#was initially only gonna get the vinyl for my wall collection but then I saw that was still in stock and had a laugh

[lighthouse-system]

The fact that I could STILL grab a limited edition vinyl set of song machine, on Gorillaz’ site not eBay, in late 2023 speaks volumes about what we as a community agree on about song machine

[profitinaecho]

so You Wanna Spin Ch4

Max chews on his bottom lip looking at the board of victims in his office. He was looking forward to the day when the victims were all identified and he could replace the photos of their autopsy with a living photo of the victim before closing the cases when they caught the perpetrator. “Ok. So what do we know about the victims?”

Liz comes up beside him to see what he is looking at. “All of the victims died of strangulation with a ligature and were minority women between the ages of 18 and 25ish. But what do they have in common? Why were they chosen?”

“I guess we have to start DNA testing relatives of missing people that match the descriptions of the victims to identify them. Then we can see what they have in common by interviewing the families to try to catch this bastard.”

Liz nods in agreement. “I’ll get a box of swabs and labels then we can start organizing the missing persons reports so it is easier to locate their families.” Liz goes to get her box of samples while Max grabs the first binder. It has several reports flagged in it so it will take them a few days to track down the people that filed the report and go to them to get DNA samples to compare with the unidentified victims DNA.

“Here. Let me sort these by where in Roswell the family members live and whether any are from out of state.” Max starts shuffling the reports and putting them into piles based on which neighborhood and state they live in.

When Liz returns, Max is sorting the second to last binder so Liz picks up the remaining one to pull and sort the reports they flagged as being similar to their victims. They have a couple dozen families to visit to try to find a DNA match all live in New Mexico. Luckily, the three victims with out of state family members all live near El Paso, Tx and can be met with on one trip after Liz and Max interview and collect DNA from the local families.

“Ok. So we have 18 missing reports from families in Roswell, 5 from Sante Fe, 8 from Albuquerque, 4 from Las Cruces and 3 from El Paso. Let’s start with the ones in Roswell and work our way out. You call the first people and see if they're home, I’ll drive.” Max picks up his keys off his desk with the whimsical alien cowboy keychain.

“What if I want to drive?” Liz pouts, following him in her black slacks and southwestern coral colored blouse. As always at work, her hair is up in a tight no nonsense bun. Max hates those buns. He much prefers her hair  loose and wavy, but that is for off duty Liz and not something he gets to see any more. But that one time he saw her like that on their night in Colorado was everything.

Max smirks down at her. “You don’t have a badge so you can’t drive a cop car. You know that. Don’t give me that look.”

Liz grumbles, then goes around to the passenger side of his squad car. She hops a couple times trying to get up into the tall SUV and Max wills himself not to laugh. He asks if she needs help and with a grunt, she hoists herself up. “Nope! I’m picking the music.”

Liz puts on her seatbelt and reaches for the preset station buttons. Max is completely prepared to let her always pick the music, but he loves seeing her feisty side so he can’t help but argue. “No chick stuff.”

“What do you even think chick music is?” Liz puts it on the 90s station and bounces a little as an Nsync song comes on.

“Definitely whatever this is, but I’ll allow it.” Max looks over his shoulder, backing out of his parking spot and heading for the road.

“Ohhh. You’ll allow it. You’re not as tough as you think you are, Max Evans.” Liz looks to the side up at him through her long, black lashes.

“Don’t tell anybody.” He smiles back at her.

—————————-

Just down the street from the precinct, Max pulls into the driveway of the first family who reported a missing person on their list. Liz pulls out her swabs, tubes, gloves and glances over at Max. “You talk, I’ll get the samples. I haven’t ever had to talk to the families before.” Liz worriedly nibbles on her lower lip and Max reaches over and frees it from her teeth without thinking until she sucks in a breath at his fingers on her lips.

“You’re gonna chew those right off.” Max smiles lopsidedly at her, plopping his cream cowboy hat on his head and opening the door. Liz follows behind him as he goes to the door of the small adobe house to talk to the family. Knocking twice authoritatively, Max and Liz wait for the family member who filed the report to answer the door.

When the door swings open, Max takes off his hat politely. “Mrs. Powell?”

A short, round, pleasant looking blonde woman answers the door and when she realizes it is an officer, she begins to cry. “Did you find my girl?” She looks around behind them as if her daughter will appear.

“That’s what we wanted to talk to you about. We have found some remains that have similar characteristics to your daughter, but to confirm it, we need to collect DNA from a family member for comparison.” Max tells the woman somberly.

