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nothing-but-dreamy · 3 years

Text

ON THE EDGE ~ Pt. 4

Characters: Gavin Reed x fem!Reader; Connor; Hank Anderson;

Warnings: cursing

Words: 2668

Gavin was far away from being 'happy'. But he listened interested in what yn had to say in the briefing. He was impressed how much she had found out within … one day. She had a bunch of files, several papers and she also had prepared a report for each one of them with the important details. If Gavin had a good day, he could do just the half of it. If any.

"So, our guy is Joseph 'The Joker'.", she stopped as she saw Gavin trying to suppress the laughter behind his hand, "Come on, Gavin. Laugh. Or otherwise you will explode.", she said amused.

"That is the stupidest name on earth.", Gavin said chuckling.

Yn watched her partner who was looking so much better when he was grinning, "Yes, that's why I suggest we should call the whole case 'JoJo'.", just as she had said it, Gavin laughed out loud, crying with tears.

Gavin’s amusement was contagious and yn joined him while she pinched the bridge of his nose.

Even Hank started to rumble with laughter, "Yeah, we should take this name. It won't get any better, I guess. Where can we find this guy?"

"Maybe in a circus with clowns?", Gavin suggested still grinning.

Yn chuckled but shook her head to get back on track, "Actually, he deals in Liberty park.

Twenty minutes later, all four were sitting in the 'Liberty Park Café' for 'observation'. For normal people, it wasn't that easy to detect a dealer. But for three cops and an android, it shouldn't be that hard. At least, they could disguise their work with some coffee and snacks. Mostly, coffee.

The group took a table near a window to have the park in sight. It was snowing again and therefore, too cold to be outside for too long. Because they had no picture of Joseph, they had to rely on their observation skills.

"Could this be our guy?", Connor asked and pointed at a guy with long hair and a beard. He stood underneath a tree with his hands buried in the pockets of his long coat.

Yn took a grape of the fruit salad and threw it into her mouth before she looked at the guy. It was the third guy Connor had found suspicious, "Well…", yn started, considering the possibility but then, a woman appeared and walked straight to the guy. She hugged and kissed him before they wandered off with linked arms.

Gavin looked annoyed at Connor with crossed arms, "Wow, tin can, you're the best Investigator ever."

“It’s not that I could detect drugs from this distance.”, Connor defended himself.

“Then, I don’t see why you’re even here.”

“Because yn asked me-”

“You asked him?”, Gavin asked exasperatedly and looked at her with a dark expression.

She raised her hands in surrender, “He’s Hank’s partner so, of course, he’s on board. I’m sure he will play a good role in this case.”, she said and once again, she noticed Gavin’s mood. He was on the edge of the next outburst.

Luckily, Hank was this time the one who spotted the next suitable candidate for their suspect and stopped Gavin to say whatever he wanted next, “I guess, this could be our guy.”

The other three of the group looked at a guy in his twenties. He wore some pair of jeans with holes, a t-shirt of an old grunge rock band and a black, well-worn, leather jacket. His long, blonde, greasy looking hair was tied to a ponytail. He leant casually against a street lamp as if he was waiting for someone and at the same time as if he would have all the time in the world.

“It could be JoJo.”, yn said with a slow nod. His appearance coincided with the few details she had found in the statements. The hair, height and surprisingly, the t-shirt were the same.

“It could be just another guy waiting for a hooker.”, Gavin grunted. In his eyes, nothing of this was worth his time.

“Hey, JoJo!”, a guy on a bicycle called out and waved as he passed the grunge guy.

All three pairs of eyes were landing on Gavin who rolled with his eyes, “Oh, please! That can’t be true.”, he said and wiped over his face with his hand.

"So, that's our guy, then.", Connor said with a pleased smile. He was a big fan of having a clear suspect.

The group observed JoJo for a while. Hank ordered new coffee and as their cups were refilled, several people had passed JoJo. Some were just greeting him. Some had talked with him, maybe buying drugs, “Couldn’t we just arrest him?”, Connor asked.

“We could but if yn’s theory is right, he could lead us to his boss.”, Hank explained.

"He has a type.", yn said suddenly.

"A type? A type of what?", Connor asked confused. Somehow, he had the feeling that whenever he was learning one new thing there were two other things coming his way, like these human comments.

Yn looked at Connor with a grin, "A type of woman. He ignores the blondes. But he looks after the brunette."

"No!", Gavin called out and looked serious at yn. His brows were knitted together and yn saw his eyes sparkling darkly. There he was again: her all too protective partner… or at least, he tried to be that.

Her smirk grew bigger, "It's a good idea, I think."

Gavin gritted his teeth, "And I say, no!"

"What is going on?", Connor asked Hank low while he watched the exchange between yn and Gavin.

"I'm not really sure…", Hank answered.

Before Hank could speak out his assumption, Gavin was faster to explain, "She wants to meet him.", he said coldly.

"What?", Connor asked surprised and looked at yn.

"It's the best chance we have. I'll go over to him, flirt a bit and bug him. Then, we will get him and his boss. We will have a chance to get the whole circus. It won't take me more than ten minutes.", yn said smirking, leant back in her seat with crossed arms and watched Gavin almost exploding in front of her eyes.

"And my answer is no!", he called out, which caused the other guests to look at the small group.

Yn looked challenging at Gavin, "Good that I haven't asked you for permission."

"Then, I will go with you.", Gavin demanded, thinking of himself as smart.

Yn’s eyes grew big. She looked at her partner with a confused expression, "Are you nuts? How shall I flirt with him when you're around?", she said and gestured to him and his appearance.

Gavin saw something in her eyes, in the way she was looking at him. Not sure if he was right, if she was giving him a compliment in some way or not. Was it possible that she could see him in a certain way?

"I can go with her.", Connor offered and broke Gavin’s train of thought and the connection he had with yn.

"You?", Gavin asked spitefully and sizesing up the android.

"Yes... I could act as her servant android. Even now, there are still androids out there who are serving humans. It would be no big deal.", Connor explained.

Yn was already hooked, "Best idea!I told you he will play a role in this case. So, we have a plan. Tomorrow, we will bug this fucker."

