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goingknowherewastaken · 5 years

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Divine Me A Masterpiece Challenge

♦ About

Welcome to my 1000 follower challenge!!! With there being a lot of seasonal challenges right now I thought I’d do something a little different. I thought that maybe we should get in touch with magic that’s in the air right now ;)

So for this challenge we are looking at tarot! First I’ll go over the rules and expectations, then gloss over tarot, and finally round out this post with the characters and prompts. So let’s get started :D

♦ Rules

To Enter

You must apply through my ask box so no anons. If you are using a side blog and don’t want your main shown to the world tell me so in the ask and I will not post it publicly.

Every entry needs to be inspired by a Major Arcana card and must be focused on a character or ship I listed.

Each card is limited to one person!

Entries must be sent by ask and will be posted publicly!

I have bonus prompts listed at the bottom of this post; you need to use at least one (1) and you are limited to three (3) total! Sentence prompts are all first come, first serve! The majority of the AU prompts have a two person limit.

What your ask should include - the tarot card you wish to claim, the character or ship you wish to write for, and 1-3 of the prompts/AUs I have listed (You need to use at least one from the list).

All angst must have a happy ending and no cis-swapping.

I am accepting - fics, fan art, moodboards, edits, and playlists (you need to make a cover for it).

Note: I work second shift so please don’t panic if I don’t respond in the afternoon/evening hours.

November 24th, 2018 - I currently am just shy of 1000 followers and will not be posting a due date for these until I get 1000 followers. I will tag all who entered when that happens.

When Posting Your Work

All entries are due on February 22nd, 2019. Please do not post before then.

Make sure to list - the character/ship you wrote for, any warnings, and if it is nsfw.

Tell me how you interpreted the card for your work.

Make sure to tag me @goingknowherewastaken and @jiminthestreets-bonesinthesheets (Ashley is my assistant during this challenge)

Please use this tag within the first 5 tags - #DivineMeAMasterpieceChallenge

If your work contains nsfw content please make sure to tag it accordingly.

Please send me the link to your work through my ask box!

♦ About Tarot

We’ve all seen the decks of cards with beautiful designs used for helping find possible answers to questions we may have, but not everyone knows what’s going on with them. I will gloss over the bare minimum of info here, but I encourage you all to read up on tarot if you are unfamiliar with it.

Tarot cards are used for uncovering possible answers to questions we have about our lives - from love to career. Cards can be drawn and placed in a certain layout (spread) and are then read in a specific order. They are meant for enlightenment and what they tell in the spread is not set in stone - they are cards and you can ignore their take if you wish.

There are two ways to read the cards depending on how they appear in a spread - upright and reversed (upside down). If the card is revealed to be right-side up you are to read the card as is and if it is reversed then it’s meaning is reversed.

Depending on the deck, the description of the card can vary slightly, but overall they are similar. Also, the meaning behind the card is affected by the other cards in the spread. For this challenge you will only have to worry about the card you selected.

Because there are in total 78 cards in a standard deck (divided between the Major Arcana and the Minor Arcana), we will only be using the Major Arcana which totals 22 cards.

Please read up more on the card you select!!!!!

The Tarot Cards (the words listed are just brief overviews of the cards that I gathered from Biddy Tarot)

Fool - @haveyouseenmymind

Upright - beginnings, innocence, spontaneity, a free spirit

Reversed - naivety, foolishness, recklessness, risk-taking

The Magician

Upright - power, skill, concentration, action, resourcefulness

Reversed - manipulation, poor planning, latent talents

High Priestess - @frostingsfics

Upright - intuition, higher powers, mystery, subconscious mind

Reversed - hidden agendas, need to listen to inner voice

The Empress

Upright - fertility, femininity, beauty, nature, abundance

Reversed - creative block, dependence on others

The Emperor

Upright - authority, father-figure, structure, solid foundation

Reversed - domination, excessive control, rigidity, inflexibility

Hierophant - @bsotstory

Upright - religion, group identification, conformity, tradition, beliefs

Reversed - restriction, challenging the status quo

Lovers - @the-goddamn-queen

Upright - love, union, relationships, values alignment, choices

Reversed - disharmony, imbalance, misalignment of values

Chariot

Upright - control, will power, victory, assertion, determination

Reversed - lack of control and direction, aggression

Strength

Upright - strength, courage, patience, control, compassion

Reversed - weakness, self-doubt, lack of self-discipline

Hermit - @auduna-druitt

Upright - soul-searching, introspection, being alone, inner guidance

Reversed - isolation, loneliness, withdrawal

Wheel of Fortune - @kjs-s

Upright - good luck, karma, life cycles, destiny, a turning point

Reversed - bad luck, negative external forces, out of control

Justice

Upright - justice, fairness, truth, cause and effect, law

Reversed - unfairness, lack of accountability, dishonesty

Hanged Man

Upright - suspension, restriction, letting go, sacrifice

Reversed - martyrdom, indecision, delay

Death - @captainsbabysitter-blog

Upright - endings, beginnings, change, transformation, transition

Reversed - resistance to change, unable to move on

Temperance

Upright - balance, moderation, patience, purpose, meaning

Reversed - imbalance, excess, lack of long-term vision

Devil - @bookcaseninja

Upright - bondage, addiction, sexuality, materialism

Reversed - detachment, breaking free, power reclaimed

Tower - @haveyouseenmymind

Upright - disaster, upheaval, sudden change, revelation

Reversed - avoidance of disaster, fear of change

Star - @filatarcangelus

Upright - hope, spirituality, renewal, inspiration, serenity

Reversed - lack of faith, despair, discouragement

Moon - @resistance-is-futile81

Upright - illusion, fear, anxiety, insecurity, subconscious

Reversed - release of fear, unhappiness, confusion

Sun - @and-i-cant-resurrect-you

Upright - fun, warmth, success, positivity, vitality

Reversed - temporary depression, lack of success

Judgement

Upright - judgement, rebirth, inner calling, absolution

Reversed - self-doubt, refusal of self examination

World

Upright - completion, integration, accomplishment, travel

Reversed - lack of completion, lack of closure

♦ Characters And Ships

Characters (for reader inserts)

Jim Kirk (AOS)

Leonard McCoy (AOS)

Spock (AOS)

Scotty (AOS or TOS)

Steve Trevor

Steve Rogers

Bucky Barnes

Clint Barton

Bruce Banner

Thor

Peter Quill

Skurge

Owen Grady (Jurassic World)

Nicholas Devereaux (The Princess Diaries 2)

Cinderella’s Prince (Into The Woods)

Bernie Webber (The Finest Hours)

Jack Ryan (Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit)

Toby Howard (Hell Or High Water)

FDR Foster (This Means War)

Dr. Alex Murray (A Wrinkle In Time)

Robert the Bruce (Outlaw King)(I can’t help it he’s too precious with Elizabeth!!)

Eomer

Vaako (The Chronicles of Riddick)

Gavin (Pete’s Dragon)

William Cooper (RED)

John Kennex (Almost Human)

Vincent Stevens (The Loft)

Kirill (The Bourne movies)

Ships

McKirk

WonderTrev

Jim Kirk x Eomer

Jim Kirk x Vaako

Jim Kirk x Scotty (Scirk)

Owen Grady x Charlie Weasley (from Harry Potter)(I know no one will use this ship but I have to have hope ya know?)

WonderKirk

Napollya (Napoleon Solo x Illya Kuryakin from (T.M.F.U.)

Merthur

I have expressed interest in other crossfandom ships in the past that involve one (or some) of the characters listed above so if you have an ship in mind ask me about it and I may grant an exception to it (no sp*rk though so don’t even try that)

♦ Other Prompts

Sentence Prompts (gathered from around tumblr)

“I…think I’m in love?” - @the-goddamn-queen

“Are you scared? Don’t be. ‘ll protect you from today onwards.” @haveyouseenmymind

“It’s crazy, isn’t it? Two complete strangers who know nothing about each other being brought together like this.”

your car slid into a snowbank and i’m the mechanic that comes to tow you

i hate the holidays more than anything in the world and you drive me nuts because you love the holidays more than anything in the world and this is why we aren’t friends (enemies to friends to lovers hello)

i’m constantly dragging all my friends to your hockey games because i think you’re so much fun to watch and i don’t think you’ll ever notice me

you knit me a sweater for christmas and i realize i am in love with you @bsotstory

your birthday lands on christmas so no one ever remembers except this year i’ve asked everyone to delay their holidays to throw you a proper birthday bash

I build a fort in the college courtyard and have been throwing snowballs at people passing by and you are not impressed

our first date is spent walking around our small town holding hands and talking as soft snow falls around us @resistance-is-futile81

I mean life is full of surprises. You could find the love of your life tomorrow, but you could also wake up bald. @the-goddamn-queen

Will you press pause on your SHIT for 5 minutes? @the-goddamn-queen

“Let’s not confuse healthy eating with a hot dog.”

“I’m gonna lay down and die for like a half hour okay?” @auduna-druitt

“So MacGyvering this out of my tuckus right now.” @captainsbabysitter-blog

“I just did some calculations, and I’ve been able to determine that you’re full of shit.” @frostingsfics

“You screw with me, I’ll screw with you.”

“i’m pretty good at providing distractions.”

“Why is there a picture of Steve Buscemi in your bathroom?!”

“These stars are nothing compared to the ones I’ve seen in your eyes.”

