends had snuck onto the boat through one of the shipping containers, sweating it out until Pope and John B were brave enough to take the risk to look around. Sarah relayed your half of the story, letting everyone know how Ward had escaped and Rose was in on it. 

“Hi,” JJ’s voice was quiet as he looked down at you. Your sweatshirt sleeve had been ripped off in favor of wrapping the material around his head to keep the bleeding down, but if you were honest, it just made him look silly. 

“Hi,” You repeated as you leaned your head against his shoulder, not wanting to separate from him yet. Your heart was racing, the adrenaline refusing to wear off just yet until you guys found safety somewhere. This never ending battle of attempting to find some normalcy was pointless now, and all you could hope for was that your family would be able to stick together through whatever was coming.

“Are you okay?” JJ lips were gentle on your temple as he held you close. He couldn’t lie around the fear in his chest when you went missing. There was no way to tell if you were okay, if Rafe had gotten to you or if you were in a mindset he couldn’t pull you out of. JJ just wanted to make everything okay again. 

You looked up at him, placing a small kiss on his jawline before settling in the crook of his neck. “I will be.”

And so, here you were. A group of chaotic, overwhelmed teenagers who had nothing to their names. No food, no clothes, just you and the wide ocean ahead of you. You didn’t know what would happen from here, if you guys would figure it out or if you would die in this lifeboat with nothing left. But you honestly couldn’t care; as long as you had your family with you, you’d be fine.

To going full Pogue.

--

navigation -- series masterlist

tags: @strawberryfolks @jinxfirebolt18902 @lnnlove @itsmytimetoodream @dazzlingnights

[darthpinksithlord67]

Don't cry beacuse it's over, smile because it happened- Pt.1.

After what happened on Coruscant, and Echo's leave, Omega is feeling alone, and lost, so the reader come to comfort her. It was inspired by Bluey mostly. I saw a Tiktok video, and an idea come to my mind...

Pairing: jedi!reader and Omega (gender neutral reader, Y/N=your name)

Warnings: despair, crying, a little anger

The silence fell on the Marauder strangely quiet , as the ship was on auto-pilot in the hyperspace and everyone was passed out after the events of Coruscant.

At least almost.

A sudden feeling in the Force wake you up: it was despair, grief and anger with a little bit of loss.

You shut down your eyes to feel these better, this was definitely Omega...

You stand up, and walk inmediately to her room.

-Hey, sweetie... - you whisper toward her as you pull away the curtain - Echo, isn't it?

She winced, as she looked up and try to hide away her tears.

-Y/N?! I am...

-Shh, I know! - you murmured as you sat nex to her

- You are a jedi, and you said you can't have boundaries, so how can you understand me! - she pulled you away with one hand and turn her back against you.

-Oh, Omy - you let out a little laugh - that doesn't mean, that we can't have feelings or attachements. We can live our emotions, and where the time has come, we have to let it go...

-Easy to tell... - she rolled her eyes.

-I am here, if you need me - you replied and you sat down not far from her.

She kept her distance for some minutes, but after the wave of crying take over her, and she instinctively found your hug.

-We are a family... - she sobbed - So why did he gone? He doesn't want to the part of it or what? Family members don't leave eachother!

She broke out in tears again, her whole body was tremling, so you tighened the hug and wait some moment with the reply:

-Well, look. Sometimes special people come to our life, stay for a bit, and then they have to go.

-But that's sad!

-It is! But the bit when they were here was happy, wasn't it? Maybe that makes it all woth it!

-Once you said, sometimes jedi can sense the future events. Tell me, will we ever see him again?

-Oh, Omega - you giggled - Well, you never know! I am not the teller of the future, but I can make you sure that the Force will bring back him.

-And if the answer is no?

-This whole galaxy is a magical place, but if we never see him again... well... - your suddenly stopped, don't know how to answer.

You just sit next to each other, while the little girl slowly calmed down. The silence was a comfortable thing between you.

