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#Saving them I noticed that you named the files according to the prompts that you used and -
descarted · 2 years
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cricutmakeronline · 4 months
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How to Use Cricut Design Space?
Want to learn how to use Cricut Design Space to create DIY artwork? In this blog, I will guide you through every bit of the details and methods you need to learn about the Cricut Design Space. So, keep reading this blog till the end to learn the Cricut machine setup and steps to create a design on the app.
Cricut Design Space is a prominent tool in the world of crafting. It’s a free tool that provides a pool of tools and resources to get world-class crafting results. However, for beginners, it can be difficult to figure out where to start and how to use the app.
As a result, I have curated this blog post for new crafters like you to provide you with all of my crafting expertise. So, please stick to this blog till the end to acquire extensive knowledge of Cricut Design Space, its features, and workings.
Setup Cricut Cutting Machine with the Cricut Design Space App
If you want to know how to use Cricut Design Space for crafting with the cutting machine, then it is necessary to complete the setup process. Below are the steps to set up the Cricut machine on both Windows and Mac devices.
Windows
Make sure the Windows device and cutting machine are within range.
Also, connect both devices with the help of the USB cable or via Bluetooth.
After downloading the app from the official Cricut website, open it from the Downloads folder.
Once you double-click on the Cricut file, a prompt will open to ask for installation; choose Yes.
After that, a pop-up will show the app installation progress.
When the app installation is complete, enter the Cricut account details on the sign-in page. (If you do not have an existing account, then select the Create Cricut ID  tab to create a new one.)
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Next, choose the option of Machine Setup to complete the machine setup.
Lastly, click on the Cricut machine name you have.
Mac
Firstly, connect your Cricut cutting machine and Mac device via Bluetooth or USB cable.
After that, open the app from the browser after the download is complete.
Then, go to the folder that you chose to save the file.
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Next, click and drag the Cricut icon to the Applications folder to start installing.
Moreover, click on the “Cricut Design Space” app in the Applications folder to launch the app.
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Now, a Mac notice will appear on the screen to ask if you want to open this app; choose Open.
On the sign-in page, enter the Cricut ID and password or create a new password.
And then, set up your cutting machine by clicking on the Machine Setup option.
These are the simplified steps for Cricut machine setup with Cricut Design Space on Windows and Mac. When you understand these steps, you are ready to learn how to use Cricut Design Space. But, before that, let’s learn some basic components of the Design Space
What Are the Components of the Cricut Design Space Toolbar?
The Cricut Design Space app comes with various tools to create a design. Let’s take a look at some key tools and features.
New
This option with a plus sign helps you open a new canvas whenever you want to work on a fresh design. Also, you can work on a design at one time, so make sure to save your other project before opening a new one.
Templates
The Cricut Design Space provides a plethora of free templates to use on a design project. Click on the option to get the various significant templates. I use these templates when I have any design in mind and want to see how it would look. You can pick any blank, like a shirt, and put the design on top of it to know how the finished product will look.
Projects
The “Projects” option is beneficial for those who are beginners and those who want to create a quick design. In this option, you can choose from many ready-to-make projects and customize them according to your choice.
Images
As its name suggests in this section, you will get ample images to use in your design. Most of the images are free, but to use the free ones, you need to take a Cricut Access subscription.
Text
By going to the Text option, you can get access to numerous attractive text fonts. You can use these fonts to make a design.
Shapes
In the Shapes section, you can use different shapes to create a design.
Upload
The Upload section helps you upload your design from the device if you want to cut your own design or cut files that you see outside of Design Space. With the help of this section, users can upload PNG, JPG, GIF, BMP, SVG, or DXF files. You can also upload and customize a design if you want. 
How to Use Cricut Design Space to Create a Design?
Here are the steps you can follow to make a design for your project on the Cricut app.
For the first step, open the Cricut Design Space app on your device.
After that, click on the plus (+) icon from the menu to open a new canvas.
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Next, you can use the templates or image section on the app for your design. (Also, you can upload a design if you want.)
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Here, once you choose a template or images, you can edit as per your project requirements.
Once the design is ready, you can send it to the printer (If using Print Then Cut) or to your cutting machine.
Once the cut is complete, remove the material from the machine and sublimate it on a product or complete it if you are making any other project.
Here is how to use Cricut Design Space to complete a project.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q.1 Can I Print with Cricut Design Space on a Printer?
Yes, Cricut Design Space allows you to print a document on a printer for various printers. To print with Design Space, users need to use the Print Then Cut feature on the Cricut Maker machine. No, other printer comes with the Print Then Cut features so make sure you have a Maker machine. You can connect the printer to your Cricut Design Space app while working on a project. 
Q.2 What Are the Prominent Features of the Cricut Design Space?
These are some prominent features you can use for making designs on the app.
Weld is a feature that helps in attaching two or more designs.
Slice is to cut two designs in one. To use this feature, you first need to weld to designs.
Attach option helps people to group various images and designs.
The Detach option will allow you to reverse the action done by attach.
This option will help you prepare the images for Print Then Cut. 
Q.3 How to Download the Cricut Design Space an iOS?
Here are steps you can follow to complete the download of the Cricut app on iOS.
On your iOS device home screen, tap on the App Store.
Then, in the search section, type the Cricut Design Space to get the result.
From the result, click on the Cricut icon from the search results.
After that, select the Get option to start the download.
Once the download is complete, the app icon will appear on the home screen. 
Source :- https://designaccessoriesmart.com/how-to-use-cricut-design-space-for-machine-setup-and-design
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bulkkerlon · 2 years
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Onenote quick note
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#ONENOTE QUICK NOTE HOW TO#
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You can now work with the task in Outlook just like you Note that the task description contains a hyperlink to the OneNote page we used to create the task. The task you just created on the task list. To see the task you just created in OneNote, open your MS Outlook task list. Your changes when Outlook prompts you to do so. It by clicking the X in the upper right corner of the window. When you're done filling out the New Task window, close Define the importance of the task using the Priority field.Describe the importance of the task using the Priority field (choose between Low, Normal, and High).Now it's time to fill out the task details: The Outlook Newįill out the details in the Outlook New Task window. To schedule a specific date, select the Custom option. Menu, pick a timeframe for when you want to add the task to the Outlook tasks The task name should describe the task so you can find it later. Type a description of the task in the blank space next to the checkbox. A checkbox, representing a new task, appears on a blank Once you've added a new task, type the name of the task next to the checkbox. In this case,Īlready added a pre-existing task called File the XYZ Start by opening the appropriate section in the correct notebook. Open Your Notebook Section and Add a Task Use OneNote to Add a New Task to Your Outlook Tasks ListĬan add a task to your Outlook To-Do-List from OneNote. The right, you’ll see a place for a list of Pages in the section that’sĪren’t any pages on the list yet because we haven’t created them.)Īnd name your own notebooks and sections according to your organizational The sections I added are called Meetings, Minutes, Correspondence, and Tasks. On You can see, I’ve already added a Notebook called Project XYZ toĪdded some Sections (sometimes called folders) to the notebook. Each notebook contains Sections and each section contains Pages. Notice that OneNote is organized into Notebooks. The first thing you’ll want to do is open OneNote on your Once you’ve activated OneNote, you can use it as an Outlook task manager by creating tasks in Outlook and saving them to OneNote or creating tasks in OneNote and saving them to Outlook. You should now see the OneNote icon on the ribbon when the Home tab is selected. Outlook items to activate it, then click OK. The ComĪdd-ins without a checkmark are inactive. You'll see lists of active, inactive, and disabled add-ins. Inactive, and disabled application add-ins: Manage Microsoft Office Add-ins window you’ll see lists of active, Select the Add-ins option to activate OneNote. Select Options from the Account Information window to access the Outlook Options window.Ĭlick Options on the left. If OneNote isn’t active in your version of Outlook, you’ll If OneNote is active with Outlook, you'll see a OneNote icon in the ribbon. If OneNote is enabled, you’ll see a OneNote icon You can start using, the MS OneNote Add-in, you need to make sure it’s enabled. That you’ve learned what MS OneNote is, you’re ready to start using it. Learn even more about Microsoft OneNote basics, here are some tutorials: OneNote also includes peer collaboration tools.
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It can also be integrated into other software Is integrated into MS Outlook and you can use it along with your MS OutlookĬalendar and To Do List. Your notebook is now virtual and your tabs are called sections. When you were in school you may have used a notebook with It allows you to organize and store information as well as keep track of OneNote is a notetaking/to-do-list tool that comes as a part of MS Office
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Now let's move on to our tutorial on how to use Microsoft Outlook with OneNote. Organization strategies and killer tips for managing all your incoming email
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You can get even more control over your projects by learning how to manage your email inbox, so be sure to grab our Free eBook: The Ultimate Guide to Inbox Zero Mastery. It's packed with inbox In this tutorial, you'll be learning how to use OneNote and Outlook for project management tasks. Guide to Inbox Zero Mastery ( Free eBook Download) Using MS OneNote along with the Outlook calendar to take meeting minutes andĭistribute them to meeting participants. We’ll share how MS Outlook can help you store and We'll also show you how to use OneNote to effectively manage In this tutorial, we'll show you how to activate the OneNoteįeature in MS Outlook. There are even OneNote collaborationįeatures you can use to share your information with others. That arrives by email in handy notebooks with tabs. You can not only track your tasks, you can also keep track of other information With the Outlook Calendar To-Do-List tools. People don't realize that you can use MS OneNote as an Outlook task manager You've been using your Microsoft Calendar and To-Do-List to keep track You're like most of us, a lot of your important tasks and notes arrive viaĮmail.
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torpslaughter48 · 2 years
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Print Ready Business Card Files With Microsoft Publisher
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travissimblr · 3 years
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Sims 3 Performance Guide
Lately I have found the direction of The Sims 4 to be rather lackluster.  Let’s face it.  The game is boring.  Still looking for that “Sims Fix” I found myself going back to playing The Sims 3.  The Sims 3 can be tricky to get running correctly on modern computers so I figured I would share what I learned over the years.  I made this guide a few years ago for another forum so I’m always open to new suggestions/edits etc.  Some things may work well for others while some may not make a difference at all.  I have applied all of these fixes in my own game and I still experience lag so this is by no means a guide to completely eliminate the lag in the game but a guide to perhaps help your game run a little bit smoother.  All of these tips have been gathered from all over the internet and also some things I have picked up on my own over the years.  I own a legit copy of the Sims 3 and have never owned a pirated version so I can't say whether or not these settings will work with a pirated version of the game.  I also only have a PC so I don't know if any of these settings will effect the Mac version of the game.  If anything I hope this guide brings people back to The Sims 3 or allows people to give the game another chance.  The guide will be pretty extensive and I take no responsibility if you mess up your game  :P
Limit Game FPS - This one has been a godsend.  I was experiencing major lag especially in build/Buy mode.  My computer is way over spec for this game much like most computers today.  What would happen is that while in Build/Buy Mode my FPS would spike into the 200's!  During these spikes the game would almost be un-playable.
To fix this issue:
Download this file:  https://rd.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/34]https://rd.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/34
 I know it says it's for Skyrim but it will also work for The Sims 3.  After downloading it unzip the antilag.cfg and d3d9.dll into  X: > Program Files (x86) > Origin Games > The Sims 3 > Game > Bin if using Origin.   If you have the steam version of the game use :   X: > Program Files (x86) > Steam > steamapps > common > The Sims 3 > Game > Bin .  By default it is set to limit the game to 30FPS.  I have been using this and it works fine.  You can change it to 60FPS if you want by opening the antilag.cfg using notepad.  I haven't had a chance to test the game at 60FPS but its not like The Sims 3 is a First person shooter or anything so IMO its probably not necessary.  Run the game and your FPS should be capped at 30.  
Alternately you can try turning on Vsync in either Nvidia Control Panel or AMD Catalyst software however I wasn't able to get it working.  I'm using a Geforce 1080 and the latest Nvidia drivers.  When I turned it on in the control panel it did nothing in the game.
After installing this fix I no longer experience massive lag spikes while in Build/Buy Mode the whole game also seems to be running a little bit smoother as well.  Unfortunately there isn't much we can do about EA's terrible coding of the game so there will still be lag but this one has helped my game more then any of the other fixes as of yet.
**It also must be noted that FPS fix uses the same file as Reshade, d3d9.dll.  I haven’t tested if this works using the d3d9.dll file from Reshade but I can assume it probably doesn’t.  I do however believe there is a frame limiter built into reshade which should accomplish this same thing as this mod.
In Game Settings
1. Graphics
Resolution - You should always play at the native resolution for your monitor.  Most monitors today use a native resolution of 1680x1050 or 1920x1080.  If your game is struggling at this resolution you should always lower the graphics settings not the resolution.
Windowed? or Fullscreen? - This one is something that you will have to test.  Some people say that the game runs better for them in Fullscreen and some say it runs better in Windowed Mode.  My personal game runs better in Windowed Mode.
Object Hiding -  Enabling this can help to increase performance especially if you have a large house.  Essentially what this does is that the game renders every object on the lot you are in even if you aren't on that floor.  So if you are playing on the first floor the game is using resources to render the items on the second/third floor etc.
Reflection Quality - Setting it to Mirrors and Water will work well for most people but adjusting this lower can offer a slight performance increase.
Edge Smoothing - I personally have not noticed much of a difference in performance adjusting this setting but this is the Anti Aliasing settings for the game.  Try lowering it and see if it makes a difference in your game.
Visual Effects - According to the game "Controls the quality of particle effects on objects, Sims, and the town"   Medium would be the recommended setting for Visual effects.  It offers a happy medium between performance and visual quality.
Lighting and Shadows - Adjusts the shadow quality in the game.  I run this on high in my game as there isn't a noticeable difference in performance between medium and high settings.  Turning it to low will give a slight boost in performance but the shadows will be ugly.
Tree Detail - Keep this setting on high as there really is no difference in performance between settings.  All you end up with are some ugly trees and no real boost in performance.
Enable Animation Smoothing & Enable Advanced Rendering - Both of these items should always be checked.  Enable Animation smoothing makes no difference in performance and Turning off Enable Advanced Rendering can actually decrease performance.
Draw Distance - Keep this on high as it does not effect performance.
High Detailed Lots - With this turned up all the way I noticed a fair bit of stuttering in my game.  I have mine set to 4 lots but this is a setting that should be tested to see what works for you.
Texture Detail and Sim Detail - Most computers should be able to handle both of these settings maxed for a small boost in performance you can lower the texture detail to medium.  Sim Detail should always be set at Very High as lower this setting has only a very small boost in performance that probably wouldn't even be noticeable.
2. General Settings
Enable Shop Mode - This will disable the Sims 3 Shop from In-Game.  Turning this off can help with stuttering.
Enable Lessons - Turning this off can possibly help with performance.  I haven't noticed a difference but at this point we all know how to play The Sims.
Memories - Disabling Memories can offer a boost to performance and reduce in game stuttering.
**Alternately you can try using this mod if you don’t want to completely disable the memory system in The Sims 3
No (or fewer) automatic memories by velocitygrass on Mod The Sims
https://modthesims.info/d/446281
Enable Interactive Loading Screens - Turning this off has been said to reduce some in game stuttering.  Besides nobody wants to play that stupid game anyway.
3. Online
Keep Me Logged In & Enable Online Notifications - Turning off both of these settings will help game performance and reduce stuttering.
4. Advanced Demographics Options
Enable Story Progression - Turning this off will reduce stuttering in the game.  If you like this setting you can use the NRASS Story Progression explained further in this guide.
Advanced Settings
I will try to guide as best as I can with these but always MAKE BACKUPS of every file modified in this section.
In order to make this process easier be sure that "Hide extensions for known file types" is unchecked in the Windows Folder Options.  In Windows 10   Click on View > Options > Change folder and search options.  Switch to the view tab and under Files and Folders uncheck "Hide extensions for known file types"
Edit GraphicsRules.sgr - This setting will help the game run smoother and make for faster clothing changes.
1. Got to X:\Program Files (x86)\Origin Games\The Sims 3\Game\Bin
2. Copy the GraphicsRules.sgr file and back it up in either in a safe location or even in the same directory just name it GraphicsRules.sgr.orig.  Click yes when prompted with the rename.
3.  Now Open GraphicsRules.sgr with notepad (not the copied version)
4.  You will see four lines that look like this: seti cpuLevelUber 4
seti cpuLevelHigh 3
seti cpuLevelMedium 2
seti cpuLevelLow 1
5. Change the four lines to this: seti cpuLevelUber 4
seti cpuLevelHigh 3
seti cpuLevelMedium 3
seti cpuLevelLow 3
6. Save in Notepad and close Notepad.
Edit Sims3.ini - This is how you force the game to use more then 2GB of RAM.  I noticed a massive improvement in both CAS and Build/Buy mode with this.  Clothing,Objects etc load almost instantly when this is changed.  The Origin version of the game has already been patched to use 4GB of RAM  however adjusting this value to reflect your systems total ram amount if above 4GB can be beneficial.  If you currently have 4GB total of RAM and are using the Origin version of the game you can skip this step.  It’s questionable whether or not this makes a difference in the game as The Sims 3 is a 32 bit game that only uses 4GB to begin with but it seems to actually make a difference in my own game.
1. Go to X:\Program Files (x86)\Origin Games\The Sims 3\Game\Bin (same as GraphicsRules.sgr)
2. Backup the Sims3.ini in the same method as the GraphicsRules.sgr
3. Open Sims3.ini in Notepad
4. Under [ResourceSystem] you will see this:
MemoryUsageLimit = 20000000 (  10000000 for legacy/disc versions)
5.  Ignoring the zeros this is showing that the Sims 3 is only using 4GB of ram (2gb for Legacy/Disc versions of the game).  Depending on the amount of ram in your system you should change it to half of your total amount of ram. Examples:
8GB Total Ram  MemoryUsageLimit = 40000000
16GB Total Ram MemoryUsageLimit = 80000000
32GB Total Ram MemoryUsageLimit = 16000000
**Be Sure to only change the first number not any zeros.  For 32GB+ its the first 2 numbers.  Putting this too high could cause your system lock up or crash and possibly do damage**
Modding
First go here and follow the instructions on this page to set up your Mods folder: https://www.carls-sims-4-guide.com/forum/index.php?topic=9187.0
1.  Must Have Mods - Even if you don't plan on putting any CC in your game these Mod is highly recommended if not needed in order to keep the game running Smoothly.
NRAAS Master Controller - 
https://www.nraas.net/community/MasterController
This mod is a must have.  It fixes many of the errors in the game and helps immensely with game lag and stuttering.
Under Modules Download: (Not Required but useful)
MasterController Cheats - Adds "cheaty" functions to Master Controller.
MasterController Expanded Tatttoo - Expands the number of locations provided in Tattoo CAS
MasterController Progression - This mod adds progression related interactions to the "Master Controller" menu.   Addition to Story Progression (below)
MasterController Integration -  (Must have if you install a lot of sliders)  This mod replaces all the CAS interactions in the game with the one managed by MasterController, including the "Create-A-Sim" button in "Edit Town".
Now go to this Page and download these other “Must Have Mods” by NRAAS
https://www.nraas.net/community/Mods-List
Overwatch - (Important) Contains error correction and periodic game maintenance/clean up to reduce issues and improve game longevity.
Error Trap - (Important) Core-Mod that performs save-game corruption cleanup, while catching and reporting unhandled script errors.