“Are you ready to dance with the devil?” @bookcaseninja

hey i just moved into the house next door and i just wanted to let you know that your dog keeps getting into my yard an - wait what? what do you mean that’s a cat????? that’s not a cat it’s fucking huge!!!! (turns out it is a cat, it’s just really big and fat) @haveyouseenmymind

The postal worker delivered your package to my place accidentally and I was expecting something so I totally didn’t look before I opened it and… wow that is um… quite an interesting thing you bought and I’m here to return it

our dogs are in love with each other and it’s making things awkward at the dog park AU

I injured myself doing something stupid at a holiday party and you’re the doctor at the emergency clinic AU

I just moved into a new apartment and went to buy groceries, but I bought more than I could carry back. I’ve stopped to catch my breath when I hear someone asking if I need help and I look up and the sun is literally making you glow like a damn angel. @and-i-cant-resurrect-you

where one person is actually famous and sets up a dating account with their real picture and the other sees it and is like, oh dude you are not fooling anyone with that picture and when they actually meet the other is pissed because DUDE YOU’RE THAT FAMOUS PERSON and the other is like, yeah, i mean, i thought you knew…

i have a soft spot for cats so i always feed the fat one that’s always hanging out in the hall with treats and now it started hanging around me fuck i’m so sorry i didn’t mean to accidentally steal your pet @filatarcangelus

“ur just a random stranger and i’ve been ranting to you for like 20 minutes about how much i hate this one band but now several groups of people came up to you asking for pics and autographs, and oh shit it turns out you’re in the band i’ve been going on about” au

You’re a famous viner and I constantly witness you doing the weirdest things AU

“I went to see you live in concert and was front row and you went into the crowd and I grabbed your hand, but started freaking out so much that I was touching you that I couldn’t let go to the point where security had to physically tear me away from you and now you’ve invited me backstage literally what” AU

AU Prompts (each of these (baring the Soulmate AU) has a two person limit)

Soulmate AU (there will be no limitations on this prompt) - @frostingsfics

A/B/O AU

Shop AU -

Book shop,

flower shop,

bakery,

coffee shop/cafe,

ice cream shop,

boutique/antique store

Professors/Teachers AU

Wings AU - @bookcaseninja

Supernatural Creature(s) AU

vampires,

werewolves,

fey,

shapeshifters,

Ghosts,

demons,

Angels

merpeople

Magic/HP AU - @haveyouseenmymind

Celebrity/Famous Face/Hollywood AU

Fake Relationship AU - @captainsbabysitter-blog

Youtuber/Viner AU

Circus AU - @kjs-s

Roommates AU - @auduna-druitt

Historical AU

Fairy Tail/Disney AU

Spy/Secret Agent AU

Royalty AU - @and-i-cant-resurrect-you

Classic Novel Pride & Prejudice AU

Tagging those interested: @musicmandy1991 (tumblr won’t let me tag you????) @haveyouseenmymind @outside-the-government @tardisoftheshire @bookcaseninja @miraclesoflove @exiledtime @cynically-optomistic @frostedej

#divinemeamasterpiecechallenge #star trek #marvel #wonder woman #tmfu #merlin #wondertrev #mckirk #wonderkirk #jim kirk #bones #napollya #merthur #eomer #i'm just tagging some of the bigger things but not all

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romanosgirl1978 · 5 years

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Lips of an Angel

So this is what happens when I come up with an idea, get no sleep for like a week and get stuck in feels..... so here's an angst fest for a PreRaid!Kennex who is still with Anna. It does go with Hinder’s song. Hope you guys enjoy and beware... hella angst. @fan-grell-411 can attest.

Also _____’s are pov changes.

Word Count- 1060

Warnings-Angst, slight cursing, angst

John groans as he gets out of the bed that he just fell into, heading towards the phone that was ringing.

“John? Who is it baby?” Anna calls from her place at her vanity.

“I don’t know,” he mutters. “But whoever the hell it is better have a good damn reason for calling so late.”

She laughs and his attitude and turns back to her mirror, brushing out her hair.

He smiles at his girlfriend from over his shoulder while reaching for the phone, but the smile drops as soon as he sees the caller.

().

A name he thought he’d never see pop on his phone again.

“Hey, Anna? I’m just gonna step outside and take this. It’s a work thing,” he lies.

“O-okay…” she stutters, watching him worriedly.

He slides the door closed behind him and takes a deep breath before answering the phone.

“Hello?”

_____

“Hello?”

Your breath catches when you hear his voice and your mouth goes dry. Every thought that had been rolling around in your head, the speech that you had practiced so many times today just vanished.

“(). Sweetheart, I know it’s you,” he tells you softly.

Taking a deep breath, you swallow the lump in your throat and talk.

“Hi John,” you barely whisper, flinching at the sound of your own voice. “How… how have you been?” You ask, trying to be as cool and collected as you had planned to be when you first hit the call button, preceded by numerous times of just dialing the number.

He sighs and you can practically see the way he’s rubbing his hand over his forehead. “Honey, why are you calling me so late? What is it you want?”

“I just… I wanted to talk to you,” you tell him, already tearing up.

“Look I can’t really talk, alright? I’m sorry.”

“No… its…. Its okay,” you say, trying to keep the sobs quiet as you hear him talking to you after so long.

“()? Are you crying? What’s wrong?” He asks.

“N-no. I’m fine John. ‘M sorry for bothering you. I shouldn’t… I shouldn’t have called you. Not tonight of all nights.”

“Sweetheart, wait…”

You freeze, thumb hovering over the end button as you chew on your bottom lip, still not strong enough to resist him.

“Look, I’m gonna have to whisper. An… my girlfriend is in the next room… If she knew I was talking to you it wouldn’t be good for anyone.”

“I’m sorry, John. I really shouldn’t have called. I just… i really miss you,” you admit, clutching onto the phone.

He sighs. “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss you too. And it is really good to hear your voice.”

Your hands start shaking and you can feel the tears welling up again. “I keep dreaming about you… about us. It’s like a never ending cycle. It keeps playing in my head,” you cry.

“I know sweetheart. I dream about you too. Have a lot here recently. And I keep thinking that I hear you callin my name. It drives me crazy.”

“Do you think you could…” you swallow the question you so desperately want to ask him but, knowing it’s not fair and that he’s no longer yours, you change it quickly. “Do you think she knows?”

He takes a few seconds before answering. “No, I don’t think she does,” he mutters. “Damn, I didn’t think I still missed you this much, he admits. But I guess being that today would’ve been our-”

“Please don’t say it,” you cut him off, on the verge of yet another breakdown. “It’s bad enough that we never really said goodbye. But if I hear you say that… I don’t think I could take it John.”

“I know baby,” he tries to soothe. “I guess that’s what urged you to call.”

“… Yeah. I’ve… I’ve been crying all day. It hit me so much harder today. I just needed to hear your voice. It’d be better if I could actually see you though,” you try to joke, but your tone makes it fall flat.

“What I wouldn’t give to have you in my arms right now,” he mutters, sounding just as broken as you. “Sometimes, I kinda wish you were still here with me instead of her…” he admits. “And sometimes I swear I still see you walking around my apartment. One blink though… and it’s her again.”

“Do… do you love her? Love her like you love… loved,” you correct, “me?”

You start to get worried when he doesn’t answer.

“John?”

“I’m still here,” he reassures. “And I don’t know. Some days I do, and other days all I can think of is you. But it doesn’t matter,” he says forcefully, more to himself than you, you think. “I’m with her now. And John Kennex do-”

“Doesn’t cheat,” you finish for him. “I remember.”

“I’m sorry. I wish I could stay with you one last time… and dammit this is harder than I thought, but I can’t. I’m with her now. I just can’t ().”

You sigh. “I know John… I just… I just needed to talk to you. One last time. I’m sorry, John,” you say through tears.

“God, I miss you sweetheart. But I can’t. No matter how weak you make me… I couldn’t do that to her. To anyone.”

Biting your lip harshly, you nod and take a deep breath. “I love you, John,” you mutter one last time before hanging up, curling into a ball on your bed, wrapped in one of his old shirts, and desperately trying to control your breathing.

______

John keeps the, now disconnected, phone to his ear and sighs, eyes closed. “I love you too, (),” he mutters before letting his arm drop to the edge of the balcony.

The door slides open behind him and he flinches slightly.

“John? Is everything alright?”

He takes a deep breath and nods before turning around. “Yeah, there was just a paperwork mixup at the precinct.”

“Do you have to go fix it?”

He looks up at Anna, your face flashing before his eyes for just a few seconds until he shakes his head. “Nothing that can’t wait until morning,” he assures. “Let’s get to bed,” he says, smiling softly at her.

She grins back and presses a kiss to his cheek, reaching for his hand. “Good idea, John.”

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musikat18 · 6 years

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MusiKat’s Graduation Challenge!

Hi friends! Welcome to MusiKat’s Graduation Challenge!

I’m FINALLY graduating and moving on to university this June, and to celebrate, I thought I’d throw another writing challenge! The theme for this challenge is one near and dear to my heart, an ever-present force through my entire life AND my senior trip: DISNEY!

Under the cut, you’ll find rules, options for your lovely selves to write from, and a list of characters!

Challenge Parameters

There will be two lists of Disney-themed prompts-- Song Prompts and Quote Prompts, all taken from my FAVORITE Disney animated features. You can select up to three prompts total, just make sure to let me know which ones from the list you’ll be writing~

The deadline for this challenge is June 13th, which is when I leave for my graduation trip. My actual graduation takes place on May 29th, but it’s a holiday weekend here in the States, and this is a busy time of year in general, so I figured it would be a little better to take it a little further into the summer.

If you need an extension, it would be nice to know at least 3 days before the deadline, but if it comes at 11:59 on June 12th, no harm, no foul. XD

This is a Reader Insert challenge, so select ONE character from my list. More than one person can write for a character, but no two people will be writing the same prompt.

I’ll take prompt selection notices whenever, though I suggest you know what you’re writing by early May.

Tag me in your fic and tag it with “musikat’s graduation challenge” for me to reblog! If you feel like it would be safer to send to me directly after posting, as well, feel free to do so as Tumblr can be a little wonky at times.

Song Prompts

A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes-- Cinderella

So This Is Love-- Cinderella

Part of Your World-- The Little Mermaid

Kiss The Girl-- The Little Mermaid

Beauty and the Beast-- Beauty and the Beast (1991)

Something There-- Beauty and the Beast (1991) @flowerbunbunny

A Whole New World-- Aladdin

Can You Feel The Love Tonight-- The Lion King @jeremiahxvaleska

Be Prepared-- The Lion King

Heaven’s Light/Hellfire-- The Hunchback of Notre Dame @bsotstory

I Won’t Say I’m In Love-- Hercules

Go The Distance-- Hercules

Reflection-- Mulan

Honor To Us All-- Mulan

Almost There-- The Princess and The Frog

Dig A Little Deeper-- The Princess and The Frog

Down In New Orleans-- The Princess and The Frog

When Will My Life Begin-- Tangled

I See The Light-- Tangled

Touch The Sky-- Brave @sparkedupsilver

Frozen Heart-- Frozen

Fixer-Upper-- Frozen @kaitymccoy123

How Far I’ll Go-- Moana

Song of the Ancestors (I Am Moana)-- Moana

Know Who You Are-- Moana

Evermore-- Beauty and the Beast (2017) @goingknowherewastaken

How Does A Moment Last Forever-- Beauty and the Beast (2017) @whatthefuxk-richard

On The Steps Of The Palace-- Into The Woods

Agony-- Into The Woods

Moments In The Woods-- Into The Woods @annathewitch

Quote Prompts

“It would be so nice if something would make sense for a change.” @flowerbunbunny

“Start at the beginning. Yes, yes, and when you come to the end, STOP!”

“Well, there’s one thing. They can’t order me to stop dreaming.”

“If you’d lost all your faith, I couldn’t be here. And here I am.”

“What's a royal ball? After all, I suppose it would be frightfully dull, and-and-and boring, and-and completely... Completely wonderful.“

“Yes, it's only in my dreams. But they say if you dream a thing more than once, it's sure to come true, and I've seen him so many times.“

“I just don’t see how a world that makes such wonderful things could be bad.”

“What I want is your voice.”