“Whatever you  need to find my Erin. How do I give you my DNA?” Mrs. Powell gestures for them to follow her into the living room of her home. It is cluttered but homely, with photos of her family lining the mantle.

“That is why my partner, Ms. Ortecho, is here. She will collect your DNA. Even if one of the bodies we have discovered is not your daughter, we will have your DNA on file to cross check any other victims we find.” Max assures her.

“Alright, Mrs. Powell. Open wide and I’ll take a swab of your saliva.” Liz pops on her blue vinyl gloves, smiling brightly at the middle aged woman and twisting the top of the tube to remove the  swab connected to the lid. After Mrs. Powell opens her mouth, Liz swabs her saliva then puts it in the tube so that it is sterile and can be tested. She sticks a label with Mrs. Lavonna Powell on it onto the tube. “Thank you so much. I’ll run this as soon as possible and I should have results back to you in a few weeks.”

Max shakes the woman’s hand after asking a few questions about the last time Mrs. Powell saw her daughter and Liz follows suit after him. “We will be in touch soon.” Max reassures her, popping his cowboy hat back onto his head and heading for his cruiser closely followed by Liz. “Alright, what address is next on the list?”

“A Mr. Facey down the street.” Liz reads off their list.

Max pulls out of the driveway, waiting on Liz to give him directions  since she is his copilot. —————————-

After collecting DNA from the Facey family, Max pulls in front of a large stucco house overlooking the mountains.

“Who lives here?” Liz sorts through her notes looking for which house they are at so she knows which label to grab.

“Me. I forgot my lunch this morning.” Max smiles sheepishly at her. “You want to come in or stay here?”

“And miss seeing where the illustrious Detective Evans lives? No way.” Liz unsnaps her seatbelt and swings open the door to the cruiser following Max into his home. “You don’t lock your doors?”

“No. I know everyone in town and no one would be stupid enough to steal from me.” Max tells her over his shoulder, heading to the kitchen to grab his lunch.

Liz bounces on her heels a couple times, trying to decide if she is just supposed to stand there and wait for him before being drawn to his large wall to wall bookshelves. “I had no idea you were so into Russian moralistic literature, Max.” She teases him, running her finger along the spines of his large first edition book collection. “And Jane Austin too. How feminist of you.”

“You want a drink or anything? Sorry it’s such a mess. I didn't expect to have company today.” Max leans across his kitchen island, smiling at her in a way that makes her heart skip.

“Just some water. Then we have to call the families we plan on visiting tomorrow to make sure they will be home.” Liz twirls her hair as she looks around his home. Max’s house is done in bachelor colors but clean and so much nicer than she expected. He had clearly put a lot of work and effort into it. She wonders what his bedroom looks like but doesn’t trust herself to go anywhere near Max and a bed.

—————————-

A little over a week later, after collecting DNA from all the families related to missing people in the Roswell area, they drove to Albuquerque to collect DNA from the families that live there related to their cases. The last week had involved tons of driving time together and they had settled into a rhythm. Every day, they show up to work, fight over the radio station, visit one family to collect DNA, have lunch, then visit another family. After work, they either went home or to the Wild Pony for a beer together. Due to the amount of families they had to meet with, Max had rented two adjoining rooms for the two days they would be in town.

Wheeling Liz’s suitcase and carrying his own after coming back from dinner together, Max follows Liz into her adjoining room to drop off her luggage. “If you need anything, my room is connected to yours and I’m right there. Ok?”

“I’m not afraid to sleep alone” Liz rolls her eyes at his concern. She’s not crawling into his bed with them working so  closely together and she can figure out how to work the tv by herself.

“Regardless, if you need something, I’m there.” Max smiles warmly at her then leaves to get settled in his own room. He wasn’t insinuating that she should come sleep with him, but last time they had been in a hotel together she had and that would haunt him while he was trying to fall asleep that night.

Liz doesn’t bother unpacking her suitcase because they will only be there one night. Instead, she showers, changes into her pink satin nightgown and falls asleep watching a cooking show. Sometime in the middle of the night, she bolts awake with a gasp as thunder shakes her room. Initially, she is unable to place where she is and is confused- and terrified. Liz has never been a fan of thunderstorms and this is a loud one.

When the wind picks up and starts moving the patio furniture on the balcony, Liz starts trembling. Without thinking too much about it, she pads to the adjoining door and opens it. “Max?” She whispers into the dark.

She is answered with a loud snore. He is sleeping straight through the storm. She crawls into the other side of his bed and her shivers finally subside. She feels safer with him here and will just hang out in his room until the storm passes. She knows he won’t mind. At some point, she drifts to sleep facing Max as the storm rolls on outside.

