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lazarettta · 3 years

Text

I’m Not A Witch

Characters ( Cordelia Goode, Misty Day, and Reader)

Word Count 3k

Warnings (Minor drug use 💨)

You don’t have a bad background, in fact your life is pretty cushy but not without its problems namely...you being able to do things with your mind but you have no control. Thankfully, Cordelia and Misty scoop you up before you head down a path of self-destruction. Platonic af but there could be something if you squint I think 🤔

New Orleans was a world different from New York. A world different. You were born and raised in New York—it was your whole life, and you never really thought about a life outside of the city that never slept. Why would you want to leave the city that everyone wanted to be apart of? Well that's what you thought for twenty-three years.

You lived a comfortable life your entire existence, you didn't have to struggle nor were you ever afraid of your future. Your parents always made sure that you were well taken care of, nothing but the best for you and you knew how fortunate you were especially being a foster kid. You were born to Mr and Mrs Hawthorne, a wealthy couple who couldn't have a baby of their own so they went with the next best thing that money could afford—surrogacy.

It had taken your parents months to find the perfect candidate as Mr. Hawthorne, your father, would use his own semen (yikes dad). But that was all that you knew, you had no idea the identity of the woman they hired to carry you for nine months other than she was the nicest young woman your mother has ever met.

It wasn't a topic that could've been avoided as you got older and noticed that your complexion was a few shades more than theirs. But thankfully your parents were always open and honest with you, even at a young age. Of course you had a nanny growing up, both of your parents were lawyers—their time was always stretched far too thin, but you weren't a neglected child nor were you ungrateful and they loved you so much for it.

Which was why you never told them about your newfound skill when you hit your sweet sixteen—everyone thought the candle that nearly melted your entire birthday cake was a fluke incident but you knew that it wasn't. You had felt the heat of the fire as you watched your father set the tip of the match against the wick of the candle. For a brief moment you wondered what would've happened to your cake if it was on fire, you thought it would look pretty badass. You hadn't exactly expected it to actually happen! But it did and thankfully no one was injured just thoroughly freaked out.

Your parents laughed it off, quite nervously, but you never said anything about it to them and they never really brought it up again anyway. Unbeknownst to them, of course they were always at work and the penthouse housekeeper wasn't required twenty-four seven, you were able to fool around with your newfound hobby with relative peace in your room. Well until you nearly set the place on fire twice in the same month, after that you just went to the roof and googled meditation practices on google.

You only ever couldn't control the fire unless you were an emotional wreck. For two years, you kept that secret to yourself and if you didn't have friends before you sure as shit didn't then. No one really liked you anyway, your parents were richer than most of everyone else's and your parents actually gave a damn about you and not just about how you were going to make them look in the future.

They tried to bully you about your height but you weren't a punk, so that was short lived. Students envied you but that was okay. They didn't have anything to offer you, that's what your mom always told you anyway. Besides there was nothing wrong with being short, it just meant you had more to offer. Of course.

When you turned eighteen, you discovered something else about yourself...and you weren't exactly sure what you wanted to call it but you could always tell if someone was lying to you if you listened hard enough.

You weren't sure how it worked but you never took any real notice to it until your ex girlfriend, and your only girlfriend, lied to you and you felt a bit of a...you wouldn't say it was a jolt but your insides felt the same type of tingle when your foot fell asleep or something.

That's how you figured out your first love (high school, right?) was cheating on you...you hadn't dated anyone after that. How could you when all people did was lie?

And the minute they learned that you were a Hawthorne...it was done. You saved yourself the heartache and just focused on the future. You managed to graduate college a year early and you didn't go to jail for arson, yet.

The older you got and the more you learned about how shitty people could be, meditation and yoga stopped working so well for you and you ended up joining a gym. No martial arts or anything like that, you didn't have the time for it, but you hired a trainer and five days a week that’s what kept you grounded.

Presently...

You weren't currently working, well not anymore. Less than a month ago you were a nurse at Mercy hospital as a CRNA. It was a late night already and an unruly patient was brought in for a gunshot wound. Somehow he managed to slip out of his bonds and before anyone could stop him, the bastard had his hands around your throat and you'd...you just fucking panicked and he ending up burning to death from the inside.

No one knew how it happened they couldn't even prove that you had even done anything, but you were fired on the spot anyway...and your parents had to shovel out a good amount of money and blackmail to keep your name from the papers.

You hadn't searched for a job after that, what was the point? Your name may not have been dragged through the papers but you sure as hell weren't gonna be working at any hospital anytime soon. At least...not in Manhattan.

But after what happened...what you did to that man, the cruelty of it? Why would you? You'd been high strung after that and you picked up a habit you ditched after you left college.

It just helped you regulate your emotions better and to think, plus you just liked the way it made you feel. It also helped with the nightmares that would plague you every night, and the scene was always the same. He was always on top of you screaming to a pain too gruesome for words.

Your parents tried therapy but you were stubborn besides your medicine was better than theirs anyway.

Your father didn't know about your newfound hobby but your mom did, and she wasn't going to tell him either. She was just thankful that it wasn't crack or cocaine—she could deal with her daughter turning into a weed connoisseur. But she would not support an unproductive one.

That was exactly why she was on her way back into the city to your penthouse with two guests in tow. Doing her best not to cry in front of these two women who have proven to her that they could not only help you but take care of you in a way that she couldn't.

But she knew when your birthday cake went up in flames...she had been watching you the entire time, and in that moment...every warning and tale that your birth mother told her came to light. But she made a promise to love you like you were her own, because you were, and she'd love every freaky little tic that came with you.

As a mother it was hard for your mom to accept that this wasn’t something that she could do for you. But she was woman enough not to stand in the way of her daughter's success...whatever it was that you chose to do.

You were sitting out on your balcony wearing your black robe with nothing else on except a pair of panties and your Prince tank top that you should've gotten rid of years ago but it was still one of your favorite—holes and all. You'd been blissfully in your own little world for a few hours now with your iPad sitting in your lap with some Stevie Nicks playing in the background over the speakers coming from inside your penthouse.

It was just the right volume that it wasn't too loud but the city noises didn't drown it out either. You'd just polished off your fourth bowl, something grape...whatever, you were just enjoying your time. You went back to drawing, head bopping softly and you were so lost in your own little world you didn't realize that you were alone in your penthouse. There were three different sets of high heels that you missed though you just about jumped out of your skin when your mother came into view via your peripherals.

“Oh!” you smiled bright and wide, eyes a tad bit low, “Hey mom, what are you...um...who are they?” you sat up quickly, unaware that your robe fell open with the movement and your mom nearly facepalmed. You set your tablet aside, doing a double take at the blonde with the curly hair that was lowkey dancing to Fleetwood playing in the background. You looked at your mom, your smile morphing into a confused frown, “Mom?”

“Sweetheart,” your mom soothed back a long strand of dark hair and cleared her throat softly which worried you even more because your mom was never one to be nervous, ever, “This is Cordelia Goode and Misty Day.”