“She warned him not to be deceived by appearances, for beauty is found within.”

“He’s handsome, alright, and rude and conceited and...he’s not for me.” @annathewitch

“You’re only in trouble if you get caught.”

“I am not some prize to be won!” @kaunis-sielu

“I’m a damsel, I’m in distress, I can handle this. Have a nice day.” @skosmo

“A true hero isn’t measured by the size of his strength, but the size of his heart.”

“People do crazy things when they’re in love.” @kaitymccoy123

“The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all.” @sparkedupsilver

Character A: “Would you like to stay for dinner?” Character B: “WOULD YOU LIKE TO STAY FOREVER?” @sydneyactuallysteve

“Um...you...you fight good.” @yallneedtrek

“I’m not a princess! I’m a waitress!” @im-not-insane-im-a-fangirl

“Listen here, mister. This stick in the mud has had to work two jobs her whole life while you've been sucking on a silver spoon chasing chambermaids around your - your ivory tower!” @im-not-insane-im-a-fangirl

“But he had what he needed. He had love. He never lost sight of what was really important.” @whatthefuxk-richard

“I didn't want to have to do this, but you leave me no choice. Here comes the smolder.“ @musicmandy1991

“I should have given it to you before, but I was scared. And the thing is, I'm not scared anymore. You know what I mean?“ @kjs-s

“The only frozen heart around here is yours.“ @im-not-insane-im-a-fangirl

“No! Why? Why do you shut me out? Why do you shut the world out? What are you so afraid of?“

“Are you just trying to get me to talk about myself? Because if you are... I will gladly do so.“

“I'm his mom. I don't have to tell him anything.“

“I'm the village crazy lady. That's my job.“ @bsotstory

“I was raised to be charming, not sincere.“ @whatthefuxk-richard

“You've changed. You're daring. You're different in the woods.“

Character List

Star Trek (AOS)

Jim Kirk

Leonard “Bones” McCoy

Pavel Chekov

Spock

Scotty

Uhura

Star Wars

Finn

Poe Dameron

Rey

Obi-Wan Kenobi

Luke Skywalker

Han Solo

Padme Amidala

Leia Organa

Marvel

Steve Rogers

Thor Odinson

Bucky Barnes

Loki

Peter Parker

Wanda Maximoff

Natasha Romanoff

T’Challa

M’Baku

Nakia

Okoye

Shuri

Skurge

Peter Quill

Clark Kent

Bruce Wayne

Diana Prince

Steve Trevor

Kara Danvers

Barry Allen

Arthur Curry

Zari Tomaz

Amaya Jiwe

Sara Lance

Ray Palmer

Pine Characters

Jack Ryan

Nicholas Deveraux

Cinderella’s Prince

Jake Hardin

Danny

FDR Foster

Rex Hanson

Urban Characters

Black Hat

John Kennex

Gavin Magary

Cupid

Vaako

William Cooper

Joseph Dredd

Harry Ballard

Eomer

John “Reaper” Grimm

Kirill

#musikat speaks #musikat's graduation challenge #challenge announcement

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frubeto-writing · 6 years

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probably the 6824560347th ‘Dorian goes crazy’ fic nobody asked for. written pretty much at the beginning of the series.

read on ao3

He’s being moved. No. Someone is touching him. Lifting his head. Inspecting his bonds. Unsure of their intentions, he starts up audio systems. “-orian?” “He’s not reacting.” “What’s wrong?” “Maybe just conversing energy, he must be running low.” “Can you get these off?” “Working on it.” “What the hell did they do to him?” “Dorian, come on.” He wants to answer, but all that comes out is a distorted sound that probably hurts human ears. Maybe he rushed that. He checks his status and reloads speech protocols. “Jo--hn.” “Hey. You alright?” “Hm.” He takes on visual next. That at least is going smoothly and he’s greeted by the sight of John’s boots as he opens his eyes. “Good, you’re back. Can you move?” “Wait.” He makes sure everything runs stably, then carefully executes the necessary commands. “Rebooting motor control no--ow.” But as soon as it’s online he’s bombarded by alerts. Short-circuits, excess voltages, non-responsive units – He would have to compensate for all of those. He groans. Then scrunches up his face in something akin to pain as his arms instinctively move to shelter his body and that alone is enough to cause another crash. There’s a hand on his shoulder, and someone is talking to him, but he isn’t listening, too busy ensuring nothing else goes down with it. “Dorian?” “Motor control is still offline. Along with 38 of my other syste--ems. I don’t have the power to keep i--it running.” And even though he can’t move his face there’s a smile in his voice when he adds, “You’re gonna have to carry me.”

It starts with an unauthorized access to his memory files. He stops. They’re about to storm a hideout they spent days tracking down and he really doesn’t have time for this. “You okay?” “It’s nothing,” he says. And that’s what he tells himself as he puts the memory back where it came from and initiates a diagnostic scan. John hesitates for a second but trusts Dorians judgment. He motions for him to lead the way in and Dorian nods and takes off. It’s no more than a few corridors later, however, when his memory starts malfunctioning again. He’s back in that room, his sensors showing nothing but the rough outline of the walls, a shockwave traveling through his body, interrupting various systems on its way up. He closes his eyes and internally gives them a kick the same way John will sometimes hit his tech when it’s acting up and, miraculously, it works in both cases. He’s relieved, but he also knows he might have lost more time than acceptable, and when he opens his eyes again, John has moved forward. The lights have dimmed, there’s bits of broken glass on the floor and shots are being fired. “Dorian!” He adjusts the grip on his gun and takes cover. “There’s seven of them, coming from northeast, I’m coordinating with the other teams.” “Why thank you.” Dorian tries to ignore him. Until the fire does down for a moment to give them a momentary chance. He looks up and finds John already in position. “Cover me!” he orders, and before Dorian can object he’s gone. So he gets up, fires in the direction of the attackers, and it’s all going well until he wants to readjust his aim and notices his hand shaking, target acquisition failing subsequently. He sees John move up to their left, grips the gun tighter and tries again, but everything is happening terribly fast and he’s already hesitated too long. John is falling with the next shot and he ducks down once more as his cover comes under fire. He can’t get up. The diagnostic comes up empty and he starts another one. Because there’s a chance that it’s a virus, a short-circuit, a malfunction in his subroutines that’s causing this. That it’s anything but himself. Because he can’t get up. He wants to, to help John like he’s done many times before, because that’s his job, to protect his partner, no matter the threat, but he just can’t. Every biochemical muscle in his body is tense but he can’t get a single one of them to move. So he stays where he is, sitting on the ground, hiding, staring ahead, not making any progress until the noise ends, the immediate danger is past and he relaxes slightly.

He doesn’t know how much time has passed. He’s vaguely aware of movement around him, but he can’t get face or even object recognition to run, so the visual feed remains unprocessed. It’s probably for the best, because he wouldn’t know what to do with the additional data anyway. Something is definitely wrong. And the fact that he can’t even figure out what only alarms him further. He’s never realized until now how much he’s mentally distanced himself from the idea of ‘going crazy’, but of course it’s never left the back of his mind either. What if-? The second scan completes and with the deallocated RAM, another thing comes back to mind. John. He scrambles to his feet and – after some difficulty – makes his way to the exit. There’s lots of people still running around, but he’s only scanning for one face and when he finds the match, it’s in a nearby ambulance. He’s talking to another officer while his right arm is being bandaged, but as soon as he spots him, he shrugs them both off, stalks over to him and uses his good arm to shove him against the wall with an unexpected force. “What the hell was that?!” He can feel the pressure on his chest that seems like it would crush a human ribcage. It feels like John is putting his entire strength into it. Like he doesn’t even care if he hurts him. And he wants to apologize, and explain himself, that he was not in full control, that he would never let this happen under normal circumstances, that there was a minor malfunction and that he should just drop him off at Rudy’s and he’ll be fine by tomorrow morning, but before he can form a coherent sentence, John interrupts him. “You know what? Forget it. I don’t wanna hear it,” he hisses, then pulls him forward by his shirt and bangs him back against the wall fast enough that the vibrations throw him off balance for a moment. Someone is next to him in an instant, helps him up and offers him a ride back to the precinct. But he declines absentmindedly and walks off in a random direction. He needs time to think. And maybe the cold night air will help clear his mind. It doesn’t. There’s no hardware problem to be found, meaning this has to be his programming. And now John is pissed off, so who knows if they will even bother trying to repair him instead of just shutting him down and reusing his parts to make a segway. This has been his last chance, John has finally started to trust him and he goes and gives him one fantastically good reason not to. How could he have been so stupid? He should have gone to Rudy at the first sign of trouble. Now he’s already lost control and he feels like he’s spiraling further away from himself with every step. He turns a corner and barely avoids stumbling over his own feet.

His phone rings and he snatches it from the table before letting himself fall onto the couch. “Kennex.” “Is Dorian with you?” He harrumphs and stretches his leg on the table. His whole body is still aching and the last person he wants to talk to right now is Rudy. “No.” There’s a short pause on the other end, then: “Maybe you should… look for him? I- I heard what happened, and I’m worried. I’m not sure he should be alone right now.” John stays silent. “He deactivated his locator chip, and… well you two do stuff together all the time, I thought maybe you know where he’d go?” Rudy sounds genuinely troubled, so he considers it and does actually come up with a few possibilities. He sighs. “Fine,” he says, “I’ll go.”