Traffic- (Important) Controls autonomous vehicular traffic such as the Food/Ice Cream Trucks, and provides some minor vehicle routing settings.
Saver - (Important) Adds autosave function to the game.
Register -  (Important) Replaces the EA Role Manager with a custom version that corrects several bugs and allows for greater flexibility.
Other Useful Mods at NRAAS (Optional) Same page as above:
Story Progression - Basically a less buggy, less performance heavy replacement for the EA story progression in the game.  Be sure to tick off “Story Progression” in the In Game options as stated above.  (Install all the optional modules as well)
Decensor - We all know what this does
Dresser - Adds automated outfit control for inactive sims, adding accessories, and restricting CAS parts.
WooHooer - Alters the romance and woohoo interactions, provides greater flexibility and attraction scoring.
Retuner - Provides fine tuning of many settings in game like autonomous settings, pricing etc.  This one can seem daunting at first but there are plenty of Returner settings to be found out there and its really isn’t that difficult to change the settings in game albeit time consuming. 
Be sure to look over the other mods if you see something you like download it.  Any of these mods should be safe to add to your game with little to no performance impact.
After that extract the files you just downloaded into \Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\Mods\Packages\Overrides If you don't have an Overrides folder create one.  The “Overrides Folder”  is essentially a priority folder.  Mods put into this folder will be loaded before any other package files you may add to the game.
In-Game NRASS Settings 
These are just some settings to change to improve game stability.  This is by far not comprehensive.  For Retuner settings I would suggest a Google search of other users settings or consulting the NRASS help section for explanations of how to use this mod.
Click on the Town Hall in Map View Under NRASS
Traffic
Ice Cream Truck - I hate that creepy Ice cream truck so I change everything to false and set Max Ice Cream Trucks to 0.  If you like having it around still change the Max Ice Cream Trucks to 1
Routing
Allow Performance Career Limos - False (Limos create a lot of lag in the game)
Allow Use of Cars During General Routing - True (if disabled your sims will only use cars when you tell them to)
Always Use Taxis for Inactives Lacking Vehicles - False (Townies will no longer use Taxis)
Register
Allow Immigration - False (Random Townies wont move into your town keeping the population down and helping to keep performance from decreasing as sims move in.
Animal Control - Change the settings below for a performance boost
Maximum Deer - 2
Maximum Raccoon - 2
Maximum Stray Cats - 3
Maximum Stray Dogs - 3
Maximum Unicorns - 0  (Sorry Wild Horses and Unicorns add a good deal of lag to the game)
Maximum Horses - 0
Custom Content (CC)
Much like any other Sims game moderation is key.  The more CC you download and put in you game the slower your game will perform.  I'm not going to go into detail about how to install CC in The Sims 3 in this guide.  These are just a few important tips to take into account when installing CC,
Try to install Sims3Pack files as much as you can.  Sims 3 automatically merges these files and this leads to better game stability.
Merge you package files. Girl Meets Pixels made a great guide here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIZ2LdoT-HY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIZ2LdoT-HY
Keep an eye on the size of your Sims 3 Folder in /Documents.  It may seem crazy to imagine but massive CC shopping sprees can lead to a massive folder to the tune of 30GB+.  Skins and Hairs are a killer.  These files are usually rather large sometimes in excess of 80 - 100mb.  My suggestion would be to find a default skin you like and just use that.  Don’t install any non default skins.  Also go easy on the hair.  You don’t need 20 different variations of the same ponytail in the game.  Clothing is usually fine but pay attention to the size of the CC.  That cute dress you found on Tumblr that’s 65mb more then likely has way too high of a poly count and will just lag and be slow to render in the game.  Sure it looks great in screenshots but it wont be practical in game.  I’m not sure of the exact cut-off for CC but eventually the folder gets too large for the game to handle and it will lead to issues like save corruption or in some cases not being able to save the game at all because the game has run out of memory.   Sadly if  this happens there is no fix for this and you will lose all of your progress and possibly your save file as well.
Advanced
World Fixes EA left many routing issues in a lot of their worlds that are known to cause lag and often times crashing as Sims bunch up in broken routing areas on the map.
All the World Fixes can be found on Ellacharmed's Wordpress page.  Follow the instructions very carefully and install the fixes for all the worlds you have installed in your game.
https://ellacharmed.wordpress.com
Other Useful Tips
Delete your cache!!  This one can't be stressed enough.  I delete mine before every game play and never have issues starting the game up.  A guide can be found here: http://simswiki.info/wiki.php?title=Game_Help:Sims_3_Delete_Cache_Files
Turn off Origin In Game - This will give a noticeable improvement.
Close all other programs running in the background.  
Turn on Game Mode or Silent Mode on your Antivirus
Useful Sims 3 Programs
s3pe http://www.simlogical.com/ContentUploadsRemote/uploads/189/
Sims 3 Dashboard Tool http://modthesims.info/download.php?t=387006]http://modthesims.info/download.php?t=387006
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bitchassbucky · 3 years
Text
.exe
Word Count: 2.4k
Warning/s: stalkers, bucky being a creepo, reader being a creepo. dark!IT!bucky x dark!reader :-) female & male masturbation, voyeurism (i think), cyber crimes being committed.
A/N: this is my birthday gift to @babyboibucky <3 to my boo, I love you and you have a special place in my heart. this is gonna be a multi-part thing, it's too long to be considered as a one-shot, oops.
please enjoy! :D
follow the CTRL series:
i - .exe
ii - .avi
iii - .raw
iv - .png
v - .zip
CTRL playlist
CTRL moodboard
Tumblr media
4:49 PM
Just 11 more minutes until he can pack his bags up for the weekend.
One new ticket - URGENT
Goddamn it.
Bucky pulled his earphones out in annoyance, just another office idiot who doesn’t know how to print A4 sheets. If the office were to be held hostage and printing out was the only thing that can save them, half of the floor would be dead.
The new name caught his eye, Y/N Y/L. A new hire, it seems like.
Subject: One new ticket - URGENT
Hi, this is Y/N, employee number 0008675309. I’m new here and was told to send a ticket for the equipment request.
Thank you and have a great weekend!
Oh, Bucky’s gonna have a great weekend indeed. Out of pure curiosity, he’s already pulled up your employee file. A cute smile to a cute name. His annoyance dispersing already, just by thinking of ways how he can spend time with you.
Hey, Y/N! Bucky types into the text field, Welcome to the company. I’m Bucky and I got assigned to help you get settled. Do you prefer having a desktop or a laptop? I’ve attached a form in this thread, send it to me once you’re done.
Have an awesome weekend too!
As much as he hates sending out chirpy emails, he can’t help but to smile when you immediately send a reply back.
Thanks, Bucky! So sorry for sending in the request super late. Got caught up with the onboarding. Is it okay if I use my laptop until we can get a unit to my place? PC or laptop is fine with me.
Best,
Y/N
Bucky fights off another smile, rubbing his hand over his stubbled cheek as he carefully types out a reply. Unlike other days, he doesn’t mind staying beyond 5 PM today. It’s not like he has other plans for his Friday night.
No worries, Y/N. He’s already loving your name. Happy to help!
Do you have your laptop with you? I can set it up before you go home for the weekend. I can probably send in the ticket to the guys so you can have your work equipment next week.
His deft fingers are dancing over his mechanical keyboard, clacking away while the clock ticks closer to the weekend.
A ping, another reply from you. You’re new, you’re still excited to make friends in the office. If you only knew how stupid they are, though.
Yeah! I have it on me right now. I actually work on the same floor, I can drop it off there right now.
Bucky glances around his office, looking for any reflective surface he can check himself on. He runs his hand through his hair, taming any stubborn locks that fell out of his low bun. His shirt hangs just right against his huge frame, his pants hugging his figure, accentuating his silhouette even more.
Just as the clock ticks 5:00, a soft knock raps against his door, “come in!”
You are cuter, prettier in person. Your perfume hits his nose and he’s floored—metaphorically.
“Mr. Barnes,” you say, your demeanor somewhat meek and shy. Well, of course, you are. Your frame is nothing against the hunk of the man who just stood up to greet you.
“Bucky.” He prompts, smiling. You reciprocated the smile, but you really weren’t sure what to expect. Maybe a scrawny little dude mousing away on a keyboard?
“Bucky, thank you so much for doing this. I know you’d rather get off of work since it’s Friday and all.”
He hums, taking your laptop in his hands. You notice the rings adorning his fingers—complementing his tanned skin tone and—it’s not appropriate to stare at a stranger’s hand.
Heat creeps up your face as he turns to look at the stickers stuck to your laptop, “you know, I like this band.” Bucky says, pointing to an old sticker, he carefully sets down your laptop on his workstation.
“They’re great,” you muse, taking a seat on a plastic chair by the door.
You take a gander around his small office. There was nothing out of the ordinary but the big black server blinking at the back, so why do you feel trapped?
“Sorry about the temp, we have to keep the room cold for the server in the back,” Bucky explains, noticing how your arms are crossed over your chest. The skirt you’re wearing isn’t doing you any better too.
You stammer out an it’s okay with a small smile.
Bucky worked on your computer quietly, using a USB stick to load all the applications you need to set up a temporary work account on your laptop. After a few minutes, he beckoned you to come here. You scoot over to his desk, rolling the chair forward and beside him. Not too close though.
“So, this note has all your generated passwords. Type those into the app when you first log in, then you can change it if you want to.” Bucky explains, the cursor idles on the screen. He tries not to get too close to you, to give you personal space. It’s a professional workplace after all.
“This app,” he drags a window, pulling up an application, “tracks your hours and your keystrokes. It’s company-mandated because managers want to micro-manage their people, I guess.” Bucky shrugs, his disdain showing through his voice. His tone shifting lower than what you’d expected.
“Sorry, I just hate their new protocol,” his face and voice softening as he looks at you, “it’s a total privacy breach if you ask me.”
You’d normally disagree but something tells you that maybe he’s got a point. Your breath hitched in your throat as he leans closer as if to whisper something, “this note right here? It’s a nifty thing, a little script so your computer doesn’t go to sleep when you’re away. It enables and disables your numlock pad so it counts as a keystroke.”
A smirk finds its place on your face, “well, that’s…something, isn’t it?”
Never in your life would you find yourself flirting with a co-worker but there’s something about Bucky that made you excited. Interested. Intrigued.
Bucky nods, rolling his chair away to fetch a pad of sticky notes. “Another thing from your friendly neighborhood IT guy,” he peels off a leaf and sticks it on your laptop’s built-in camera, “keep your cam covered.”
You give him a chuckle and a playful salute, “yes, sir.”
Bucky’s a modern man. He sees a pretty girl and he gets giddy. He talks to a pretty girl and he gets flustered. But you—you make him feel more than giddy and flustered. There was something familiar about you, and your eyes. Has he seen you before? Met you, even? No, that’s impossible—if he had met you before, he’d surely remember you.
It was 5:34 PM when he gave you your laptop back and sent in an urgent request for your equipment. While taking down the elevator to the lobby, Bucky gave you a few tips on how to ‘survive’ working in the office. According to him, as far as you go in on time and kept your head above the rumors, you’d do fine.
He asked about your first week and he told you about this joint near the building that serves the best burgers and fries.
You’ve got a good feeling that you just made your first friend.
The sun was already setting down when you pulled into your apartment’s parking lot. At the very last minute, you turned into a drive-through and got some food on the go. The side trip took out 10 minutes of your time but at least you dodged the awful traffic that was building up by the highway.
Along with your laptop bag and your food, you trudge up to your third-floor apartment. It wasn’t what you wanted—the windows faced the street, the screen door doesn’t lock all the way—but it’s the one you got. As long as it’s got four walls and a roof, right?
You slip out of your work clothes and into some comfy jammies after a rewarding shower; the sooner you can get your food heat up, the sooner you can eat, and drink and then go to sleep.
So while waiting for the microwave to beep, you pry open your laptop. You told Bucky not to shut it down after he worked on it as to not lose your work on another profile, which he understood.
The work account he set up greeted you, along with the bright pink sticky note he stuck to your webcam. That wasn’t real, was it? All those cautionary tales of hackers using webcams to peep on you. Maybe he’s just trying to scare you, like some kind of initiation. Without a second thought, you took off the sticky note. It was kinda annoying anyway.
Clicking the Log Out Work button, your personal account popped into the frame. Your opened apps and documents displaying themselves for you to use. You pulled up Spotify and clicked on the first playlist you saw—which happened to be your intimate playlist.
Sure, the Pavlov reaction is real because halfway through the first song, you already found yourself getting all hot and bothered. This one’s your favorite song too.
You groan in annoyance, your food’s no longer a priority.
Picking up the laptop from the table, you walk to your bedroom, not bothering to shut the door. You live alone, it’s fine. You put the laptop on its loudest setting, setting it on your desk and you plopped down on your bed, the pillows and the comforter pooling on one side.
Your room is illuminated by a streak of light from the street. Your curtains flowing softly with the breeze that just came in.
Glancing at your laptop, you remembered Bucky. How his office smelled when you first walked in. How he stood tall when he greeted you. How he smiled. Those goddamn rings of his.
Before you caught yourself thinking rationally, your fingers are already splayed even over your thighs, caressing the soft flesh of your legs.
Bucky’s smirk and his cologne finding purchase in your fogged brain. Thoughts of him pulling you aside into his office to fool around—voices above hushed whispers as your skin erupts in goosebumps, the chilled air of his office finding its way up to your spine.
Oh, fuck it.
You undress fast, flinging your shirt over your head, dropping it somewhere below the bed. The air in your room making your nipples hard and erect as you pinch them. You breathe out a sigh, the heat of the moment creeping up your torso.
The material of your panties dampening as you imagine yourself bent over his desk, your skirt bunched over your hips as he laps your sopping cunt. Bucky’s tongue exploring your folds up and over until your pussy’s a quivering mess of drool and spit.
Your fingers slip past the band of your underwear. Even you surprised yourself by how wet you are.
God, you met him once and he’s already inching his way into your mind.
But who could blame you? You’ve been all over his Facebook profile when you learned his name via the office’s organizational chart. The first time you saw him, walking around the office with a laptop in his hands, you already knew you wanted to at least formally meet him. A scroll on his page, you found a band that you could tolerate listening to. (They’re okay, just not your taste in music.)
A plan came to mind when your department head told the team that you can work from home from time to time—only if you agreed to use a work laptop, a company-owned one. Your manager advised you to put in the request as soon as you can, for you to secure a unit before the on-hand supplies dwindle.
Deliberately sending in the request late—way, way later—than what your manager told you just so you could pull up the ‘new hire’ card and act dumb.
And it looked like he bought it too.
The image of him fucking you quiet while he grabs you from behind played inside your mind like a memory—a vision. Of how his thick cock would fill you up until your pussy is clenching around him. Would he pinch your throbbing clit, making you squirm and cream around him?
Your fingers are compared nothing to his, that’s for sure. But it does the work for now.
A breathy moan comes out of your mouth as you play with your clit, your cunt dripping down wetness as you continue to fondle your tits.
His hands would make a great addition to your chokers.
Your toes curl and your breath quickens, the coil in the pit of your stomach tightening—white-hot heat creeping up your limbs.
Oh, fuck, Bucky!
His ears perked up as he heard you moaning his name.
Bucky was busy watching you enjoy yourself when he got caught in the moment and decided to enjoy himself too.
He was barely keeping himself behaved when you first walked into the floor wearing a button-up and slacks that accentuated your backside. Bucky wished he was the one who gave you the tour and know your name for the first time, but that was impossible—he was in the IT department.
So when he got the news that new hires will be given the chance to work from home, he hoped that he gets to be the one to help you set up.
He was losing hope by the time he got your request, he thought that you opt not to work at home but then there you were, sending him an apologetic email on a late Friday afternoon.
Of course, he happily obliged. He even set up himself a little virtual camp in the background of your computer just so he can continue spending time with you.
Just thinking about you is already making him hard again. Bucky already came in hot spurts of white as he watched you desperately undress earlier. What can he say—he was waiting for you to show your tits already. As such, he correctly guessed that you’d be annoyed with the glaringly bright sticky note he used to ‘cover’ your webcam with.
But seeing you fingerfuck yourself all alone just wasn’t enough for him, he has to have you all by yourself.
426 notes · View notes
evabellasworld · 3 years
Text
Storm of the Republic
Chapter 4
AO3 Link | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4
——————————————————————————————
Summary:  When Tup murdered General Tiplar during a battle, Anakin Skywalker and Captain Rex dispatched Ahsoka, Fives, and Yara to solve the mystery that was plaguing the Clone Army. Meanwhile, Senator Padme Amidala contacted Commander Fox, Commander Tori, Riyo Chuchi, and Dipper to help her continue investigating the death of Palpatine, suspecting that Dooku was behind the evil plot. But when Dooku send an ISB agent to stop them, the team had to race against time to search for the truth, which could alter the course of the galaxy.
————————————————————————————
Entering her office, Padmé Amidala let out a sigh of relief as she locked the door behind her, hoping no one was expecting her soon. The last thing she wanted was Agent Doherty showing up with stormtroopers, giving her a smile that tastes like diabetes. I do not like her, she thought. I do not like her at all.
Before she could sit down, a robotic voice called out to her, making her gasp in surprise. “Mistress Padmé,” C-3P0 called her name. “Oh, am I glad to see you. For a moment, I thought you were somebody else instead.”
“Oh, Theepio, it’s you,” she wiped the sweat on her forehead, relieved to see her companion. “I thought you were one of those ISB agents but I’m glad to see you too.”
“Pardon me, but is everything alright, mistress?” he asked with distress. “You seemed more agitated than usual.”
“Not really, Threepio,” she shook her head as she took a seat, closing the blinds by the windows. “Things are not the same as they used to be. Back then, I could roam the hallways with no worries or suspicion. Now, I can’t even visit the ladies’ room without being questioned by the ISB. Strange, isn’t it?”
“I agree with you, Mistress Padmé. The security around here was toughened, and we can’t really go anywhere without being monitored, I’m afraid. To be honest with you, I don’t find this entire ordeal necessary.”
And he was right. She feared she was being watched by the hawks in the sky, waiting to be pounced like a prey. Since the Senate was taken over by Dooku, Padmé and the rest of her colleagues had to bid their farewell towards privacy and freedom. He assured them it was for their safety and protection, but at what cost?
Glancing at her baby bump, she caressed it gently as she closed her eyes and pictured herself carrying her child in her arms, gazing at their puffy cheeks and their tiny fingers. Her husband, Anakin, would sit by her side, smiling at his child. They’re so beautiful, he would say, with tears of joy in his eyes.
Last she saw him, Anakin fled from Coruscant six months ago, along with his Padawan Ahsoka Tano and his master, Obi-Wan Kenobi. Palpatine’s death affected him for the past few days, along with the disappearance of Eva and Lira. The three of them were close to him, and though Padmé wasn’t a Jedi, she sensed his grief towards them. I could have saved them, he told her. I was supposed to protect them, but I failed them instead. This was all my fault.
Padmé felt sorry for the Jedi Knight and wished she could do everything to help him, but she can’t always be there for him. Obi-Wan and Ahsoka tried to help him as well, but only Anakin could change himself. She was aware her husband was enslaved as a little boy and he lost his mother to the Tusken Raiders, and she had seen him blow up in front of her a couple of times. I hate them. I hate them so much.