Subconsciously you reached into your robes pocket and pulled out a bright orange stress ball you got from the bodega for a whopping five bucks. (You had to have been high as fuck not to argue that price down but whatever.) You squeezed it softly, licking your dry lips, “Um...hi? Did I do something to you guys too? If I did I'm so sorry, I—”

“No, baby, no,” your mother sat next to you, quickly fixing your robe and your messy hair and Cordelia's brown eyes shot to Misty, who had immediately stopped dancing, “Just...are you hungry? Orange juice maybe?”

“Mrs. Hawthorne?” you looked up at the blonde woman came up behind your mother with a soft smile, “If I may, in my experience it is always better to just rip it off just like a band-aid.”

“Rip what off?” you pulled away from your mom, scooting away and hated seeing that hurt look on her face but there was something going on, you were not that paranoid.

“Honey, this is just a little intervention and—”

Laughing, you scooted away from your mom again, “What? Mom, it’s just pot—”

Your mom waved away your comment with a roll of her eyes, “Honey, I don’t care about the grass—”

“Then what…”

“Zip!”

You quickly shut your mouth when your mom said that and have you that look, it was one you knew quite well growing up. It baffled you how it was still working on you.

Your mom sighed, “It's just for a little while and I'll make sure that this place is well cared for.”

“Wait what?! You're sending me away??”

“(Y/n).” the blonde, Cordelia, pulled your attention from your mom who was crying, Cordelia sat on the edge of your coffee table carefully while Misty continued to hover in the background curiously, but prepared in case you got jumpy, “We just want to help you, okay? We're not here to kidnap you or harm you in any way.”

“I can't be helped,” you scoffed, rolling your eyes even as the tears spilled over, “I—I don't know what you think you know, Miss Goode but...”

“I know quite a bit, (Y/n),” Cordelia held out her hand and suddenly your stash box flew past your head making you flinch but Cordelia caught it just fine and you stared at her wide eyed, “You and I? We aren't so different and at Miss Robichaux's academy for exceptional young ladies...we teach young witches such as yourself how to survive in the modern world.”

“Witches? You think I'm a witch? No way, mom c'mon...the...the stash box trick was cool and all, but witches? Mom! Mom please, you're not buying this are you?” but even as you questioned it, you knew that they were telling the truth and that's what scared you the most. “How do you know they're not trying to use this for your money?”

“We're not, I promise! We don't need your family's money, (Y/n). All we want is to help you.”

“Listen to her, honey, this is for your benefit, okay? And...these women are very nice people, so don't give them trouble, not that you would, right?”

You looked over your mothers shoulder at Misty, the woman offering you a smile and a playful wink.

You exhaled heavily, your eyes sliding back to your mom, “...and you're not getting rid of me right? Because of...what I can do? Or what I've done?”

“No! Absolutely not, it was an accident! If anything it was the faulty bonds they put that monster in! Honestly,” your mother huffed, “your father and I still have half a mind about suing that hospital…”

“But not without having to drag my name through the mud.” You mumbled, sighing heavily.

“I love you, (Y/n), so damn much. Yes, we would’ve gotten millions but you’re worth much more to your father and I, don't you forget that,” Your mom reached over and grabbed your hand, squeezing gently before standing and quickly gathering her Prada bag, “and...don't worry about your father with all of this. I'll break this to him myself but baby...promise me that you will try?”

You bit your bottom lip, nodding slowly and holding her hand tighter almost painfully so before surging up and hugging your bother tight, and even though she was in high heels your slight frame made it easy for her to catch most of your weight. She hugged you back just as fiercely, kissing your forehead twice before letting you go.

“And here—for emergencies and whatever you might need, honey.” your mom pushed her black card into your trembling hands, the weight of it denser than you expected it to be and it made you laugh, of course your mom would shove money at you. It was her love language, you stopped questioning it a very long time ago but you never took advantage of it. “I love you so so much.”

Cordelia watched the entire exchange silently with an ever curious eye, even daring to risk raising an eyebrow when she saw your mom push that unmarked card into your hands before skirting off. Your mom reminded her a bit of her own mother...money was Fiona’s love language as well.

But your mom was much more pleasant, her love for you blossomed like a rose rather than a thorn bush.

You exhaled shakily, hands fidgeting in front of you, “I...what now?”

“Now we get down to business,” Misty smiled at you, stepping into the space your mom once occupied and took your hands in both of her own, “Your mama is resourceful, she tracked us down and everything, but it wasn't like it was all that hard since Delia and I were lookin' for you too.”

“You...you were?” you looked over your shoulder at Cordelia still sitting on your coffee table, “Why?”

“We heard about what happened to the man at the hospital and even though you weren't named, it wasn't that hard to track you down and we happened to cross paths with your mother.”

“Figures...” you nodded, sniffling again and you quickly pulled your hands from Misty when a breeze hit your skin—reminding you how indecent you were among two strangers.

You fixed your robe again and quickly sat down and Misty followed you down, bouncing slightly almost a little too close—your high was completely worn off at this point, “Earlier you said that you were helping wit...people like me live in the modern world? What?”

“Yes, we help witches such as yourself avoid situations like the one you currently experienced.”

You raised an eyebrow at her wording and she smiled at you when you met her eyes. You scoffed, crossing your arms over your chest—appearing unbothered even if you were still sniffling, damn. Your mood swings were going to give you whiplash one of these days.

“You don’t really expect me to go around calling myself a witch do you?”

Cordelia’s eyes narrowed a fraction, “What I expect, (Y/n), is for you to actually make an attempt. There will be rules and the sooner you drop the attitude, the easier this will be for all of us—you especially.”

You opened your mouth to argue back but then you quickly shut your mouth, your mom's words bouncing around in your head to stop causing trouble. Along with the promise you made to her.

Misty was sitting still next to you, and though you couldn’t see it—her eyes were darting back and forth between you and Cordelia with a bit of a grin trying to break free.

“Right, and um where is this school of yours again? If I even agree to this at all?”

Cordelia gave you a look that you couldn't really decipher, “Miss Robichaux's academy is in California.”

Your eyes flew back to hers immediately, “I don't wanna go around calling you a liar Miss Goode, I only just met you...but you and I both know that's not true.”

“Ah, so it is true...you do have some form divination.”

She led you right into a trap and you couldn’t even be annoyed by that, Cordelia was proving to be a lot more than she appeared. “Divination? What is that? Is there anything my mom didn't tell you?”

“Well, she didn't tell us ya favorite food.” Misty supplied unhelpfully, attempting to break the building tension with poor humor. And you couldn't hold back your smile, deciding that you liked her a lot.

“You're a walking lie detector, dear. That's quite handy in today's world.”

Misty chuckled before one of her arms came around your shoulders, “Oh yes, and Madison is just gonna love you!”

“Don't worry, you’ll fit right in.” Cordelia chuckled, still sitting directly across from you and there was a bit of a twinkle in her brown eyes, she knew you were going to be trouble and that she would have to keep a close eye on you. But if there was one thing that Cordelia enjoyed, it was a challenge.