“Gavin, no!”, yn called out. Again and again, Gavin wished he had listened to her instead of being hard headed to stop the crazy guy on his own. Once again, Gavin suffered through the events of the last case in his dream. And once again, he heard the shots from the guy. Then, he shot the guy on his own just to find yn lying on the ground bleeding. Gavin ran over to her, turned her around and tried to wake her up but she was already unconscious. He knelt next to her, pressing his hand on her bleeding wounds to stop the blood until the ambulance was coming. He even drove to the hospital to stay by her side.

Two long hours, he was waiting til the doctor came to him, telling Gavin that she was alright and would be okay. Gavin even waited til he could visit her in the room a few hours later. Slowly, and with shaking knees, Gavin went to her room, opened the door and slipped carefully in.

Gavin’s blood was running cold because of the scene in front of him. Next to yn’s bed sat Connor, holding her hand in his with intertwined fingers. Yn was already awake, looking at the android with a love filled glance. Connor looked from yn at Gavin and back at yn, “Look who’s there. Gavin came to see you.”, Connor said softly.

“Gavin? Who’s Gavin?”, she said without even looking up…

It was three o’clock in the morning and Gavin started up from the dream, from the nightmare, with a racing heart. Once again, he was soaked with sweat. He raked his fingers through his wet hair and without a second thought, he stood up to go into his bathroom. He splashed cold water into his face several times. As he looked up into the mirror, he saw a pale guy with dark shadows under his eyes. Gavin grabbed a bottle of shampoo and threw it violently into the shower, “This god damn, fucking android!”, he yelled out. Within a few days, Connor had been able to get closer to yn. Gavin feared this android would be even able to win her over. Maybe Gavin should gather all his courage to speak with her as long as there was time or otherwise, the android could snatch her from under his nose. But how should he do that without risking their friendship?

Yn rummaged through her bag with clothes. She already wore some leather boots, a tight fitting and low cut, black jeans and searched for the blood red tank top. She had made her hair and she even had put makeup on with too much mascara and eyeliner for the most dramatic look. Yn found the tank top and donned it over her head. As she pulled it down, a movement in the mirror caught her attention, "Voyeurism, huh? That's a crime.", she said, smirking.

Gavin closed slowly up to her with his hands stuffed into his front pockets of his jacket, "I know. We worked on some of these cases. Listen-", he said softly, collecting all his courage and searching for the right words.

"I know what you want to say and yes, I will be careful. Connor is by my side. You and Hank on the other side of the street by the café. Nothing will happen. This is easy. You don't have to worry this much.", yn said reassuringly while she donned her leather jacket over the top. The outfit would be a bit too cold for the weather but she wanted to flirt with the suspect and so, she had to show off some skin. She even pulled down the top some more so that her décolleté got more visible.

Gavin’s eyes fell on that view which caused his mind to go blank for a moment. All in all, she was very distracting, dressed up like this and he had difficulties to focus back on what he actually wanted, "Uhm… I… It's just... There's something I have to tell-", he tried insecurely, not sure if this was a good idea at all. If Gavin would go this way there was no going back and he knew that.

The door of the locker room opened once again and Hank took the decision away from Gavin, "Yn, Fowler wants to see you.", the Lieutenant said and left again.

"Coming!”, yn called out as a response and stowed away her bag and stuff before she turned back to Gavin, “Get ready. We will leave soon.", she said with a soft pat on his chest and a smile on her lips.

Gavin looked after her. He huffed out, annoyed about himself as the door opened once again. Yn’s head appeared in the door, "Oh, and, by the way, this shirt you wear? It looks very good. The color suits your eyes.", she said, winked at him and left again. Gavin smiled softly and felt his cheeks getting warmer. He was sure that she had no idea what she was doing to him but he enjoyed these small moments. They were all he got.

Then, it was showtime. Hank and Gavin stood across the walkway at a bar table with two cups of coffee to go as a disguise to be able to watch the scene. JoJo was already there, leaning at the same street lamp like the day before. Now and then, he greeted someone. Then, Gavin watched yn coming down the way, still in some distance. She said something to Connor that let the android chuckle. Connor looked down at yn with a huge smile and as she looked up at him, her smile was matching the android’s one. Pain shot through Gavin as he got reminded of his dream from the night before. It was a horrible nightmare with an end that never happened like this but his mind was determined to let him suffer even more. As if it wouldn’t be enough to get reminded of yn being shot all the time. No, now the android had to be in his dreams, as well.

“It’s good that Connor kept his LED ring.”

“W-what?”, Gavin asked. Hank had pulled him out of his thoughts and this time, Gavin was thankful for the old man to be there, even if he would never admit that loudly.

Hank nodded into the direction of Connor and yn, they almost had reached JoJo, “I mean without the LED ring, Connor would look more like her handsome boyfriend than her servant.”, Hank said amused.

Gavin observed the two and wasn’t happy what he saw. Connor was dressed completely in black and with his height he looked like a bodyguard. The way they interacted told that they seemed to be very close to each other. Gavin was looking forward to the end of this bullshit, his nerves were already blank but the case just had started. It would last a bit longer til everything would fall back to normal again without Connor and Hank being around them all the time.

Then, yn passed JoJo and as she had expected, the dealer was looking after her. Much to her delight, he even whistled after her as she swayed her hips a bit more provokingly. Yn stopped and turned around. JoJo was confident, very confident, he smirked at her and wasn’t impressed by Connor as he stepped a bit forward. Yn gave him a sign to stay where he was before she walked over to JoJo with a flirty smirk on her lips.

The longer she was talking to the dealer, the more Gavin became nervous. It got on his nerves to see JoJo coming closer to yn step by step. She was laughing about whatever he said. She leant forward to be closer to him whenever she could. And Connor just stood there, observing the scene, looking out for her - as planned.

Hank noticed that Gavin was annoyed by the scene. Since yn had began to talk with JoJo, Gavin had started to torture his empty cardboard cup. He was drumming on the lid and scratching on the material the longer the whole scene lasted.

As JoJo touched yn on her hip while he leant forward to whisper something into her ear, Gavin squashed the cardboard cup completely with his knuckles turning white.

"You know, Reed, that's the reason why you couldn't do Connor's job.", Hank said and pointed at Gavin's hand.