Even Eva can’t do anything about it as well. As she told the senator before, only he could choose his own fate.
How do I grab those files from Palpatine’s penthouse without getting caught? she pondered, stroking her chin. I can’t just walk in there and take it. Agent Doherty might be waiting for me and arrest me on the spot. There has to be another way I could get in there.
As Padmé was thinking, the expressions on her face lit up, prompting her to turn to her desk. Switching on her computer, she keyed in the password and accessed it through her diary. Since she was a little girl, Padmé would always express her thoughts and emotions through writing. She would record every single detail of her life daily as a way to cherish those memories, whether it's good or bad.
Clicking on one of the pages that dates back to six months ago, she began to read.
Dear diary,
Today I learned that Palpatine was dead a couple of days ago. His death was a shock to me, as he was a dear friend of mine ever since I was Queen of Naboo more than 10 years ago. The Jedi Council was in charge of investigating his death, with assistance from the Coruscant Guards as well. Commander Fox was a valiant officer who served the Chancellor since the beginning of the war and, having worked with him a few times, I trust he would find the culprit responsible for this cruel and unjust act. The sooner we find the murderer, the calmer the situation will be.
As she finished reading it, Padmé switched off her computer and gathered her thoughts in her head. Now I remember. Commander Fox and Anakin were leading Chancellor Palpatine’s murder case, before the Republic Intelligence intervened. They managed to inform me that small footprints were found at the crime scenes, along with a few stolen files and credits. If Agent Starros hadn’t interfered, we would have known about the murderer by now and none of this mess would have happened.
As much as she would love Anakin to come to Coruscant, it was too risky for the three of them. Emperor Dooku had placed a large sum of bounty on the Jedi, and he would be executed on the spot before he could search for answers about the case. But Fox is not a Jedi.
Having him in the investigation wouldn’t be a bad idea at all, according to her. Padmé could reach out to him with a scrambled signal and convince him to continue the investigation of the Chancellor’s death, without Dooku’s knowledge. Considering that he does not care about clones, Fox could easily sneak in and grab the files for her, and Agent Doherty wouldn’t even notice a thing at all. This is the best idea I have ever come up with.
“Threepio,” she caught his attention, getting up from her seat. “Follow me back to my apartment. I have an important call to make over there.”
“Yes, mistress,” he obeyed, escorting her out of her office. “But who are we contacting, exactly?”
“I’ll explain everything on the way. Now come on, we don’t have much time.”
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lochrannn · 3 years
Text
AU_gust: Anatomy of a Heart
Read on AO3
CW: Blood and Injury
prompt no 19: Hospital (joker + taken from 2020 list)
Relationship: Diego Hargreeves/Lila Pitts
Characters: Lila Pitts, Diego Hargreeves
-
“Dr Gill to emergency ER” filters in through the closed door over the tannoy system and Lila’s pulse immediately speeds up a bit.
“Uhm, mum, sorry, but I’ve got to go, they just called for me. You tell Dad I said hi when he gets up, yeah? Ok, love you! Bye!” she finishes her call with her mother back in London quickly.
Sometimes, when Lila has a night shift but is too wound up to sleep, she’ll ring her mum back home, who’ll either just be coming back from the flower wholesale market by the docks or be in the process of opening the shop. That’s how it works, her mum opens up in the morning and her dad closes the shop at night. Lila misses them so much! Even though it was a lot of work, when she was still at uni she really enjoyed helping them out. It was always the three of them.
Now she is all on her own on a different continent. What was she thinking when she took this residency?
She arrives at the ER and is told to scrub up as they are prepping for emergency surgery on a gunshot victim.
When they wheel him in, Lila realises that being shot is not the only thing he’s a victim of, though admittedly, currently probably the biggest threat to his life.
There are multiple lacerations all over his body, probably from a knife, and bruising covering about half his torso. The paramedics have already cut away whatever he was wearing because there are three bullet holes oozing blood slowly. Two in his chest and one in his gut.
It doesn’t look good for him.
Lila tries not to look at his face, tries to not think of him as a person but rather a body that they will do anything to fix but they all know they're working against the odds.
But when he crashes on the table the first of three times before they close him up again, she does catch a glimpse of his face and sees, beside the bruising, a long scar at the side of his head, reaching from the top of his cheek along the fade of his hair all the way to behind his ear.
Some gangster then. Doesn’t make Lila feel any less sorry for him.
She doesn’t believe in miracles, but it is very much against any likelihood that he survives the surgery and is wheeled out of the ER.
There’s no conversation as the nurses start tidying up around them and Lila takes a morbidly fascinated look at the amount of blood that is splattered on the floor and the PPE she is wearing.
They all know they did good, but whether he survives the night or the next couple of days is up to him now.
After her shift ends and before she leaves just before midday, she can’t stop herself from looking in on him.
He is in intensive care, machines beeping away, all sorts of tubes sticking out of him, draining blood, filling him back up with that of strangers and medication.
Lila looks at his face again and now that he’s relaxed and she hasn’t got her hand on one of his arteries, assisting with the suture, she notices that he’s actually quite handsome. He has dark features, like her. She can tell despite the fact that the blood loss has made him decidedly pale. Full lips, strong jaw.
She wonders if anyone’s called his mum yet.
Then she turns around and leaves.
-
He doesn’t wake up for a couple more days.
One time a detective was there when Lila was picking up a medical file from the nurses desk just near his room.
Lila wouldn’t have recognised her as a police officer, tidy pants suit, understated make-up on a very pretty face, she looked more like a lawyer or something, but she was wearing a brass badge on a chain around her neck.
Lila was surprised because she didn’t think they called the cops on victims of violence, even if they did look a little suspicious, so she listened in when one of the nurses walked over to the detective who hadn’t actually entered his room yet and asked, “So is he a criminal?”
“He’s an idiot, is what he is,” the detective answered with a sigh, and Lila thought she might detect some fondness.
“Is he a cop then?” the nurse tried again.
“Pff, he wishes!” the detective half laughed, and Lila relaxed a bit, because whoever the guy was, this detective was clearly not here to arrest him. She must have been a friend.
-
And then he’s awake.
She walks into his room with the other residents and he’s just sitting there with a bit of a scowl but deep brown eyes completely clear. He must have the constitution of an ox.
And then Lila nearly mentally slaps herself when her attention drifts from the head surgeon’s droning voice to their patient’s muscular bare chest, that’s only partially covered by wound dressings.
What is wrong with her? It’s like she’s obsessed with him.
-
The next day, she accepts this fact and walks straight into his room after her shift ends and interrupts him in the middle of eating his terrible hospital jell-o.
“So, what happened to you?” Lila asks brashly.
“I got shot,” he says back in a remarkably even tone.
“Yeah, I know that, dumbass, I helped take out the bullets!” she shoots back and feels just a little insane for insulting one of her patients for absolutely no good reason. But his lip just quirks up a bit as if he’s intrigued.
She grabs his second cup of jell-o off the little table across his knees and says sternly, “I’ll give it back if you tell me what happened!” at the same time as he says, “Hey!”
He scowls at her while she wanders to the end of his bed to pull the medical file out of the little rack and looks over it.
His name is now at the top. Diego Hargreeves. Somehow that rings a very distant bell, but Lila can’t place it.
Diego huffs and says, “Hey listen, what I do isn’t exactly legal, so I can’t really talk about it, ok?”
“So you’re a criminal?” Lila replies and is very confused at the fact that that neither surprises her nor does it make her feel any less interested in him.
“According to the law maybe…” he shrugs but gives no further explanation.
Lila is even more intrigued.
“What could you possibly be doing that you think the law is wrong to call a crime?” she tries not to laugh at this because it seems like the dumbest conversation she’s had in a while.
“Saving lives, baby!” he drawls and Lila wants to get annoyed at his smug expression, but instead she’s distracted by the way her heart skips a beat at the casual endearment.
Yeah… really, what the fuck is wrong with her?
She really has to leave or she thinks she might say something increadibly stupid. So she sets the plastic jell-o cup back on his table, he did kind of answer her question after all.
Then she pivots on her heels and makes her way towards the door but just at the threshold he calls out to her, “Hey doc!” and she stops, not turning around.
“You gonna come visit me again tomorrow?”
She schools her features and throws a bored expression over her shoulder at him and doesn’t miss the way he smiles at her, genuinely warm and really fucking cute, and she leaves.
God help her but she definitely will.
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stormtodoroki · 4 years
Text
Love Sparks
Pairing: Kaminari Denki x Reader
Soulmate AU
Warnings: None
P.O.V: Reader's
Word Count: 2,644
The knowledge about how and when Quirks came along goes far beyond my family's history, at least I think. My name is Aizawa, (f/n) and I am preparing for my UA entrance exam, thankfully my mother has allowed me to come to Japan from America for schooling. She mentioned something about being able to meet my grandparents as well as my biological father, if I get the chance. She hasn't told me much about him, every time I'd ask her she'd get really mad and tell me not to ask again, but I was persistent, I just had to know. But that's not the only thing I had to know, not only are quirks a fascinating part of our lives but so is the way we find our forever person, our body's receive a shock that courses through our bodies when we make skin to skin contact with our soulmate. 
I stood at the main gates and took a few deep breaths, this was it, the beginning of my future, if I passed this entrance exam I will officially be a hero student at UA High. As I took my steps over the threshold and moved closer to the designated building I let out a shaky breath I didn't realize I was holding. What if my quirk might not be good enough to get through? What if someone has a similar quirk and they have better control over it than I do? I stopped walking all together and was about to turn around when someone crashed into me. 
"WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING YOU DAMN EXTRA! STAY OUTTA MY WAY."
I looked up to see what I could only describe as an angry porcupine, his face contorted with rage if I looked at him close enough I'd probably see steam coming out of his ears. I let out a quick apology and nodded, he tsked and walked away grumbling, boy I would hate to be in the same testing area as him, I'm just grateful that I didn't say anything back to him.  I shook my head clear and walked into the building, looking for my number I sat next to a kid who looked like he was in the wrong place, he dressed a bit too formal. I wonder if he's going to take the exam in that? 
I took a quick glance around and gulp, there's a lot of kids here, I knew how prestigious the school was and how low the acceptance rate was, but this was just insane. My attention was soon directed to the front  where- oh my gosh it's the Pro-hero Present Mic., he's giving us the run down for the practical? This should be good. 
Present Mic. walked to the middle of the stage, he turned to all of us and screamed,
"Welcome to today's live performance. Everybody say, hey!"
We were all silent. You could hear crickets chirping. 
"Well, that's cool, my examinee listeners! I'm here to present the guidelines of your practical, are you ready, there was silence, yet again as he screamed, "YEAH! "
Listening to Present Mic. screaming and talking loud like he always does began to give me a headache, rubbing my temples I tried to focus on what he was saying. A few rows or so away, I heard what sounded like muttering, I quietly turned and looked towards it, there was a boy with unruly green hair next to, I can't believe it… it's the angry porcupine from earlier who knocked into me. Though he didn't seem too happy to be next to the green haired boy.
"This is how the test will go, my listeners! You'll be experiencing 10-minute-long "mock cityscape maneuvers"! Bring along whatever you want! After this presentation, each head to your assigned testing location."
"Is that so kids from the same middle school can't help each other out?"
I heard from the duo behind me, shaking my head clear I was happy that I didn't know anyone from Japan so it'd be easier for me to take the test and not worry about  any of my friends who were also trying to get into UA, all I have to do is worry about myself. 
"Each site is filled with 3 kinds of faux villains, points are rewarded for defeating each according to their respective difficulty levels!! Use your quirks to disable, these faux villains and earn points! That's your goal, listeners! Of course, playing the anti-hero and attacking other examinees is prohibited!"
I noticed during this part of Present Mics. explanation, the boy dressed in formal attire next to me was twitching in his seat, he waited for Present Mic. to finish talking before he up abruptly stood up with his hand and paper in the air.
"Excuse me, but if I may ask a question?!"
Oh boy, this ought to be great… 
"There appear to be no fewer than 4 varieties of faux, the one on this handout, such a bland, if it is one, is highly unbecoming for you. Japan's top academy we're all here today in the hopes of being molded into model heroes."
He then turned and pointed to Green Bean. 
"And you with the curly hair, you've been muttering this whole time, it's distracting if this is some sort of game to you then please leave immediately! "
He muttered, sorry and put his hands to his mouth, I covered my mouth with my hand and fought back a giggle. 
"Alright, alright, examinee 7111 nice catch thanks, but the 4th faux villain variety gets you zero points this more of an obstacle, have you all played Super Mario Brothers, the old retro games?"
"It's kind of like a thwomp! Only one at each site, a "gimmick" that will rampage around in close quarters."
I heard quiet murmurs about the zero pointer all around me and just shook my head in pity, clearly this is a decoy. Yes, there may be a zero pointer but it's more likely to be the biggest one there is otherwise there'd be more stationed at each site. They expect us not to worry about said faux villain, yet it'll probably be the most important one in the whole exam, I'll have to keep an eye out for it. 
"Thank you, sir, I apologize for the interruption!"
With that the formal guy next to me took a bow and sat back down. 
"That's all for me, I'll leave my listeners  with our school motto, the great hero Napoleon Bonaparte once said, 'true heroism consists in being superior to the ills of life!' plus ultra!! Break a leg everyone! "
With that everyone got up from their spots and filed out in search of where they were to go.  As I looked around the battle center I was sent to a breathed out a sigh of relief, neither the formal dude or the hot head were in sight. I looked around for the green bean to ask him what the hot head had shoved up his butt, but to my dismay he wasn't assigned to my battle center either.  Looking around I see people meditating and conversing with each other, I don't need to do either. I began walking towards the front of the crowd marveling at the city front before me. I looked around and saw Present Mic. on top of a platform and smiled up at him and waved, like a buffoon he looked and and pointed to himself in confusion then waved back before pointing to the city urgently. 
I took that as my cue to go so I took a deep breath and ran in, I made in about 10 feet into the city before I heard him call out. 
"What are you waiting for?! There are no timers in real battles! Begin!"
I knew if I turned around I'd see all the kids running towards me so I decided to get some air coverage. Sticking my arms and hands out to my sides I shot up into the air leaving a trail of water spiraling down below me. I landed on a high rise and looked around the city, seeing a 1 pointer and a 2 pointer approaching I summoned a ball of water into my hands and contorted it into a spear. 
I began to run and jump the rooftops closer to the faux villains and replicated the spear before throwing them both at each bot, taking them down. As the bots were falling I hopped onto them and used my water to slide down to the ground. Looking around them I did a double check to make sure nobody made it this far and accidentally got crushed by a giant falling robot. After seeing it was clear I decided to make way to the center on food, as I began to jog I heard a scream from behind me. I turned to look and saw a 3 pointer ready to crush a girl with pink hair and what appears to be horns? I looked closer and saw her foot was stuck and she was trying to get out without using her quirk on herself. I definitely wouldn't make it to her by running, so I had to muster up my energy and use my quirk from afar, something I'm not too good at. 
"Hey! Close your eyes!"
The girl looked at me and nodded, I then stood next to one of the fallen faux villain bots and took a stray piece in a ball of water I expanded to its size, quickly I released the piece and expanded the water ball more until it was the size of the bot. I hurled the ball of water at the bot and encased it in my water ball before throwing the water ball into the air, it disappeared from the center and past the clouds. 
"Okay, I may have been a little too extreme… "
I muttered to myself, as I walked over to the girl and helped free her. 
"You good?"
She nodded and thanked me. 
"Don't mention it, just go get some more points for yourself. I'd hate for you not to be able to get in because you were stuck and couldn't stop thanking someone who saved you."
After taking down a few more bots and saving a few people I estimate that I have around 35 points right now which means I should be in good standing. I was so lost in thought that I bumped into someone, they sent a shock through me and I froze for a second before shaking my arm. 
"Oh my gosh I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hit you with my quirk are you okay?" 
'What? Wait? He hit me with his quirk?'
I cleared my head and looked at him in confusion, that wasn't just the electric shock that goes through your body when you meet your soulmate? 
"Oh…  uh. Don't worry about it. I'm all good."
'Lies, why would I be alright? You know damn well it wasn't your quirk.'
He gave me a look of uncertainty and smiled. 
"Hi, I'm Kaminari Denki. Nice to meet you uh…  what's your name?"
I scoffed internally, 'really? That's how you're gonna ask me my name? Dude just how dense are you?'
"F/n L/n. Crap, sorry. L/N, F/N. Nice to meet you as well Kaminari. Now if you'll excuse me I need to go and rack up more points so if you don't mind I'll just be o-"
Kaminari cut me off by yelling. 
"That's a zero pointer! No way! That thing is huge!"
Looking up I saw what he was talking about, I smirked. 
"U.A. definitely lives up to its prestigious name. I am impressed. Wow. This zero pointer is glorious."
Kaminari looked at me like I was insane, as if I somehow sparked a fire in him he puffed out his chest in glee and smirked. 
"All the more reason for me to prove my strength. Stand back L/N I'm gonna light this bot up."
I blinked in surprise as he ran towards the bot and he charged up- no way, he wasn't kidding. Large amounts of electricity sprayed out of his hands to the bot, it froze in place for a few moments with electricity spazzing all around the bots frame, but it didn't go down. Kaminari turned to me and gave me a thumbs up and a dumb look on his face. 
"Kaminari you fool! You fried your brain with that foolish attack!"
The bot soon was out of its shocked state and raised it's foot ready to pummel the poor dunce. I quickly mustered up my strength and formed a water ball and sent it at Kaminari, once he was inside I whipped it at me. Kaminari and the water ball collided into me just as the bot stomped down where Kaminari was seconds before. I stood up and slapped Kaminari, feeling another jolt of electricity surge through me. 
'Awh hell. This fool is my soulmate and he's too dense to realize it's not his quirk.'
I turned to the bot and watched it moved closer before turning back to Kaminari. 
"After this exam you're taking me out for ice cream for saving your fried ass not only once but twice."
I turned back to the bot and sent two water balls towards the next spots where it would step, not satisfied with the ground I sent more until the bot stepped and sunk a few feet. 
"Yes! It worked!"
I happily then made a few water spears and threw them at the bot before I took a deep breath in, closed my eyes and concentrated on a tiny ball of water in my hands, I needed to focus all my energy if I wanted to make this work. I slowly enlarged the ball in my hand and listened as it started to crackle and pop, taking another deep breath I slowly opened my eyes and smirked before shrinking the softball sized water ball and throwing it at the exposed part of the bot. Once it was a foot from contacting the bot I spread my arms out enlarging the crackling ball and watched as it downed the bot. 
I looked to Kaminari and sighed. I need to get him somewhere safe until this wears off, if I leave him here he'll be an easy target for the other bots. I'm pretty sure there's five minutes left meaning I can still get a few more points if I hurry up. I took some gummies out of my pocket and threw them in my mouth, I'm lucky we were allowed to bring things in that would help us, otherwise I'd have been out for the count when I helped that pink girl.  I led Kaminari to a safe area and smirked as a three pointer came out of the alley next to us, I jumped up with my water and formed water around my wrist as I plummeted down and punched the bot. It went down just as Present Mic. screeched. 
"It's all over! Good job everybody! 
Within moments Recovery Girl was by my side looking at Kaminari, she shook her head and gave him a kiss on the forehead. Kaminari blinked and looked around in a state of confusion before looking at me. 