When he finds him, he’s sitting on a bench not far from their usual noodle place, knees drawn up, eyes closed, and face looking like an intense multiplayer version of snake. John calls his name and he jumps. When Dorian looks up, John’s face says ‘what is going on’ as clear as any words could. On second thought, maybe there were words. He isn’t sure. “I don’t know,” he answers anyway, and regrets it immediately. “It’s nothing.” He gets up, can’t seem to find his balance, stumbles backwards. “It’s nothing I’m sure I can get this sorted out, I’m fine I-” His side makes contact with a wall, and he’s vaguely grateful. “please just-… please.” John follows him. “Whoah, hey, you need to calm down, close some tabs or something. You’ll blow a fuse.” So he knows. Of course he knows. He has probably been warned this would happen. Everyone has only been waiting for it. He’s a liability, as he’s just proved, and they will be happy to replace him with a trusty MX. The experiment has failed again. And now they send John to come collect him. How sensible. He lets himself slide down to the ground and shelters his head with his hands. “I meant...”John groans as he realizes what is happening. “I meant that literally.” He looks down on the hunched figure before him and shakes his head. He should call Rudy. Let him pick Dorian up himself and see what he can do for him. And return to his couch. Instead he curses his own sense of responsibility and consciously unclenches his jaw as he lets himself fall into a squat in front of his partner. Dorian flinches. And there it is again. This sudden impalpable feeling that something is… off. Because he’s never seen Dorian seriously afraid of something, except- He blinks. “You won’t be decommissioned.” It comes out more confident than he feels, but the lack of reaction is enough to let him know he’s onto something. It makes sense, with everything Dorian told him. About how much he wants to be a cop, and how he’s his only chance. His outburst earlier probably sent a clear message, and he almost regrets being that hard on him, but he did get him shot, and his anger will not fade before the pain does. He takes a deep breath and sits down next to him, trying to remember what Rudy said about the DRNs. ‘Breaking Point’ is what he called it. Said that it was basically a human defect, not a technical one. So he runs his fingers through his hair and resolves to approach this as such. “I’m still angry, I’m not gonna lie. And you fucked up big time. But that doesn’t mean I don’t still prefer you to any of those MX.” Dorian visibly tries to process the new information, but doesn’t seem to have the capacities left to arrive at any conclusions. “I’m malfunctioning,” he finally manages. “What’s wrong?” John presses, and Dorian shakes his head. “I don’t know.” He hears John sigh and there’s a definite pause before he says, “You’re the only one who can get close to knowing what it’s like inside your head. Tell me something you do know.” And Dorian wants to make a joke, knows he normally would, like telling a random useless fact, or that he disapproves of Johns way to make pancakes, but he can’t. So he agrees to let John lead this and searches for the first warning that comes up. “CPU usage is at 98%.” “That explains the lightshow. What’s taking up that much computation time?” It’s a simple question and he makes the query before thinking about whether it’s a good idea to actually answer. “Synthetic soul subroutines.” “Alright,” John says, trying to think of a way to help, “Well can’t you just… end some processes and focus on the essentials?” The response he gets is so close to the standard error sound he has to actively remind himself that he’s not remote diagnosing a stubborn PC. He’s about to make another suggestion when Dorian interrupts him. “My thoughts are… looping. Everything is. Everything usually is, but this is… worse. And I can’t break it and it’s only getting more, and you’re right I can’t keep this up, my core temperatures are already hitting critical levels, systems will start overheating and I can’t stop it, I can’t stop this, I- I don’t understand what’s happening!” “Hey.” John instinctively shuffles closer to him and presses his hand against his back in an effort to ground him. He’s definitely warmer than usual, and he’s also started shivering subtly. This isn’t good. “Focus. Try to focus on me, okay?” He’s slightly out of his depth so he just keeps massaging circles into his back, hoping that he’s helping. And it seems to work, because Dorian leans into him and the shivers subside after a while. He runs his free hand down his face and looks around. There’s not many people still on the street, yet it’s not the most comfortable place to have this conversation. Dorian leaves him little choice however. “I’m going crazy aren’t I.” It’s not voiced like a question, even though it is, really. And John doesn’t know the answer, and says as much. “I don’t know where they draw the line between human crazy and android crazy,” he adds, knowing fully well that a few months ago, he wouldn’t have cared. “What do you mean?” “Well. We all have our breaking points. Maybe this is just a very human reaction to everything that’s happened.” He doesn’t seem convinced. Neither is John, but he doesn’t know how to continue his arguments without more information, so he plays another hunch. “This is about the kidnapping, right?” Dorian lifts his head. “How-” “I’m a detective, remember?” John smiles, then explains, “That one time in the elevator. Interrogation rooms, narrow hallways- I saw you get uncomfortable. I should’ve said something. I’m sorry.” He expects Dorian to object and is ready to explain that it’s as much his job to look after him as it is the other way around, but there’s only silence. He lets it sit for a while, before quietly asking. “Tell me what happened. When we went in.” “Why?” “You can’t solve this on your own, apparently. So you need new input. That’s what we do when we have problems, we talk about it, get a second opinion, another perspective. Maybe we can figure out what’s going on together.” Dorian looks at him for a long moment and John begins to question whether he’s still trying to process the information or just debating what to tell him. Eventually, he answers. “My sensors went offline. Visual, sound,… everything except proximity sensors.” “Okay. Why?” “I ran a diagnostic, no malfunction,” he says while he waits for the appropriate files to load. “...Logs say I shut them down.” There’s confusion in his eyes, but it slowly turns to panic and John knows he needs to get him back to simpler questions. “Why not all?” “What?” “You said almost all sensors went out.” “Yes.” “So why not all?” “I don’t -” He stops himself as he realizes that’s only technically true. “When I was held in that room. Waiting for you. That’s how I… I shut down everything non-essential. I kept proximity online.” “You’re seeing a connection.” “The structure of the buildings is similar.” John looks like that made perfect sense to him, but Dorian still struggles. And the more the thinks about how this could be affecting him this much, the more details of his captivity resurface. “I was-… When I’m shut down I’m practically dead. I’m… gone.” He shakes his head. “I wasn’t, in that room. I was thinking. I was left to my own devices with no external input, that’s worse, I had to keep going, not knowing if-” He stops abruptly, his eyes clenching shut as several systems start to stutter again. “Shit!” “Dorian?” John looks up to see him jumping up and spinning around. At least his colloquialism routine is definitely back online. “Why is this happening?!” He’s running his fingers though his hair and then his face goes blank as he focuses on getting things back to normal. John uses the moment to get up himself and slowly approach him. He’s afraid that the last 15 minutes of sitting in the cold will be in vain if Dorian panics again now. But then he turns around and looks at him pleadingly. “Help me.” He’s still scared, but John seems to at least have regained his trust. So he takes Dorians shoulder carefully with one hand and reaches for his phone with the other. “Okay. Let me call Rudy first.” But he immediately backpedals when he sees Dorian tense up at the mention. “I’ll just let him know you’re with me. He’s been worried. Then we’ll get you somewhere quieter, you do some memory compression or whatever it is you do and we’ll let Rudy check you out tomorrow, alright? He’ll know how to help.” He waits for Dorian to slowly nod his approval before he adds, “Unless you rather want to see him now?” Expectedly, he shakes his head and John nudges him in the direction of the car. “Alright, you can stay at my place if you want to.” “Really?” John rolls his eyes. He’ll probably regret this later. “Really.”

#Almost Human #John Kennex #Dorian #I wrote something can you imagine

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bkwrm523 · 6 years

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I promised myself that I'd ask this if my last round of biopsies came back positive, and not only are they positive but the cancer is accelerating. It's not painful except the scars, and it's not deadly as long as I keep getting the cancer cut out, but it is genetically linked and will continue for the rest of my life. It's healthy to cry it out about stuff like this, but I usually find myself managing other people's reactions. Urban pack or Cas hc on them helping a partner break down please?

I’m so sorry you got bad news, hon *hugs*

Leonard -

Leonard would want to make sure you’re getting the best care. If your doctor isn’t someone he knows, he’s going to be looking into their qualifications and double checking everything they do. Unless you make him stop because he’s driving the doctors crazy.

He’s going to want to be there for you; help you stay strong, maybe have some more suggestions on lifestyle changes that’ll help. And when you’re not looking, he’s going to be doing some research into your situation, try and see if he can come up with a better treatment for you.

Kennex -

John’s scared. This isn’t something he can protect you from. He can help you with bills, but that’s about the extent of what he knows. He’s probably going to get a bit overprotective of you for awhile; it might be best to insist he get a little education on your situation to discourage his more absurd demands.

Vascar -

Vascar feels helpless. This isn’t a situation he was prepared for. And he doesn’t quite know what to do about it. It’s probably a good idea to take him to one of the doctor’s appointments with you, assuming you’re comfortable with that. He’ll be on his best behavior and have a lot of questions. Mostly, he wants to know what he can do to make things easier for you.

#ask #urban reactions #maydayfigment

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theblueharlequin · 3 years

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Chapters: 20/20 Fandom: Almost Human Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Dorian/John Kennex Characters: John Kennex, Dorian (Almost Human), Valerie Stahl, Sandra Maldonado, Richard Paul, Rudy Lom, Maria Pelham, Marty Pelham Jr. Additional Tags: Case Fic, Night shift - Freeform, Interdepartmental cooperation, Snark as a primary method of communication, Multiple DRNs, Robot Rights, Living Together, Departmental intrigue, First Kiss, First Time Series: Part 1 of One of the Crazy Ones Summary:

A kidnapping case turns personal when someone takes exception to the LAPD's involvement. Or maybe it's John and Dorian they don't like. John doesn't care what their problem is, he just wishes they'd stop trying to kill him--until he doesn't, because having an active threat against his life makes Dorian his 24/7 bodyguard.

#Almost Human #John Kennex #Dorian #jorian #almost human fic rec #fic rec

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hailbop1701 · 3 years

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ReaperXFem!Reader

Doom: To Hell And Back

Epilogue: Pinky Promise?

*Gasp!* two in one night/day?! Here it is everyone the final chapter! I promise this time. Next we'll have to see what happens with Reaper!Kennex and his Guardian Angel! 😘

Happy New Year my loves! Let's make it a good one this time, eh?

-H❤🖖

Seven Years Ago:

Mission: Classified

Location: Classified

Your breath came out in cool white puffs as you ran through the snow-covered forest. A small child gripped onto your coat as you bobbed and weaved through the trees. She babbled in Russian tears streaming down her cheeks, she screamed as gunshots followed you.

Huffing you skidded to a halt at the edge of a cliff, snow and rocks tumbled to the icy river below. The little girl whimpered and shook in your arms,

“It’s gonna be okay sweetie,” you whispered hoping to convey reassurance. Bullets whizzed past you making you duck and turn so the child didn’t get hit. The angry shouts spurred on the crazy idea that you had been mulling over.

“Here goes nothing,” you growled and jumped off the cliff.

You gasped at the cold biting into you, the breath in your lungs flew out of you like air out of a balloon. Holding onto the little girl you broke the surface of the churning river; the girl coughed and spluttered, her teeth chattering. “Crow!” a few voices shouted, looking over you saw your team running alongside the bank trying to desperately figure out how you fish you from the freezing water. Dipping under the water again you barely felt the hand that grabbed the back of your vest. Breaking the surface you took a deep breath, the girl screamed and cried in fear. Coughing you did the best to shush and soothe her, “It’s-it’s okay,” your teeth chattered. Multiple hands pulled you from the icy water and dragged you to the bank of the river.

Your CO leaned over you with an amused crooked smile on his lips, “Did you really have to disappear like that?” he asked with a raised eyebrow. You snorted a hysterical laugh, “Siberia Hunter, I needed to become a ghost,”

Hunter grunted and shook his head, “Warn me next time will yeh?”

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

One Year after Olduvai

Mission: Survive

Location: Classified

You watched the crowd casually, your sundress a pop of color against your skin. The coffee set in front of you had long since gone cold. Dark hazel eyes watched you from across the table,

“What John?” you asked with a sigh rolling your head in his direction. John smirked tapping the bistro table with a single finger. He didn’t say anything, just watched you like you the most fascinating thing in the world.