"Shut the fuck up.", Gavin muttered angrily and just relaxed as yn and Connor left the scene finally.

#dbh #dbh connor #gavin reed x reader #gavin reed #dbh gavin reed #dbh gavin #detroit become human #detroit become human gavin #fanfiction #fanfic #fandom

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no-worshiped-roads · 3 years

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Mayday RtU fight

so this is for @the-nsr-family Roads to Unity au

my crack at the mayday fight

go check out their blog they got lots of fun stuff, also this is long i lost control and it’s like 11 pages

Phase 1

Zuke dodged a flash of lighting that struck the spot he used to be standing in. He skidded a little across the smooth floor since it was already completely wet from the storm Mayday summoned. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Neon J and Eve also dodging both lightning and attacks from May’s guitar.

“Mayday please just listen to us!” Zuke pleaded.

“NO! WHY SHOULD I?!”

“Because there’s something you really need to know! We know who is behind all of this!”

“Oh I’m sure you do.” May spat out sarcastically.

The guitarist jumped back onto a higher part of the platform and began to sing. “Show me how to lie, you’re getting better all the time.”

Zuke dodged a blast from her guitar and slipped in the water on the floor. He slid till he crashed into some equipment in the room. Zuke hissed from the pain and rubbed his head where he had hit it. He could hear May still singing but was more focused on the stars in his eyes. Zuke looked up just in time to see lightning heading for him and braced for impact. When he felt nothing but the rain, he opened his eyes to see that Neon J had thrown one of his weapons in front of him, making a sheild.

Zuke shakily got to his feet, trying to get a better foothold on the slick floor “Thanks.”

Neon J gave him a nod before returning his attention to the fight. “We may have no choice but to fight back like we did before.”

Zuke winced at that, as fighting these people hasn’t been easy for him. He loved these people, and hell, Mayday was practically his sister by all means but blood. But he knew Neon J was right. If they just kept dodging there was no way they were going to survive, Mayday was too angry to be holding back. Beside Zuke wanted to get through to her before she got REALLY angry. He knew what would happen if she did but his companions didn’t. And while he knew what would happen, he wasn’t sure if that would help him stand up to it.

“Alright. I’m really sorry May but we’ve really got to talk.” Zuke pulled out his drumsticks and charged forward.

“So you talk with your drumsticks now?” She sneered, before returning to singing.

“Now dance sucker dance! Man, we never had a chance. And no one even knew, it was really only you.”

Zuke flinched at the lyrics, knowing exactly what May meant by them. He could only hope he could convince her otherwise. As he continued to try and make his way to Mayday, Zuke found himself mainly dodging and just trying to keep up with her, but like Kliff said before, this girl was an acrobat. She was dancing around them and avoiding most of their attacks. So while she had gotten a good number off on them, they could count the number of hits on her on one hand.

“Well I’ll admit, this is definitely challenging~” Neon J’s auto tune singing carried over the pounding rains.

“This rain certainly isn’t helping.” Eve added, as she nearly slipped off the platform she was on.

“With a thousand lies and a good disguise, hit them right between the eyes”

“I feel like she might be saying something to you with this song choice.” Neon J muttered unhelpfully.

“When you walk away, nothing more to say.”

“Yeah I noticed.” Zuke droned out. He liked Neon J, but he had a bad habit of stating the obvious and not understanding rhetorical questions.

“Mayday please listen, none of the EDM artists had anything to do with those attacks, those were staged!”

“You call those attacks fake?! Do you even know how much damage they did?”

“He’s not saying their fake! Just that they were set up by someone who isn’t us!” Eve argued back.

Eve was using her reality warping abilities to redirect Mayday’s attacks away from her. At one point of redirecting lightning, she managed to make it strike Mayday in the back.

“Gah!” Mayday stumbled forward a bit, but quickly got her footing back and strummed an attack towards Eve. “And yet here you are, attacking all of us. Wasn’t you indeed.”

Eve jumped out of the way and landed next to Zuke. “I believe I may have just found a way for us to actually fight back.”

Zuke frowned, as he really didn;t like the idea of shocking Mayday with her own lighting but knew they had no choice. They weren’t getting anywhere going about this like a normal fight. Zuke nodded and dodged another attack by rolling out of the way. Banging his drumsticks together he sent a wave at Mayday who moved away, but left her open for Neon J to get a hit in on her.

“Nice work you did, you’re gonna go far kid, trust deceived!”

“Mayday, we don’t want to fight, But we’re also not gonna sit here and be wailed on. We really did talk to the others. I don’t know why you can’t contact them but we didn’t do anything to them, I swear!” Zuke called out again.

“Oh you swear? Yeah, like I’m supposed to trust anything you promise.”

Zuke winced. “Yeah alright I deserve that.” A dodge. “But please can we just talk, there’s a lot I have to tell you, a lot you need to know.”

“SHUT UP!”

Zuke jumped out of the way of a large bolt of lightning and counterattacked with his drumsticks. The fight continued like this for a while till Eve got one more of her lighting attacks to hit her, this one causing Mayday to slide down to her knees. Mayday huffed, whether from exhaustion or frustration was hard to say. She growled and forced herself back to her feet.

Phase 2

Mayday played a different tune on her guitar as the weather around them changed. The rains stopped, but the room turned white. A thick fog now permeated the area, reducing their field of vision to where they could barely make out their hand in front of their own face.

“SHOT THROUGH THE HEART AND YOU’RE TO BLAME! You give love a bad name.”

Guitar riffs could be heard through the fog as musical blasts were shot at the group. Everyone dodged but when Zuke looked back up, he saw that they had lost each other in the fog.

“Eve, Neon J?!”

“An angel’s smile is what you sell, promise me heaven then put me through hell.”

Zuke felt the ground beneath him being blasted away and he was flung back. He grunted as he hit the ground behind him.

“We’re alright!” Neon J’s voice called through the fog. “But we aren’t going to be able to find each other much less Mayday in this fog. GAH!” Another guitar riff sounded off, clearly hitting Neon J.

“That’s kind of the point.” May’s voice drifted through the fog somewhere ahead of him.

Zuke acted quickly and smashed his drumsticks together in the direction he heard the voice. A small grunt greeted his ears, knowing he had hit her. Zuke then had to dodge again as a blast was the returned favor in his direction.