"Come on Kaminari, you owe me an ice cream."
I poked his cheek and was sent another shock of electricity, which he definitely would have felt as all and leaned into his ear. 
"After all we are soulmates, and I just saved your butt."
I gave the shocked boy a knowing smile and grasped his hand and began leasing him away towards the exit. If we both somehow get into the hero course this was going to be one exciting year...
A/N: this is AU prompt was brought upon you thanks to the bnha discord server. You can find other works by member of the discord here:
https://liliesoftherain.tumblr.com/post/614256302090223616/mha-x-reader-discord-prompt-masterlist
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arysafics · 4 years
Text
the love of a hero
Summary:  Only three people know that superhero Lioness's true identity is Clarke Griffin -- her boss, her mom, and her worst enemy, Bellamy Blake.
for @marauders-groupie and @bellarkebingo 
prompts filled: superheroes/superpowers, argument, frantic kiss
To look at Clarke as she walks up to Raven’s front door, no one would guess that she’d been locked in combat with Arkadia’s resident supervillain only half an hour ago. It’s one of her non-superhuman skills that she’s developed over the years—making herself look presentable in a short amount of time. That, and acting like she’s been doing boring administration work all day, and not saving the life of Josephine Lightbourne, daughter of billionaire oil exec, Russell Lightbourne, and only heir to his fortune.
Raven opens the door, and Clarke smiles brightly, like she’s not totally exhausted from having the shit kicked out of her by her nemesis, Crixus. She’s bested him a number of times, though never to the point of being able to bring him into custody, but today it looked like he had her beat. That is, until he’d abruptly stopped mid battle, cursing to himself as he fled the scene. Clarke was able to free Josephine and return her to her father, with twenty minutes to spare before Raven and Murphy’s housewarming party.
Clarke holds up a bottle of wine. “Happy housewarming!” she says. Raven grins, taking the bottle of wine as she pulls Clarke into a hug.
“You made it,” she says. “Thought that hard-ass boss of yours might make you work late again.”
“She’s not that bad,” Clarke says, following Raven inside.
“You work late more often than not—like some stupid filing or something can’t wait until the next day?”
“Uh huh,” Clarke says, forcing herself not to roll her eyes. Of course, Raven has no idea of what Clarke really does. No clue about Clarke’s super-human strength, or her lightning quick reflexes, or her ability to fly.
No, Clarke Griffin is an entirely separate entity to her alter-ego, Lioness, according to most of the world, including her closest friends. The only people who know Lioness’s true identity are her boss, Charmaine Diyoza, and her mom, for emergency contact purposes. Sure, Clarke can take a hit better than most, and she heals faster than the average human, but she’s not indestructible. Plus, her mom has known of Clarke’s abilities since she was three-years-old, and would likely be able to guess who Lioness was even in her costume.
There’s only one other person who knows her true identity, other than Diyoza and her mom, and it’s the worst possible person who could have that information—none other than Crixus himself. But since she knows his true identity as well, they seem to have some kind of unspoken agreement that neither will reveal the other’s real name, or hold it over their head as leverage. It seems Clarke’s nemesis isn’t completely without honour.
Raven leads Clarke into the house, towards the kitchen. There’s an array of salads on the counter, and the timer on the oven is ticking down, close to going off. Perhaps Clarke isn’t as on time as she thought she was.
“Okay, I know you said you didn’t want to be set up—”
“Raven,” Clarke groans, already anticipating the end to her friend’s sentence. “Please tell me you didn’t.” She really doesn’t have time to date right now, what with constantly having to stop Crixus from taking his next victim. And even if she did, the whole relationship would be based on lies, seeing as Clarke isn’t exactly about to tell someone her real profession on the first date.
Raven opens the fridge and finds a place for the wine in the door. “It’s not exactly a set up. He’s a friend of Murphy’s, and we were inviting him anyway, and I just thought you should know he’s single, and probably your type.”
“You don’t know my type.”
“He’s hot, isn’t that your type?”
Clarke rolls her eyes. “At least tell me you didn’t tell him I’m single.”
“Can’t tell you that.”
“You made me look desperate, didn’t you? I know you did.”
Raven shrugs. “He’d figure it out within two seconds of meeting you anyway. The desperation just kind of radiates off you.”
“You’re the worst.”
“Shall we go and make the introductions?”
Clarke exhales dramatically. “Let’s get it over with.”
Raven looks a little too pleased with herself as she leads Clarke through to the living room, where the other guests, and Raven’s husband, Murphy, are standing around, drinking and chatting. Jasper and Maya, Monty and Harper, and then a stranger. Except, when he turns his head, almost as if in slow motion, he’s not a stranger at all. He’s all too familiar. A face she’s only seen once before without his mask—Crixus. Clarke’s stomach drops.
For a moment she feels sick—did he follow her here? Did he find out who her friends are and infiltrate the group so he can somehow do something worse than just give her a concussion? But no—unless he’s a much more skilled actor than he ever let on, he’s just as surprised to see her as she is to see him. His mouth drops open as he pauses mid-sentence, and he looks like he’s half a second from fleeing the room. He doesn’t, though.
“Clarke, this is—” Raven starts, stopping when she sees Clarke’s stunned expression, and Bellamy’s matching one. “Do you know each other?” she frowns.
“No,” both of them say at the same time, both as vehement as the other, both realising if they admit to knowing each other, they’ll have to explain how.
“This is Bellamy,” Raven finishes, though she seems sceptical. “Bellamy, this is my friend Clarke.”
Bellamy clenches his jaw, his surprise morphing into something a little more heated—Clarke can only assume it’s hatred. But he holds out his hand anyway, and Clarke takes it, noticing, not for the first time, how warm his skin is. His thumb brushes over hers as he pulls his hand away, and it’s alarmingly intimate for someone who tried to kill her less than an hour ago.
“Nice to meet you,” Clarke says politely, though inside she wants to squeeze his hand until it breaks. Except, superhuman strength is an ability they both possess, and he could just as easily crush her hand right back.
“Likewise,” Bellamy says, and it almost sounds like he means it.
“Dinner’s almost ready,” Murphy says. “So get your asses into the dining room. Give me a hand will you, Reyes?”
Clarke doesn’t look at Bellamy as they head to the dining room as instructed, side by side. She can feel him steadfastly not looking at her either. There’s a rigid tension between them, and Clarke can feel her loathing simmering just under her skin. She balls her hands into fists to keep it from bursting out of her.
She’s aware of the others talking and laughing, unaware of her torturous situation, but the words are distant and unintelligible to her. She can focus on nothing but Bellamy, walking casually next to her, as if he hadn’t had her pinned to the floor earlier this evening, a kidnapped heiress tied up next to them.
Last into the dining room, and with the heads of the table being obviously reserved for the hosts, Clarke is forced to take her seat right across from Bellamy, which means she’ll have to spend all night looking at his stupidly handsome face.
He stiffens as her knee knocks against his. She quickly jerks away, swallowing thickly. She’s not sure why her heart is racing. It’s not like he can try anything here, not surrounded by her friends, unless he wants to reveal himself.
Murphy and Raven bring in the food, and Raven sits at the head of the table, between Bellamy and Clarke, while Murphy sits at the other end.
“Looks great,” Monty says.
“Dig in,” Murphy says. “And no need to hold back on the compliments.”
“Your head is big enough already,” Raven snorts. Their bickering continues, and Clarke tunes out again. Bellamy reaches towards her to grab a bread roll from the basket in front of her, and her hand curls instinctively around her knife. She glances up at him, and she can see he hasn’t missed the subtle action. He raises an eyebrow at her, a smirk playing on his lips, as if to say really? You’re going to stab me? Here?
Clarke loosens her grip, realising she’s being ridiculous, and if she doesn’t relax, she’s going to give herself away.
“You going to eat something or what, Griffin?” Murphy says. “It’s not poison.”
“Yeah,” Clarke says, her voice coming out a little hoarse. She clears her throat. “Sorry, just deciding. It all looks so good.”
“Was that a compliment?” Murphy teases. “A far cry from if you ever hurt my friend I will little crush your skull with my bare hands.”
“You’ve proven yourself to be worthy so far,” Clarke shrugs.
“Not saying you’re not tough, Clarke,” Jasper says. “But crushing his skull with your bare hands? If you want your threats to actually be intimidating, maybe try being realistic.”
Someone snorts out a laugh, and it takes Clarke a moment to realise it’s Bellamy. Of course, he’s the only one who knows exactly how capable of crushing someone’s skull she is.
“Something funny?” she asks him acidly.
“Nope,” he says, but his smile doesn’t drop. “Here, have a bread roll. You need to keep your strength up if you’re going around crushing skulls.”
He’s teasing her. And not in a nasty, malicious way. He’s teasing her like they’re friends. Like they’re the only ones in on the joke, which they are, but they’re definitely not friends. How can he be so cavalier? They’re mortal enemies. They’ve spent two years battling each other, trying to take the other down.
He drops a bread roll on her plate, then passes her the potato salad. She almost declines just to spite him, but she actually does want potato salad, so she snatches the bowl from his hands, glaring at him the whole time.
He’s not allowed to be nice to her. It reminds her of the last time he was nice to her, and that makes her stomach feel all weird, makes her start questioning things, and she doesn’t like that at all.
“I can get my own food, thanks,” Clarke snaps. Raven shoots her a look that says be nice, while everyone else eats their meals, awkwardly pretending not to notice Clarke’s outburst.
“Wow, this chicken is amazing,” Harper says. “Great job, Murphy.” As if this wasn’t already the most awkward, terrible dinner party of all time.
“What have you been up to lately, Clarke?” Monty asks. “It’s been a while.”
Clarke glances at Bellamy, who now seems overly focused on the food on his plate, though if she’s not mistaken, he’s still smiling to himself. He really thinks this whole thing is funny.
“Mostly just working,” Clarke says with a shrug.
“What do you do for a living?” Bellamy asks her. She glowers at him.
“Administration.”
“For who?”
“None of your business.”
Maya interjects before Bellamy can push her further. “What about you, Bellamy? What do you do?”
His eyes don’t leave Clarke. “I’m a librarian.” Clarke rolls her eyes. A suitably boring job that no one will want to ask more about—same as Clarke’s excuse for a job.
“So, Bellamy,” Clarke says, and she swears he actually flinches. “How do you and Murphy know each other?”
“Poker,” Bellamy says swiftly.
“Poker?” Clarke repeats scornfully. Of course he plays poker—and he probably wins almost every hand, one of his talents being his silver tongue, able to convince anyone of anything. Though curiously, it doesn’t work on Clarke. She’s put it down to some kind of superpower immunity.
“It’s a card game.”
“I know what poker is.”
“So which part didn’t you understand?”
“Seriously, do you two know each other?” Raven asks suspiciously.
“No,” they say in unison, not taking their eyes from each other. The heat between them is palpable, and Clarke gets a sudden flash of him on top of her, an hour earlier, when, for a moment, she’d been sure he was going to kiss her. And, she’s ashamed to admit, some traitorous part of her wanted him to.
“Let’s play fuck, marry, kill,” Jasper suggests.
“At a dinner party, really?” Maya scolds.
“Fuck, marry, kill—Trump, Obama, Clinton,” Murphy says, aiming his question at Jasper.
“Which Clinton?”
“You pick.”
“Kill Trump, obviously. Marry Obama, fuck Clinton. That’s for either Clinton, by the way. Try something harder next time.”
“Okay, okay,” Raven says. “This one is for everyone, because I’m curious—and I was just reading an article about them before—Crixus, Red Queen, Lioness.”
“What was the article?” Clarke asks.
“Did you see they kidnapped someone else this afternoon?” Harper says, eyes wide. “Another heiress, apparently.”
“She was returned unharmed,” Maya adds. “I don’t know if Crixus got the money he was after though.”
“He didn’t,” Clarke says, shooting Bellamy a triumphant grin. He gives her a look of distaste. He’s not finding it so funny now.
“So? Fuck, marry, kill?”
“Fuck Crixus, marry Lioness, kill Red Queen,” Monty says.
“I wouldn’t fuck Crixus if my life depended on it,” Clarke says haughtily.
“No, you should definitely fuck Lioness,” Bellamy says, which is basically just a fancy way of telling her to go fuck herself. He’s looking all smug, like he thinks he’s incredibly witty. Of course, no one else gets the joke.
“Can we change one of them?” Clarke says. After all, Crixus and Red Queen have both tried to kill her, and Red Queen almost succeeded. The only reason she didn’t is because, well—Clarke doesn’t want to think about that.
“Fine. Crixus, Lioness, and Spacewalker,” Raven amends.
“Fuck Spacewalker, marry Lioness, kill Crixus. Easy,” Clarke says, pleased with herself.
“I’d kill Spacewalker,” Bellamy says. “That guy is a poor excuse for a hero.”
“Fuck Crixus, definitely fuck Crixus,” Raven says. “He’s hot as hell in that gladiator outfit.”
“Sure,” Bellamy agrees easily.
“Which means you have to marry Lioness,” Clarke points out, to antagonise him, mostly. But to her surprise, he actually blushes.
“Would you rather me fuck her?” he says, despite his obvious embarrassment, and then it’s Clarke’s turn to blush. She so doesn’t want to think about that. What it would be like to have him touch her like that. She feels hot all over, and she quickly crosses her legs, feeling a throb between them that she’d like to ignore.
“I doubt she’d have you,” Clarke sneers.
“It’s weird that neither of them have killed each other yet,” Jasper says. “Like, how often do we have to read about them fighting each other? You’d think one of them would have got the winning shot in by now. Even if it was just an accident.”
Clarke swallows, and she can feel Bellamy’s eyes on her, though she refuses to meet them. Only he knows how close it had come for her.
“I think it’s all staged,” Murphy says. “They just like the buzz around their names. They probably decide who’s going to win before each battle.”
“It’s not wrestling,” Clarke huffs. “Perhaps they’re just evenly matched.” She glances at Bellamy, and he seems just as affronted by Murphy’s accusation as she is.
“I think they get off on it,” Raven says. “They probably go home after each fight and fuck each other’s brains out.”
Clarke’s mouth drops open, and the tips of Bellamy’s ears turn red.
“I’ve read fanfiction about it,” Maya admits.
“Okay, but who do you think will win in the end?” Jasper asks. “They can’t go on like this forever.”
“Crixus,” Murphy says with a shrug. “He’s the one kidnapping people, right? Lioness is never going to kill him. She’s probably under orders to capture him and bring him in so the government can do whatever it is they do with supervillains. Whereas he clearly has no morals.”
“I think if he wanted her dead, she’d be dead,” Bellamy says gruffly. He looks to Clarke, and suddenly she can’t take it anymore. Tears prick at her eyes, though she couldn’t for the life of her explain why.
She stands up, abruptly, and all eyes land on her. “I—have to pee,” she says, then hastily exits the room, towards the bathroom, as her tears start to spill silently down her face.
She can’t stop thinking about it. About him cradling her in his arms as she bled out onto the asphalt, her stomach sliced open. How sure she was in that moment she was going to die, because when you’re the hero, who else is left to come and save you?
His voice, so vivid, as everything else went dark and blurry.
“Fuck, Red. Get out of here.”
Red Queen’s voice answered him.
“I thought this was what you wanted! You asked me to help you. If she’s dead you won’t have anything stopping you. What’s the problem?”
“No one was supposed to die!”
“Well, you’re fucking welcome. Ask someone else to help you next time, big brother.”
The sound of Red Queen’s heavy footfalls retreated into the night, Clarke trying to follow her blurry figure with her eyes, but ultimately letting them close as it became harder to breathe, as the pain started to fade, her body having no use for it anymore.
“Hey,” Crixus’s voice cut through her haze of self-pity, of her looming death.
“I guess you win,” she’d croaked out. “Congratulations.”
“Don’t you dare die on me.” Was it supposed to be a command? It sounded more like a desperate plea.
“What are you going to do? Save me?”
“If I have to.”
Her last memory of that night is of him lifting her from the ground, her head lolling back, her eyes closing, unable to keep them open any longer. Not embracing death, exactly, but accepting it. Even though she’d never expected it to end that way—somehow she had it in her head that he never meant to harm her, not seriously anyway.
She’d woken in a crisp white hospital bed the following afternoon, her golden lioness suit and mask gone, replaced with a hospital gown, her head pounding worse than her worst hangover. Her mom had come in a few minutes later, as Clarke gulped down the water left by her bed, and burst into tears the moment she saw her daughter.
“I thought I’d lost you,” Abby had sobbed, arms around her daughter. “Don’t worry, no one knows your true identity. He made sure of it.”
“He?” Clarke swallowed, though she already knew the answer.
“Crixus. He did that thing—talked everyone into believing they never saw the costume.”
Her mom had left then, needing to get back to her rounds, leaving Clarke to process what had happened. Crixus not only saved her life, but he made sure he protected her identity too? It didn’t make any sense.
Even more nonsensical was his appearance in her hospital room, not twenty minutes later. She knew it was him instantly, though he wore no mask, and just plain jeans and a henley, sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Words had failed her, perhaps partly because of her unquestionable attraction to him in that moment, but mostly because of her shock at him being there at all. She didn’t even have it in her to be scared of him.
“You’re okay,” he said.
“What are you doing here—how did you—” she stopped. How was a stupid question—he can talk his way into anywhere. “How did you know to bring me here?” she asked him instead.
“You told me to.” He stepped further into the room then, and picked up the chart on the end of her bed. “Clarke Griffin,” he’d whispered, reading aloud. His eyes met hers. “Griffin. Part lion, part eagle.”
“Get. Out.” Clarke had said icily. To know her face was one thing—to know her name was something else entirely. He’d stolen something from her, something she never wanted to give him, and now he had the upper hand.
To his credit, he looked guilty as he nodded, replacing the chart and retreating from the room. His last words as he paused in the doorway were, “Bellamy Blake.”
There’s a knock on the bathroom door, jolting Clarke out of her memory. She looks up from the sink, into her pale reflection.
“Clarke?” It’s his voice. Clarke loathes the sound of it, because she can’t stop thinking about how he sounded as he held her in his arms and told her not to die. Like he cared. It’s the first time she’s heard him say her name out loud since the day he found out what it was. It’s altogether too intimate, the way he says it, so hesitant, so full of meaning. Yet what the meaning is, Clarke can’t put her finger on.
She wrenches the door open and pulls him into the bathroom, before slamming it closed again.
“What are you doing here?” she hisses.
“I told them I had to make a phone call—”
“No, what are you doing here? In this house. At the dinner party. Are you stalking me?”
Bellamy looks aghast. “No. I had no idea you’d be here. Murphy and I really do play poker together.”
Clarke looks up at him, concern etched across his face. God, he really is the most magnificent looking man she’s ever seen. His lips look so soft, his freckles disarmingly adorable. And why do his eyes have to be so brown? Why does he have to be so beautiful, and so fucking charming, and most of all why does he seem to care about her?
“Are you okay?” he asks.
Clarke shakes her head. “Stop it. Stop acting like you care. Not an hour ago you were ready to choke the life out of me, and now you’re asking me if I’m okay? Is this some kind of sick game to you?”
“It’s not a game,” Bellamy snaps. “I actually do care.”
“Right,” Clarke snorts. “You care about money. About power I guess, about notoriety? For Crixus at least, if not Bellamy fucking Blake. You don’t care. You’re pure evil.”