After a while, Omega whispered:

-Did you lost a lot of special people in the war, did you? How do deal with that?

You lookeed at her. From the depth of your soul everyone come to your mind, who you lost: your master, your best friends...

You nodded, while look away:

- You know what my master told me before she passed away?

-What?

-Don't cry beacuse it's over, smile because it happened! This helps me most of the time to deal with it...

-And when not?

-I try to remember the good things, the good memories together...

-Let me gues, one day you will be gone... - she wondered while tears filled up her eyes again - and I may never see you again.

These words landed on your heart directly, so you just hug her again in your arms:

-One day maybe our path will take separate, but remember what I said and if you really feel lonely or lost, call me with all your heart, and you will feel my presence!

[redbeardace]

Hi, I am so sorry to bring up a touchy subject in the ace community, but I saw that in one of your posts you referred to hsdd as a defunct diagnosis. Was it removed? I thought it was still included in the dsm just that it was only for people who experienced distress and did not call themselves asexual.

Some context and history are important here.

In the DSM-IV, there was an entry for HSDD, or "Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder". That was the one where the criteria for the "Generalized, Lifelong" variant of HSDD was basically a description of asexuality, and I believe it also had something about causing a partner distress or whatever. Bad news all around. HSDD in the DSM-IV was not specific to a gender, there was just the one flavor.

Then, in the planning for the DSM-5 (Yeah, they stopped using Roman Numerals for that one 🤷), they decided it would be a good idea to split HSDD in two and make them gender specific, so there'd be Female HSDD and Male HSDD. I don't think their preliminary descriptions were that different so I don't know why they wanted to do that, but they did. That set the stage for the next headscratcher, which was that in the final DSM-5, they combined Female HSDD and Female Sexual Arousal Disorder into a single new thing, "Female Sexual Interest/Arousal Disorder". Over on the male side, Male HSDD and just plain "Erectile Disorder" remained separate. It's Male HSDD and FSI/AD that have the asexuality clause in them.

I'm assuming the post you were referencing was something about Addyi/Flibanserin and how it is being marketed towards women with HSDD. Plain old HSDD no longer exists, and "Female HSDD" never really did, so the "disorder" that stuff is claiming to help "cure" isn't really a thing, even if you subscribe to the whole DSM business. But by going to the plain old HSDD language, they're going back in time to where the DSM did not have any kind of asexuality clause for anything, so their marketing department doesn't have to be bothered with thinking about all those people who claim to be "asexual", because lookee here, the definition of HSDD says you've all got this problem that our magic wonder pill can fix right up slightly more effectively than a pack of Skittles labeled "Sex Pills", if our pill doesn't lower your blood pressure to the point where you're passing out all the time, so uh don't drink anything or use heavy equipment or drive or stand up or whatever. (Also, we tested our sex pill for women on a bunch of dudes, but we're sure that's fine.)

[ellegamgee]

First Sentence Tag Game

"Rules: share the first lines of ten of your most recent fanfics and tag ten people. If you have written less than ten, don’t be shy and share anyway."

Thank you to my wonderful friend @maxwellshimbo for tagging me in this. Finally getting around to it. 😅

Well, lookee there. I have 11 fics on AO3. I'm just going to skip over the poem/song and post the first line of each of the others. They're split between just two fandoms, Penumbra Podcast: Second Citadel and Inn Between podcast. (Disclaimer: on the slight chance this crosses Hannah's feed: Hannah, please don't read, sorry.)

Not sure what is usually done about multi chapter fics, but I'll take from chapter one of each of those.

Going from earliest to latest, from when the fic was posted (when chapter one was posted for the multi chapter ones).

1: Balancing the Scales (SC)-

"The first indication that Arum had that things were not quite right was that Damien’s voice was not the first one he heard through the portal into the Keep. It was rare that either of his two humans brought anyone with them, for obvious reasons. So, the sound of another voice, though far off, already made Arum stiffen and hiss."