Max wakes up in the morning with long wavy hair covering his face and what distinctly feels like a woman on his chest. Opening one eye, he is confused to see Liz sprawled out across his chest. He knows they didn’t sleep together because there is no way he would have forgotten about that. So why is she in his room?

Sliding his hand gently along her back, Max whispers her name. Popping her head up from his chest in confusion, Liz stares straight into his wide eyed. “How did you end up here? Not that I’m complaining to waking up to a beautiful woman on my chest but…” Max smiles lopsidedly at her.

“There was a storm. The walls were shaking and I came to hide from it with you. I didn’t fall asleep on you, I swear.” Liz sits up quickly and the pink satin straps of her nightgown slide down at her movement and she pulls them back into place. Max watches her smooth tan skin appear and disappear entranced. He enjoys waking up with her but doesn’t let his mind explore that much further or he’d never be able to focus with her in the car with him all day again.

“What storm? I didn’t wake up once last night.” Max wipes the sleep from his eyes. He needs coffee and to brush his teeth.

“I know. You were snoring almost as loud as the thunder while the wind was slamming the patio furniture against the sliding doors.” Liz teases him.

Max swings his feet out of bed and walks over to the sliding glass door. Pulling back the curtains, he hmms seeing that sure enough, all of the patio furniture has been swung around and it is wet outside. “Huh. How did I miss that? Let’s get dressed and track down some breakfast.”

[kiryuva]

Something with reader who has had a crush on Genji since his blackwatch days, but only after he's learned to accept himself with zenyattas help does Genji realise they were sincere?

Distance

Note: This one was a bit of a struggle for me, as I am still doing my best to characterize cast members effectively and to the best of my ability. This features a degree of angst, but not too much. For as much as I love the Shimada, they give me the most anxiety when writing! This also became so much longer than I initially envisioned, so I apologize for the length! I do hope I wrote your prompt well enough for your liking!

Always from afar had you admired the cyborg, but given the circumstances of either of your positions, your one-sided affection was highly unlikely to be reciprocated. You accepted this, but it didn’t make it any easier with how often either of you crossed paths. You kept your composure, remained professional when you could, and only disclosed your troubles with a peppy brunette who remained positive and at your side during your most conflicted times.

What made matters worse was how difficult it was for you to confront your feelings.

Who Genji was and how he carried himself was just admirable. Contrary to the popular opinion of him as an Omnic and no longer human around the base, you supported him and wanted him to get better. Yes, there were barriers that surrounded Genji — many, in fact — but it didn’t stop you from showing to his practices, assisting him with missions, or even offering friendly gestures. You respected him, and wanted to know more of him.

Though, had you known your feelings would be so strong, you would’ve stopped yourself before.

“Don’t worry, love! Just keep your head up!” she would repeat, prompting your fake, reassuring smile.

Relationships amongst agents were strictly forbidden as by Blackwatch’s code, but there were so many things hush-hush within the organization you sooner found yourself disregarding the rules. There were many a time you did your best to suppress what you felt, but it would not work. You mostly kept to yourself your feelings, and hoped that no one would discover it. While your friend would tease you, it was never out of ill-will.

You were not a field combat, and never aspired to become one. You received the mandatory basics of combat, and would opt to be learn different styles of self-defense to keep your appearance up, but otherwise avoided fighting.  At the same time, it always amazed you how well your teammates moved, and how effectively they were able to hold their own. How fluid their motions were, how quick they were to react, how capable they were.

Genji was no exception to that, with how dangerously precise and swift his movements were captivated you. While you could watch every spar Lena had with him, the ones you were able to observe you were amazed. Lena on her own was a very capable fighter. Even at moments when her movements became a bit sloppy, she was quick to readjust herself and try to turn the tables. She was persistent, and a true fighter. She sparred with Genji often, which became one of the reasons you tried to familiarized yourself with him.

But there were moments where it’d be a close call, causing you to gasp with the intensity of the situation.

“Genji!”

A voice boomed over the training facility as the cyborg hovered over the brunette, his blade pointed to her throat. The male had her pinned to the ground, blade hovering just centimeters from her skin. He froze, blinking, and collected himself before pulling away. Lena found the air to breathe, and scrambled to get herself up as the cyborg began to walk away without a word. She looked to you, and you returned her gaze with frightened concern.

You watched as the raven-haired male briefly paused before exiting the facility, making eye contact with your shared Commander. He narrowed his eyes, lowering his gaze from him to you, his piercing red irises boring into yours. It caused you to tremble, the cold stare he gave, making you step back. You kept your eyes on him for as long as you could before he disappeared, and you couldn’t help but exhale. You hadn’t realized, but you were holding your breath the few seconds he made eye contact with you.