Bellamy’s jaw ticks. “You really think I’m the villain, don’t you?”
“Of course you are! You fucking kidnap people, and demand ransoms in exchange for their lives.”
“Did you ever think—”
“You named yourself after the cloud of toxic smoke in Ferngully for crying out loud!” Clarke continues. “Is that not a clue that you’re the bad guy?”
“I—what?” he frowns for a moment, genuinely confused. And then he actually laughs. “Ferngully? Clarke, that’s Hexxus.”
Really? That’s the part he’s going to focus on? “Whatever,” she huffs. “You still literally kidnap people.”
He gets that annoyed look on his face again. Clarke supposes even villains don’t like getting called out on their shit. She purses her lips at him.
“Why didn’t you let me die?”
“What?”
“Red Queen was right. You could have let me die, and all your problems would be solved. Who the fuck else would bother to stand up to you? Spacewalker? He’s pathetic.”
Bellamy gives a half laugh. “Yeah, he is. Still, you’re the one who claimed you’d fuck him.”
“Answer the question.”
Bellamy studies her, perhaps searching for the right words. “This shouldn’t come as a shock to you, since it’s not the first time you’ve heard it. But I don’t want you to die. I don’t want to hurt you at all, but since you’re fucking relentless, and somehow immune to my power of coercion, sometimes it has to come to that.”
Clarke shakes her head. “I don’t get it.”
“I know you think what I’m doing is evil. But it’s not like I’m kidnapping innocent people, Clarke. I’m kidnapping billionaires. People with so much money they don’t know what to do with it. They just hoard it, when they could be helping people. And if kidnapping a spoilt kid once in a while is what I have to do to get some of it off their hands and into the hands of someone who could actually use it, then I’ll do it.”
Clarke gapes at him. Somehow he’s tilted her whole world upside down in the span of a few seconds. “You—you donate the money?” she says faintly.
“You think I’m just hoarding millions of dollars in my evil lair or something?”
“I mean—kind of. Yeah. How do make money then?”
“I really am a librarian.”
“Oh.”
He shakes his head, a sad kind of smile on his face. “I’m not what you think I am, Clarke,” he whispers. Her stomach flips over at the way he says her name.
“No, you’re a regular Robin Hood,” she says. “But—why don’t you just use your powers to convince them to donate money themselves? You don’t have to resort to kidnapping.”
Bellamy sighs. “I’ve tried it, Clarke. You know what happens when a billionaire starts donating millions of dollars of their own accord? People start praising them. Idolising them. They forget all the horrible things these people have done, forget that they don’t actually care. No, it has to be done by force. I want them to be scared. Not worshipped. They don’t deserve that.” He pauses. “Plus, do you know how hard it is to get a billionaire to talk to you if you’re someone like me?”
“Someone like you?”
He raises an eyebrow. “Poor.”
“Oh.” He keeps leaving her speechless. She’s misjudged him—and part of her feels like she can’t totally blame herself, but it still makes her feel guilty. She still doesn’t agree with his methods. But he’s not completely evil.
“I don’t want to fight you anymore.” His voice is so soft, Clarke half thinks she imagined it.
“So what do you want?”
He licks his lips, eyeing her nervously. “I want you to join me,” he whispers. “God, think of what we could do if we worked together.”
Her heart is pounding. The thought of them taking on the world together, stealing from the rich and giving to the poor, just like in the stories she read when she was a kid. She can’t deny there’s a thrilling appeal to it—the two of them, notorious outlaws, champions of the people, righting wrongs, fighting injustice, regardless of what the law says.
But no—she can’t condone kidnapping, let alone take part in it herself. Doesn’t matter how honourable the outcome. The ends don’t justify the means.
She shakes her head. “I can’t,” she says, her voiced laced with regret. Because she truly does wish they could work together. But he’s never going to be satisfied with just catching murderers and rapists—he wants something bigger. Clarke gets it, she really does. But what she does is noble too.
“I know,” Bellamy says sadly. His eyes are full of sorrow, and yet she can still feel heat in them too. She flushes under his gaze, her eyes dropping to his lips, then hastily to the floor before he can notice. There’s no way he’s thinking about kissing her too. It’s not passion for her that she can feel radiating from his body—it’s passion for the subject at hand.
“We should get back to the table before someone misses us.”
Bellamy nods. “You go first.”
It takes her a moment. Something holds her back, some reluctance to leave things like this. But she forces her feet to move, and she heads for the door. Her arm brushes against his as she passes him, and then she feels his fingers curl around her wrist.
“Clarke, wait,” he says huskily, tugging her back, and then his lips are on hers, urgent, frantic, bruising, like he’s afraid this might be the only chance he’ll get. And knowing that he’s right, Clarke kisses him back, just as desperately, clinging to him as his large hands slide to her waist, gripping her tightly.
She moans against his lips, his tongue in her mouth, and they stumble back against the sink, bodies glued to each other. God, she wants him.
A crash from the dining room is what brings them to their senses, and the break apart, both breathing heavy, his forehead pressed against hers, his hands still on her waist, thumbs stroking her absently through her dress.
He swallows. “I’m sorry.” He opens his eyes, stepping away from her. His lips are red and swollen, and Clarke knows hers will be just the same. She rubs her thumb across her bottom lip, still feeling the lingering effects of his kiss. “I just—I really had to know what that felt like. Just once.”
“It’s okay,” Clarke says. She straightens, smoothing down her dress with her shaking hands.
They say nothing else to each other before Clarke walks out of the bathroom, and back to the dining room, where Murphy is cleaning up the remnants of a china bowl, and a pile of pasta salad.
“What did I miss?” Clarks asks, sliding back into her seat.
“Jasper is a clumsy fucker,” Murphy mutters. “Where’s Bellamy?”
“How should I know?” Clarke sniffs haughtily.
When he returns five minutes later, he doesn’t even bother sitting down. “I have to go,” he announces, and Clarke feels her stomach drop. He gives her a regretful look. She knows he’s leaving because of her. Truthfully, it would be hard for her to sit across from him for the rest of the night after their encounter in the bathroom. Harder than when she hated him, even.
“You barely ate anything,” Murphy complains. “And there’s dessert.”
“Sorry. I just—I’m not feeling great. Thanks for inviting me though.”
“Whatever. I’ll see you at poker, I guess.”
“Yeah,” Bellamy agrees. He looks to Clarke. “I’ll see you around.” It’s vague enough that it could be directed at anyone, but Clarke knows it’s for her. She hopes her eyes say what she cannot—I hope you do.
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gaycrouton · 4 years
Note
How do you feel about doing a fic where a young agent notices how awesome Mulder and Scully's relationship is, so he/she goes to Mulder or Scully for romantic advice?
Hey! Thank you for the prompt!! I tried to just a little funny thing as I procrastinate, so I hope it turned out. I also didn’t notice it said Mulder or Scully, so there’s both! Hope you like it!
msr / pre-relationship
There were many pitfalls to having an office in the Hoover basement. Poor air circulation, temperamental heating and air conditioning, being low on the priority list for custodians, but more importantly, being hidden away to the point they were unfamiliar with most of their colleagues yet being enigmatic enough to be known by all of them.
The short, young, blonde agent had introduced herself twice already, but Scully couldn’t remember her name no matter how hard she tried. Kimberly? Danielle? Financial Crimes? VCU?
“That’s really interesting Agent…I’m so sorry,” Mulder apologized in embarrassment, clearly just as bad as she was.
“Please, call me Susan,” she beamed, extending the invitation to the both of them.
“So, Susan. Is there something we can help you with?” she asked, readjusting the files she was carrying so they lay more comfortably on her hip.
She’d been running an errand with Mulder to grab some documents from storage when they bumped into the younger agent. They’d stood there awkwardly as she showered them with enthusiastic praise, exclaiming that she and her partner had heard about some of their latest cases and thought they were fascinating.
It was nice, but her arm was killing her from the bundle and she wanted to get back to her office before her coffee went to waste. But Mulder was smiling and excited, and she wasn’t going to take this moment of appreciation away from him – her arm’s circulation be damned.
At Scully’s question, the girl turned pink and started to fumble on her words, a stark contrast to the bubbly enthusiasm from a moment ago. She was about to apologize for possibly offending her, but she raised her head and looked between them both again. “I hope I’m not crossing a line.”
Scully felt an eyebrow quirk up in response as Mulder chuckled lightly. “Well, usually when we’re on this floor we’re getting our asses handed to us, so this is already a far more pleasant experience than normal.”
Susan smiled at the encouragement and tucked her hair behind her ear before asking. “How do you guys make your relationship work so well?”
There was a moment of silence following her question as the words rang heavy in the air. There was a distinct beat where her and Mulder waited for the other to say something, only to result in them speaking at the same time.
“We ju-“
“I think-“
“You go,” Scully nudged.
“No, you,” Mulder replied.
Scully exhaled an awkward laugh as she tried to articulate her thoughts. “Our relationship works so well because we respect each other first and foremost. It’s a relationship built on respect. We value what the other brings to the table, even if we don’t personally agree with it,” she explained thoughtfully before turning to Mulder and encouraging him to add.
He was looking at her and nodded as she said this and turned to Susan and continued with, “Yes. I think it also works because we trust each other. She’s saved my ass more times than I can count. I know I don’t have to watch my back, because she’s got it covered.”
To hide her smile at his admission, she bumped the files up onto her hip once again. This time, however, it caught Mulder’s attention. “Here, pile that on top of my stack,” he offered, lowering his own collection of files.
“No, thank you. I can handle it,” she replied.
“Scully, at least give me half of your stack.”
“It’s not even that much. I just needed to adjust.”
“But isn’t it hard being romantically involved with your coworker?”
“See? The top few are slipping.”
“What did you say?” Scully asked the woman, ignoring Mulder stealing envelopes from her side.
“How are you able to keep your work and home life separate?” she asked earnestly.
“Well it’s easier for her than it is for me,” Mulder joked, not having heard the original phrasing of the question. “Half of these files will be coming home with me,” he explained, raising the now towering stack in his arms as if it was nothing.
“Does it ever get hard remaining professional at work?” she followed up, asking in a slightly lower tone filled with implications.
“According to Scully here, I’m never professional,” Mulder admitted with a breathy laugh.
Susan’s eyes widened in pleasant surprise while her mouth made a small ‘o’.
Scully, watching the misunderstanding taking place as Mulder unknowingly shoved his foot down her throat, started shaking her head to dismiss his words. “W-w-wait a minute,” she rushed.
Mulder looked at her with a bemused expression and smiled at her, “What? You tell me all the time.” Then turning to the engrossed younger agent, joked, “She claims I break at least a dozen rules in our office a day.”
“Wow,” Susan sighed, in awe of the nonexistent escapades she was envisioning in her head.
“We aren’t romantically involved,” Scully blurted, a little too loudly as Agents passing by turned their heads. Clearing her throat, she lowered her volume and reiterated, “We aren’t together…like that.”
“Wait, what?” Mulder asked, trying to catch up, but only exceeding in making it look like she was trying to cover something up.
“It’s okay Agent Scully, I won’t tell anyone. I was just curious because I’m starting to have feelings for my partner, and you both seem to have it all figured out,” Susan explained.
“But Agent Mulder and I aren’t-,” she started, only to get cut off by the young girl leaning in and clasping her wrist in a show of confidence.
“It’s okay. Your secret is safe with me. Well- if it is a secret. You guys are just so perfect together. You’re like the dream couple!” She gushed.
Scully felt her jaw drop in shock and she turned to Mulder whose face was starting to turn an embarrassing shade of pink. “There he is!” Susan whispered confidentially, directing their attention to an equally younger male agent with glasses too big for his face and curly brown hair.
“This made me feel so much better,” she sighed in relief as Mulder and Scully stood there in mutual shock. “I just wish I had a basement office like you guys. I can only imagine the sorts of fun we could have,” she joked with a hint of sincerity.
“There are always other places,” Mulder joked, ignoring the daggers Scully sent his way.
The agent laughed and nodded before bidding them farewell and running over to her partner, who met her with a beaming smile and a sparkle in his eye.
There was an awkward silence as they both stood there, processing what just happened. “I didn’t know we were together, Mulder,” Scully chastised playfully.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t realize what she-“
“Usually men have to buy me dinner first,” she winked playfully, letting him know she truly wasn’t mad – much to his relief.
“Well I think you still have that lukewarm coffee I bought you waiting downstairs. What’s more romantic than that?” he teased, a familiar gleam in his eye.
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dontlikedarkness · 4 years
Note
Happier by Ed Sheeran prompt. Duncan sees Courtney with another man a 2 years after their breakup.
There had been a time, once, where Duncan had been Courtney’s everything. She was still his - there was no mistaking that - but that time where they only had eyes for each other, where they spent every waking moment together and relished each other’s touch, was long since gone. Two years was a long time to be apart. He had loved her all the while.
A lot of wallowing occurred before Geoff could convince him to go out again. It was made worse by the lack of closure; they had been at different places in their lives, according to Courtney, but he would’ve gone to the ends of the earth for her. He had begged her to stay, had said everything right, and still she’d left him. Without a big fight or a definitive end to things, his feelings had lingered. Days turned into weeks turned into months, and he loved her still. Everyone said he would move on, but how could he?
Leaving the house again was a gradual process. Going to work was a given as he still had bills and rent to pay, but beyond that, he could hardly leave his bed. DJ would force his way into the apartment to cook for him, and Geoff made a point of visiting twice a week, but it took a month and a half for him to get up and to say more than a few words to them at a time. He’d folded in on himself after she left - like his entire identity revolved around her. It did, in a sense.
It was nothing short of a miracle when they finally got him to go somewhere. It had been a long six months of chasing him around his apartment - eventually they’d gotten him to visit their own places, and even to let them invite Bridgette and a few other close friends, but still he’d refused to go any further. When he agreed to visit the animal shelter with DJ, Geoff had half a mind to ambush him with a surprise party. DJ spent a solid week talking him down, and even then, Geoff made a show of tagging along and inviting them for drinks at his place afterwards. It wasn’t much, but the pair of them were secretly relieved to see Duncan leaving his hovel, as they’d so lovingly dubbed his tiny studio apartment. It helped to see him genuinely happy, for the first time in months.
Eventually, their outings became routine, and Duncan found that he was content. He was laughing again, and being social - he went longer and longer spaces of time without thinking about Courtney. That ache was still there, but he was no longer quite so conscious of it.
Two years had come and gone in a heartbeat. Everything was repetitive, and his days blurred together, but he was still content. He no longer scanned every crowd for her face; his hand didn’t feel as empty, and he wasn’t so cold at night, without the warmth of her body draped over his. He dreamt of her still, but they were quiet, peaceful dreams, of picnics at sunset and rides on his bike instead of the dreams where she left again, where he could hear the echo of the door slamming behind her every time he shook awake.
Going to the bar was no longer so strange an idea. He’d go every so often, accompanied by Geoff and by Gwen, a pretty tattoo artist he’d struck up a friendship with a few months ago. Soon her girlfriend, Zoey, started to tag along, and then came her friends, Mike and Cameron and a few others he’d never bothered to learn the names of, and then DJ started to bring his boyfriend, and then Noah and Owen joined the group, and suddenly they were having massive outings and as overwhelming as it was to have that many people around, it provided an easy distraction. He had been caught on multiple occasions trying to send a drunk-text to Courtney, glancing around guiltily while he tapped away at his phone. Someone had always noticed, and stopped him before it was too late. With so many people around, often there was too much going on for him to have the space to think - and he liked it that way. Watching Gwen slam down whiskey sours like it was nothing and having to coax Owen down from tables meant he didn’t have the time to get emotional and make bad decisions.
There had always been an unspoken agreement that Bridgette was not to be invited to these things, no matter how much Geoff moaned and griped about missing her. Duncan didn’t have a problem with the girl, and they got along well whenever he crashed at their place, but she was Courtney’s best friend above all else, and she could be rather ditsy at times. The chance of her forgetting that Duncan was going and inviting her was too high.
“Dude, c’mon, it’s been two years,” Geoff whined, sidling up to Duncan with the saddest, dopiest look on his face that he could possibly manage. DJ noted Duncan’s answering scowl and shook his head, leaning back against the counter as best he could, given that it was short even by normal standards and that his stature was far above normal, hitting the 7 foot mark. “Geoff’s right, man. He promised that Bridge won’t invite her, anyways. Wouldn’t it be nice to have her around?”
Duncan threw up his arms in defeat. “Fine, fine, Bridge can come. But don’t think I’m happy about it.” Geoff made a noise not entirely unlike that of an air horn, pumping his fist in the air with all the excitement of someone who had just won the lottery. “Thank you, dude. You won’t regret it,” he promised. Something told Duncan he would.
***
His motorcycle had given him a great deal of trouble when starting it up, so he arrived at the bar nearly an hour late, already more than a little pissed off. He had several missed calls from DJ and absolutely none from Geoff, which wasn’t much of a surprise, given he now had his girlfriend there to keep him distracted. He fired off a few placating texts before setting his phone to silent and getting in line. Had he left his phone on, he might’ve been spared. Luck was not on his side that night, it seemed.
It wasn’t difficult to pick out DJ from the crowd, given how much he towered over everybody there. He wasted no time in joining his friend at the bar and ordering a couple shots of tequila. One look at the big man had him sliding a shot his way - he seemed visibly distressed, opening and closing his mouth as though there was something he wanted to say. 
“No boyfriend tonight?” He asked, hoping to set DJ a little more at ease. “Not tonight, no,” he responded, his words clipped, eyes fixed on a point past his head. Duncan turned with a frown, curious as to what was taking up his attention.
He wished he hadn’t looked. Maybe he could have remained oblivious, if a little concerned about his friend, and saved himself the heartache.
Because there she was, looking just as gorgeous as she had on the day she’d left, if not more so. She was all legs and curves, and her dress did little to hide it. Her hair was longer, now, and her freckles a little darker, as though she was spending more time in the sun. DJ’s hand on his arm startled him back to reality, and he blanched, having stepped towards her without meaning to. “Courtney,” he breathed, wrenching free of his friend’s grasp. He needed to see her, needed to tell her how much he missed her, how much he loved her, and-
He froze. His veins turned to ice, and he thought he might shatter, right then and there. An arm was wrapped around her waist, large and muscled and possessive, and the way she leaned into the unfamiliar man’s shoulder implied they were a lot more than friends. The man said something, and she laughed, a loud, pretty laugh. Fuck, how he’d missed her laugh.
What hurt the most wasn’t the man there with her. It wasn’t the way she laughed, or how much he missed her, or the fact that he was seeing her at all. No, what hurt the most was her smile, because in all their years together she’d never looked that happy. She was positively radiant now, glowing from the inside out, and it was the most heartbreakingly beautiful thing he’d ever seen.
He clenched his hands into fists until his nails dug little crescents into his palms. And then he turned around, wallet out, and slammed a hundred dollar bill onto the counter. “Whatever bottle of liquor that’ll buy me is fine,” he ground out, ignoring DJ’s worried glances.
He found some secluded corner and planted himself there, taking long swigs from his drink. Eventually he lost count of how many friends had approached him to check up on him. He didn’t care. As the bottle emptied, so did the dance floor, and still he didn’t budge.
Nobody hurt her the way I did, he told himself, in an attempt to dissuade any thoughts of marching up to her and spilling his guts. But nobody loved her the way I did - the way I do - and nobody needs her as much, a second voice piped up, and he scowled, pushing the thought down. I was happier with her. So, so much happier.