I dunno what I’m doing for real lol it’s 1am and I’m in my garage on a tablet 😅😅I thought this was fun

#ahs coven #cordelia goode #misty day #cordelia goode x reader #cordelia goode x misty day #sarah paulson #ahs coven imagine #american horror story #lily rabe #ahs cordelia #ahs misty

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leverage-ot3 · 4 years

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notable moments from The Order 23 Job

leverage 2.03

Nate: Nobody wants to see this guy just get a slap on the wrist, Ronald, I mean, but killing him? He's a thief, not a murder.

literally !!! this !!!

I’m not even going to go into current events but no matter what someone has done, ESPECIALLY if they haven’t had a trial yet they do NOT deserve to be killed or murdered or anyone (side eyes the US police system). I said what I said.

- - - - -

Ronald: He was smart, responsible, and Armenian, like us.

Nate: Yeah, well, they call these affinity crimes, people who prey on fellow members of ethnic groups

- - - - -

Hardison: Eddie's new address in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, is the original "Club Fed".

Eliot: He's got his own nine-hole golf course. Vegan menu.

Hardison: This dude can play Frisbee with the guys from Enron in the quadrangle.

Eliot: I hate those guys. 18 months in a country club, this guy.

Parker: Yeah, and then when he gets done, he gets to come home and collect his hidden cash

we love to see the ot3 angry about the same things while sitting close together

+ eliot is wearing a flannel in this one

- - - - -

parker doing a happy dance in the vents when she knocks the guy out

- - - - -

(Hardison unpacks computer monitors and sets up a workstation while a video feed of Parker making the bed plays on a laptop. Hardison plays audio sounds on the laptop)

Nate: Hey.

Hardison: Hey. I put speakers in Eddie's room and every 3 feet down the hallway. So if you want to hear footsteps coming toward you, you slide the cursor this way. (demonstrates) And walking away, this way. I made you a master audio file with all the stuff we recorded, plus the sound effects. You mix them any way you want. You're the dj

that’s actually really smart

- - - - -

Parker: All right, well, here's the stuff from the van plus almost everything from the list. (opens a bag) And by the way, nurses haven't worn skirts with white stockings since the '70s. Sorry.

(hardison and eliot share a look)

dumb idiot boys that think it’d be funny to see their future gf in an old nurse uniform

- - - - -

Hardison: If you don't give me that shirt--

Eliot: Listen to me, son, you need those fingers to type on your little keyboard, don't you?

Hardison: So you know, a bully is just a cowboy with low self-esteem.

Eliot: What was that, now?

Hardison: I said what?

Eliot: My insecure ass is gonna be wearing this shirt

- - - - -

Parker: You're not claustrophobic, are you, Mr. Maranjian? (pushes him down the hall, leaning down to whisper in his ear) Because you've got nothing to be afraid of.

I LOVE IT WHEN SHE FUCKS WITH PEOPLE

- - - - -

(Eliot stops to look at the boy, who looks up at him with tears in his eyes)

Hardison: So, say I mention "The Search for Spock", what do you do?

Eliot: I don't have a TV.

Hardison: Everybody has TVs. Dead people have TVs. Damn it.

(Hardison walks away, but Eliot remains, looking at the boy and his father)

- - - - -

Nate: See, y-you tell someone they have a bunch of symptoms and the information gets processed in the executive center of the brain, right? It's job is to question assumptions, start an argument. But if you suggest symptoms, you can bypass all that.

Parker: Like subliminal advertising?

Nate: It's actually neurolinguistic programming, you know, the gateway to the amygdala, which is the fear center of the brain. You asked what we're selling. That's-- that's what we're selling.

Parker: So we're selling...

Nate: Fear.

Parker: Oh. Fear.

Nate: Yeah.

Parker: Cool.

Nate: Yeah

- - - - -

Parker (looking at monitor): Wait, his nose. Is that...

Nate: real blood?

Eddie: I'm-- I'm bleeding! I'm bleeding!

Nate: Yes. Yes, it is.

Eddie: Hello?! Can anyone hear me?! Please!

Parker: Did you just give a guy a nosebleed with the power of your mind?

Nate: Amygdala mania. Hmm. Almond tonsils.

Parker: Is it just me, or has Nate gotten a little sadistic since he quit drinking?

Sophie: Is it just me, or does that make him even more attractive

- - - - -

Hardison: Eliot, can you talk? What's Charlie doing?

[Hallway]

Eliot: I haven't gotten there yet. (looks into room with Trent and his son)

Hardison: No wonder I couldn't hear you on my coms. Eliot, stop checking out the nurses and get your ass down to Charlie!

Eliot: I'm on my way, all right? Shut up.

(Eliot takes out his earbud and walks into the exam room to Trent)

Eliot: Excuse me, sir. Can I talk to you for a second, please

eliot cares SO MUCH

- - - - -

(Eliot grabs Trent’s arm and bends him over the railing)

Eliot: That bruise on his cheek's a week old. The one on his neck is three days. He get that falling, too?

Trent: You don't believe me? Ask him.

Eliot: Why, huh? So I can hear how well his daddy taught him to lie?

Trent: If you're gonna arrest me, go ahead. I'll be out in five minutes.

Eliot: I ain't gonna arrest you.

(Eliot nearly throws Trent over the railing letting him dangle for a moment before throwing him back against the wall. He opens Trent’s wallet and looks at his license)

Eliot: Randall Trent, 73 Austin Street. (puts wallet in his pocket) I got my eye on you now.

Trent: How many guys don't even see their kids? I bet this place is full of deadbeat dads. But a man who provides for his family, who shows his son a firm hand, he's the bad guy? Go back to your speed traps.

(Trent leaves the stairwell. Eliot looks pissed)

eliot is SO ANGRY I love my kind-hearted man

also high key I really thinks this gives an insight as to what his childhood was like

like,,, he saw the signs RIGHT AWAY. he was primed to notice them. he saw right through any act that man would have pulled because he saw what was truly going on, and things like that hit harder and closer when they’ve happened to you or someone in your life

- - - - -

Sophie: You know, I once had to play six parts in "Nicholas Nickleby" and Mrs. Squeers and Phib had a bloody song together.

- - - - -

on today’s edition of non-weapons-that-eliot-uses-as-weapons, we have eliot using the morgue body cabinet doors and a gross morgue body part (?) bowl

- - - - -

(Eliot puts Charlie on top of one of the bodies in the drawers and closes him inside before putting his earbud back in)

Hardison: You think you can just ignore me, like I don't have any feelings, like I never sat there, never listened to you talk all night about tryin--

Eliot: Hardison, have you been talking the whole time?

Hardison: I wouldn't have had to if you didn't turn off your daggum com

hardison worries about eliot and gets angry when he takes his coms out because he cares

- - - - -

Hardison: Oh, man. Come on.

(Hardison moves to tug Eliot before he heads off. Eliot looks from the boy to the police coming into the hospital before entering the boy’s room and pulling the curtain)

Eliot: Hey. How's the arm, my man?