“Mayday those attacks really weren’t caused by the EDM artists. None of them even knew about the attacks till they were on the news!”

Another guitar riff was his only answer as he rolled to the side.

“Oh, you're a loaded gun, yeah. Oh, there's nowhere to run”

“Listen to where she is to find her! Use that to try and get to her!” Zuke called out and dodged another blast.

“No one can save me, the damage is done!”

Zuke continued to use his drumsticks to attack in the general direction that he could hear Mayday, and could hear his companions doing the same as well. Wherever they were in this fog. Of course this strategy went both ways. As they attacked they also made noise, which was how Mayday was finding them. Though to be fair, she had figured out that strategy long before Zuke did.

“I played my part and you played your game! You give love a bad name! You give looovvvveee---a bad name.”

Mayday was definitely picking songs that expressed what she was feeling towards Zuke. What she thought was going on, even though it wasn’t true. They had to keep pressing through and prove to her that Grunge was the only problem here. Not the EDM artists, and not him. A louder cry interrupted Zuke’s thoughts as he looked up to see the fog slowly clearing away. As it cleared out Zuke could make out Neon J near to where Mayday was, the latter on the ground again, panting. He watched her fist clench around the neck of her guitar and she swung at Neon J, making the man fall back and off the platform when he tried to move out of its way.

Phase 3

Mayday hopped back to her feet, with a bit more struggle this time, and started playing once again. Neon J grunted as he hoisted himself up from his rather big fall, given that this platform was well off the ground. As Mayday played her guitar she backflipped up to one of her trapeze platforms. The rock girl hopped from platform to platform, doing tricks as she did, all while playing her guitar. Zuke was so focused on watching her, and trying to keep her in his sights that he didn’t notice the drop in temperature.

“Wh-why is it s-s-so c-cold?”

Eve’s stuttering brought Zuke out of his trance as he huffed and realized he could see his own breath. The air was bitingly cold, and he found himself shivering much like his companions. Though Eve had it worst of all. Her outfit was beautiful, but not exactly warm. Zuke shuddered again in a vain attempt to warm his body as snow began to fall.

“Oh p-p-perfect, as if it w-wasn’t c-cold enough-AAHH” Neon J’s biting remark was cut short as the cyborg took a step back, only to slip on the ice that had formed on the floor.

The snow picked up to be more like a flurry now. Great. So now that had to deal with snow, the cold, the ice, and that Mayday was jumping and leaping around above them. She was already a hard target before, and all of this just made it harder. Mayday glared down at them, though more specifically him. Zuke did his best to hold her gaze and not wither under that glare. It was hard to say if she learned that from her mother or Kul Fyra. A familiar tune reached his ears as the rocker began to sing again.

“I wouldn't hold my breath if I was you, 'Cause I'll forget but I'll never forgive you. Don't you know, don't you know? True friends stab you in the front!”

Zuke grimaced, it really did seem that May felt that all ties between them were cut. That he was a traitor of the worst kind. He tightened his grip on his drumsticks and got into his fighting stance. He had to convince her that she was wrong.

“Listen Mayday, We know who was really behind the attacks. She started out just sabotaging the other EDM artists.”

A rather solid blast of wind and snow pushed him back, with him sliding further due to the ice. He immediately had to dodge a guitar riff, which was harder given that the ice messed with his movements. After scrabbling in place for a bit, Zuke finally managed to skid out of the way, feeling the blast move his hair as it just missed him by inches. Zuke could see Eve and Neon J continuing to attack her, and struggling just as much as he was with all the ice and snow messing with their movement.

He watched as nearly no attacks were hitting her with her using her aerial equipment to swing around and avoid them. Zuke could feel his frustration beginning to build up and took some breaths to try and calm down.

“Mayday you have to listen to us!”

“Like hell I do!”

“Mayday! There’s an inside person at NSR! She staged those attacks, she set the EDM artists up to take the fall!”

“You got a lot of nerve, But not a lot of spine. You made your bed, When you worried about mine.”

“Gah will you just listen to me?! What is your problem?!” Zuke was losing his patience.

“MY problem?! Have you seriously not figured anything out yet?! How do you not understand?!”

The snow was beginning to pick up into something more like a blizzard, not that Zuke paid it any mind. Eve and Neon J however did notice,

“Um, Zuke?”

Zuke ignored Neon J. “Come on why are you being so stubborn? The Mayday I know would actually listen!”

The blizzard got stronger, and the air got a heavier feeling to it. “What the hell do you even know about me?! You abandoned me five years ago! You left me to deal with all of that crap on my own!”

“Zuke, this isn’t helping.” Eve hissed.

Zuke again ignored the words of his companions and continued to argue with his former friend. If she would just listen to him so things could be fixed. “For crying out loud it’s Grunge! It’s her fault all of this happened! She ruined EDM’s name, she arranged the attack on you, on everyone! She is the one to blame!”

“Seriously?! Now you’re blaming someone else! At least she stuck by our side through this, unlike you!”

Mayday blasted her guitar at him and Zuke leapt out of the way. Zuke didn’t know what came over him, but he just felt so angry, so frustrated. It was like it was with West when he just didn’t listen to his side of the story. So he brought his drumsticks together and hard. The blast was too big for May to dodge and knocked her straight off her aerial swing to the platform below. Her scream of pain definitely snapped him out of it though. The snow died down and the temperature returned to normal, with the ice starting to melt away.

Phase 4

Zuke didn’t pay any of it any mind as he could stare in horror at Mayday just lying on the platform unmoving. He could vaguely see his companions getting to their feet, having no idea how they got knocked down, but guessed it was the blizzard. The two looked up to see May’s crumpled form on the platform, her guitar laying away from her, having fallen off of her when Zuke had hit her.

“Um, what happened? The blizzard made it hard to see.” Neon J asked, unhelpfully.

Zuke could only swallow hard as his ears rang. Mayday’s body twitched, and Zuke breathed a small sigh of relief knowing she was okay. The girl slowly dragged herself into a sitting position, and hugged her sides. She was breathing hard, head down, obscuring her face. Zuke couldn’t read her expression.

“...did we win?”

“Not the time Neon J!” Eve bit back.