But it was too late. She’d slipped through his fingers, and here she was. Happy. With somebody else.
As the night drew to a close, and almost everyone filed out of the bar, he was surprised to see her linger. They locked eyes, just once, right as he pulled the now-empty bottle away from his lips. I’ll be here, waiting, his eyes seemed to say, if he ever breaks your heart. Her answering gaze was so sad and so gentle that it took everything in him not to cry out in anguish. I know.
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Text
AUTOCAD commands 2
Hello, It’s me again, this week I learned how to use more commands for AUTOCAD, you already know that I’m new in this digital drawing tool and I will be showing what I learn to share my new knowledge, with anything more to say lets start
 ERASE
Removes objects from a drawing.
LIST
You can use LIST to display and then copy the properties of selected objects to a text file.
The text window displays the object type, object layer, and the X,Y,Z position relative to the current user coordinate system (UCS) and whether the object is in model space or paper space.
LIST also reports the following information:
·         Color, linetype, lineweight, and transparency information, if these properties are not set to BYLAYER.
·         The thickness of an object, if it is nonzero.
·         Elevation (Z coordinate information).
·         Extrusion direction (UCS coordinates), if the extrusion direction differs from the Z axis (0,0,1) of the current UCS.
·         Additional information related to the specific object type. For example, for dimensional constraint objects, LIST displays the constraint type (annotation or dynamic), reference type (yes or no), name, expression, and value.
 EXTEND
Extends objects to meet the edges of other objects.
 Find
To extend objects, first select the boundaries. Then press Enter and select the objects that you want to extend. To use all objects as boundaries, press Enter at the first Select Objects prompt.
The following prompts are displayed.
Current settings: Projection = current, Edge = current
Select boundary edges...
Select objects or <select all>: Select one or more objects and press Enter, or press Enter to select all displayed objects
Select object to extend or shift-select to trim or [Fence/Crossing/Project/Edge/Undo]: Select objects to extend, or hold down SHIFT and select an object to trim, or enter an option
Boundary Object Selection
Uses the selected objects to define the boundary edges to which you want to extend an object.
Object to Extend
Specifies the objects to extend. Press Enter to end the command.
Shift-Select to Trim
Trims the selected objects to the nearest boundary rather than extending them. This is an easy method to switch between trimming and extending.
Fence
Selects all objects that cross the selection fence. The selection fence is a series of temporary line segments that you specify with two or more fence points. The selection fence does not form a closed loop.
Crossing
Selects objects within and crossing a rectangular area defined by two points.
Note: Some crossing selections of objects to be extended are ambiguous. EXTEND resolves the selection by following along the rectangular crossing window in a clockwise direction from the first point to the first object encountered.
Project
Specifies the projection method used when extending objects.
None
Specifies no projection. Only objects that intersect with the boundary edge in 3D space are extended.
UCS
Specifies projection onto the XY plane of the current user coordinate system (UCS). Objects that do not intersect with the boundary objects in 3D space are extended.
View
Specifies projection along the current view direction.
Edge
Extends the object to another object's implied edge, or only to an object that actually intersects it in 3D space.
Extend
Extends the boundary object along its natural path to intersect another object or its implied edge in 3D space.
Note: Sets the EDGEMODE system variable to 1 so that extending the selected object to an imaginary extension of the boundary edge becomes the default.
No Extend
Specifies that the object is to extend only to a boundary object that actually intersects it in 3D space.
Note: Sets the EDGEMODE system variable to 0 so that using the selected boundary edge without any extensions becomes the default.
 PAN
Shifts the view without changing the viewing direction or magnification.
 Find
Position the cursor at the start location and press the left mouse button down. Drag the cursor to the new location. You can also press the mouse scroll wheel or middle button down and drag the cursor to pan.
JOIN
The Join command in AutoCAD is used to join the objects end to end to create a single object. The objects can be curved or linear, depending on the requirements.
It combines the series of linear and curved to create a single 2D or 3D object.
Note: The objects namely, rays, closed objects, and construction lines cannot be joined using the Join command
Steps to join any object
Select the Join command     from the ribbon panel under the Modify interface.         Or     Type J or join on     the command line and press Enter.
We need to select multiple     objects to join. The selected objects are joined at once.
Press Enter.
The selected objects will be joined as a single unbreakable object.
Note: Only the collinear objects can be joined. It means that the objects lying on a straight line will be joined.
Let's consider an example.
Example:
Here, we will consider the below figure.
We are required to join the segments numbered 1, 2, 3, and 4. These segments are shown below:
The steps to join the segments markedabove are:
Type J or join on     the command line or command prompt and press Enter.
Select     segments 1 and 2.
Press Enter
Select     segments 3 and 4.
Press Enter.
The segments will be joined, as shown in the below image:
The types of objects that can be joined using the JOIN command are listed below:
Lines     The line objects can only be joined to the source line.     The line can have space between them.
The endpoints of the lines should lie on the straight line. It is explained in the below image:
We can also join the series of lines in a single line.
Here, we need to specify the first and last segment of the series to join.
The above process is explained in the below image:
Arcs     The arcs can only be joined to the source arc. The radius and center point     of the arc must be same. The arc can have spaces between them. Let's     consider an example.     The     image is shown below:    
Polyline     Here, lines, arcs, and polylines can be joined to the source arc.
Elliptical Arcs     The elliptical arcs can only be joined to the specified elliptical arc.     The major and minor axis of the elliptical arc must be same. The arc     should be coplanar. The elliptical arcs can have space between them.    
3D Polylines     The linear or curved object can be joined to the specified 3D Polyline. The objects should     be noncoplanar and contiguous.
Helixes     The linear or curved object can be joined to the specified helix. The objects     should be noncoplanar and contiguous.
Splines     The linear or curved object can be joined to the specified spline. The objects     should be noncoplanar and contiguous.
 OFFSET
AutoCAD Offset Command
The offset command in AutoCAD is used to create parallel lines, concentric circles, and parallel curves.
We can offset any object through a point or at a specified distance. We can create as many parallel lines and curves with the help of the offset command.
The offset objects can also be modified further according to the requirements. Here, modification of offset object means that we can apply trim, extend, and other methods on it.
Let's understand it with some examples.
Example 1: Offset of a circle.
The steps are listed below:
Create a circle with any     specified radius. For     example, 3.
Select the Offset     icon on the ribbon panel.     Or Type O or offset on     the command line or command prompt and press Enter.
Specify the value of offset     distance. It is the distance value to create a concentric circle from the     original circle. For     example, 1.
Press Enter.
Select the object to offset.     We need to select the object with a small square cursor.
Move the cursor inside or     outside to place the offset object, as shown in the below image:        
Press Esc or Enter to     exit from the offset command.
Example 2:
The object to offset is shown in the below image:
The steps are listed below:
 Type J or join on      the command line.
 Select objects or multiple      objects to join. Here, we will select the two lines and an arc.
 Press Enter.
The distance between the object and the offset object is 1, as mentioned in step 4.
Example 2: To remove the object after the offset.
We can also remove the object after the offset. The object is shown in the below image:
The steps for such an example are listed below:
Create an object using the polyline command,     as shown in above image. We can also create it using line command     and can join them using Join
Select the Offset     icon from the ribbon panel.     Or     Type O or offset on     the command line or command prompt and press Enter.
Type E or erase on     the command line and press Enter.
Type yes to     erase the source object after offsetting.     Or     Click on the yes button on the     command line, as shown in the below image:    
Specify the value of offset     distance. For     example, 1.
Press Enter.
Select the object to offset     with a small square cursor.
Move the cursor in the     particular direction and click on that point.
Press Enter.     It is shown in the below image:    
Press Esc or Enter to     exit from the offset command.
We can notice that the source object is erased after offsetting.
Below are the figures with their offset.
Figure 1:
Figure 2:
Figure 3:
Figure 4:
Multiple Offset
The multiple offset command in AutoCAD is used to apply the offset multiple number of times.
Let's understand it with an example.
The steps are listed below:
Select the line command     from the ribbon panel and create a line of     dimension 4. We     can draw any object according to the requirements.
Type O or offset on     the command line and press Enter.
Specify the offset distance.     For example, 1.
Select the object to offset.
Type M or multiple on     the command line and press Enter.
Continue clicking in the     corresponding direction to place the offset objects.
With the help of the above steps, we are not required to use the offset command again and again
 QSAVE
Saves the current drawing using the specified default file format.
 Find
If the drawing is named, the program saves the drawing and does not request a new file name. Use the SAVEAS command if you need to save a drawing with a different name.
If the drawing is unnamed, the Save Drawing As dialog box (see SAVEAS) is displayed and the drawing is saved with the file name and format you specify.
When you save a drawing, the operation can either be an incremental save or a full save depending on the setting of the ISAVEPERCENT system variable. Incremental saves are faster, but the drawing file will be larger. Saving to a different format always results in a full save.
Note: The default file format can be specified in the Open and Save tab of the Options dialog box.
 OSNAP
Sets running object snap modes.
The Object Snap tab of the Drafting Settings dialog box is displayed.
If you enter -OSNAP at the Command prompt, the following prompts are displayed.
Enter a list of object snap modes
Enter names of object snap modes separated with commas, or enter none or off.
Object Snap Modes
Specify one or more object snap modes by entering the uppercase characters of the name in the following table. If you enter more than one name, separate the names with commas.
Mode
Description
ENDpoint
Snaps to the closest endpoint or corner of  a geometric object
MIDpoint
Snaps to the midpoint of a geometric object
CENter
Snaps to the center of an arc, circle,  ellipse, or elliptical arc
Geometric CEnter
Snaps to the centroid of any closed  polylines and splines
NODe
Snaps to a point object, dimension  definition point, or dimension text origin
QUAdrant
Snaps to a quadrant point of an arc,  circle, ellipse, or elliptical arc
INTersection
Snaps to the intersection of geometric  objects
EXTension
Causes a temporary extension line or arc to  be displayed when you pass the cursor over the endpoint of objects, so you  can specify points on the extension
INSertion
Snaps to the insertion point of objects  such as an attribute, a block, or text
PERpendicular
Snaps to a point perpendicular to the  selected geometric object
TANgent
Snaps to the tangent of an arc, circle,  ellipse, elliptical arc, polyline arc, or spline
NEArest
Snaps to the nearest point on an object  such as an arc, circle, ellipse, elliptical arc, line, point, polyline, ray,  spline, or xline
APParent intersection
Snaps to the visual intersection of two  objects that do not intersect in 3D space but may appear to intersect in the  current view
PARallel
Constrains a new line segment, polyline  segment, ray or xline to be parallel to an existing linear object that you  identify by hovering your cursor
NONe
Turns off object snap modes
 DIM
Creates multiple dimensions and types of dimensions with a single command.
 Find
You can select objects or points on objects to dimension, and then click to place the dimension line. When you hover over an object, the DIM command automatically generates a preview of a suitable dimension type to use.
Supported dimension types include the following:
·         Vertical, horizontal, and aligned linear dimensions
·         Ordinate dimensions
·         Angular dimensions
·         Radius and jogged radius dimensions
·         Diameter dimensions
·         Arc length dimensions
Some DIM options set a mode of operation that persists until you change it, including
·         Baseline linear or baseline angular dimensioning
·         Continue linear or continue angular dimensioning
·         Radius, diameter, jogged radius, or arc length dimensions
Some DIM options provide methods to edit dimensions including
·         Align the dimension lines of selected dimensions to a reference or base dimension
·         Offset the dimension lines of selected dimensions
·         Specify a different layer for subsequently created dimensions
The following prompts are displayed.
Select objects
Defaults to an applicable dimension type for the objects you select and displays the prompts corresponding to that dimension type.
Object type
Default
Arc
Radius dimensions
Circle
Diameter dimensions
Line
Linear dimensions
Polyline
Linear or radius dimensions, depending on  the segment selected
First extension line origin
Creates a linear dimension when you specify two points.
Angular
Creates an angular dimension showing the angle between three points by or the angle between two lines (same as the DIMANGULAR command).
·         Vertex. Specifies the point to use as the vertex of an angular dimension.
·         Specify first side of angle. Specifies one of the lines that defines the angle.
·         Specify second side of angle. Specifies the other line that defines the angle.
·         Angular dimension location. Specifies the quadrant and location for the arc dimension line.
o    Mtext. Edits the dimension text with the Text Editor contextual tab.
o    Text. Edits the dimension text in the Command window.
o    Text angle. Specifies the angle of the dimension text.
o    Undo. Returns to the previous prompt.
·         Undo. Returns to the previous prompt.
Baseline
Creates a linear, angular, or ordinate dimension from the first extension line of the previous or selected dimension (same as the DIMBASELINE command).
Note: By default, the last created dimension is used as the base dimension.
·         First extension line origin. Specifies the first extension line of the base dimension as the extension line origin for the baseline dimension.
·         Second extension line origin. Specifies the next edge or angle to dimension.
·         Feature Location. Uses the endpoint of the base dimension (ordinate dimension) as the endpoint for the baseline dimension.
·         Select. Prompts you select a linear, ordinate, or angular dimension to use as the base for the baseline dimension.
·         Offset. Specifies the offset distance from which the baseline dimensions are created.
·         Undo. Undoes the last baseline dimension created.
Continue
Creates a linear, angular, or ordinate dimension from the second extension line of a selected dimension (same as the DIMCONTINUE command).
·         First extension line origin. Specifies the first extension line of the base dimension as the extension line origin for the continued dimension.
·         Second extension line origin. Specifies the next edge or angle to dimension.
·         Feature location. Uses the endpoint of the base dimension (ordinate dimension) as the endpoint for the continued dimension.
·         Select. Prompts you select a linear, ordinate, or angular dimension to use as the base for the continued dimension.
·         Undo. Undoes the last baseline dimension created.
Ordinate
Creates an ordinate dimension (same as DIMORDINATE command).
·         Feature location. Prompts for a point on a feature such as an endpoint, intersection, or center of an object.
o    Leader endpoint. Uses the difference between the feature location and the leader endpoint to determine whether it is an X or a Y ordinate dimension. If the difference in the Y ordinate is greater, the dimension measures the X ordinate. Otherwise, it measures the Y ordinate.
o    Xdatum. Measures the X ordinate and determines the orientation of the leader line and dimension text.
o    Ydatum. Measures the Y ordinate and determines the orientation of the leader line and dimension text.
o    Mtext. Displays the Text Editor contextual tab, which you can use to edit the dimension text.
o    Text. Customizes the dimension text at the Command prompt. The generated dimension is displayed within angle brackets.
o    Angle. Specifies the angle of the dimension text.
o    Undo. Returns to the previous prompt.
·         Undo. Returns to the previous prompt.
Align
Aligns multiple parallel, concentric, or same datum dimensions to a selected base dimension.
·         Base dimension. Specifies a dimension to use as basis for the dimensions alignment.
o    Dimensions to align. Selects the dimensions to align to the selected base dimension.
Distribute
Specifies the method on how to distribute a group of selected isolated linear or ordinate dimensions.
·         Equal. Equally distributes all selected dimensions. This method requires a minimum of three dimension lines.
·         Offset. Distributes all selected dimensions at a specified offset distance.
Layer
Assigns new dimensions to the specified layer, overriding the current layer. Enter Use Current or " . " to use the current layer. (DIMLAYER system variable)
Undo
Reverses the last dimension operation.
The following options are displayed when you place a dimension in such a way that it overlaps an existing dimension.
Move away
Arranges the existing dimension and the newly inserted dimension into a baseline dimension type.
Break up
Splits up the existing dimension into two dimensions, and arranges those dimensions into a continued dimension type.
Replace
Deletes the existing dimension and replaces it with the one you insert.
None
Inserts the new dimension on top of the existing dimension.
 DIMSTYLE
At the Command prompt, creates and modifies dimension styles.
You can save or restore dimensioning system variables to a selected dimension style.
List of Prompts
The following prompts are displayed.
Annotative
Creates an annotative dimension style.
Create annotative dimension style?
Specifies whether the dimension style you create are annotative. When dimensions are annotative, the process of scaling annotation objects is automated.
Name for new dimension style
Specifies a style name or enter ? to display a list of existing style names.
That name is already in use, redefine it?
Displayed if the name you entered is already in use.
If you enter y, associative dimensions that use the redefined dimension style are regenerated.
To display the differences between the dimension style name you want to save and the current style, enter a tilde (~) followed by the style name. Only settings that differ are displayed, with the current setting in the first column, and the setting of the compared style in the second column.
Save
Saves the current settings of dimensioning system variables to a dimension style. The new dimension style becomes the current one.
·         Name for new dimension style.
·         The name is already in use, redefine it?
Restore
Restores dimensioning system variable settings to those of a selected dimension style.
Dimension style name
Makes the dimension style you enter the current dimension style.
To display the differences between the dimension style name you want to restore and the current style, enter a tilde (~) followed by the style name at the Enter Dimension Style Name prompt. Only settings that differ are displayed, with the current setting in the first column, and the setting of the compared style in the second column. After the differences are displayed, the previous prompt returns.
?
Lists the named dimension styles in the current drawing.
Select dimension
Makes the dimension style of the selected object the current dimension style.
Status
Displays the current values of all dimension system variables in the drawing.
Variables
Lists the dimension system variable settings of a dimension style or selected dimensions without modifying the current settings.
Name
Lists the settings of dimension system variables for the dimension style name you enter.
To display the differences between a particular dimension style and the current style, enter a tilde (~) followed by the style name at the Enter Dimension Style Name prompt. Only settings that differ are displayed, with the current setting in the first column, and the setting of the compared style in the second column.
?
Lists the named dimension styles in the current drawing.
Select Dimension
Lists the dimension style and any dimension overrides for the dimension object you select.
Apply 
 Find
Applies the current dimensioning system variable settings to selected dimension objects, permanently overriding any existing dimension styles applied to these objects.
The dimension line spacing between existing baseline dimensions is not updated (see the DIMDLI system variable). Dimension text variable settings do not update existing leader text.
This is something I was reading this week, now I only have to put it on pratice, well, that will be all for tonight, see ya soon!
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lovexdejun · 4 years
Text
a/n: uhh technically this ain’t angst but it was requested from the angst prompt i reblogged? this SO FUCKING FUN to write. i love these kinds of scenarios so. much. i guess this is like a thriller/crime blurb? i hope you enjoy it as much as i did! (also, in no way, shape or form do i think like this, it’s just what i think serial killers would think like.)
requested by @hyucksxx from this prompt list
56. “I could have died and you couldn’t have cared less.”
60. “Don’t hate me for this. You would have done the same.”
warnings: uh mention of death and serial killings?
middle of the desert, 1:03am
sometimes you wonder what your life would have been if you’d never met hyuck. probably boring; probably that same old 9 to 5 desk job, takeout every night, and standstill traffic on the 101. it wouldn’t surprise you if you’d spent over half your adult years trapped on that stupid freeway.
but then he came along, and everything got fun. he went by haechan when he met you, wouldn’t tell you his real name until he could “trust you.” you can imagine how surprised he was when you rolled into the bar the next night and called him donghyuck—that 9to5 sure had its perks. that’s probably about the time that he fell head over heels for you, and needless to say, you were already very very intrigued by the boy. but no matter how much you loved each other, you were both still pretty selfish.
no one in the world could convince you to throw yourself under the bus for them, even donghyuck. if it came down to it, between you and him, you’d always protect yourself—and you had no doubt he felt the same.
so you definitely weren’t surprised when you saw donghyuck slowly drop his shovel and sprint off back toward the hidden jeep over the detective’s shoulder. it kinda hurt though, knowing you weren’t about to get caught with your partner in crime. you always thought you’d get got together, and it would be like bonnie and clyde... or something. even though you’d probably pin the whole thing on him, and him on you. still, it would have been fun for you guys to look at eachother and know you did all of this together.
but no, you were in this alone, just like you’d expected.