You glanced to your Commander, who was speaking to medical staff; of Genji, you were sure. Agents began to enter the facility to speak to Lena, crowding her with questions. She laughed, “I’m fine, I swear!” she repeated, stretching and moved around freely to dispel any worries. You frowned, unsure of how to even approach your crush in the state he was in.

Shaking your head from your thoughts, you watched as Lena reached over and grabbed a cookie that was your tray at the lunch table. You tried to shoo her away but she quickly put it in her mouth, laughing as you playfully hit her on her arm in disapproval. “Hey, you promised yesterday I got a cookie!” You rolled your eyes, placing your chin in your palm as you absentmindedly moved fruit around in your tray. Her brown eyes watched your movements closely, and she bit the cookie.

“So, when are you gonna to tell him?”

That question made you jump slightly, and a puzzled expression covered your face. “Tell him what?”

“… That you like him, silly. You do well keeping it together, but it’s really starting to show.” Lena grinned widely, and saw heat swell to your cheeks. “The worst he can say is ‘no’!”

And it really was the worst when he said ‘no’. You preferred to keep the memories just as they were – memories – and disliked having to relive the scene. Nervously you rubbed your palm as you unfortunately revisited the scene.

His back was turned to you, and an anxious you remained still as you watched on. It was so matter of fact, so abrupt, so blunt. Many missions, months and slight interactions mustered the courage for you to speak to him about what been clouding your mind. You tried to find a time where it’d be best to speak to him in private, and it was difficult locating him when he wasn’t with the Commander or a certain cowboy. You opened your mouth to speak, but was interrupted.

“If this is an attempt to reveal your feelings for me, understand that they are not reciprocated.”

“Genji,” you began, finding the courage to speak, “I am simply wanting to know you more. I worry about you, as-“

“I do not need your pity.” He spat, turning to you with narrowed, rigid eyes. He was taller than you were, looking down to you as you tried to formulate your words quickly to convince him otherwise. You knew you were far away from him, an enemy to him. You pulled in a deep breath as he continued, “Do not approach me with something as trivial as this again.”

“Genji, please, listen, that’s not what I’m trying to say.” You lied, finding it difficult to swallow the lump in your throat. It was almost as if you were trying to lessen the rejection, the blow to your heart. You kept your eyes on him, saying whatever came to your mind. “I am just very concerned about you. Many people are. I’m not saying this because of what all is going on. But I want to be here for you, as a friend-“

“A friend?” His eyes narrowed, visibly irritated by the term.

“Yes.” You powered through. “Look, we may not see eye to eye, but-“

“We are not friends.” He stated indifferently. “We are agents, working for an organization to combat The Omnics. You are a fool to believe that the relationship we share is a genuine camaraderie or anything more.”

“All I’m trying to say is-“ Your voice began to tremble, but you did not let your emotions overwhelm you.

“I am not interested.”

With that, he parted with a hard stare and continued down the hallway. His footsteps and the sounds of metal reverberated on the walls around you, your eyes become glossy at the sight of him leaving. It felt like you were hit by a brick, and you wanted to collapse. You lowered your head, fighting the water you felt forming at the corners of your eyes. Your heart kept beating fast, and you couldn’t tell if it was from his coldness, the rejection, or the adrenaline of you confessing your feelings. Perhaps it was a mixture of all of everything combined.

You held your arm, staring to the ground, defeated, as your tears hit the vinyl floors.

Years following, you had moved on from the hurt of being rejected. Things happened for a reason, and perhaps during that time a relationship would not work anyhow. You shrugged, looking up to a tree with light pink flowers. Rethinking the events of the past often had you more sullen than happy, and you promised you wouldn’t get caught up in the what-ifs. You still remained good friends with the time-traveling adventurer herself, and made new ones after The Fall, grown in more ways than one.

This particular day, you agreed to go out with Lena, as she had a new boutique and café she wanted to show you. Often you occupied yourself with work, but made it your interest to let loose and have a bit of a social life. It wasn’t often you traversed London. The weather was nice, the city was gorgeous, and you found being in her company made you feel a bit better. Stretching just a bit, you smiled before bringing your arms too quickly and hitting something, someone, near you, hard. You were near a group of people in the calmer area of the shopping district, unsure of where your friend had zipped to.

“Ow-!” your bit your lip before cursing something under your breath. “I’m so sorry,” you shook your hand before holding it. “It was an accident, I promise.”