Mayday’s breathing got harder, harsher, till she was huffing in what Zuke had to guess was anger.

“Get away.”

Mayday’s voice was low, shaky. If Zuke had been smarter he would have picked up on what that meant. But instead he just assumed it was because of her fall. He took a step forward and Mayday stiffened.

“Go away.”

It was a lot harsher this time, though still shaky. Zuke ignored her demand again and stepped forward once more. “May please, I-”

“Don’t. Leave.”

The wind began to pick back up, a strange sound filling the room. Rains started again, but much harsher than before. Zuke paused looking around at the weather, he had to get her to stop before the weather became a problem again. He stepped forward again, ignoring the winds and rain worsening around him, even as his feet splashed in the water pooling on the floor.

Mayday’s body twitched, and her hands clenched into fists, slamming down on the platform. “I said”

“GO AWAY!” Mayday suddenly screamed, throwing her head back.

The winds were so strong now that they picked up the three companions and threw them to the back of the room. Everyone slammed into the walls and fell to the floor with a splash. Zuke pushed himself up to his knees and hands, and glanced towards Myday. Winds circled around her as the rain absolutely downpoured, reducing anything in the distance invisible. Mayday was hunched in the middle, shaking. Glancing up he saw exactly what he thought he would be forming above her.

“IS THAT A HURRICANE?!” Neon J screeched.

“Yeah maybe I should have warned you she could do that?” Zuke yelled back weakly.

“That would have been nice, yes!”

“Well we were supposed to have this taken care of before this happened.”

“We could have if it weren’t for you Zuke.”

Eve’s harsh voice made him flinch. “Hey what the hell does-”

“I may not have been able to see what happened when that blizzard picked up but I could hear it. You two arguing.”

The winds and rain continued to rage around them as Zuke stared at Eve. “She’s being stubborn! Nothing I say is getting through to her!”

“So are you Zuke.”

Zuke jolted back like he had been slapped. “I’M actually listening though!”

“Are you?”

“I’ve been helping you this entire time yes!”

“I’m not saying you’re not listening to us.”

“You just-”

“I’m saying you’re not listening to her.”

“...yes I am.”

“Are you? You seem to hear her when she argues back against us, total strangers to her. But you fail to hear the reason why she’s upset.”

“But it’s a misunderstanding!”

“Mostly yes. But she doesn’t know that, and you’re acting like she should. And like I said, mostly.”

“What does that even mean?!”

“She’s not wrong about you abandoning her.”

“Bu- hey!”

“She’s. Not. Wrong. And you have to accept that Zuke, she was attacked so badly that she apparently landed in the hospital for a week. And then, when she was recovering back at home, she finds out you’ve left NSR and are helping the people she believes attacked her. How do you think she felt in that moment?”

“...”

“And now you’re also throwing the blame all at Grunge’s feet, while not accepting your own fault in this. You could have handled how you left better. Not to mention you’ve come here and blamed her for being ‘too stubborn’ like it’s her fault she feels angry and hurt and betrayed.”

“...”

“I’m not saying you are a traitor, but you did leave her. And you need to own up to that. You can’t let your anger control you, or you’ll do things you’ll regret forever.”

“...”

Zuke thought back to the second encounter with West when he disowned him, and how they had somewhat made up in the third encounter. He wonders what would have happened had he not run into him again. Would that have been it? Would he have never seen West again? Would his brother leave the city for good? Zuke thought on it further and frowned, remembering it was Kliff who got across what Zuke couldn’t say. Wouldn’t. Too stubborn to.

Zuke sighed. “...you’re right. I’ve only made things worse. I kept thinking about how this affected you guys, and how I felt. And completely ignored what Mayday was feeling.”

“So what do we do now then?” Neon J had walked over to the two as they had argued. It was slow going given that the winds threatened to throw him again.

“I’m gonna try talking to her again, but I need to get close. Can you two cover me? I don’t think I can get to her through the hurricane and if she starts attacking again.”

“What are you going to do?”

Zuke turned to Neon J. “What I told Kliff I was going to do. What I should have done from the beginning.”

The two nodded at him and Zuke began to walk forward. He had to take precise and heavy steps, the hurricane's gale force winds threatening to throw into the wall again. As he trudged onwards, May’s head snapped up slightly. He could just make out her eye’s glaring at him in not just anger, but pure anguish.

“GET AWAY FROM ME!”

Lightning began to rain down from the hurricane above him, and as Zuke braced for impact, Neon J and Eve came to his rescue. Neon J fired off his weapons to stop the lightning before it reached him, while Eve redirected it harmlessly behind them. Zuke continued to Mayday while his friends kept him from getting hit.

“NO! GET BACK!”

May’s attacks became more erratic and frequent. Though with how wild they were, more and more of her attacks were missing. Zuke finally reached the platform Mayday was on and gripped the beams holding it up. He hoisted himself up on the first beam and began climbing up, he didn’t have time to try and find the stairs. Heck, with what Mayday could do, there probably weren’t any. At this point Zuke wasn’t being attacked at all, and he couldn’t hear lighting cracking against the ground anymore. The hurricane was still going strong, but she had stopped directly attacking them. At this point she really was just trying to make them leave her alone.

Zuke finally reached the top of the stage and forced himself up on to it. He could see Mayday’s body trembling in the middle of it. Zuke had to drag himself across the stage, knowing that if he stood up he would be blown off. He could feel himself getting even more soaked from all the water pooling on the floor but he didn’t care. He had to get to May. Finally an outreached hand touched May’s leg.

She slapped his hand off. “Go away.”

Zuke pushed himself up so he was sitting in front of Mayday on his knees. “May, I’ve not done anything right by you since that day five years ago.”

“....”

“I left without saying anything, or explaining myself. I come back after all this time and I just hurt you more, and that’s not right. I’ve been so focused on what I want I didn’t consider how you felt.”

“...”

“I know my words are probably empty coming from someone who abandoned you, but I promise you the EDM artists won’t hurt you. They were sabotaged and set up by Grunge. She wants rock to rule as the top music genre, no matter the cost And was going to ensure it by any means possible.”

“..is that all you came here for?” Mayday’s voice is quiet, quivering.