“i finally caught you in the act.” said the exceptionallly dressed man. he’d been trailing you for a whole year now, and you could have kicked yourself for not keeping an eye out. he was obsessed with you! ever since that murder last spring—your wallet had been found at the scene, but you could easily explain it away as theft because she was a transient and, well, you were the perfect, sweet girl next door.
detective kim doyoung, however, didn’t buy it. you think he just got out of a bad relationship and needed some validation and that’s probably why he was stalking you at clubs and restaurants to try and catch you doing something illegal. but when you found out he was doing it of his own accord, you decided to take part in his game. you filed a police report on his “harassment” and got him fired—and maybe pissed him off a bit.
so there he stood in the pitch black, the only thing illuminating the area being the flashlight he held under his drawn firearm. you’d be lying if you said your heart wasn’t bouncing around in your rib cage, but you kept a poker face, leaning on your shovel like you were talking to a neighbor.
when you spoke, it was with a mocking type of humor, “i wondered when you would—took you long enough.”
he played along, chuckling himself. “you didn’t make it easy.” he confessed. “which is gonna make it so much sweeter when i can take you in and put you on display for all those fuckers who didn’t believe me.”
this made you go weak in the knees, but not in a good way. there was no way you’d let this crazy guy take you alive, and if you could help it, you definitely didn’t wanna die any time soon. suddenly you found yourself wishing for haechan—and not just so you could throw him in the line of fire. you wanted him to be there to just hold your hand.
your distraction must have been evident because detective kim made a point of calling you out on it.
“no one is gonna help you now, sweetheart. it’s just you and me.” he sounded so cocky, so confident. he didn’t realize he’d just screwed himself by giving you an idea.
you let out a laugh that was almost too evil before you spoke with a voice that dripped with sweet venom.
“that’s where you’re wrong, detective.” you cooed, shifting your eyes just behind his head. you made sure it was noticeable, but not an obvious ploy, and called out into the nothingness, “came to save me, baby?”
maybe his overconfidence got the best of him, maybe he was too excited; doyoung knew he made the wrong decision just as he went to spin around. but it was way too late. you had already lifted your shovel, and in a split second it was creating a sickening metallic thud against his head. you could feel the vibrations flooding back up your arms and into your spine, and it felt painfully good.
you heard him let out a low, weak groan, and clicked your tongue, shaking your head then going to search for his weapon.
you found his gun in the dim flashlight beam and sighed before firing a shot into his back. it was much much louder than you had anticipated, yet you shrugged, and fired one more round into his skull—just for good measure. you stood for a moment to admire your work, then quickly recovered the casings and kicked the detective’s flimsy corpse into the hole containing your initial half-buried murder victim. it was quick work to fill the grave, a newfound energy coursing through your veins. maybe it was because this time you killed someone with a real life—someone who actually had family and friends and a job to wake up to in the morning. it filled you with anxiety, but also gave you a kind of thrill that your usual victimology had stopped giving you. the fear of getting caught was beautiful. you wanted your heart to race like that every time you made kill.
once you assured that you’d covered your tracks, you set off to find your boyfriend and give him a piece of your mind. it wasn’t too long of a walk to the jeep hidden behind a large rock and some brush, however, you weren’t sure it would even be there by the time you got back.
much to your luck, it was—engine off and lights out. you peeked into the black interior to see haechan gripping the steering wheel, his forehead pressed into the leather. it almost looked like he was crying.
with a tap on the passenger window, you held up his discarded shovel and motioned for the startled boy to unlock your door. once you had thrown your tools in the back and climbed into the passenger seat, you ignored his bloodshot eyes and flushed cheeks. mostly because he was clearly trying to hide it, but also because it caused these horrid feelings deep in the pit of your stomach and somewhere in your chest.
“so what happened?” he questioned, his voice thick with emotion though he acted unphased.
you crossed your arms, pressing against the back of the seat and looking to the window out into nothing. “i killed him, obviously.” pause. “you could have helped me, you know? hit him from behind or something.”
he sighed, palming his face and leaning his head against the headrest. “i panicked.”
“bullshit!” you tightened your crossed arms. “i could have died! and you couldn’t have cared less.”
now he was rolling his eyes and turning his body to face you. you almost flinched at the sincere regret behind his features.
“don’t hate me for this.” he whispered. “you know you would have done the same.”
there was a moment of silence that was so loud it made you wanna crawl out of your skin. you let his words soak in. he was right, obviously. you would have gone out there and arrested him yourself if it meant you were off the hook.
“yeah,” you agreed. “i would have.”
another lapse of silence came, then heachan reached over to take your hand in his own. “when i heard those gunshots, i wanted so badly to get out of the car and run to you.
“my heart felt like it was ripped out and all i wanted was to be holding your hand and saying i love you until they didn’t feel like real words anymore.”
you felt your chest tighten at his words. neither of you were ever this sappy with eachother, and honestly, it wasn’t as bad as you thought. you leaned over and pressed your lips to his, kissed him until you saw stars. you kissed away the tears that had spilled over his cheeks and giggled when he cupped your face to do the same.
“i love you so much.” you said through your happy crying.
“i love you too.” he smiled, holding your cheeks and letting his eyes wander your face. “god, my girlfriend is such a badass.”
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swellwriting · 5 years
Text
Familiar
Fandom: Marvel MCU
Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader
Warnings: a smidge of violence, but it’s mostly fluff! No endgame spoilers here, this is a trip down memory lane because this takes place in my version of the tower era, aka the good old days yee haw.
Request:  No request but this is my submission for @whirlybirbs nostalgia challenge, my prompt was “Please don't cry.”
Word Count: 4k
A/n: She's a long one because I'm dramatic and also don't know how to shut up, thank you.
-
Familiar, not in a particularly good or bad way, just familiar was the word to describe how you felt about Bucky Barnes, or how you used to know him by, The Winter Soldier.
You were a creation of Hydra, not for nearly as long as Bucky was, but he had turned from just a creation to their own soldier, their weapon. You hadn’t had the chance yet before everything happened with the Avengers. Before they broke into the lab you were being held in and Captain America ripped off your restraints and The Black Widow gently pulled the IV from your arm that was keeping you sedated.
That's how you got here, to the Avengers tower. It's how you specifically got to Tony’s lab, practically nose to nose with him as you argued.
“It's unfair! I’m just as equipped as Bucky is and you’re sending him on the mission! We have been here just as long.”
“You aren’t ready!” Tony barked back, an angry and stern look on his face before he walked away from you.
“I'm not ready? I'm a copy of him! If I'm not ready than he isn't either.”
“You're a copy that's never been put to test, you've never been on a mission. You may be just like him but he has years of experience, you have none."
You huffed crossing your arms, he was right. You had never gotten a chance to do a mission for Hydra, which you were thankful for, but it meant that you weren’t seen as being as skilled as The Winter Soldier.
He had done years worths of missions, while you had been locked in the lab, forced to watch as they would debrief him, take his restraints off and let him gear up and leave. Then you would sit in your glass cell, across from his and watch as they brought him back, sometimes uninjured, sometimes not. You would watch as he would bite that rubber mouth guard down with a frown as they wiped his brain again. This was familiar to you, it wasn't to Bucky.
Every time he had seen you back then was like the first time for him. You never spoke to him, you weren't allowed to go near him, but he was still familiar to you.
In a way that was worse than others, he reminded you of Hydra, of being held there against your will, of being experimented on. Every time you saw him do something, whether it was sparring with Steve in the training room, or killing someone in an old resurfaced Hydra video, you were reminded that everything he was, was also inside you.
Steve watched on sympathetically and silently. He knew how much you hated being left behind on missions, not that you didn't love being here any other time. When the tower is empty and everyone is gone on a mission except for you it's the most lonely feeling, you feel like something must be wrong with you.
“What is so bad about staying here, where it's safe, where your only responsibility is to relax? You’re lucky to not have to go on a mission yet.” Tony continued to argue.
“Lucky? I'm lucky to be left behind? I'm lucky to have to sit here alone, feeling like some sort of burden or like I'm not good enough. You call me an Avenger, you gave me the title, you welcomed me to live here and you saved my life but how on earth am I an Avenger if I never leave this building?”
“You will be when you are ready!”
“How can I ever be ready if you never let me go on a real mission! What's so dangerous about this mission that I can’t go. I'm stronger than you think! At least let me know what's going on.” You pleaded, growing hopeless with this one-sided argument,
“Fine. Steve, debrief her, I have a meeting I should show up to at some point.”
Steve fiddled with his hands and avoided looking at you, so you sat across from him at the table and waited. He watched Tony leave the lab and walk down the hall before he let out a deep breath and then looked up to meet your eyes before looking back down. “We are raiding a Hydra base-”
“Like the one I was held at?” You interrupted but Steve didn’t mind he just nodded to your question.
“But it’s a kill mission, it’s not like yours where we were specifically going in to rescue you, we have confirmation that any assets that we could have saved have been...terminated. Now it’s just a sweep, kill and intel mission.”
“That should be easy! Just killing, it’s what I'm made to do.” You felt your excitement grow as you imagined what the mission would be like, how it would be fulfilling killing people like the ones who stole your old life from you.
“But they never altered your mind, they made you a perfect killing machine but they never took your mind from you, they hadn't altered your brain at all according to Bruce's tests.”
“Well, they never got the chance thankfully.”
“We are worried that even though you are programmed and capable of killing, that you won’t be ready when the time comes,” Steve said and you could tell he didn't want to be the one telling you all this but you were glad it was him, he was always honest about things.
“You’re worried I’ll panic when it comes time to pull the trigger and get myself killed? I know how to kill, just because I haven't done it yet doesn't mean I won’t be able to, I'm ready to.”
“You think that now but when you’re face to face with someone who’s pleading for their life, it’s not easy,” Steve explained trying his best to be level with you. “Some of us are also worried that going back there, back to a lab exactly like the one you and Bucky were held in, might be hard to handle, it’s a tough first mission for you.”
“I can handle it, Steve. I'm ready I promise.”
“Okay, I’ll tell Tony that I think you’re ready but I don't know if he will agree.”
“Thank you,” you said with a smile that he only half returned, he was worried, he always worries too much.
-
“Better strap in little one.” Thor teased as he gestured to the seatbelt straps you hadn't buckled up yet.
“I was just about to. Besides I’m not a little one, I may be the youngest but only by like two years.”
“Compared to me? You are a little one, you all are.” Thor said with a chuckle as he toyed with the strap on his hammer.
“Sorry, we aren't all gods.” Clint joked as he grabbed his arrows and sat beside you.
Nat was on your other side and Steve and Bucky were sat directly across from you. As you sat there, joking and having light conversations with the team you would notice Bucky looking at you from time to time, whenever you would look at him he'd look away, it was strange.
You would think that you and Bucky became close once you were brought into the Avengers, similar background and such, but he was quiet and reserved, he spent most of his free time with Steve or Sam and kept to himself other than that.
Bucky was one of the two who didn't think you were ready for this mission, he wanted to protect you from Hydra after what they'd done to you, both of you.
Although you were technically capable of doing anything Bucky could, you needed a lot more training.
Bucky watched as you nervously fiddled with your seat belt, as you laughed at Clints dumb jokes, as you cleaned and loaded your gun and slid your small knives into their place at the side of your thighs and he couldn't stop starring until you would catch him.
You watched him back, when he wasn't looking you would watch him as he stared at the wall behind Clint's head, as he loaded his guns and put his knives where he needed them, as he pushed his long hair out of his face and behind his ears before he would look over at you.
When Tony stood up, talking over the exact plan once more you looked up at him, paying close attention, Bucky stared at you. He watched you intently listen until Tony called out the pairings, naming you and Bucky to work together, then you both stared at each other, equally unprepared for that information.
When you landed and exited the jet your back was to Natasha as you looked around seeing if it was safe, you made your way to the base doors. Tony broke the way in and you all split up into your smaller teams.
“Come this way,” Bucky ordered and you followed him, your gun was drawn finger on the trigger waiting for anyone to make themselves known.
You and Bucky were set to go to one of the labs, it was empty but you and Bucky checked around anyways.
He tossed you the drive and you caught it with one hand, keeping your gun in the other. “Here, you load the drive.”
You just nodded as you plugged it in and began typing away, Bruce was at the main computer and he spoke to you through your own channel on the headset telling you the passwords as he figured them out. Bucky watched as your fingers typed fast, as you listened to Bruce with no questions or problems. You both looked down the hall as you heard gunshots, you stopped typing and Bruce asked through your headset if that was near you.
“It's coming from down the hall.” You answered and Bucky raised his gun, peering down the hall carefully, the gunshots were coming past the corner and he couldn't see who was the cause of them.
“Could use some help here!” Clint shouted into his headpiece and Bucky looked over at you, and then around the empty room.
“I'm going to go help him, stay here and finish receiving the data.”
“Be careful,” you said making him smile slightly as he cocked his gun and spoke into his headpiece.
“On my way Clint.”
“How long till your upload is done Y/n?” Bruce asked through the headset.
“456 files to go, so 67% done but it's going slower, must be larger files. You're the lucky one who has to go through these right?”
“What? You don't want to help with that part too?” He joked and you laughed but before you could give a witty answer your mouth was covered with a hand as someone pulled you back, your headset pulled from your ear and thrown onto the floor with a thud.
“Y/n?” Bruce asked but he got no response.
You elbowed the person attacking you and pushed them away but they pulled you down onto the ground with them, knocking your gun from your hands.
You reached for your knives but the person pulled them away throwing them across the room and then holding one to your throat.
“Y/n!” Bruce yelled and you didn't respond again, he heard faint noises of struggle but nothing else so he turned back onto the main channel with the rest of the team.
“Y/n isn't answering me, I don't know what happened.”
“Where's Bucky?” Tony asked sounding annoyed and worried.
“Running down the hallway back to the lab they were in,” Clint answered as he watched Bucky do just that, leaving Clint and Natasha to hold the fight in the hallway.
Before Bucky could make it down the hall, you grabbed at the knife, cutting your palms. You reached for your gun but it was too far and before you could try anything else the man stood up, pulling you with him, he elbowed the keypad opening the lab cell door and pushed you inside before closing it and locking it.
You threw yourself against the door and slowly realized that this cell was familiar.
Familiar in a very bad way.
You stopped for a minute as you looked around the cell, it was exactly like the one you were held in, you looked across from it and there was one there too, exactly like Bucky’s but it was empty.
Your heart came up in your throat, you felt like you would be sick. This was all too much, being locked in here again.
You screamed and pounded on the door as the man who attacked you started doing something on the computer.
You screamed and screamed as the panic set in, the blood from your hands smeared against the thick glass and your knuckles became bloodied from your relentless pounding.
Bruce could hear the faint noise of typing and your screaming muffled in the background.
“Any updates on Y/n?” Tony asked as Bruce turned back into the main channel.
“I hear, typing, “ he paused, worry filling his voice, “and Y/n screaming but it's muffled, I think it's her but I'm not sure.”
“Where is bucky!” Tony yelled and Clint and Natasha rushed, following the long hallway Bucky had just run down.
Bucky didn't bother updating Tony, he didn't have the time, he had to get to you.
“Me and Clint are following where he ran, he went the direction of the lab Y/n and him were in. We will be there in two minutes.”
“Two minutes is too slow!” Tony yelled. Steve and Thor where busy clearing out the other side of the large Hydra building.
Bucky rushed into the room, he shot the man in the head without a thought and then noticed you in the cell, screaming to be let out, screaming so loud he could hear it through the thick glass. He stood panicked in front of your cell, standing right in front of where he would have been at the old lab you were in.
It was weird seeing him there, it was familiar, you had been in this position so many times before, not that he remembered that.
Tears streamed down your face as you banged on the door.
“Stepback!” He yelled but you were too busy, consumed by your panic that you didn't hear him.
“Bucky, please Bucky! Get me out of here please.” You cried but you were blocking the glass he needed to break, he turned to the control panel and smashed it with his metal fist making the door open, you fell to the floor where the door used to be and just lied there, placing your bloody pams on the ground and bringing your knees to your chest.
Bucky kneeled down, grabbed your palms and then he grabbed your shoulders making you look up at him. You had a large frown across your face as tears streamed down your cheeks, harder than before.
“Please don't cry,” he said softly unsure of what to even do in this situation.
You responded with no words but a mere whimper as you just cried more, unable to control yourself.
“I can barely handle my own emotions, I have no idea what to do with yours,” he said softly again, not trying to complain but making it clear that this was not his area of expertise.
He pulled you against his chest wrapping his arms around you and holding you.
Your body was so tired and limp that when Natasha and Clint ran into the lab they thought he was cradling your dead body.
“Is she?” Clint whispered to Natasha as they stood there in shock.
You wrapped your arms around Bucky's neck as you calmed down, he whispered things to you, things that maybe he would want to hear too in your situation, it came naturally.
“It's okay, you are safe, I'm so sorry I left you here and didn't check hard enough, we can leave soon, we can go back home, I promise.” He repeated soft things like that, reassuring things. “You're safe, I'm sorry,” Over and over again as Nat and Clint went over to the body of the man who attacked you, they kicked him aside and finished uploading the files to the drive.
“Y/n is here, she's safe, she's with Bucky. Clint and I will finish uploading this drive and then we will meet back at the Quinjet in five.” Nat filled in the rest of the team on your groups status.
Bruce sighed in relief as the others finished up and made their way to the Quinjet.
“Do you need help, I can carry you?” Bucky offered but you shook your head, already feeling so foolish, so stupid for letting this happen.
"And embarrass myself even more? No thank you.”
“You shouldn't be embarrassed,” Bucky tried to assure you.
“This was my first mission and I messed it up.” You complained as Bucky helped you stand then you wiped the tears from your face smudging blood across it in the process.
“Messed it up? You got attacked, that's what happens on missions if this was any other place, a place that wasn't traumatic for you then maybe you would have handled it better, but you still did well. We got the information we needed and they are all dead. Let's get back to the jet so they can burn it to the ground?”
You offered him a weak yet thankful smile. “Burn it? Sounds wonderful.”
As the Quinjet flew away you watched out a window, elbows propped up on the tiny sill, resting your head against your bloody palms as you watched the large Hydra base be engulfed in flames, burning it to the ground.
“You okay?” Steve asked quietly but the whole team was staring at you waiting for your reply.
“Yeah, it feels good to watch it burn. I never got to see the lab I was held at being burned but this feels just as good.”
“You never got to see it because you were too busy unconsciously drooling on my lap.” Natasha teased as she sat down beside you, putting her hands out so you would give her your palms to bandage.
You smiled at her, you felt better already, it was only minutes ago that you felt scared and alone being locked in that cell, just like you had been for years. But you were safe now, surrounded by your friends who loved you and cared about you, who would never hurt you.