Randy: It's okay.

Eliot: Yeah? My name's Eliot. What's your name?

(police officers continue to move through the hallways)

Randy: Randy.

Eliot: Randy. Oh, I like that name. (sits on bed) I got an uncle named Randy. There sure are a lot of cops around here, huh? You know, if you wanted, you could go up to one and tell them what happened to your arm. Hey, Randy. You don't have to be afraid anymore.

Randy: Dad knows these cops, you know? They come to my house. They'll drink beer. I mean… I can't

this is so, so sad but also hardison’s casual touching and intimacy with eliot gives me life

- - - - -

this is the one episode parker is tased and not the one doing the tasing

- - - - -

okay but wHO ACTUALLY, IN REAL LIFE, LEAVES THEIR KEYS IN THEIR UNLOCKED CAR

- - - - -

PARKER USED ELIOTS PUNCHING TACTICS (from the last episode) TO KNOCK THEIR MARK OUT

- - - - -

(Eddie uses the stunner to knock Parker out. As soon as he moves away, she gets up, lifting her shirt to show a vest)

hmmm I wonder what type of vest she used to block the electric shock ???

- - - - -

(team walks out of the courthouse and heads down the stairs)

Nate: So, here's everything you need to know about criminal law. Every crime has two elements, Actus reus, the act itself, and mens rea, Literally "The Guilty Mind."

Hardison: Wait. Now you're a doctor and a lawyer?

Nate: Yes. Now, for escape, the prisoner has to both break out of custody and show the intent to escape.

Sophie: Wait, so if, let's say, a prisoner was taken hostage during a jailbreak then he wouldn't be guilty of escape.

Nate: That's a perfect example.

Hardison: Kiss ass.

Nate: Which brings us back to our friend Eddie and how the brain reacts to fear. In the heat of the moment Eddie didn't ask himself a simple question, who would doubt his guilty mind?

- - - - -

Bob: Damn right it is. You and your partner, you're all right. I don't know how to thank you, though.

(Eliot looks at Bob for a long moment, then pulls Trent’s license from his pocket and hands it to Bob)

Eliot: Do one thing for me.

Bob: You got it.

[Exterior Apartment]

(Bob knocks on the door and Randy opens it)

Bob: Randy? I'm Deputy United States Marshal Robert Corville. I'm from Boston. I think you and I need to talk.

Trent: Who are you talking to out there? (pulls door open wider and sees Bob)

Bob: Come on.

(Randy looks at Trent then follows Bob out of the apartment)

Bob: It's all right, son. Come on. You're gonna be okay, Randy.

(Bob gives Trent one last look before moving away. From down the street, Eliot watches as Bob and Randy get into a car and drive away)

eliot watching over to make sure the kid was okay in the end? my HEART

#leverage #leverage 2.03 #leverage 2x03 #the order 23 job #leverage season 2 #season 2 #notable moments #mine

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touchmycoat · 3 years

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HX/LQG!anon: oh, Ella!LQG just pings my kinky heart - he's SURE HX is just messing with him, but there's just a tiny bit of his brain that says, but what if he really needs it? And he just. Wants. He wants to give HX what he needs. And there's that other bit of him that just feels really really good doing what HX tells him to do, a weapon put in good hands. LQG is all-in/ ride or die if he trusts (loves) someone, even if he tries to pretend that's not happening. (Such sub energy!!)

p.s. First David and Second David???????!!!!!! *SCREAMS* I HAVE TOO MANY FEELS! Talk about emotional whump... *bites nails in anticipation*

YES YES YES YES AAAAAAHHHHH lqg honestly wants to be the weapon SO bad, just do as he's told because he knows he's in trusted hands. SUB!LQG IS YUMMIEST LQG. And He Xuan, well, he thrives off of control, that much is obvious. Not to be cliche but I want them to do every single con that involves He Xuan coming in and posing as LQG's debtor or employer or owner in some way, and at some point he just impatiently beckons LQG over, asks LQG why the job's all screwed up, and backhands LQG. LQG murmurs a "sorry sir" with no prompting at all, and HX nods, satisfied, before returning to the job.

BABE. BABE. I ALL OF A SUDDEN REMEMBERED NATE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A CATHOLIC PRIEST. WAS THAT WERE HX WAS HEADED?? NOT CATHOLICISM BUT DEVOUT DAOIST SCHOLAR, MAYBE HISTORIAN??

(then HX's entire backstory got a revamp so warning, this got super fucking long)

Like, he and his sweetheart got engaged during undergrad, and for HX's last year he got this huge grant to travel to China to do his research on, I dunno, the original sutras that brought buddhism to the mainland and the daoist sociopolitical interests that propelled the translations. His fiancee makes a joke about how he's like Tang Sanzang from Journey to the West, but will he be okay all by himself, all the demons out there wanna eat his flesh y'know. HX laughs it off and goes—but it's during this time that SWD's entire shit strikes. It's probably a real estate thing to begin with—HX's dad's little Chinese diner refuses to sell to the rich corporate developers. They send people to smash things up, and the first time dad gets hospitalized HX tries to come home, but his mother convinces him to stay put, bc she's heard the real estate developers have some internal issues and are going down.

Sure enough, the company does, and the Hes thought it was over. HX reluctantly stays in China bc they really do have so much money riding on this, but a little while later, he hears about his baby sister falling sick. He and his mother argue for a period of time, but in the end it's HX's father's sudden death—complications due to his injuries from before—that makes his decision for him. So HX drops the research grant, comes home, realizes it wasn't just his sister sick, it was his mother as well, and takes academic leave to take care of his mother and sister.

But he realizes something's wrong. He's already pretty clever, and through mild grifting figures out there's something hinky with the whole "real estate company going down" thing. At the same time, this guy who just calls himself the Reverend shows up, and tells him look, you seem pretty desperate. Your family's sick, you're working yourself to the bones just trying to keep getting them treatment, you'll probably never return to school. But how about you come work for me?

HX puts on a damn good show. He pretends to refuse at first, forcing the Reverend to show him more and more of the business they got running. Then he "accepts" the Reverend's jobs, but tips off the people who were supposed to be the victims, and has them escape or resolve the situation in ways that wouldn't reveal it was HX behind it all. But it was all just a matter of time, of course, and he wasn't trying to trick the Reverend for the longterm, he was just trying to ferret out the people behind the Reverend. Why did they want HX's dad's shop badly enough to kill him, and why do they keep sending goons to smash up the storefront every time HX tries to clean it up?

Meanwhile, his fiancee, who's always helped out at the diner, is getting sick too. That's how HX put the pieces together, that it's...something like radiation poisoning (gotta figure out the deets),, and the real estate situation was an entanglement of coverups to hide what was probably improper waste disposal way back when.