You had hit your arm on metal, that you knew. The pain stung for a second as you straightened your posture again. You moved your fingers to regain feel, getting a good visual of the being before you and spacing yourself to prevent any further mishaps. London was a place of high tension, you knew, and you didn’t want to accidental incite something and make it more than what it was. Your heart sped a bit faster for just a moment, but you could only open your mouth as if to speak as you heard the familiar voice. 

“So, this is what Tracer was excited about.” 

The Shimada looked much different from when you last saw him, and it caused you to stare. You did your best to stop yourself, as you knew it was rude, but his overall appearance fascinated you. In Blackwatch he had so much red, and now, he sported shades of grey and green. He had a complete change, and seeing him so suddenly caught you off guard. You put on a smile and stammered at first, and you could tell he caught wind of your anxiousness being near him again. You were relieved to see him, but also slightly confused as to why he was here. So many emotions hit you at once.

“Tracer told me she would be a moment trying on clothes.” He spoke to you calmly, watching as you found words to speak. “Have I startled you?”

Almost immediately you found yourself saying what came to mind. “N-No, no, you’re fine. I just wasn’t expecting to… See you here–” Oh, no. You felt your face becoming hot again. You didn’t mean it like that; hopefully he wouldn’t take it in the wrong light. You got over the rejection, yes, but now why was your face getting hot again? Did Lena set this thing up? The fact you felt so excited, but also so worried in this setting ate at you. You couldn’t pull your eyes from his new faceplate, and swallowed. Your anxiety wouldn’t ebb from your mind.

To distract yourself, you looked to an open area that had a free table. “Let’s just sit here until Lena is finished.” You immediately started walking, running different things to begin speaking about in the attempts to avoid small talk, to prevent from making it awkward, but your mind wasn’t as quick as you wanted it to be. Genji walked behind you, and closely so, making you even more nervous. You sat down, across from the man, as he was mostly quiet given your new location. What happened to the composure you just had? The calmness? Why did it go out the window?

“I… It’s good to see you again, Genji. I didn’t think I’d see you for… A long while. It has been a long time.” You looked at him and smiled, despite your sudden timidity.  

“Yes, it has been some time since I have spoken with you. Many events have transpired since then. Not many I retain contact with, especially in regards to Blackwatch.” He rested his hands in his lap.

You studied his body, how much of it had truly changed. “I only keep contact with a few. Blackwatch was…” You tried to find the words, but he let you finish. “Something.” Exhaling, you let it off your chest. It perhaps wasn’t the first thing to say when reuniting with a former team member, but you didn’t know what else to say. “Look, I’m… I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have… Said what I did back then. I wanted to reach out to you, but you were going through a lot. It was selfish of me to just… Come to you out of left field.”

“Things were much different back then.” He paused, lowering his head only slightly. It was as if he were recounting and remembering the many things that happened during that time, causing you to narrow your eyes in concern. “Though, I have found peace. Those years ago, it was difficult for me to trust anyone.”

“I’m sorry, Genji,” you found yourself apologizing again with a sigh. “I should’ve known to be more cautious. I really wanted to make sure you were OK.” He turned to you, his bright green visor staring directly at you. He was silent, which prompted you to speak again. “Ah… I am happy that you are doing better now, though.”

“No. I am sorry for hurting you. You were sincere, and I could not see that.”

You weren’t expecting him to say that, and almost choked as you drank from your cup. His voice was soft, sincere. You felt a warmth fill your cheeks and you avoided contact with his visor momentarily. You did your best to ignore the feelings you repressed all of these years, and it made you feel slightly awkward at the fact that he remembered so vividly your confession. “Growing with my Master allowed me to see things in a different way.” 

“N-No, it’s alright.” You forced yourself to laugh as he watched you rub your neck nervously. “Really, it’s fine. It wasn’t that bad,” you admitted, all the while feeing a bit flustered that he apologized. This odd feeling of closure, if it could be called that. You couldn’t stop from blushing, and nodded. “I promise, everything was fine. I understood.”

“Wasn’t that bad? Love, you were crying to me for weeks.” The familiar voice made you close your eyes and exhale through your nose, bringing your fingers to your temples. She placed bags on the table by you with a wide grin. You tried to hide your face and looked in any direction that wasn’t his. “You really liked him, can’t deny that.” She paused, seeing how quickly you become silent. “What?”

Genji turned from her to you, lifting his head slightly as you pushed your chair out and removed yourself from the table. You were happy you weren’t looking right at him and walking away, because your face was on fire from embarrassment.