“No.” Zuke reached forward and pulled Mayday into a hug. The girl flinched, and though she didn't pull back, she didn’t reciprocate either.

“I’m sorry. For everything. For what happened to you, for what you went through afterwards. For just leaving you like that and not explaining anything. For not really trying to get a hold of you for five years. For being a coward. I’m so, so sorry May. You have every right to be mad at me, and I understand if you won’t forgive me. But I’m not going to hurt you. Not again. I promise.”

He could feel May’s body tremble against his and suddenly felt a tight grip around his back as she hugged him back. The winds began to die down and the rain stopped pouring. Mayday just sobbed into his shirt, letting out all that built up hurt she had been shoving down for five years. Zuke just held her for a long time, apologizing over and over again till she finally stopped crying. He had thought all he had to do was stop Grunge, but now realized that even when they beat her, and she was gone, there was still going to be a long road of recovery ahead of them.

Everything that had happened had left lasting marks on the artists that weren’t just going to go away like that. And for once, Zuke was really going to stay by Mayday’s side, and help her through all of it. This was a promise he wasn’t going to break.

#nsr #nsr mayday #nsr zuke #rtu #Roads to Unity #nsr au #nsr eve #nsr neon j #no straight roads #no straight roads au

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amphtaminedreams · 4 years

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A/W 2020 Fashion Month & Top 20 Collections: Before Vogue Went Blank (Part 4)

Hi all,

Welcome to part 4! It’s gonna be a bit of a shorter one because I wasn’t sure if I could fit the last few collections into my part 3 since I also want to include a ranking of my favourite F/W20 shows. I have so many ideas for what I’d like my next few posts to be (there’ll probably be a bit of gap between them as I would like to try and get some fiction writing in too) and I need help and recommendations on one post in particular so I thought I’d open by explaining that if anyone would like to send me suggestions! The post is basically going to highlight the often under-appreciated personal style of PoC, and I’d also like to make sure I include all types of bodies and genders and ethnicities (other than white girls, as we get enough credit as it is, all a tall, skinny blonde woman has to do is wear some light wash jeans, heels and a blouse and high fashion Twitter are posting non-stop about how incredible her style is)! This can be a celebrity, a model, an influencer or even just one of your friends if you think they deserve some hype too! Obviously there’s only so many photos I can include but I will make sure to look at any suggestions, though of course I’m gonna be biased towards the grungier looks; I gave Dolls Kill a pass for a long time because I thought the brand had changed and become more responsible over the last few years but since Shoddy Lynn’s thoughtless Instagram post during the protests last month and then her lacklustre response video, I say fuck that “goth is white” bullshit, alternative black women are hot af. I’ll also make sure to include a list of my favourite black owned clothing lines I’ve seen people talking about on Twitter and Instagram so again, if you have any suggestions feel free to inbox me. Other than that, I have a couple of lookbooks planned and after, either a post about my favourite shows for style inspiration OR a lookbook depending on whether I have the clothes to do it already/can source a few things from Depop-Depp-I’ve made a commitment not to buy anything new for the next couple of months and I want to stick to that this time round! I’d also like to do a general collation of my favourite summer outfits, an almost scrapbook-y kinda post, and another post on some of my favourite fashion icons (I’ll probs end up repeating a lot of the women from the post I was talking about above but I’ll try and include different outfits to keep it varied!).

Now, into the final part, and the top 20, starting with Tory Burch (I’m really pissed off because I added an unnecessary E in after the R and now Tumblr is once again being stupid and not saving any of my editing changes-also I said on the next post instead of in in the last paragraph and my anal-retentiveness is kicking into high gear).

You’d think it’s a kinda anti-climatic one to open with but I do like this collection! It reminds me a bit of last season’s Miu Miu but more so of Brock’s general aesthetic, though with more layers and in some ways to its detriment, a lot more wearable. Looking like something from a bygone era is part of what gives Brock its mystique, but Burch’s designs are practically made for the Chelsea born and bred lifestyle blogger who dresses for a cold spell in the Coachella valley all year long and treats trawling Pimlico’s furniture shops and meeting their girlfriends for coffee like it’s a full-time job. She’s probably born into money and doesn’t work all that hard but hey, she looks angelic holding a bouquet of flowers and in 2020 we all low-key want her life, right? It’d go against my ethics but...*whispers* it would be nice to be that girl just for a couple of days. It is a gorgeous collection, with a lush colour palette and an ever graceful variety of prints and textures, and it toes the line of being accessible and being worthy of a fashion week spot with dexterity. 8/10 and it only loses marks because it’s safe for the brand.

When it comes to Valentino, they’re a pretty reliable favourite for me, and this season’s collection doesn’t break tradition; this one is slightly grittier than usual too which is a big win for me. Whilst the usual sophistication and delicate details are there, quirky embroidery, sequins and tulle, we also get a lot of leather and more black than usual, which I pray doesn’t a herald a return to people thinking “I only own black clothes and listen to Artic Monkeys” is a personality trait. I don’t know if it’s intentional, but there seems to be a lot of aquatically inspired pieces in this collection too; the 3d roses resemble scales to me (and are a really unique texture), and the way the tulle is placed kinda reminds me of fins and has a mermaid on land feel. It wouldn’t surprise me, since Valentino does tend to draw from nature quite a bit. Highs for me were the Valentino red tulle piece and the tulle pieces in general, of course with the embroidered florals as well which the basic bitch in me always looks forward to. The few lows were concentrated in the leopard print section, a print that for me is really overdone and reminds me of recent Dolce and Gabbana. It was cool when layered with the matching coat but I otherwise could’ve done without it.

Vera Wang is another one of my reliable faves-I think I like this collection even more than the last, it really is a fucking DREAM. The overly floral pieces I wasn’t too keen on but I’ll ignore that on the basis that as with Gucci, the tulle-harness combo is everything I look for in a dress and more. I know manic-pixie-dream-girl is a bit of a slur (not a slur slur but you know what I mean) in terms of the associated character, but this 90s Courtney Love grunge twist on that aesthetic is gold, fully realised big anarchist fairy energy (which is a screen name I’m surprised I don’t see more often and which I might now steal). These dresses were made for someone like Zoe Kravitz or FKA Twigs on the red carpet, and if god forbid I somehow ever ended up on one, I would go to the ends of the earth to be wearing one of the dresses from this collection. Aside from the dresses, I appreciated the moody doesn’t-want-to-be-at-the-family-function teenager inspired sleeves and the 2014 Tumblr Cruel Intentions style knee high socks. Love, love, LOVE it.