Some good news though—there's a treatment being offered through a special program at the hospital for the thing HX's mom and sister are sick with, and its rep? A bubbly young corporate heiress out to perform some philanthropy, Shi Qingxuan. SQX befriends HX's fiancee first, and after learning about HX's situation, she prepares a whole grant application to the parent medical insurance company, says if it goes through HX wouldn't have to pay a dime. HX's naturally skeptical, but SQX is like "don't worry, I know people high up, wink wink"

But halfway through this the Reverend figures out HX is compiling evidence. Instead of confronting him straight, they want to tie HX down as an accomplice instead, so they send him on another "job" that's totally a set-up. HX's clever and figures it out, sends people packing, and in the end confronts the Reverend like, "the state police are coming, I have evidence and testimony to your crimes, you're going down."

But then the Reverend goes ahead and says, "good job then, you wanna keep patting yourself on the back or go see your mom and sister for the last time?" And plays for him a message from the hospital about his mother and sister's situations suddenly worsening. HX knows this is their doing, but what else can he do? He rushes to the hospital, and finds his fiancee weeping, SQX trying to comfort her. HX's mom and sister are already dead.

At this point, there are strains and fractures in HX's relationship with his fiancee, because of course there is—they're both still so fucking young. Miao-er had wanted to go on academic leave too, but HX refused, saying one of them needs to graduate college at least. The Hes are paying for her tuition anyways, and he kind of strong-arms her into continuing her education. Then he started taking the jobs for the Reverend, and Miao-er knows it's bad news because she sees the way HX's going kind of dark-sided. She always tries to bring him out of his funk, with varying levels of success, but she also kind of wishes he would just stay, and be there, and make this simple instead of diving into what kind of looks like a crazy conspiracy theory.

So here, that confrontation happens. The Reverend had given HX a gun for the set-up job from before, and HX turns right back around at the hospital room and goes to kill the Reverend. Miao-er tries to stop him, finds out he has a gun, is like jesus shit what the fuck dude, SQX's in the background trying to calm things down. HX ends up storming off anyways, and Miao-er is crying. SQX gets a little pissed off too and runs after HX to tell HX that Miao-er needs treatment too. She's really, really sorry that HX's mom and sister didn't make it in time, but the case went through for Miao-er, she can get the full course of treatment with all costs covered, and if HX storms off for revenge right now and gets caught, that means Miao-er gets left completely on her own, you know? The Hes are basically her adopted family, she doesn't have anyone else here in the States, and she just needs HX, please, calm down.

HX listens, manages to calm down, but when they go back, Miao-er's gone. Figuring she just needs time to deal with things herself, HX makes arrangements for his mom and sister's bodies. SQX continues to keep him company, and when she learns about the Reverend, she brings all her personal lawyers to help out. Together, they successfully resolve the entire Reverend ordeal. The Reverend goes down for everything, from the initial improper waste disposal to the real estate situation to getting HX's entire family killed. HX gets a payout, and wonders what to do next.

But then, Miao-er never came back. HX gets all tense and intense about searching again, but then SQX hesitantly informs him that according to the medical grant, Miao-er is currently receiving the full course of treatment. As for where, she's not at liberty to say, but, well, it kind of looks like she's just avoiding him? Maybe he should give her time?

Then HX gets smacked with an insane amount of student debt, both his and his fiancee's, which made no sense, unless Miao-er had cashed out the year's tuition that the Hes gave her and paid for school with a loan instead? And Miao-er continues to be gone, not answering any of HX's calls, and it just doesn't seem like something she would do but over time, HX doesn't know anymore. In the span of months, he's lost everybody, and the only person who still gave a damn enough to check up on him all the time, no matter how much of a bastard he is, is SQX.

Then SQX tells him her brother is hiring. "Look, we're an insurance company, we need case investigators. Normally they only hire out of prestigious schools but I can vouch for you, alright? I've seen what you can do. Take the job, pay off all these debts, smooth things out, and see where to go from there."

HX listens. He works under SWD and becomes the firm's top investigator. He pays off his debts, helps out his neighbors with zoning shit, and somewhere along the line starts dating SQX. SQX loves loves loves him, and keeps proposing to him ("but hahaha no pressure only if you really want, because I really want, like, spice girls really really want"), so finally, HX accepts.

Soon after their engagement though, HX suddenly gets a call. It's an unknown number, but he recognized the voice immediately. It's Miao-er.

She's crying, she sounds weak, she says she's sorry, so sorry, she let them lie to her for so long, that she never should have trusted them. She says he's been right all along, that there's been a cover-up, and now they're going to kill her for it—

The line goes dead. HX doesn't really remember how, but he loses consciousness. When he wakes up again it's to SQX telling him the doctors said he had a panic attack.

HX's brain puts the pieces together faster than he's really aware, and he has a fist in SQX's collar. He asks her where Miao-er is, what she knows, what happened to the treatment payments, did SQX lie to him about Miao-er taking—

But SWD's also there. They're staying at the Shi mansion, post-engagement. SWD pulls him away from SQX and has security take him down. SQX tries to protest, says HX's not feeling well. HX just keeps demanding to know where Miao-er is, and SWD just coolly opens HX's phone, shows him he hadn't received any calls, and basically calls off the engagement, gaslighting HX into thinking he's had a psychotic break triggered by the engagement to SQX.

Everything goes downhill from there. HX knows what he heard, and knows if something really did happen to Miao-er, then SQX must have had something to do with it. Their relationship completely falls apart, SWD fires him, and HX leaves a complete and utter mess. He drinks himself stupid, lives out of his car, sells his car, and ends up running in the dark side of town, where he mostly just wants to be left alone, but ends up making a name for himself anyways as someone immensely powerful and dangerous.

Then he meets Xie Lian. Everything kicks off again from there.

#leverage AU #it's so much more melodramatic than nate's son OKAY BUT IS IT #the midnight phone call that may or may not have happened is the most melodramatic part #but y'know it vibes with the whole 'real earth master sending up a flare' thing #and a hasty cover up #HX remembers SWD telling him 'nobody hurts my sister'#and even applauds him for it #before he figures out it's SWD screwing him over this entire time #SQX knows nothing ofc #but HX is convinced it's her #until finally she gets exasperated enough with the accusations that she stops trying #and HX is honestly exhausted too #realizes there's no way SQX plotted this #and falls into a slump #that's where we find HX pre-series

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pixiegrl · 4 years

Text

Chip on Your Shoulder

This is a very belated gift to @clumsyclifford This is truly some of the most self-indulgent stuff I’ve done (that’s probably a lie everything I do is self-indulgent). But this is basically the “Chip on Your Shoulder” scene from Legally Blonde the musical. Born out of my love for that musical and also Luke dressed as a playboy bunny.

And my love for Bella! She’s a wonderful friend, a wonderful cheerleader, and a pleasure and a joy to listen to talk and to read her things. I’m very happy to have met you and please take this gift (also an apology for taking so long to do SITR). And as always thanks to @pushkinalexander for reading this for me to edit.