“John,” you grumbled and the man sat up from his slouching position. “You’re leaving,” he whispered, he didn’t phrase it like a question. There were no anger, malice, or accusations in his tone; just sadness. You winced anyway heart cracking a fraction, swallowing you looked down at your forgotten coffee.

“I have to,” you mumbled, the cafe awning did nothing to combat the heat that surrounded you. John gritted his teeth, “You don’t,” he ground out frustration evident.

You shot him a look, “John it’s dangerous when we’re together, we’ve almost been caught four times in the past six months.” you hissed leaning forward. He followed your actions so you were inches apart; there was a fire in his eyes and he didn’t want to let go. He deflated in defeat when your words rang true. You brushed a strand of hair off of his forehead, “Get a haircut,” you advised making him chuckle and shake his head. Smiling you leaned over the table, placing a gentle kiss on his forehead, “I’ll miss you,” you whispered.

John cupped your cheek eyes searching yours, “Promise I’ll see you again,”

You grinned at him and held out your pinky, John snorted another laugh before intertwining his pinky with yours. “Promise. You’re my best friend John, I need you in my fucked up life,” you snickered. The man in front of you grinned back at you, “Yeah we need to make a club,” he groused with a roll of his eyes. Your hands fell apart as you stood, “We’ll make t-shirts,” you joked grabbing your back. John looked sad again as he watched you round the table to his side, “We’ll see each other again,” you kissed his head again. You drifted into the crowd easily getting lost within it. You had both promised each other a long time ago that you would never say “Goodbye,”

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

Five Years after Olduvai: Present Day

Mission: Destroy remaining ARKS

Location: Egypt

You scowled behind the black cloth that covered your mouth as the sandstorm continued. “How much longer?” you shouted over the wind. Your contact held up five fingers as he primed the charges. Setting your jaw you squinted out toward Cairo, ‘God I hope Cooper is still doing his damn job,’ you prayed silently. Looking back down the stone corridor again you saw that your contact and demo expert run toward you holding his baseball cap in place with one hand. “Oh this so illegal,” he squealed, running past you to get to the camels as fast as possible. Rolling your eyes you silently follow him only stumbling forward as a blast rocked the giant Sphynx. “Sorry, buddy, greater good and all that,” you sighed as stone crumbled down from the monument. You hefted yourself onto the camel just as your phone buzzed,

“Hello,”

“(Y/N),” Hunter’s voice made you freeze, and your breath quicken. “Hunt wha-” you scrambled to figure out what was wrong. The man shushed you easily, “I’m fine, kid but it’s John,”

You choked, “Is he hurt again? I-” you gasped out directing your camel to the city, making it go as fast as it could. You remembered when John got hurt a couple of years ago, his coma made you a wreck. You hated yourself for leaving again the way you did but you overstayed your welcome and your job of making sure he was taken care of was done. His bloodwork modified and his prosthetic paid for. Your heart pounded in your ears, eyes stinging with tears and sand.

Hunter took a breath, “He’s fine. The UAC, they know where he is. They sent contract killers,” you growled into the phone, the low rumble in your chest made Hunter chuckle nervously. “I’ll be there as soon as I can,”

“I know you will kiddo, usual paperwork is in the terminal. Locker 170-I, code is your birthday,”

You hung up the phone and abandoned your camel on the outskirts of the city with an affectionate pat and a kind family. Dumping your phone you headed straight for the airport with one person on your mind.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

Five Years After Olduvai: Present Day

Mission: Live

Location: “The City”

John clutched his mug of coffee like it was a lifeline, the hot liquid warmed his hands as the snow fell in big flakes. “ The report on the last body indicates that the woman was completely drained of her blood and she was displayed in a public place for several hours before anyone noticed that she was really dead,” a voice piped up from beside him. John hummed at his android partner Dorian before taking a tentative sip of his coffee, “That’s just what we need, another serial killer,” he grumbled sarcastically into his cup.

Dorian opened his mouth to sass back but John had abruptly stopped in his tracks. The man spun around looking at his surroundings, coffee forgotten on the ground, a distinct smell filled his nose. A scent he would recognize anywhere. Oranges, old books, and jasmine, “(Y/N)” he whispered scanning the crowd. He caught a glimpse of what he thought was you but you seemed to disappear like a mirage,

"John, you okay man?" Dorian placed a gentle steady hand on John's shoulder dragging him out of his trance. The scent of you faded away like a pleasant dream, "I'm okay, just thought I saw an old friend," he whispered sadly. Pulling off Dorian's worried hand he continued leaving the empty coffee mug on the ground. 'What would I do for you?' He asked himself sourly the image of you laughing entering the forefront of his mind.

You looked down from a rooftop heart racing. Two bodies lay at your feet heads twisted at an unnatural angle. Tearing your eyes away from John you eyed the city wall and then glanced down at the dead men, "What I would do for you?" you asked tiredly.

"I would do everything,"

The echo of two voices floated across the city, only to be heard by the falling snow.

Tags:

@thottiewithashotgun

@lauraaan182

@writerdee1701

@dw-writes

@marvelouslytrekking

@stileslover13-blog

#doom 2005 #john grimm #john grimm x reader #reaper x reader #reader insert #hailey the queen of typos

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hailbop1701 · 3 years

Text

Down The Rabbit Hole

John Kennex/OC

KennexWhump!

Hello, my loves! I have another request here from @zecklein! I really, really hope I did good and that you like it. This actually my first whump fic so it took me a while.

The city abuzz with activity despite the late hour. The sound of a persistent ringing broke the peace in the previously quiet apartment. A soft groan blindly reached over to grab the offending object off of the coffee table. “Speak and it better be good,” came an irritated female voice. “Sorry detective, we have another scene for you,” a voice said softly over the line. Another groan and the woman slowly moved off the couch, “Thanks Lewis, gimme the address and I’ll be right over.” she whispered tiredly. A soft chuckle echoed from the phone, “fall asleep on the couch again Thea?”

Thea scowled, “no,” she lied and winced at the crick in her neck and the shooting pain in her shoulder. Lewis paused hesitating, “the killer crossed districts,” he said as Thea sniffed at her laundry hunting for something clean. She froze holding a pair of jeans halfway to her nose, “You’re shitting me. He’s back, he’s been dormant for months! Same M.O. the same?” she asked. Lewis sighed, “Yes, and don’t get too crazy on this,” he scolded. Thea scowled putting her phone on speaker, “When am I not crazy?” she asked, pulling on the pair of jeans. She could practically see Lewis rolling his eyes, “How about all the damn time. Not a lot of people can work with you,” he said patiently.

Thea grabs a shirt that hung over the railing to the stairs that lead up to her bedroom, “I got nothin’” she said, pulling it over her head quickly. A huffed laugh made her smile, “I sent you the address and Max is waiting for you downstairs with coffee,” Lewis chuckled. “Oh Lewis if you weren’t gay I’d think you were being sweet on me,” she purred before hanging up. Pulling on her boots and shrugging on her cheap faux leather jacket Thea grabbed her bag and was out the door. She was ten feet from her door when she remembered she forgot her gun, “Oh it’s gonna be that kind of day,” she muttered, turning on her heels to go back.

A solid fifteen minutes and ten flights later; “the damn elevator is broken, really?” Thea was grumpily stalking over to her waiting MX. “Good morning detective,” he said in his usual monotone, Thea huffed and took the coffee he held out to her. “Not really Max,” she quipped back, getting into the driver's seat. Max tilted his head and moved to the passenger side after closing her door, “You’re blood pressure is unusually high, are you alright detective?” Max asked, looking at her like an over-talkative X-Ray machine. Thea wrinkled her nose and shifted in her seat, “I’m just tired Max, and maybe the fact that the killer I’ve been working so hard to catch has decided to meander over to a different district after taking a six-month-long cat nap!” she growled not taking her eyes off the road. Max was quiet for a moment as if he were thinking of the right words to say, “I pulled up the file on the detective you are working with,” he said with a blink of his eyes. Tightening her grip on the steering wheel Thea let out a breath; she picked up her coffee and took a long sip, “Okay, give it to me,”

Max looked ahead, “Detective John Kennex, 41 years of age. He has a successful career and he is single-” he said but stopped when Thea waved her hand, “What are you-stop. No, don’t even think about it,” she said whining. Max looked over at his human pointedly, “You are increasing in age detective Redding. It would serve to be in your best interest to procreate at-'' Thea screeched cutting off the android again, “No Max, you need to stop doing this shit! God, you’re worse than my mother!” she yelled. The MX closed his mouth and kept silent, the silence made Thea relax a little. “I can’t believe I got the MX who might have a personality, I blame the lightning that hit you last year,” she muttered, picking up her coffee again.

Max opened his mouth but closed it again with an audible click. After sitting in traffic a moment too long Thea turned on the siren and proceeded to drive up onto the sidewalk. Finishing her coffee in one long swig, she rolled down her window and tossed it in a garbage can as it passed by. Max turned his head to stare at her for a long moment, face void of emotion but Thea knew the look he was giving her anyway. It read, ‘really?’

“Don’t you fucking judge me, mister let me set you up with a murder victim’s husband,” Thea said pointing a finger. Max looked away again, “We are coming up on our destination,” he warned as Thea turned into a relatively abandoned parking lot. “Really? damn, I didn’t know that,” she said putting the vehicle into park. Thea got out of the car and strode over to where numerous CSI milling around with their arms crossed. She moved through the holographic police tape and nodded at the officer who had waved her on; knowing Max was right there she held out a hand for some gloves and they promptly appeared. Pulling them on Thea stopped by one of the two bodies, squatting down she checked the neck first. “No ligatures,” she whispered with a sigh.

“See John, I told you that you made a wrong turn.” a smooth voice echoed from behind Max. “I was just taking a detour!” another voice shot back. Thea rolled her eyes and held out her hand again, a penlight was dropped into it. She gently pulled open the dead woman’s mouth to peer inside, “Nothing obstructing the airway, and…” Thea turned the victims head to check behind the left ear, “the killer’s signature. Just perfect the asshole got brave and hunted outside his comfort zone,” she muttered. Standing up Thea turned around to see two men bickering close by, one android and one detective who was kinda cute. In a grumpy, ruffled kind of way. Thea cleared her throat looking at the two with raised eyebrows, “Murder in your own district and I beat you to the scene?” she joked testing the waters. The cute one opened his mouth to retort but was elbowed by the DRN in the ribs.

Max scrunched his eyebrows together, “But detective Redding you drove fifteen miles over the speed limit and then cut traffic by driving on the sidewalk,” he said matter of factly. A snort of laughter from Kennex made her eye twitch. Pinching the bridge of her nose and looking at the ground Thea pointed to the car, “begone you oversized lightning rod, you’ve lost crime scene privileges.” she said flatly. The MX hesitated before striding over to the car and getting into the passenger seat. Looking up again she saw that Kennex’s android had a hand covering his mouth to keep from laughing. Kennex laughed openly, not caring what so ever, “he’s such a handful,” Thea muttered with an eye roll. She held out her hand, “Detective Thea Redding. Sorry that this guy came into your neck of the woods, he’s been dormant for six months and I guess he wanted a change of scenery,” she said with a wince. The other detective took Thea’s hand; his engulfing hers, “John Kennex and that disco ball is Dorian. This is the twelfth body?” he asked letting go.