2: Habits in Love (SC)-

"If someone were to ask her, Rilla might brush off any inquiries about her temper. When pressed, however, Rilla would probably admit that she was prone to bouts of angry ranting and yelling, taking out her feelings on those around her. Few, though, could get Rilla to say so. Indeed, it was mostly narrowed down to her two loves, with perhaps a handful of others at most, since these were the people who saw Rilla when these moods took her, and did their best to help her through them."

3: The Wizard (IB)-

"Previously, on Inn Between:

¨The Wizard Orune has been terrorizing our land long enough! Adventurers, heroes, I beg of you to save us!¨

¨What do you know about this wizard, Meltyre?¨

¨So, Velune, er. . . According to what I've heard, his specialty is. . . messing with the mind. Mind-reading, so he always knows what you´re about to do, that sort of thing. He is really full of himself, but it makes sense, because he's also really, really powerful.¨

¨Not as powerful as you. Right, magic man?”

¨Well . . . . ¨"

4: The Comfort (IB)-

Previously, on Inn Between:

“Are you sure there is no other way through, around, whatever? Any other way?

“Do you think I would ask this of them if there was any other way, Fina? We have a small army of giants at our back and the only way that I can find is through here.”

“Velune, we. . . we can help, we will help as much as possible. Do you think. . . Do you think you can. . . .?

“Oh, I. . .I. . . With you all with me, I. . . I can. . . I will. . . try.”

5: His Humans, Their Monster (SC)-

"The Keep was silent and still, and this frightened Arum.

This was definitely not the I’m-not-talking-to-you-until-you-apologize, Arum lack of communication of any sort that Arum had experienced from the Keep a handful of times. (Not since he was a hatchling, mind you, no matter what his humans said.) It was not even the I’m-sick-and-napping, please-let-me-rest quiet Arum had dealt with a few months prior. This was eerily silent, conspicuously still, and had happened too suddenly to be anything but something very wrong."

6: The Faith (IB)-

"Previously, on Inn Between:

“What? What are you- How did you get in here? Wait, I remember you, you’re-”

“All in good time, wizard. Now, good night.”

“No, what- Guards, somebody! Oh-”

“Right then.”

“What’s this? A note?”

“Lord Sterling Whitetower, I have. . . Meltyre, your friend and Court Wizard to the Throne. . . .”

“Oh, gods. . . oh, gods, no.”

“If you wish to see him. . . alive. . . again, meet me at the location shown here. Tell no one. . . and come alone. If you do not, he dies.”

“Cuthbert, help me.”"

7: The Poet's Dilema (SC)-

"One of the things Damien enjoyed most about his loves- and ah, the plurality of that statement, so new, so strange, so exciting- was when they could spend time together, doing nothing much of import, but simply being together. True, there were countless other things- so many that even a poet such as himself would be hard-pressed for the time or words to express them all. But to Damien, this was high on the list, these small moments that he could count on, that he could treasure, that he could practically write an epic in itself about afterward."

8: A Gift of a Ring (But Not Like That) (IB)-

"Meltyre wasn’t sure when the idea grew, from a wistful hope in the back of his mind to an actual plan. The vague thought that later became the idea, that crossed his mind soon, very soon after Sterling first shared his secret. But when he first resolved to do something about it . . . ."

9: Within These Rooms (IB)-

"It was Sterling’s turn to fetch drinks that night at the inn. When he came back to their usual table with their usual fare, he also came with a strange look on his face, brow furrowed and eyes lost in thought."

10: The Proposal (IB)-

"Previously, on Inn Between:

“MeltyredoyouandSterlinglikeeachother?”

“Sorry to disappoint you, but I do not plan to marry Sterling anytime soon.”

“Aww.”

“You just want to be a flower girl.”

“Yeah.”

“So you aren’t married?”

“We are not.”

“Good, cuz I want to be flower girl.”

“She would never forgive you if you didn’t let her be flower girl.”

“Another May day come and gone.”

“This time, with only the on-purpose explosions.”

“I am glad of that. And glad to be with you, Meltyre.”