Luke has been crying on the bench outside of the apartment for what feels like forever. He’s so stupid to have listened to Harry telling him that the party was a costume party. He’s cold, rejected, and upset, sitting outside in the dark in this stupid Playboy bunny costume Michael lent him. How is Jack supposed to take him seriously when he’s shown up to this stupid fancy lawyer party dressed up like this. Now Jack thinks he’s even more of a joke for coming to Harvard, for following him all the way across the ocean just to prove that he loves him. Everyone has figured out he doesn’t belong here, right from when he got kicked out of class for not doing the readings and to now, showing up to a party dressed up in this ridiculous costume. It doesn’t matter to them that he’d gotten a 4.0 GPA at uni for his double major in business and music, that he’d aced the LSAT, that he’s come all the way out here to a new country for a second time to show Jack he can be taken seriously, because all anyone seems to think is that he’s some dumb blonde. And then he’d gone and called Harry a frigid bitch on top of it all. Maybe they were all right, maybe he should just go back to Australia, no matter what Michael says about him being smart and talented and funny. Michael has only known him for a few days. Jack has known him for years. Luke isn’t meant to do something like Harvard, especially if he’s only doing it to win Jack over.

Luke sniffles, wishing he’d thought to bring a jacket or tissues or something to wipe his nose on. He didn’t realize fall in America would be so cold. He just wants to go home, back to Australia and the sun. He’s even willing to forgo his friends back in London, his little “greek chorus” of friends from his music program, if it just means he can get a hug from his mum and cry about being dumped and kicked out of law school after a week.

Luke hears someone clear their throat next to him. He startles, trying to rub his eyes as quickly as possible to make sure no one can see he’s been crying. Ashton, the TA from Callahan’s class, is standing next to the bench, brows furrowed and hands shoved into the pockets of his dark wash jeans. Great, just what Luke needs. The hot, Australian lawyer guy from his class saw him sitting here with bunny ears, crying in the middle of the night. Now Luke can’t even go back to class.

“Luke? What’s up...doc?” Ashton asks, lips quirked up at the corners to let Luke know he’s teasing him. Luke vaguely knows it’s a joke related to some old American cartoon but he can’t place it.

Luke sniffles again against his will. “Love.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“I put my faith in love. And I came all the way out here, to another foreign country where I don’t know anyone besides my ex, to try and prove to him that I was serious and not just some dumb blonde with dreams of being a musician, to prove that I could do something of value, and look where it led me.”

“Hang on a minute-”

“Here! To this cold, miserable place! I wanted to be a singer or a producer or...or... something in music. But Jack wanted to marry someone serious. And I love him! So I studied and I took that stupid test and did all those applications to come here just to show him I was worth it. And now he’s engaged to someone else and I’m stuck in hell! I wish I was dead! I’m flunking out of school and everyone’s laughing at me and mocking me and I, I just want to go home!” Luke wails, burying his face into his hands and muffling another sob. The bunny ears flop down onto his forehead. Luke doesn’t even care about how ridiculous he looks anymore. It’s not like it matters. At the rate he’s going, he’ll probably be kicked out next week and Jack and Harry and all of their friends can laugh at him.

“Sorry, back up, you applied to Harvard Law School, which is a prestigious, exclusive, hard to get into university, to win back your ex? You didn’t even want to be a lawyer? You did all this for a guy? Fuck, what kind of rich, romantic planet are you from?”

“Sydney? Although I did go to uni in London.”

Ashton scoffs, rolling his eyes and looking away from Luke, crossing his arms, “That’s fucking mental is what that is. You wasted all this money, all this time, took someone else’s spot, just to get back your ex and then leave.”

Luke is suddenly filled with a burst of anger. Who’s Ashton to judge him? Ashton doesn’t know anything about him, doesn’t know anything about where he’s come from or how hard he worked to go to school in London, to get out of Sydney and do something with this life. Just because law wasn’t part of that plan doesn’t mean Luke isn’t as smart or determined or driven as Ashton.

“Well, why did you come here then? There’s plenty of decent law schools in Australia. What makes you so special that you get to come here?”

Ashton lets out a sigh, sitting down on the bench next to Luke. He shrugs his jacket off, wrapping it around Luke’s shivering shoulders. It’s sweet and touching. Luke isn’t sure when the last time it was that someone did something nice like that for him. God knows every time Luke was cold back at uni Jack used to tell him he should have brought a jacket.

“I grew up in a not so great part of Australia. My dad left when I was young so it was just me and my mom and my younger siblings. I had to take care of everyone growing up. I decided to be a lawyer so that I could help people. I did uni and law school having to work two jobs while going to class. Some of us have to scrap by to get any kind of recognition. So forgive me if your little problem about your boyfriend dumping you doesn’t move me to tears.”

“Hey! Just because you’ve got some kind of chip on your shoulder at the world doesn’t mean you can take it out on me.”

“So what if I do? I can’t waste any of the chances I have, I have to push forward. I’m so close to being able to work in Callahan’s law firm. I’m so close to my dream. I can’t throw that all away from any trivial thing that comes by. Maybe you need to get a little perspective on the world. When you don’t have privilege you have to work twice as hard.”

Luke frowns at that. Just because he didn’t work two jobs in uni or didn’t decide to become a lawyer for the same reasons at Ashton doesn’t mean he isn’t a hard worker. He was a double major! And he used to organize all those charity events for their music group. Besides, from what little Luke has actually learned in class before getting kicked out, law seems pretty interesting.

Ashton stands to go, smiling at Luke, “Listen, I’d love to stay and chat all night, but I have to get back to my place and start prepping the week for your class. Just bring my jacket with you tomorrow, yeah?” Ashton turns to leave.

“Hold on,” Luke calls out. Ashton stops. “You worked two jobs? And went to school?”

Ashton turns back to Luke, smiling. “I haven’t slept in about fifteen years.”

“How’d you do it? I’ve only been here a week and I’m already floundering.”

“Well, I don’t go out and party for one thing. I don’t date much and I don’t go to the mall or the movies. I certainly don’t spend all my time on my hair or my makeup or staying in shape,” He gives Luke a once over as he says the words.

Luke blushes, suddenly self-conscious about his outfit. “Well, you don’t seem to have any problem with the last one. And I certainly don’t spend hours on my hair and makeup,” He mumbles.

Ashton’s grin widens, “I’m not saying you don’t look nice. I’m just saying maybe if you spent less time trying to decide what eyeshadow would match your top the best and start spending it reading the required chapters for the week instead. I’m working this hard so that I can get my mom a nice place to live in back home.”

“Aw, that’s sweet.”

“No, I’m just driven to achieve my dreams. I’ve been given a once in a lifetime opportunity and I can’t waste that. Maybe you should think about that, Mr. Luke Hemmings, the next time you decide to not prepare for class. Maybe having your own chip on your shoulder would help.”

“No, I don’t need that, I just need to prove to everyone that I’m serious!” Luke insists, stopping himself at the last minute from stomping his foot. Ashton smirks.

“No, what you need is to get to work. Listen, have you done the readings at all?”