Thea huffed, “Yeah, he officially turned into a serial killer at body three and four. Married couple. What’s strange about the killings though is that they die of asphyxiation but they aren’t strangled and they didn’t choke on anything, and the tox screens come back normal. We’ve been working on going through each victim's histories hoping to find a connection between them but so far nothing besides the obvious,” she said nodding towards the wedding rings on each victim's left hands. She turned the dead woman to the side again and showed them the small carving behind the woman’s left ear. A heart.

“A heart?” Kennex asked, looking at Thea questioningly and she nodded lips in a thin line. The sun had come up by now and people who were walking by were starting to linger. Thea looked into the crowd with narrowed green eyes, “He’s meticulous but he seems random, I know for a fact that he’s not. I managed to narrow him down to a specific area then he disappeared, and now he’s outside his hunting grounds.” she ranted in frustration stepping aside letting the M.E. get to the body. “Maybe you were getting too close, were there any close calls?” Kennex asked almost reassuringly. Thea bit her lip and nodded, “Yeah the Pier. I managed to track him back to one of his dens. He managed to get there first and torched it. I saw him, sort of. Too much smoke and the flames were too big. I ran after him anyway and got shot in the shoulder for my trouble,” she said glaring at the growing crowd behind the police barrier. Dorian winced, “I’m guessing that’s when he disappeared?” he asked and Thea nodded and patted her pockets when her phone rang, she pulled it out of her back pocket and walked away to a quiet corner.

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Kennex looked at the crowd that gathered outside the police line, “Dorian do a scan, see if anything pops up.” he said quietly the android nodded and quickly recorded and scanned the crowd, names popping and saved for later. “What do you think?” Dorian asked looking over at him. John shrugged, “ I’m not sure yet. I do know she’s close to this one, it’s personal for her now-”

“No, not the case! I was talking about detective Redding herself!” Dorian interrupted smiling. John looked at his partner with a raised eyebrow, “What about her?” he asked, quickly turning his eye to the crime scene. Dorian’s lips twitched into a smirk, “I saw how you looked at her. And your heart rate increased when you shook her hand, not to mention your tes-” John whipped his head around and clapped a hand over Dorain’s mouth. “Don’t you even dare. Plus you promised to never do that again!” he hissed. Dorian held up his hands in surrender. John took his hand off Dorian’s mouth as Thea walked back to them pushing her phone into her back pocket, “I got word from my tech guy. On the last body, there was a cell phone, it didn’t belong to the VIC and it had some crazy encryption and obviously, it has taken them months to get into it. The thing is, it unlocked by itself,” she said shoving her hands into her jacket pockets with a deep frown on her face. John cleared his throat after he realized he was staring too long, “what did they find?” he asked, crossing his arms, “a single voicemail. They said they sent it to your precinct.” Thea said with a sigh. A CSI walked up to her side and handed over some evidence bags, “thanks,” she whispered, taking them and tech nodded before rushing off.

“Do you mind if I get a ride with you? I want Max to take these back to-'' Thea stopped when she saw John and Dorian’s faces, “You named your MX?” John asked with a surprised laugh and Thea nodded almost sheepishly. “Yeah, it sort of just happened, and then it stuck. He was struck by lightning and became like a Jewish mother,” she said grimacing. John opened his mouth to say something smart but he just couldn’t come up with anything, “Wow,” he muttered running a hand through his hair. “We’ll wait in the car detective,” Dorian said kindly. Thea smiled at him before jogging over to her police-issued vehicle. John shook his head, “how do you do that?” he asked the android who had just shrugged, “I don’t know man, but you should consider asking her out,” he said opening a door to the backseat of the car. “Stop that, what is it with you and my love life?” John asked, glaring at Dorian in the rearview mirror. The passenger side door suddenly opened making John jump ever so slightly, “Okay let’s go!” Thea said buckling. As John pulled out from the scene Thea bit her lip, “can we stop and get coffee?” she asked and John huffed amused. “Woman after my own heart,” he said heading for the closest shop. He didn’t notice the light pink of a blush spread over Thea’s cheeks. But Dorian did, he smiled and began to scheme.

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“- and then boom! He was struck by lightning!” Thea said gesturing wildly with her hands. John wheezed from laughing so hard while Dorian had a huge grin on his face, eyes dancing with amusement. “I don’t believe you. That is too perfect to happen in real life?” Kennex said with a shake of his head. Thea held a mock offended hand to her heart, “Why detective Kennex are you calling a lady a liar?” she asked with a mock southern belle accent. Kennex smirked and had the perfect retort when he was cut off by a voice over the main screen, “You’re no lady Redding! I’ve seen you drink alcoholics under the table,” Thea flipped off the screen but with a smile, “Fuck off Toby, and that guy deserved getting hustled in pool. He was an idiot. God that night...I’m never drinking tequila again.” she said with an eye roll and a grimace. The man on the screen tilted his head back and laughed before becoming serious again.

They walked into the bullpen, Thea’s eyes darting everywhere taking stock of the differences. A lean frazzled-looking man stood there holding onto a tablet bouncing on the balls of his feet. As soon as the trio was in range, the guy held out a hand for Thea to shake. “Hello, detective Redding! I heard from your techs Lewis and obviously Toby they had sent every report and bit of information you gathered on the killer, and I must say you’re very thorough,” he said it all without letting go of her. John sighed, “Rudy,” he said and the tech quickly let go and backed up. “Sorry, I’m Rudy,” he said nervously. Thea gave him a kind smile, “it’s nice to meet you Rudy. What do you have for me?” she asked sweetly. Rudy stuttered for a second before hitting a button on the tablet wordlessly, the disguised voice made Thea tense. She looked up at Toby but his image was gone.

“Hello detective Redding, how’s the investigation coming along? I’m sure an intelligent woman like yourself can figure it all out in time; before the next two bodies drop. Bodies eleven and twelve,” the killer clicked his tongue in a disapproving manner, “I disappointed detective, you’ve missed me again, though I do have to give it to you. You almost had me, that one sunny afternoon. The pier is such a big place, so easy to get lost. I had to cross district lines ahead of schedule. It took me some time I grant you, rabbit holes can be deep. How’s the shoulder?” the voice chuckled darkly adding in the last like an afterthought and Thea’s arm automatically jolted in pain at the memory. She hissed as the voice continued, “Detective Kennex I welcome you to the fold and I wish you luck; I feel like you’re going to need it.” he chuckled and then silence. “I feel like that was a threat,” Kennex mused unconcerned.

Thea was silent staring off into space biting her thumbnail, the room around her was busy bustling with people but the small bubble around her was silent. A silence that was almost deafening. Someone brought her out of her thoughts by gently placing a hand on her arm. Looking up she saw Dorian looking down at her with slight concern in his eyes. “I’m okay, I’m just-” she trailed off and pulled the tablet from Rudy’s hands. She scrolled through the written transcript of the voicemail. “He said that he had to move districts ahead of schedule,” she said and tapped at the screen in her hands. With a flick of her wrist, she sent the pictures and profiles of each victim to the big screen. Thea looked at Kennex, “What do you see?” she asked expectantly. John looked at the crime scene photos, eyes darting back and forth. “Married couples,” he frowned, and then his eyes widened a fraction. “They’re successful, a bit snobbish, “ he said touching the screen bringing up their social media accounts. “Arrogant is the word you’re looking for.” Thea pointed out. Dorian stepped forward-looking at the giant screen in front of them, “Do you have a map of the body drops?” he asked and Thea wordlessly brought up the map she and Lewis had made. The map of the district appeared and each crime scene location popped up one by one. They formed a large circle that covered several miles, “That’s how we narrowed it down to the pier,” she said with a sigh. Thea quickly expanded the map so it showed delta and the new crime scene. “He’s found a new den,” she scowled, running a hand through her hair so the brown waves were pushed back. Kennex appeared on her other side looking at the map intently, Thea mentally tried to connect the dots.

“Rudy do you know when the voice message was left?” Redding asked, turning toward the man. Rudy looked like a deer caught in some headlights for a minute before consulting his phone. “Uh, six this morning,” he said looking up. Thea sighed expecting the answer, “He was watching us,” she muttered irritated. “Dorian, did anyone in the crowd today look odd to you?” Kennex asked leaning against what Thea assumed was his desk. Dorian stared into space for a moment and tilted his head to the side, “I have an adult gender unknown with a hood covering their face. Their body language is relaxed and he’s staring in detective Redding’s direction.” he said, turning his full attention back to Kennex and Redding. John seemed stone-faced as he eyed the big screen in front of the room, while Thea closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I have an idea but neither of you will like it,” she said biting her lip. Dorian and John looked at each other almost nervously.

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“You’re right, I hate this plan,” John deadpanned over the secure comm. Thea chuckled and walked the dark street holding a warm cardboard cup of coffee to keep the cold away. Snow slowly trickled down from the blackened sky, “He’s going to go after one of us, trackers and teams are in place. It’ll be fine. I hope,” she said discreetly. Kennex snorted over the line, “when this is done you and I are going to have a talk about what’s fine,” he said a slight smile in his voice. “I look forward to it,” Thea chuckled and took a sip of her hot drink. “You two are just adorable, I think SWAT has an ongoing bet on when you go on your first date,” Dorian teased over the line. Kennex cursed the DRN out, while Thea blushed and cleared her throat. John abruptly cut out, his harsh insults stopping. “Aw come on John, I’m just teasing,” Dorian said with a light chuckle, the laughs of the SWAT team could also be heard. Thea smirked but it melted away when the man didn’t answer, “John?” Thea questioned voice even. No reply. “Is there a visual on Kennex?” she asked, stopping at the mouth of an alley. There was a long pause, “No visual,”

“Fuck!” Thea shouted, dropping her coffee she started to run toward Kennex’s last known position. Thea stopped in the middle of the abandoned street panting; Dorian ran up to her with SWAT on his ass. “How in the hell did someone get past us?” he asked looking up and down the street. “He’s a hacker and a good one. We were compromised,” Thea growled angrily. Mostly at herself. A shrill ringing broke the tense silence. Gritting her teeth Thea pulled out her phone, “Hello?” ground out. A dark chuckle over the line made her freeze. She looked up at Dorian with wide eyes; his face immediately lit up hoping to trace the call. “Nice try detective but you can’t trace me, tell the DRN better luck next time,” the disguised voice hissed. Dorian shook his head at Thea and she scowled, “Where is he?” she growled out.