“Oh. . . Oh! You, too, Sterling. Love you, too.”"

Even though I am pretty sure I know a bunch of writers on tumblr, I have a hard time remembering names and who is who and whatnot. 😳 So I'm just going to tag this a bit, and also share this in the relevant discards. 😁 Aka the discards for Penumbra: SC and for Inn Between. Anyone else who wants to do this, have fun! 😁

[spidermilkshake]

"Sunny Shine"

A more dolled-up digital thing! We get a little fanfic vignette dohickey to go with this lovely digital drawing. Ethaniel is a real name I've known given to a real child by the way... XD Given FNAF's settings seem to have been largely centered in Utah the number of newfangled and hybrid-type names popping up in my Security Breach stuff will make sense.

Below this cut is the Story time! It is decidedly fluffy. XD

Sun was not supposed to, it knew. But once the boy's cries softened enough that he could choke out a whimpering account of what happened, the Daycare Attendant became caught up. By design, it was caught between two unbearable transgressions: It had, ever since the After-Close Halloween Prank incident, been explicitly banned from the ventilation systems, yet that was where 4-year-old Ethaniel's Freddy Fazbear Super-bounce ball had ended up, and its nerves were specifically grated at by its childcare programs the longer it detected tears on the boy's face. Ultimately, it made a choice, and had one protocol be manually overridden in that second of pause.

There was no need to damage any vent grates, thankfully, since the one Ethaniel's prized ball had disappeared into was already hanging open by a single half-stripped screw. It was dark, but due to the lighting of rooms it passed leaking through the periodic grates it did not quite dim enough to trigger Sun's mode shift into Moon-mode. The Daycare Attendant flinched in anticipation of the raucous clang it made as it dropped down a level and landed on its palms. It couldn't take too long; with noise like this, someone in kitchen staff or a ticket-taker would report the strange bangs. Its head revolved around, scanning each direction down a four-way split. Something brightly-colored caught Sun's eye and it sunk down into the narrow passage, hip segment needing to revolve the wrong way around in order to fit. The ball! ... The balls, plural. With a stunned silence Sun ogled the veritable hoard of lost toys, wondering if these had all been here this whole time, and how indeed so many had ended up only in this dead end passage somewhere above one of the staff kitchens. Its long fingers gave a furtive fidget; it could finish with these pretties later--for now, it plucked out every one of the globular forms it could make out and squeezed them tight between the fingers of one hand. A full set! Thankfully not any more than that. It needed its other hand to climb on the route back out.

Ethaniel had sat, flopped and pouting on the ground on the far end of the play zone, watching and waiting where his mechanical playmate had vanished into the wall, ten feet off the ground. Gradually, a series of low clanks and thunks began to grow in volume through the dark, echoing tunnel of dusty, galvanized metal. The boy stared--half scared as this was exactly the sort of place The Monsters would come from, and how their nearing presence would be sensed--but hopeful that something much friendlier would pop out of the ventilation warrens. And, like a bright yellow ferret, Sun materialized in the shadows and popped out, one arm dragging itself with a shrill grunt of disgust through a large cobweb, the other arm's hand crabbed up close to its torso--clutched around something. The boy perked up.

"Oof!" The Daycare Attendant made the ten-foot drop in the form of a rolling somersault, springing harmlessly back up though studying itself very warily on all parts vent-grime and spider-silk were now clinging. It grinned down at the pre-schooler, "Well, it needs a bath about as bad as I do, but lookee what I found!"

The boy gasped; his own arcade prize--the best he could afford due to most of the cabinets and party games being geared towards the slightly older audience--sat in Sun's large palm with just a bit of dust stuck to it. Between each finger was the Super-bounce with the designs of the other band members--a Chica, a Bonnie, and even a much-coveted Rockstar Foxy. These were varying levels of crusty, but with the promise of a good disinfecting the full set was as good as new. Ethaniel jumped to his feet and clamped himself onto the heavy photosensitive fabric covering Sun's leg in a tight hug. The robot squeaked, knowing how much dead insect matter was likely to be on that fabric by now, but chuckled anyways.