So, Versace started off strong with the all black looks-the cut outs were cute if impractical and the fit and flare trousers in particularly were really well fitted (from a distance, at least). I hated the film Red Sparrow but the visuals were very cool, and this section reminded me of that, like a high fashion collection based on Jennifer Lawrence’s character. There were some stunning colour combos in the Ashish like hyper-floral part too, and the houndstooth, marble and Versace tile prints were sick. The black jumper with the flowers on reminds me of a jumper of my nan’s I always wanted that my aunty ended up donating to a charity shop after she died not knowing I liked it. Gutted (not just about the jumper obviously, looool).

HOWEVER, as with many 91 look collections, it was sloppy at times. A lot of pieces I at first liked (I.E the silver dress we saw Kendall Jenner in, included above) are kind of unfinished up close. There was also a big varsity inspired section which was nice at times but got pretty repetitive and occasionally looked like it could pass for Jack Wills or a bad Michael Kors collection. On the whole, it had both its pros and its cons which puts it directly in the middle of the pack.

Victoria Beckham’s collection is near the lower-middle quartile when it comes to plotting the highs and lows of the F/20 collections. The pieces are pretty and accessible, I’d definitely wear them, but they’re predictable and mostly a rip-off of other brands who did something similar in a more interesting way. Though her collections are never really experimental, this one is particularly safe, and she and whoever helped design this season’s pieces were clearly avoiding the edges of the box like a child playing the floor is lava. It’s alright, and I hate coming towards the end of the post with negativity, but I have to be honest, and this just doesn’t really interest me beyond a “yeah, that’s nice” glance.

Vivienne Westwood, on the other hand, is always interesting whether I would actually wear it myself or not. Despite the mix and matchiness that is essential to the deconstructed look, which being the basic bitch I am I often struggle to see past, there were some gorgeous pieces and eurgh, I could really talk about that Bella Hadid look all day. The contrast between the exaggerated femininity of the waist cinchers against the androgyny of the less structured, oversized pieces is a really interesting one and the colour combinations work beautifully together. I also love the idea behind the collection, which is, in the words of Andreas Kronthaler about “rites of spring, and the good and the bad, and conflict, and the good prevailing over evil”. Ahhh, I hear you say. THAT’S what’s with the garlic necklace. Can I get another pat on the back for summing up this collection as “vampire slaying uniform” in my notes? I mean, that’s kind of a good vs. evil situation, isn’t it? I know it’s hard to ignore how hot vampires always are in TV series and movies but just think of the true forms of the ones off Penny Dreadful and remember THEY DRINK BLOOD (I personally think being a vampire would be really cool, just need to work out how to do it “ethically”).

Lastly, Zimmerman, and I really can’t say how happy I am to end on a positive note because this collection was stunning. Not without all the characteristically ornate, indulgent and painstakingly detailed efforts we’ve come to expect from Nicky and Simone Zimmerman, these looks (in an icy winter themed colour palette as well) are the offspring of a sophisticated flower child and a 70s glam rocker and I think with this sentence I’ve finally put my style aspirations into words. Honestly, give me the money to produce a modern day Almost Famous and I’ll make my character this no-nonsense intersectional feminist front woman of a fictional Haim-like band who sings with the voice of an angel but is rock and roll as fuck and eats men for breakfast and I’ll put her in this collection and (deep breath) it would be ICONIC. There. Got to the point eventually. Am I talking about a 2020s version of Steve Nicks? Possibly. After all, I do have a framed illustration of her on my wall. But regardless, I need those lace-up velvet BOOTS, that mesh dress with the celestial embroidery, the flame detail pieces, the white pussy bow blouse with the eyes on it. Everything is sooo dreamy; when I was looking through the collection for my favourites, I saved pretty much every. single. look. IT’S EVERYTHING I STRIVE TO BE. WHY CAN’T I AFFORD ZIMMERMAN GOD DAMN IT!?

See, I’ll be going on about Zimmerman in a couple of paragraphs again because it will be very high in my top 20, which I’m so glad is a top 20 BTW. I know I said it would be a top 10 in my last post because I thought that was how I structured it last time but I double checked and it is 20, which is a relief; once again, picking only 10 collections would be very hard. SO! Let’s get into it!

1. Gucci

I hate being predictable but Gucci once again holds the top spot for me. How could I not love this? I would say that I hope Alessandro Michele fucks up next season so I don’t come off as a boot licker but when the boots in question are platform Mary Janes and knee high socks and they’re underneath tulle with BDSM inspired harnesses on top...maybe boot sole doesn’t taste so bad after all.

2. Zimmerman

Well, I did say it wouldn’t be long until you were seeing the same outfits again, so at least you know my word is good.

3. Moschino

Wow, as if putting Gucci first again wasn’t bad enough, Moschino’s also a non-mover. But...Marie Antoinette this season and Picasso last? And this campy? It’s like Jeremy Scott reached into my brain magician-into-a-top-hat-style, picked out an interest of mine at random, and tried to communicate this to me through the medium of design with THE most chaotic energy humanly possible. I an only commend the man, because he succeeded, and I approve. It’s weird because before I always saw Jeremy Scott’s designs as tacky and yet I’ve loved all the collections I’ve reviewed, so I must ask...are the collections getting less tacky or am I getting more tacky? Much to think about.

4. Vera Wang

The battle armour of a punk princess. Not very good at protecting against knives, arrows, bullets or...anything really, but I’ve never really been the kind of person to get into physical fights (apart with a bouncer who tried to push me down the stairs once at an ABBA night but I was really drunk and she was mean, alright!?), so who cares? Nobody can make you do anything in dresses this pretty.

5. Lanvin

I’m a few years behind everyone else but I’m still on the Mad Men hype train and I don’t ever want to get off. All I wish is that Betty Draper had *SPOILERS* divorced Don’s detty arse earlier and rode off into the sunset in that white Bella Hadid coat with the red lip to match (or the checkered one above will do).