Luke shakes his head, embarrassed, looking down at his feet. Ashton sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose between his fingers. “I don’t usually do this, but I will help you. Just this once. I’ll read through tomorrow’s chapter with you and help you prepare for class.”

Luke shrieks in happiness, throwing his arms around Ashton in a hug, “Oh, thank you so much!”

“Alright, alright no need to get sappy on me. Come on, lead the way back to your dorm,” Ashton says, an exasperated smile on his face. Luke grins widely and leads them off in the direction of his room.

-----

“Ta da!” Luke exclaims when they make it back, throwing the door to his room open. It’s smaller than the one he had back in London, but he’s managed to make it look like home. He’s hung pictures of his family and friends up, covered the room in his favorite color (pink), and even managed to give Petunia her own special place in the corner. “Make yourself at home.”

Luke starts to rummage around in his closet, looking for something else to put on that’s not the corset he’s currently wearing. Ashton looks around the room, raising an eyebrow. “Where are all your books?”

“They’re somewhere in that mess,” Luke says, waving vaguely at his desk where he’s stacked up his things for class. Ashton starts to dig around on the desk as Luke disappears into the closet to change. He can hear Ashton mumbling to himself.

“You drink a lot of coffee?”

“It gives me energy!”

“For all that late night studying I’m sure,” Ashton says with a snort.

Ashton lets out an exasperated huff. Luke pops his head around the closet, half in the costume, half in the sweatpants he’s decided to put on.

“What?”

“How do you find anything in here?”

“I have an organizational system set up. Sort of.”

“You gotta clean this room up, mate. This is a desk. Do you really need all these things?” Ashton says, picking up Luke’s hair dryer and dangling it between his fingers.

Luke huffs, pulling his shirt over his head and darting out of the closet, making to grab it from Ashton. “It’s for my hair! Of course I need it!”

“Wear a hat.”

Luke gasps in outrage as Ashton starts to rummage around further into his room, “You don’t need half these things. Sell them, put them in storage, do something with them! You need to focus on your school and less on all of this,” he says, gesturing vaguely to Luke’s cluttered dresser filled with makeup and magazines. He grabs the nearest trash can and starts to swipe it all in.

“Hey! Stop touching my things!”

“Are you angry?”

“Yes!”

“Good! Maybe that’ll motivate you to actually work for the spot you’ve earned here, instead of using it to goof off and win your ex back.”

Luke growls lightly, turning back to his desk to find the textbook. Ashton is rude and pushy and Luke wishes he wasn’t his ticket to passing this class.

“Ah ha!” Luke cries, finding the book and holding it up triumphantly in Ashton’s direction. Ashton raises an eyebrow.

“It’s still sealed.”

“Well I just haven’t gotten around to them yet.”

Ashton rolls his eyes. “Come on, we have to get through at least three chapters and it’s already close to 10pm. I’ll have to give you the abridged version, but I think we can make do. Now, do you at least have a notebook or a laptop or something for you to take notes with?” He sits down cross-legged on the floor, digging in his own bag to find a pen and some paper. Luke rolls his own eyes and grabs his laptop from where he’d left it on his bed, sitting down next to Ashton. It’s going to be a long night.

-----

“Mom, I already told you I’m not coming home until Christmas this year. I have too many things to do at school before the term is over and it’s such a waste of money to fly home for five days,” Luke says into the phone. He’s explained this to his mother at least once a week since October, that even though he gets time off from Thanksgiving he won’t be going back to Australia for the short break. He’d lose half the trip to the flights anyways, and it seems silly with winter break in only four weeks. Besides, Ashton has been helping him study steadily since their meeting after the failed costume party and he had convinced him that the extra few days off would give them plenty of time to work on catching him up on the concepts he’s been having trouble with in class. It’s gotten easier since he’s had Ashton to walk him through the things he’s struggling with.

“I just don’t understand why you can’t come home to see us. We miss you, you know. And why aren’t you going to spend the holiday with Jack’s family?

“I already told you Mom, we’re still broken up. And I have a couple friends who said I could spend the holiday with them instead.”

Ashton rolls his eyes from where he’s sitting at Luke’s desk. Luke sticks his tongue out at him, earning him a grin. Under Ashton’s guidance, his room has started to look less like a sample sale blew through it. He’s organized his desk and bought him a second chair, so they can both share the desk space. They’d finally organized the rest of his room too, so Luke can actually see the floor and the things in his closet. It’s been sweet of Ashton to take on Luke as his pet project, considering all the other work that Ashton already has.

Ashton makes a “wrap it up” motion with his hand. Luke huffs, flopping down on the bed next to Petunia.

“Mom, I’ve got to go now. My friend is being annoying and telling me to get off the phone to study. I’ll call you later.” His mom chuckles, but wishes him well and ends the call. Luke puts his phone down, rubbing Petunia’s ears.

“Define malum prohibitum.”

“Malum prohibitum is, um…”

“An act prohib--”

“An act prohibited by law. Like jaywalking or chewing gum in Singapore,” Luke exclaims, grinning when Ashton nods at him.

“Good. So therefore malum in se would mean…”

“Is an action that’s evil in itself. Assault, murder, white shoes after labour day.”

Luke earns a chuckle from Ashton. He basks a little in the praise. He’s always pleased whenever he can prove to Ashton that he’s actually been listening to what he says. And he likes making him laugh. The sound is warm and inviting, reminding him of the beaches back home, of all the good times he used to spend with Niall, Louis, Zayn, and Liam back at uni, staying up late to play guitar and making terrible music that they’d all been so proud of in the dark of night. He misses them all, feels incredibly homesick for both Australia and London. Being with Ashton, though, makes him feel a little better, a little more like he’s found his place in the world.

“What are you staring at?”

“Just thinking. Are you sure you don’t want to spend the holiday with Michael and me? We’re only going to hang out in his flat, watching Marvel movies and eating terrible food. I know you have to study, but surely we can spend one night doing something fun,” Luke pleads.

It’s been an ongoing argument between them since Michael offered them both to spend Thanksgiving with him. Granted, he only knows him from the music store, but they’d become fast friends after Luke managed to lawyer his way into getting both of Michael’s dogs back from his ex. Plus, they both play guitar, which had made their friendship a sure thing. Luke has been going to the music store for a chance to breathe and get away from Jack and Harry and law school. It’s been nice, made him feel the same way Ashton does, like he’s back at home in his own headspace and at peace. Michael hasn’t met Ashton yet, but Luke has talked about him enough that Michael said he felt comfortable enough having him over for the day. Ashton is still standing firm on his stance that he should be in his dorm studying since “I haven’t been able to do anything of my own since I’ve been helping you.” (Which is a lie. Luke’s pretty sure Ashton doesn’t sleep so he has plenty of time during the day to study.)

“I already told you I have to read over all of the paperwork for the internship next semester. You know, the one you’ve been working to try and get?”

“One night isn’t going to do anything. Besides, you can bring your stuff with you. Michael won’t mind.”

Ashton opens his mouth to argue again when Luke’s phone starts ringing. Frowning, Luke flips it over and sees Michael’s name displayed. He swipes to answer it.