"Ohoho... well, now we all need a clean-up. Hold on tightly--let's go!" Sun strode off, pace slowed owing to having a passenger, hand balancing four colorful orbs and a processor humming with a bright, odd fuzziness.

[mega-ringsandthings-world]

Lookee here. I don’t blame the Darkling one bit. Not even a little. He honestly could, and should have been worse. The fundamental reasoning behind his warmongering and lust for power was the wish to create a society where he and others like him would never be abused again. Yes, he lost himself in the shell he had built around himself, but he was still IN THERE. And really, was any of his reasoning wrong? The bare reasoning?  The administration in the days of the Darkling’s youth did not change much from the administration of the present day, and the current king was an insipid  rapist. A lot of things needed changing, and in allowing the Darkling to be everyone’s villain and presenting no one else as a “main villain” as him, the much that needed changing was overlooked and never resolved.

[geek-and-destroy]

Wheel of Time - New Perspectives

This is post 4 in The Wheel of Time Read - see the previous post - covering chapters 19-25. Edit: the next post is here.

A few days ago, I started reading The Eye of The World by Robert Jordan, book one in The Wheel of Time. And because I have nothing better to do, I decided to post my thoughts on the internet, a few chapters at a time. This post talks about my first impressions of chapters 19 (Shadow's Waiting) through 25 (The Travelling People). Chapter summaries can be found here (I’m not putting links to the individual chapters, I don’t want to venture too far into the wiki).

Oooh, lookee what we have here... some shiny new POV characters! And I am here for them. Already, Perrin Aybara has been catapulted from near-irrelevant sidekick to my second or third favourite character in this book so far! (Lan fluctuates between 2 and 3, but Moiraine remains numero uno) As if his excellently written thoughts weren't enough, Robert J gave him nascent wolf-talking abilities. What can I say to that, now?

Seriously, a fantasy protagonist who is as thoughtful as Perrin has been so far is rare. I stan.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's talk about Aridhol first. I can tell Jordan has put a lot of effort into this, because a lot of detail went about in describing the current state as well as the history of this ghost city. It actually felt like a city once lived in rather than just a set of ruins with a backstory. Well, once lived in except for one guy.

When I read Mordeth's appearance, this was my reaction, as written right when Rand saw he had no shadow:

Yeah, I wasn't in the coolest of moods right then. I was expecting them to be rescued by Moiraine and/or Lan but well. I think this is probably my first real criticism of this book, in that Mat never showed much love for gold so far, and neither is he poor, so it felt a bit out of the blue. As it stands, I peg him most likely to convert to the dark side, temporarily or maybe even permanently.

Well, now the gang is separated, and on three different routes. We have the adults all clumped together, minus Thom. Three very strong characters, both in terms of ability and interesting personalities. The Aes Sedai lore was quite intriguing. I liked how the dialogue, while expository, wasn't as tiring as it could've been. They will likely have much less trouble finding Perrin and Egwene than they will Mat and Rand and Thom, even though they're going farther off. Mostly because Perrin still has his coin, but also because of whatever bad juju the stolen dagger is gonna cause for Rand and Mat at Whitebridge.

I'm really loving the dynamic between Perrin and Egwene here. She supposedly 'bullies him around,' though I don't know if counts as bullying if she's insisting on not letting someone walk miles and miles while she rides comfy. I think they're headed towards becoming a thing later on, but I'm not sure. The vision girl at the Baerlon inn (Min I think?) did say Rand and Egwene is never going to happen. Although it got me thinking, I think Rand and Egwene are heading towards becoming Warder and Aes Sedai, and I am so here for it.

Well, I think this is it. I have some thoughts about Perrin and his wolf abilities, as well as about Elyas, but they're super disorganized at the moment, mainly consisting of SQUEEEEEEEEEEE, so I'll leave them out for now.

Perrin, Moiraine - do NOT die. Aaaagh.