“Oh, I assure detective Kennex is quite safe, waiting for you in fact. Come alone and you both will be free,” the voice purred over the line. Thea met Dorian’s eyes; he set his jaw and shook his head. “No tracker, no android,” they whispered, making Dorian shake his head again. “Fine,” she said and the android in front of her huffed, tossing up his hands. “Good detective, now walk.” the killer growled. Thea looked at Dorian apologetically and stalked down the street phone attached to her ear. “What do I call you anyway, I can’t just keep saying ‘the guy’ in my head,” she inquired, trying to keep the conversation going. The voice snorted “Call me Hatty,” the voice-Hatty said in amusement. Thea paused midstep, “So you’re a woman,” she muttered. Hatty laughed openly and dropped the voice changer. “Very good detective! I almost lost hope in your abilities! Turn right at the corner and keep going until the end,” she instructed proudly. Thea did as she was told, “Hatty short for Harriet?” she asked matter of factly. Hatty hummed undoubtedly smirking “Can I asked why you killed them?” she asked bitterly, “they deserved it, detective. They had no souls, they only thought of themselves and cheated to get what they wanted. They didn’t work hard as I did! But you’d never understand, all you have to do is bat your pretty eyes to get what you want! I’m the main character now!” Harriet shrieked, losing her cool. A male voice shouted something in the background and then a resounding crack echoed over the line, “Hatty, what did you do! You said you wouldn’t hurt him!” Thea hissed angrily into her phone. The woman huffed a sigh, “Relax, he’s fine. Just a little reminder on who’s in charge,’ she said mildly annoyed. Thea gripped her phone tighter and came to a stop at a series of abandoned buildings close to the wall, “straight ahead and down the stairs detective, see you soon.” Hatty chuckled and Thea heard nothing but the dial tone.

Taking a deep breath Thea opened the front door of the old apartment building. Dust covered every surface making the woman wrinkle her nose; using her phone as a flashlight Thea eased forward toward the labeled basement stairs. Nudging the door open with her foot Thea looked down into the darkness, “Yeah, this isn’t creepy at all,” she whispered. After hitting the hard cement at the bottom Thea looked down each long hall on either side of her. One was pitch black, while the other had a light at the end, “I’ll take the less creepy hall for two hundred Alex,” she whispered to the dust mites. Thea moved quickly and quietly until she came to a wide-open room, which was filled with books and a desk housing monitors, and a jammer. “There go the trackers,” she grumbled under her breath. On the monitors were dozens of pictures of her; at home, at work, at her favorite coffee shop. On the desk sat an old copy of “Alice’s adventures: Through the Looking Glass” she tapped the book with her knuckle curiously before turning to the rest of the room. That’s when she saw him, “John!” she ran over and knelt down by the bloody unconscious man. Placing two fingers on his neck Thea sighed in relief, shoulders slumping relaxing ever so slightly. “Welcome to your repentance detective,” a feminine voice hissed, and then there was nothing.

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Thea groaned when someone shook her shoulder, “Hey Redding. Thea wake up.” someone whispered to her gently. Her eyes fluttered open only to meet soft green ones staring right back at her, “Hey there,” she whispered slowly lifting her head from Kennex’s lap. “You okay?” he asked and Thea waved her hand with a grimace, “I’m just peachy,” she slurred squinting at the brightness of the room. “Concussions are fun,” she muttered, swallowing hard. They both got to their feet and gazed around the room. Mirrors, all they could see was themselves reflecting endlessly. The room dimmed, and the harsh light from before was gone. The sound of a vacuum made them freeze and it became hard to breathe; Thea looked over at John who had clamped his mouth shut to save his air. ‘This is how she does it then,’ she thought dryly holding her breath as well. The floor glowed in a red hue revealing words on the floor. The world tilted and began to grow grey around the edges. Thea couldn’t hold it anymore and choked falling to her knees; Kennex was beside her hoping to do something. Thea pointed at the inscription on the floor but he didn’t seem to understand it. She fell to her side gasping for air that wouldn’t come, she stared at the words mindlessly. She couldn’t process what it said, Thea felt a hand cup her cheek. Kennex turned her head so she was looking up at him; he was fading fast. He brushed the hair out of her face and took one last breath; and then he slowly gave it to her. Their lips connected and air filled her lungs. Thea gasped and snapped her mouth shut to hold the air in. She watched as Kennex fell to the floor twitching, eyes wide.

Thea rolled over eyeing the quote again, ‘ She who saves a single soul, saves the universe.’ it read. She pushed to her feet and staggered over to the mirrored wall; she put her hands on the cold, smooth surface hoping to find something; anything. Her vision was starting to blacken again, she was running out of time. Placing her forehead against the mirror Thea pushed her mind. She thought back, ‘A heart. A heart meaning what? Hatty. An angry little girl...who loves Alice in Wonderland.’ she thought, “Rabbit holes are deep.”

Thea pounded a fist on the mirror in front of her in frustration, everything was fading. ‘Alice in Wonderland what did it teach you? Six impossible things, high caterpillars, off with their heads...and nothing is what it seems.’ she spun around to take in the room again. Her infinite reflection seemed to mock her, ‘not as it seems,’ she chanted to herself as she staggered to the center of the room where John lay unconscious. Narrowing her eyes Thea looked at the floor, it was so smooth and inviting. She let her knees buckle so her eye was level with the ground below her. ‘No, not the ground. Tinted glass.’ she thought dimly. The exit was below them; down the rabbit hole. Thea with the last of her strength picked up her foot and slammed it down on the glass below her. It cracked. She opened her mouth in a silent gasp and brought her foot down again. The crack grew in size so it spiderwebbed beneath her and John. The strength left her as quickly as it came, she slumped to the side over John’s torso eyes giving in to the spreading darkness.

As Thea closed her eyes she failed to notice the glass cracking and spiderwebbing to each corner of the room, or better yet the modified shipping container that they were housed in. The sound of shattering glass filled the empty space; a large empty parking garage and the two detectives fell six feet to the ground. Twenty long seconds passed before Thea took a gasping breath. She rolled to her side and coughed harshly, she yelped and winced at the glass biting into her. “K-Kennex.” she gasped out seeing his prone form. He wasn’t moving his chest was rising and falling as it should; Thea pulled herself to her knees and crawled painfully towards him. Thea bent over John and listened for a heartbeat when she found none she laced her hands together and began chest compressions. Counting thirty compressions Thea pinched the man’s nose and tilted his head back, she puffed two breaths into him. Nothing. She counted thirty more and did two more breaths. Nothing. Thirty more compressions and the tear were falling down her cheeks. Taking another big breath Thea breathed two more into him. Kennex gasped into her mouth making Thea quickly straighten. A hysterical laugh bubbled past her lips and she fell painfully backward onto the glass-covered floor. “You’re okay, you were only dead for a minute or two,” she said reaching an arm over to pat his chest lightly.“That’s comforting,” he wheezed taking her hand and holding it.

“I’m never reading The Adventures of Alice in Wonderland again,” Thea muttered as she gingerly got to her feet. She winced when she saw that they were covered in little shards of tinted glass. She braced herself and pulled John to his feet, “Oh I’m going to feel this tomorrow,” he gasped clutching onto his newly broken ribs. “Sorry about that,” Thea said guiltily and John waved it off. “You saved my ass, and all you should be concerned about is what type of drink you’re gonna have when I buy it for you,” he said casually as they wandered down a pitch-black hall. “Are you asking me out Kennex?” Thea asked teasingly and John huffed trying to hold in a laugh. “It’s possible Ms, Redding. It depends, is that a yes?” he asked tilting his head down towards her. Thea smiled softly, “I’ll give you an answer when we catch the killer detective Kennex,” she said coyly. John sighed and nodded and then groaned when they reached the basement stairs.

It took them ten minutes to reach the street and another five to get far enough away from the jammer to make a call. Thea turned on her phone and was greeted with a functional but heavily cracked screen, she looked over at John who was leaning heavily against the brick wall of an old storefront. Thea tapped at her phone and frowned, “The lights are on but no one's home,” she said holding up the useless device. Kennex groaned tossing his own phone aside, “If we keep walking I’m sure we’ll find Dorian. He probably has everyone looking for us,” he said shoving off the wall. Thea nodded and took some of Johns’s weight as they walked. As soon as they had a view of the main road they were engulfed by light and swarmed by people. Cops and EMS alike. Dorian darted forward and pulled both detectives in for a hug, “Ah come on Dorian, enough!” Kennex whined. The android laughed and scanned each of you, “Hospital, now.” he ordered waving a few EMTs over with their stretcher. “What about-” Thea asked but Dorian cut her off, “We found Harriet Chase running from the area, she had John’s badge and an old book. She was being interrogated for your location but she wouldn’t speak a word except for Alice in Wonderland quotes,” he said gently pushing Thea onto a waiting stretcher. The EMTs strapped her in careful of the glass embedded in her skin, she looked over at John who was already watching her. Thea raised an eyebrow making Kennex grin, “How about that drink, detective?” he asked as he was being lifted into an ambulance. Thea grinned back, “You’re on Kennex, I’ll even kick your ass in pool!” she called out before the doors slammed shut.

Thea chuckled as she was placed inside her respective ambulance and was shocked to see a stoic MX sitting there back ramrod straight. “Max?” she questioned and the android looked down at her, lip twitching. His version of a smile, “Hello detective,” he greeted before falling silent. Shaking her head Thea smiled, “I have a date,” she said in a whisper. The MX looked at her emotionless to others but to her, the twitches in his face said differently, it said ‘about damn time,’

If this is well-liked I'm willing do another Chapter where Hatty and Thea meet face to face and the date!

Tags:

@zecklein

@thottiewithashotgun

@writerdee1701

@lauraaan182

#john kennex #john kennexXOC #almost human #Dorian #Hailey the queen of typos

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wooolfies · 5 years

Text

Whumptober No.1 - Shaky Hands

Verse: Dust and Ashes (Alternative Universe, Universe A)

Pairing: Jurnex

Prompt: Shaky Hands

Warnings: Major Character Death, Death of a Child, Death of a loved one

Characters/Parties: Natasha Jurow, John Kennex, Lo Kennex

Word Count: 2609

Requested by: @ladyspirkis4life97

-1st October 2051-

It was early in the morning, Lo was playing between the trees. The man on guard was reading a book. After a few hours, he had fallen asleep.

There was movement in the bushes, Lo went there, maybe it was the cat from earlier that week. When she saw it her eyes when huge. It was a bear and it looked incredibly fluffy.

“Hi, Teddy!” she called out and came closer, she was curious since the bear seemed to be huge.

The bear eyed her, unsure what to think of the tiny human. Lo went to hug it, oh man, it was fluffy.

The bear didn't like that, it felt threatened by the sudden movement it let out a roar and tossed the kid off of it. Lo flew a few meters.