The fear, the pain and the flashbacks were all subsided on the ride home, then during dinner and debriefing. But it wasn't until you were alone in your room that you felt the walls close in around you.
You stood in the middle of the large room, it was luxuriously large, it had big windows and a balcony, you walked over to the window and pressed your bandaged hands against the glass as you looked out.
It made your mind go back to earlier. To being trapped in that cell again, banging on the glass doors. You quickly opened the balcony door and the windows to let the air in and then started pacing nervously around.
Freedom is overwhelming, the ability to have whatever you want, to go wherever and do whatever was too much, so you spent most of your time in this room.
A knock sounded at the door and you stopped pacing, looking at where the sound came from, thinking of who it could be before you walked over and opened it revealing a startled looking Bucky.
“Hey, Bucky, what's up?” You asked casually.
“I just wanted to, I'm here cause, I don't know why I'm here,” he studdered over his words.
“Did you want to come in?” You asked, thinking that he maybe wanted to talk in private.
He just nodded as he walked in, looking around your room and admiring it, you closed the door and then walked over to the balcony, he followed and you both sat in comfy seats, the wind was calm and refreshing on your skin, the noise of the city below was a welcomed background buzz.
“There's a lot of reasons I came here I guess and it's like my brain is trying to spit them all out at once,” he admitted as he anxiously carded his fingers through his hair and took a deep breath.
“Well, start with the first, then the next. I'm in no hurry.” You said with a  reassuring smile.
“I'm sorry,” he said and then paused, looking down at his hands and then back up at you, “what happened today was my fault and I wanted to say sorry and make sure you're okay. I know how hard it is to go back in those labs but to be locked in that cell again, exactly like the one you used to be in, I can't imagine how scary that would have been.”
You gulped, preparing yourself to talk about this without bursting into tears. “Thank you, for checking on me, thank you for getting me out of there, it wasn't your fault that happened in the first place. Being in that cell again was terrifying, and then seeing you on the other side of it brought back so many memories of my time spent there, things you don't even remember.”
“I remember,” he admitted and you froze. “I didn't at first until I saw you, then the memories came back in little bits very slowly but after seeing you in that cell again, I remember everything. I'm sorry I sort of avoided you before, I was just worried about what I would remember, not to say they are good memories but just seeing your face is calming sort of, it's familiar. Not in the way Steve is, but not in a bad way either, just different.”
“I know exactly what you mean.” You agreed.
He was standing now, leaning against the balcony and looking down on the city, you stood up and leaned on the balcony ledge right beside him, elbows and arms touching.
“I much prefer seeing you out here, free.” He spoke quietly, staring at the sky and then turning to look at you, your hair blowing in the breeze, skin soft and clean from your shower, comfortable clothes on and no glass door, blocking him from you.
“I much prefer not seeing you tortured and brainwashed.” You offered back after a few minutes of silence, a smile on your lips.
“I'd like to see you more, get to know you better.” He asked as he grabbed your hand, intertwining it with his so gently as if he was weaving a piece of lace between his fingers. He pulled you gently so you were still leaning your sides on the balcony but now you were facing each other, growing closer by the second until you were pressed to him.
“Me too.” You admitted, smile wide as you continued, turning the more serious tone to a much more playful one, “we can bond over our shared trauma and similar scientific modifications.”
He brought his hand to your cheek and stroked it gently. “I forget sometimes that you're like a copy of me, the original is always better of course.”
“Well, I don't have any of the sick upgrades you do, like a metal arm.”
“Trust me you don't want it.” He said timidly as he moved his metal arm out of sight and placed the cold hand on your waist, squeezing you lightly.
“I like it on you though.” You said as you pulled his hand back up and kissed the tips of his fingers gingerly. He looked small at this moment, his cheeks blushed and he seemed not so much like the hardened soldier he so often presented himself as, but like the soft boy from Brooklyn with a big heart and doe eyes. You could get used to seeing him this way.
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crystalninjaphoenix · 5 years
Text
Clinics and Consequences
A JSE Fanfic
I’ve had this idea for months, and I’m excited, if a bit nervous, to finally get it out there. Think of this as a “what-if.” Maybe even an AU, though probably not quite that, uhh, big (I guess) because it’s just one story. Also putting this in as part of the Schneep Appreciation Week, because it focuses on him and also writing is art! Anyway, this takes place in May shortly after Schneep...“got back.” And it follows something that might have happened, in another world.
The room was pretty empty. It had to be, in accordance with the hospital regulations. Dr. Rya Laurens liked to think that though it was empty, it wasn’t hollow, but the truth was that you still couldn’t help but notice a clinical sort of feeling. It was in the white-painted walls and the gray carpet, in the fluorescent lights overhead whose bright light evenly covered the room. There were only three pieces of furniture in the room: a table and two chairs.
Dr. Laurens tapped the edges of the folder against the table surface, making sure all the papers were contained inside and not slipping out. Then she set it down and looked up at the man sitting across from her. Brown hair. Blue eyes that had been hidden behind glasses before, but those hadn’t complied with the hospital regulations either. Simple sweater and pants. His arms were folded on top of the table, fingers drumming a rhythm of some sort on his sleeve. She smiled at him. “Hi. My name’s Dr. Laurens. Are you ready to start, Mr. Schneeplestein?”
“Doctor.”
“Yes?”
“No, no.” He shook his head. “My name is Dr. Schneeplestein. You are using the wrong thing in front.”
“Oh.” Laurens checked the first page in the file real quick. She didn’t know why, exactly, because she already knew this guy was a surgeon. Probably just to cover her tracks or something. “Yes, that’s the wrong prefix. Sorry.” She coughed, a jittery sound. “Can I call you Henrik?”
“No.”
Laurens raised her eyebrow. “You sure? I don’t want to accidentally mispronounce your name or anything.”
He shrugged. “I suppose you can call me ‘Schneep.’ It is a nickname my friends have given to me.”
“Alright.” Laurens clicked her pen on and made a note of the name in the file. “So, then. Schneep. Do you know why you’re here?”
Schneep’s fingers stopped tapping. “In this room, or in this building?”
“Either one.” Laurens smiled patiently. “Or both, whichever you prefer.”
Schneep looked down at the table surface and didn’t say anything. Dr. Laurens decided to wait for a bit, double-checking that everything was in order in the file. She swallowed, a bit nervous. After a few seconds, Schneep looked back up at her and said, “No.”
“You don’t know why you’re here?” Laurens clarified.
“Well...I have some idea,” Schneep admitted. “But I do not see the sense in it.”
Laurens pursed her lips. “I see...” She leaned back in her chair and began rifling through the folder again. “Well, I can try to help you with that. I have some recordings of past events here. I can...remind you of things, and maybe then you’ll, ah, see the sense in it.”
Schneep didn’t say anything. Laurens glanced up at him briefly before turning her attention back to the papers in the folder. She cleared her throat. “So. On August third last year, you were in your office at the hospital when your friend—Jack, correct?” She waited for his stiff nod before continuing. “Your friend Jack showed up, apparently to ask for a check-up. You decided to help, and went with him to an examination room. About forty minutes later, you left the examination room with Jack, except he was losing consciousness. You took him to one of the empty operating rooms and refused aid when offered by some of your coworkers. Five hours later, you left the room, and then the building.”
“I did not leave,” Schneep said quietly.
Laurens jumped, not expecting him to speak. “Well, you were seen leaving. Both by several doctors, nurses, and patients, and the security cameras.”
“I did not leave,” he repeated insistently.
“Well...” Laurens took a deep breath. When Schneep didn’t say anything else, she continued. “Regardless of when or if you left, when one of the nurses next checked the room, Jack was unconscious, in fact, in a coma upon further examination, and surrounded by the tools and evidence of a botched operation.”
“Yes, well, that is true,” Schneep admitted. “I did preform an operation on Jack, once it seemed there was no other option to save his life.”
“From what? According to his medical records, Jack was perfectly healthy at the time.” Laurens pulled out another paper. “Not to mention the examination brought up traces of sedatives in his system, and various other medications he didn’t need.”
“It is...difficult to explain,” Schneep said slowly. He leaned forward. “But it was not my fault. I did not mean for Jack to go into the coma.”
“I believe you.” And really, she did. On that part, at least. She took a deep, shaky breath. She replaced the paper she’d withdrawn. “But what about the others? Those weren’t your fault either?”
Schneep hesitated. “The other...what? I-I do not know what you mean.”
Laurens flipped through the file, glancing back up at him every few seconds. “November 11th, last year. December 21st, last year. December 24th, last year. January 17th, this year. February 5th, this year.” She paused in her flipping. “You don’t recognize these dates? I have more.” Schneep didn’t say anything, eyes cast downward again. She closed the folder. “Thirteen people are dead—”
“Is not my fault!” Schneep’s head whipped upward, eyes wide. He unfolded his arms and banged his hands against the table. Laurens jumped, scooting her chair back an inch. “You must understand that! Nobody does, but it is the truth. It is not my fault.”
Laurens forced herself to lean forward again. The room was silent except for the small sound of her pen rolling across the table. She didn’t bother to grab it again. She smiled; it wavered for a bit before steadying. “You have to look at the facts, Dr. Schneeplestein. You disappear after this operation on your friend, only to be witnessed at the scene of several kidnappings, and the victims turned up later, dead. Killed in a way similar to being operating on, using medical equipment, some of which had your fingerprints. And no one else’s.” She kept the friendly smile plastered on her face, even as she remembered the crime scene photos she’d looked over in preparation for this meeting. If there was ever a definition of a ‘gristly scene’...she hadn’t even thought the human body contained that much blood.
“Okay, I admit how that looks.” Schneep laughed a bit, cutting himself off abruptly. “But trust me. It—it is more complicated than that.”
“Well, can you tell me about it?” Laurens prompted.
Schneep opened his mouth, hesitated, then closed it again. “I...I cannot.”
“You can’t? Why?”
He rubbed his neck. A bit of an odd gesture. Laurens narrowed her eyes. He seemed nervous, or even scared. But then he took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and when he opened them again they were angry. “Because I know you will not believe anything I will say.”
“That’s not tru—”
“It is!” Schneep snapped. Laurens fought the urge to lean backwards again. “It is the nature of this place, even if I give you a reasonable explanation, you will not believe me! You will say it is just in my head.”
“I...you’re justified in thinking that,” Laurens admitted. “But I can promise you, I’ll look to follow up on any explanation you give me. Even if you think I won’t believe you.”
Schneep rolled his eyes. “Forgive me for my doubts. Besides, I do not think you can follow up on this, and even if you could, he—” He clamped a hand over his mouth. His eyes had suddenly gone very wide, the color draining from his face.
“Who’s ‘he’?” Laurens asked curiously.
Schneep shook his head, hand still covering his mouth.
“Well...you can tell me later, if you want,” Laurens said. She tried to sound encouraging. “But in the meantime...if it turns out you aren’t responsible for this, you can leave. And it can’t hurt to take some anti-”—she noticed Schneep jump—“-psychotics in the meantime. Your records say you stopped taking yours sometime in early July last year?”
Schneep’s eyes darted to the left, then to the right, and he nodded, lowering his hand but not saying anything.
“That’s not good, regardless of who you are or what you did,” Laurens said sympathetically. “There should be an orderly on the way with some pills for you to take, if you want. I can stay—” She was cut off by a sudden beep from her pager. She sighed irritably, checking it where it was belted to her waist. The message was short. What pager messages weren’t? She really wished they could be allowed to use their phones inside the main building, but again, it was against regulations. Nothing that could communicate to the world at large was allowed, and had to be dropped off in employee lockers. She looked back up. “I’m really sorry, but I have to go now. You’re okay with waiting a bit while I take care of this?”
He nodded, again staying quiet. His eyes flicked over to a spot over Laurens’ shoulder, then back again. “Thank you so much. Don’t worry, I’ll be right back.” She gathered her folder and stood up. She pushed her chair back under the table, and walked quickly over to the room’s only door. Before leaving, she glanced behind her one more time. Schneep was leaning on the table, and not looking at her. She sighed quietly, and closed the door behind her.
------------------
“Is this important?” Laurens asked quietly as she walked into the next room. “I don’t like leaving patients alone.”
Her boss, Dr. Jennifer Newson, rolled her eyes. “What’s he gonna do? Poke himself?”
“No, I mean...never mind.” Laurens sighed. “What is it?”
Dr. Newson didn’t answer for a while, turning her attention to the one-way window connecting them to the other room. Laurens didn’t approve of that window. The people in the observation room deserved to know if they were being watched. Currently, Schneep was on the other side of the glass, his head in his hands, elbows propped up on the table. “I wanted to ask you if you’re sure,” Dr. Newson said.
“It’s...a little late for that, isn’t it?” Laurens laughed nervously.
“Rya, I’m serious.” Dr. Newson turned to face her. “This is a highly sensitive case, and you just came back from...leave.”
Laurens didn’t like the way she said ‘leave.’ Like she’d skipped out on her duties to drink pina coladas in Costa Rica, instead of taking a break to try out being a personal therapist instead of part of an organized institution. But she didn’t say anything.
“I’m just saying.” Dr. Newson raised her hands like she was being arrested. “If you’re feeling out of your depth, it’s totally fine to ask someone else to take over.”
“Like who? You?”
Dr. Newson shrugged. “Well I mean, if I have to.”
Laurens glanced over to the window. Schneep was sitting up straight, looking around the room. She watched as his eyes settled on looking at something on the wall opposite the window. “Wouldn’t that be...confusing?” she asked.
“What?” Dr. Newson followed her eyes. Schneep was starting to look a little on edge, shoulders raised. His lips moved, but without the intercom on it was impossible to tell what he was saying, if he was saying anything out loud at all. “Oh. He’ll be fine,” Dr. Newson waved Laurens’ concern away. “It’s just one session, it wouldn’t matter.”
“You don’t know that,” Laurens whispered, hugging the folder she was still holding.
“What? Speak up, Rya.”
“I said you don’t know that,” Laurens repeated in a louder voice. “Sometimes people get upset with changes in routine, and it can take just one meeting to establish that routine. I don’t think we should make people upset.”
“Especially not in this case, huh?” Dr. Newson laughed. “It’s gonna be fine. You think we can’t handle one guy?” She jerked her thumb over her shoulder, pointing back out the window without looking.
Laurens glanced out the window again. Schneep had pulled his legs up onto the seat of the chair and was covering his ears. His eyes were tracking some movement along the wall opposite him. He looked...he looked scared. Laurens’ heart twisted. “But...Dr. Newson, I’m really fine with this assignment. I don’t need a transfer.”
Dr. Newson cocked an eyebrow. “You sure? I’ll be honest, you looked a little nervous through that whole talk in there.”
Another glance at the window. The room’s door had opened, and an orderly walked in, balancing a metal tray with a paper cup on one hand. Schneep didn’t notice, staying completely still except for the occasional twitch. “I was kind of nervous,” Laurens admitted. “But that doesn’t mean I’m going to give up when—when someone ne-needs help. I can...only take this assignment, and no others, if it helps. So I can devote full attention to it.”
Dr. Newson sighed. “Alright, fine.” She stepped closer to Laurens, placing a hand on each of her shoulders. “But. If you ever change your mind, come talk to me. I’m sure I could find someone else who’d take this one. And if I can’t, I’m willing to do it myself.” She smiled wide. “Okay?”
Laurens tried not to squirm at the weight of Dr. Newson’s hands on her shoulders, or the pressing sensation of having her boss stand this close to her. “Okay,” she agreed.
“Attagirl!” Dr. Newson clapped her on the back. “Now, you can finish the session. I’ll still be here, watching for anyth—” She turned around. And stopped. “What the fuck?!”
Laurens peered over Dr. Newson’s shoulder, looking at the window. She also froze. And then she dropped the folder and shrieked.
“Go, go, go!” Dr. Newson was pushing her out the door, and she was halfway through before her mind could even process that she was. “Go get someone! I’ll deal with this!”
Laurens sprinted down the hall, half-stumbling, hand tracing the wall for balance. She reached a corner and started shouting, drawing the attention of a pair of orderlies. She wasn’t even truly aware of what she was saying, just that the words ‘accident’ and ‘right now’ were coming up a lot. The orderlies ran towards her, and she gestured for them to follow, heading back towards the observation room. The door was now wide open. Against regulations. She skidded to a halt and stared inside.
The chair had been knocked over at one point. The orderly from before was lying on the floor, his hand pressed against his neck, blood leaking from beneath his fingers, as well as three puncture wounds on his arm. Dr. Newson and Schneep were also on the floor. Dr. Newson was holding Schneep’s wrist in one hand and pushing him against one of the table legs with the other. And Schneep was pushing back, grabbing at her hand with his free one and kicking out. Laurens was admittedly impressed by how unfazed Dr. Newson was. Her eyes drifted over to Schneep’s hand, the one Dr. Newson was determinedly keeping away from her. He was holding her pen. Her pen, which she realized with a jolt that she’d left behind. It was covered in blood. Blood that splashed up his hand and stained the cuff of his sweater.
Dr. Newson glanced over at her and the two orderlies, shouting something about twenty cc’s of something. One of the orderlies rushed to help their injured comrade, the other joining Dr. Newson. Laurens stayed rooted in the doorway, helplessly watching.
Schneep broke away from Dr. Newson and the orderly for a moment, scrambling across the floor. “I am sorry,” he gasped. “Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry. I did not mean—please—” He broke into laughter, harsh and maniacal. The laughter then turned into a scream. “Leave me alone!” Tears were leaking from his eyes.
The orderly caught up to him, wrapping an arm around him. He was holding a syringe in his other hand, and awkwardly tilted Schneep’s head back and plunged the needle into his neck. Schneep jerked his head away, but it was too late. “Was not my fault!” he shouted. “Was not my fault. Believe, believe. Was not my...fault. Please...” He slowly slumped over, and within thirty seconds he was out.
Dr. Newson stood up, brushing off her sleeves. “God, can’t believe we actually had to do that. That’s supposed to be a last resort.”
“Was there another way?” Laurens asked. But the question was so quiet, it didn’t carry.
“Hey, how’s Jenkins doing?” Dr. Newson asked.
The orderly tending to the injured one looked up. “He’s alright for now, but losing a lot of blood. We need the medical team, now.”
“I’ll page them,” Dr. Newson said, already taking out her pager and flipping it open. As she typed, she looked over to Laurens. “Still wanna take this?”
Laurens glanced down at Schneep, still unconscious and being held by the orderly. The bloody pen had rolled away from his hand. She nodded.
“Wow. Okay. You’re really sure? He just tried to kill someone.”
“That was my fault, Dr. Newson,” Lauren said. “I left the pen in the room.”
“Oh, like he wouldn’t have found a way to do it anyway.” Dr. Newson snapped her pager closed. “But guess it’s your risk to take. Though I suggest you continue the session tomorrow, after he’s had a chance to cool down. Harrison, you can take him back to his room.”
The orderly nodded, standing up, adjusting the way he was holding the unconscious Schneep. “Um, Dr. Newson,” Laurens piped up. “May I accompany them?”
Dr. Newson shrugged. “Sure. Uh...and while you’re there, double-check for anything that can be...used.”
“I will.” Laurens nodded, and followed the orderly out the room and down the hall.
This new assignment was sure to be...interesting. Maybe difficult, though you could never tell this early on. But Laurens was sure of one thing:
Schneep was just as scared of what was going on as the rest of them were.
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