6. Etro

As long as she remains the queen of dreamy bohemian fashion, I’m not gonna do Etro dirty by putting her any lower than this ever again on the basis that she’s not conceptual enough which ashamedly is what I implied in my last ranking-yes, Etro is a she because just as most women deserve more from men, she is beautiful and deserves better than my previous disrespect! I said what I said.

7. Dilara Findikoglu

I see your Thom Browne and your Commes Des Garcons and I raise you my “weird”-though-not-actually-that-weird-at-all-can-we-all-just-dress-like-this-on-a-day-to-day-basis-please? fave, Dilara.

8. Paco Rabanne

Battle armour that actually COULD protect you against knives, arrows, and bullets. Maybe. Well, you’d hope so anyway for the price.

9. Rodarte

Suddenly my phobia of spiders has evaporated. And no, it doesn’t have anything to do with the fact that these ones are diamond encrusted, what are you on about?

10. Alberta Ferretti

The colour combinations in this collection were stunning. Honestly. I just picked a really bad pic to illustrate that. Go read my first post to see (grifting 101: complete)!

11. Charlotte Knowles

I saw Bella Hadi wearing a Charlotte Knowles two piece, so I bought a Charlotte Knowles two piece.

LMAOOO, I wish.

12. Balenciaga

It’s occurred to me a couple of posts too late now on the basis that Tumblr is being a dick and won’t go back and let me edit stuff, even little typos, but I’m now wondering if there’s a link between the climate change theming of the show and the exaggerated structures of the pieces? Ya know, the whole abundance is killing the planet line of thinking? I know analysis isn’t exactly on brand with these silly mini captions and that oversized and exaggerated proportions is one of Balenciaga’s running motifs anyway buuut just a thought I had! And sidenote: I do believe overconsumption is killing the planet! The way I phrased that made it seem like I’m a climate change denying dickhead! That I am not! Maybe if I shave my head, legally change my name to Steve, get a British flag tattoo on my bicep, and spend every waking moment in my nearest Spoons I’ll get there but it’s not on the agenda quite yet!

13. Christopher Kane

If fashionable robots took over the world, they’d raid Christopher Kane’s studio and fry us all with laser beams whilst wearing his dresses.

14. Fendi

Siri, play Vroom Vroom by Charli XCX.

15. Olivier Theyskens

Mandarin collar. Mandarin collar. Mandarin collar. NEXT TIME I WILL REMEMBER WHAT THE PROPER NAME IS INSTEAD OF NEEDING TO GOOGLE IT AGAIN. Come on brain, you’re supposed to be good at this kinda thing, make it happen.

16. Elie Saab

Blair Waldorf’s wet dream. Add in some platform boots and chain jewellery and now it’s my wet dream too.

Because Chuck Bass is creepy as FUCK and maybe it’s because I watched Gossip Girl at the ripe old age (lol) of 21 and most people watch it as teenagers but I don’t know why YOU WERE ALL SO OBSESSED WITH HIM! He tries to sexually assault Jenny who is about 14 in the VERY FIRST EPISODE. I think I went off on a tangent here but it had to be said. You girls have no taste.

Don Draper was an absolute dog, but he was played by Jon Hamm, and he might be one of the finest men on the planet. What’s your excuse, Chuck and Blair enthusiasts?

17. Miu Miu

As someone who has probably been/met many a spoilt brat in her time, I appoint Miu Miu as the official sponsor of the Spoilt Brat™ aesthetic and yeah, that’s something I just made up but I’m on the money here. Imagine one of those “daddy, can you get me a pony?” types all grown up. Are you telling me you don’t picture her in Miu Miu? Because that sounds like a lie.

18. YSL

The war flashbacks I get of the Friends episode where Ross tries to get out of those leather trousers aside (I know it’s PVC her not leather but they have the same sheen, you can’t deny it), these outfits turn me into the irl version of the heart eyes emoji. It’s not like I think this is the best collection I’ve ever seen, YSL could def push the boat out a bit in terms of experimentation, but there aren’t many people who wouldn’t look hot as fuck in one of these pieces

19. Balmain

I didn’t like ALL of it, but the looks that I did like were amongst the ones that stuck out to me most when I was reflecting on the collections I’ve reviewed: the breast plates and silk capes and the scorpion detailing are real chef’s kiss moments.

20. Marques Almeida

Miss the collection that gave us this coat off the list? Never.

SO!

That is the end! Wow! I started saving the photos for this review back in late January/early February or whenever it was that the first fashion week began and now it’s mid-fucking July!? I don’t know if that speaks more to my incompetency or what a state the last few months have been. I’m not gonna write a super long ending paragraph because you’ve heard enough from me already and it’s 2:30am and I’m being hassled by Trump supporters on Twitter (literally just for stating that it’s a privilege to be able to pursue a career you truly have a passion for rather than having to be practical about finances first) anddddd I’ve got a closing shift tomorrow so I should probably log the fuck off and remove my clown makeup before it’s time to start my shift, lol!

Quick recommendation before I wrap this up, there was a really interesting debate on ITV literally a few hours ago on the Stephen Lawrence case that I thought I would recommend (they also showed the 1999 dramatic portrayal of events afterwards) about racism in England and whether or not much has changed since the murder. I didn’t catch the whole thing but from what I did see, there were some really strong points being made and I think it could be a good thing to sit and watch with your family members if you want to get talking about the Black Lives Matter movement and aren’t sure how to broach the topic. I bring it up because I feel like most middle-aged white people trust ITV so they’re less likely to turn their noses up (lol, I wish I was joking) at it and maybe go in with a more open mind. I’d like to keep the conversation about social issues going so if there’s anything you’d like me to get some information together on and make a post about-I read yesterday that there’d been arrests of THE PEOPLE PROTESTING the way Breonna Taylor’s death has been handled. No, not the police officers responsible for her death, the people simply pointing out that those police officers have done wrong. It’s a ridiculous situation and just shows how deeply embedded a police officer’s supposed right to kill and to use force is in upholding the American status quo. I wish I could end the post on better news, but let’s hope that next time I post, there is some, and as always thank you for reading til the end if you did get this far! I really don’t have all that many followers on here but do et me know if there’s anything I can reblog or share to help.

Lauren x

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