The guard had heard the bear and jumped up, ringing the alarm. John had heard it too and ran over, his gun out already. As soon as he saw the beast he fired, it took a few times to take it down. Then he noticed Lo laying there and he panicked. He ran over and scooped her up, not thinking.

“Eloise?!” He called out and ran, he had to get her inside. He could feel that there were so many broken bones and there was a huge wound on the girl's back that was bleeding heavily.

“Natasha!” He called out as he rushed up the wooden stairs. The horror was audible in his voice.

Natasha ran to see what was going on, as soon as she saw the saggy body in John's arms and the blood on his shirt, she froze. A chill ran down her spine but she somehow managed to pull it together. She had to go into battle mode, she had to help Lo. She ran straight to the infirmary to prepare what she needed. She knew chances were bad, this was a basket case. It was nightmare material. Vera her younger daughter was laying in their bedroom, she had been sleeping and the sound of the alarm had woken her up. She was crying, but Natasha couldn't comfort her now. Lo first.

Leslie, who had heard the commotion rushed into the infirmary just as John put down Eloise on the bed.

“We gotta stop the bleeding,” Natasha said to Leslie, still not able to control her fear. “John, ventilate her. She still got a pulse.” Natasha meanwhile Was trying to stop the bleeding on Lo's back by pressing down at least a bit it needed to be fixed surgically, she knew that.

“Leslie, take her under, John you need to keep ventilating her.” Meanwhile, she was trying to clamp all major arteries that had been ruptured. Natasha’s hands had never shaken like his before.

The hustle went on, Natasha was struggling with everything she had to save her. She just had to.

But a few hours later, Lo's little heart had stopped beating, even though everyone involved had done everything possible, there had been too much haemorrhage, even with blood transfusions from John it had not been enough. Too much stress for a little body like hers.

Natasha was dead inside. She could not believe it, it had to be one of her crazy dreams. It just had to.

“Natasha?” It was John's voice, it seemed to echo from the walls around them. He had been sent out as things had gotten too intense and Sandra had tried to help him calm down.

Natasha felt how he wrapped his arms around her. She opened her eyes and looked at him, trying not to look at the body of her daughter that was covered in the once sterile, now bloodstained, cloth.

“It’s gotta be a dream…,” Natasha whispered.

“Unfortunately it is not.” John felt like his insides were tied to a knot. He was still panicking.

Leslie came and shoved the two out of the room. Nobody said anything. Except for Vera, who was crying down the hallway, probably while being with Kate, the mansion was silent.

John had curled up in bed, the shirt he had worn earlier was laying on the floor. He had just told Leo. “Lo got hurt badly. She's now gone to a better place,” he had said.

Natasha was laying on her back next to him, only in an undershirt and shorts, staring at the ceiling and clinging onto her husband's hand. Her face was expressionless but there were tears running down the sides of her face.

This couldn't be true. I had to be a dream.

She jumped a little as John moved a bit closer towards her to cover him with their blanket.

He was not sure how exactly he could deal with this. Why had he not been faster? Why had he not been there watching her? His damn plants, he had been with his damn plants, but they were not worth her. They were not even remotely comparable to what was worth his daughter's life.

Natasha, on the other hand, knew that she had fucked up again. Like back then with Dima. Now it was Lo, who had no fault in what had happened to her. Natasha had not tried hard enough. Her emotional involvement had ruined her work this time. She felt the urge to bang her head against something hard or maybe to punch a wall. She was tense and the picture of her lifeless daughter was coming up over and over again. What kind of parent even was she?

John felt how she was and what her breathing pattern was doing. He took a deep breath to try and say something. “Thank you for doing your best work,” he said softly. “Thank you, for trying to help her. You did all you could. I was the parent in charge when it happened, my bad not yours.”

Natasha turned her head to look him into the eye. “I could have done more. I— My hands were shaking.”

John looked right back at her. “You did what you could. You did your best.”

“No. I saved people far worse than her.”

“Not under these conditions. You are amazing. I love you.”

“No…. Just…. No. It is my bad. I should stop practising medicine.”

John grabbed bother her hands and pulled himself closer to her. “Natasha Alexejevna, do you trust me?”

Natasha looked back at him, she did trust him her life. But she also knew what he was going for. She had to be truthful. “I do trust you.”

“Then trust me when I say that you did your best.”

Natasha took a shaky breath and he could feel how she relaxed a bit. She turned on her side to face him fully and hugged onto him. “I'm scared.”

“What are you scared off?”

“This is real and could happen again.”

“Tasha. The scary part is over. Everyone else is okay. The bear maybe not but nobody cares about him. Besides I was down there with her, I should have kept a closer eye on her.”

“John that's not true. It is not your bad.” Natasha looked at him. Her face looked less like stone now. It seemed sad and tired, if not completely exhausted.

***

Leslie had prepped the body for burial. She wanted to do what Natasha and John wanted but not to put it on them. They were struggling enough.

Vera was staying with Kate at least for the next couple of days, Kate was. After the first night which was the worst for Natasha, she seemed much more stable. She knew she had to keep going for John, Leo and Lo, for her dad and Kate and everyone else. She had responsibility. She had a vital task in the group, she was now even more aware of that.

John, on the other hand, was sleighing down the hole. He had seemed calm on the day it happened but he was completely destroyed. He refused to eat and didn't get up from bed. It settled in and he was in deep emotional shock. He didn't say a word. He was trapped in his own thoughts and how guilty he felt about what had happened.

Natasha was up and running. She was feeding Vera and cleaning up the remaining mess she had made the previous day. But she sat with John for the most part of the morning, holding his hand, attempting to comfort him. Well she was still fully there yet but she knew no matter what she had to make this world a better place for everyone alive. Leo was constantly around and walking through the hallways, he was unsure how to deal with it. He wanted to talk to Natasha but she had told him that John needed rest so he was waiting impatiently to come to see him.

Leo too needed comforting. He was scared he could lose even more of his family. Understandably.

Natasha told him that she had no intention of going away. She made him pancakes since she knew that would cheer him up. Vera was mostly sleeping in the kangaroo wrap and going wherever Natasha was going. Though she didn't move much. She wanted to stay near John and Leo.

Kate was constantly around Natasha she really didn't know how to deal with the situation, but she felt like she had to help Natasha if she would ask for it like she had kept an eye on Vera. She knew she would never have her own kids and Natasha was family to her so she could support her.

Sandra was talking the guard all day since a part of the responsibly was his. The guard was terribly sorry. He did never think about how important his job actually was. But it was the end of the world and kicking him out of the group would most certainly kill him sooner or later.

Leo went to play with her since it was a great distraction and she was an interesting person.

When Natasha came back to their room she found the bed empty. John was gone, as were his boots and gun.

Natasha bit back a curse and went to tell Sandra. She had to find him. She was worried. Sandra personally offered to come with her to look for him, so did Valerie. Kate took Vera again and the three women headed out. Dorian also came with them, since he was worried and he could be an enormous help with finding him.

The guard on duty told them that John had left through the main gate. John had never learnt how to deal with grief properly. Back when his parents had died he had found distraction in working extra hours. Now there was nothing. The World they lived in was a world of death, war and danger. Only ten percent of Americans were still alive, the same for all Canadians in the denser populated areas. Until now he had been lucky, none of his close friends had died. He was desperate, there were pain and guilt. There was no way out.

“I've got him!” Dorian called out.

Natasha looked at the DRN.

“I'll lead you all there.” Dorian started to walk a lot faster, but slowly enough that the other could keep up with the pace.

They found John sitting on a rock, his head hung low.

Natasha carefully approached him and sat down next to him but with some space in between them.

“John. Talk to me.” She said softly and looked at him.

He didn't react.

“John….” she tried again and carefully reached out for his shoulder this time.

John jumped at the touch and glared at her with eyes of anger, hate and sadness.

“Go home,” he said.

“If you come with me.”

“I won't. But you really should go be with the kids and your dad.”

“They need you too.”

“They don't. I only get them killed. I'm a horrible dad.”

“You are not. They need you, now more than ever. I need you too. You saved my life countless times, let me save yours. John, I want to get old with you. I know what you are thinking. Trust me I know.”

John was only looking at her, he didn't say anything more.

“I'm not saying I don't feel anything. I feel a lot. I just don't know how to put it into words and I know life has to go on. So many awful things happen. I miss her, John. I love her. But my children, my husband and everyone else in our group needs me. I have a responsibility. We need each other, John.”

“How, Natasha? How can this happen?”

“I do not know.” She reached for his hand. But he pulled away.

“John, I love you.” She paused. “I'm sorry I'm saying this but not everything sucks. Life goes on. It has to. You are this group's leader, are you even aware of that?”

John kept looking at his wife. “Come with me?”

“No. Running away is not the solution. Besides, it is not actually saying that. John, please come back with me.” Natasha moved closer and hugged him tightly.

His first instinct was to push her away but he could not hurt her, she was hurting already because of him.

After a while, he slowly got up to walk back with her.

Natasha wrapped an arm around her husband. She knew that he needed her now more than ever, she just could not let him go off the edge, both literally and figuratively. She would not let go. “I love you, John,” she said softly.

“I love you too. I really do. It’s just…” John’s voice broke and fell silent.

“What do you need?”

“I need her back. I need a second chance.”

Natasha started rubbing his back, not saying anything. This was not something she could make happen.

The rest of the group followed them, none of them said anything, mostly because they were scared to say something wrong. Sandra was trying to keep the group together, especially since John (as the group’s leader) was barely up for the job.

Dorian was constantly scanning, everyone and their surroundings. John was his friend, so was Natasha and he could not imagine how they must have felt like. Suddenly he froze. “We should hurry. There are planes approaching this area!”

Natasha felt how John froze, how he tensed up a lot more.

“It’s fine. If you hurry we will make it back in time. I got gear on me, so do the others, we shared one set before,” she gave him a bit of a shaky smile. She knew that sharing a set would suck.

“Not a chance, you are still breastfeeding Vera,” John answered firmly.

“I know you are caring for me. You always are, but you are also not yourself, let’s just run, okay?” Natasha turned around to the others. “Let’s hurry guys.”

Dorian nodded. He would not be hurt by the rain but he was worried for his human companions. “We got ten minutes, tops.”

Natasha reached for John’s hand and dragged him with her. She felt how he was not able to keep up with her. He had lost his will to fight.

“Come on!” she called out. She would not leave him behind.

They made it back to the mansion, just in time before the planes arrived. Dorian made sure the garden was covered and the building secure.

Natasha went upstairs with John, Vera was babbling, Leslie was taking care of her. Leo had been with Valerie. He seemed to not understand it yet. Even to Natasha, it felt surreal.

#whumptober2019 #no.1 #tw:death #tw:character death #tw:death of a child #dust and ashes #jurnex #natasha Jurow #John Kennex

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