“Hel-”

“I BROKE HIS NOSE!” Michael wails across the line loudly. Luke winces, pulling the phone back from his ear. Even Ashton cringes from his spot at the desk.

“Whose nose?”

“The hot UPS guy! Calum! He came in today to deliver a package and I thought I’d given that thing you taught me a go-”

“The bend and snap?” Luke interrupts. Ashton raises his eyebrows, lips twisting up in a barely contained laugh. Luke gives him the finger.

“Yeah that! So I dropped the pen and leaned down to grab it, except he leaned down at the same and when I came up I broke his nose with my elbow,” Michael sniffles across the line.

“Where are you now?”

“The local ER. I felt so bad I had to take him. But it’s like, the day before Thanksgiving, so it’s packed and we didn’t have any ice for his nose, so he’s just bleeding everywhere and he’s never going to go out with me now that I’ve broken his nose!”

“Calm down, Mikey. I’m sure it’s not that bad. Listen, why don’t Ashton and I come over and see you two? Maybe having a buffer will make it easier,” Luke says, ignoring Ashton’s frantic gesturing. It’ll do Ashton some good to talk to other people. He’s too much of a hermit as it is.

“Would you?”

“Yeah, send us the location and we’ll be there soon.”

Luke hangs up the phone while Ashton glowers at him. “You owe me big time.”

Luke rolls his eyes. “Just bring the books with us and we can study there. I’ve seen the way Calum looks at Michael when he delivers. Trust me, they won’t need us there for very long.”

---

Luke is excited that it’s finally close to winter break. He can finally go home, see his parents and his brothers, and finally see some sun and go to the beach. He didn’t think it was possible, but Cambridge has been colder than London ever was at Christmas and Luke officially hates it. He’s finished all his exams (he’d been top in all his classes, thank you very much) and the only thing left to do is pack, say goodbye to Jack, and go to the little Christmas party Michael and Calum are hosting at Michael’s place. Despite Michael’s crying in the ER, Calum had forgiven him on the condition that Michael would go on a date with him. It’s only been a month, but they’re both sappy and in love. It warms Luke’s heart and makes him miss all the good times he’d had with Jack.

There’s a soft knock on his door and Ashton pokes his head around it.

“Merry Christmas, Ash!”

“Not quite yet. But I have a gift for you and I wanted to give it to you before the party.” Ashton steps into the room, holding out a wrapped gift to Luke.

Luke takes it from him. “I don’t have anything for you.”

Ashton waves him off. “Don’t worry about it. It’s just something small. You mentioned you missed music, so I thought you might like this.”

Curious, Luke pulls the paper off the small box, opening it. Inside is a guitar pick on a necklace chord, with his initials on one side and the little Harvard chest on the other. Luke is unexpectedly warm looking at it, rubbing it between his fingers. Ashton must’ve gotten it made just for him. It’s sweet and thoughtful that Ashton has come to know Luke well enough in the last few months to know what he likes, what he enjoys doing.

“Oh, Ashton it’s wonderful. But I didn’t get you a gift.”

“Think of you passing as your gift to me. You put in all that hard work and look where you are. One more class with Callahan and then you’ll probably get that internship.”

“You think so?”

“I’m not the teacher’s assistant for nothing,” Ashton winks. Luke giggles. He hasn’t felt like this since the first time Jack smiled at him at uni. He feels soft and young, basking in Ashton’s smile and pride. Ashton opens his mouth to say something when there’s another knock on his door.

“Hey, Luke, have you seen Harry anywhere?” Jack says, poking his head into the room.

Luke is tongue tied. This is the first time Jack has talked to him since the failed party, outside of the few times they’ve interacted in class. He’d forgotten how intense it is being under Jack’s gaze.

“Luke? Have you seen him?” Jack repeats. Luke shakes his head, unable to say the words. Jack sighs, exasperated. “Great, we’re gonna be late for our flight. Thanks anyways.” Jack turns and leaves.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Ashton whispers, wrapping his arm around Luke’s shoulder and squeezing. Luke hadn’t even realized he’d been crying until then. He frantically wipes the tears away.

“Look how far you’ve come,” Ashton continues, “You’re a proper law student now, with books you read and a planner you fill and you’re going to have an internship at a real law firm soon. You don’t need him, Luke. You’re so much more than what everyone thinks you are.”

Luke sniffles, returning Ashton’s hug, “You’re a really good friend, Ash. I would’ve never passed without you.”

“Hey, only for you Luke. Don’t go spreading around that I’m helpful. It’ll get me a reputation, you know.” Ashton smiles, pressing a kiss to Luke’s forehead. Luke giggles, “Get Petunia and let's go. We’ve got a party to get to.”

Luke clips the leash to Petunia's collar, coaxing her off the bed and leading her out the door. Maybe law school hasn’t sucked as much as he thought it would. After all, he has his dog and three friends. What more could he ask for?

#5 seconds of summer #lashton #luke hemmings #ashton irwin #i changed a good chunk of the plot for the musical to this #so i hope its still fun and good #this is more pre lashton than anything #michael became paulette bc the idea of him breaking cal's nose trying to hit on him was too funny #also harry styles is vivine and jack is warner bc the vibes are just hilarious that way #my writing

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asecretsummer-rpg · 4 years

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Name: Caleb Peterson Age: 37 Sexuality: Heterosexual Gender: Male Portrayed By: Brett Dalton Availability: Closed

“Still can’t believe my boring home town’s been making the news like this.”

→ Background

Caleb grew up in Baberton alongside his two younger siblings, Casey and Ashlynn. The three were pretty close despite the gap in age between Caleb and the other two. He was also pretty close to his cousin Brendan and was around a lot for his cousins kids Ruby and Mason while they were young. Caleb was very good in school, one of the best in fact. He was fantastic at sports and Maths and English and he had a bunch of great friends. Things seemed pretty easy for him. Caleb’s most real, and best, friend was his neighbour Leo Collins. They weren’t in the same classes due to Leo being a couple of years younger but they knew each other well from growing up as neighbours. They would hang out all the time, wandering the streets and the woods of Baberton. Caleb even bought Leo his first beer. It almost felt like they were brothers... but there was just one thing that seemed to keep getting between the two of them. Nikki Clayworth. That girl was trouble and seemed to like the two of them, but it was Leo who seemed to get the most of her and that made Caleb jealous. He confided in their other friend Alexander Turner a lot about it, and it was nice to be able to vent and not have to worry about upsetting Leo and ruining their friendship. Caleb wasted no time getting out of town once he turned eighteen. He wanted to get out of his dreary little home town. Of course he got into his top choice school to study journalism. He was always a very curious guy and he could write well. Caleb had always wanted to be someone, perhaps to a fault. He wanted to leave some legacy behind and his name in the papers, maybe breaking the huge stories first, seemed doable for his skill set. After, he started working at a London newspaper. He liked his job, enjoyed the travelling and actually ended up meeting someone from back home. Nikki Clayworth. She actually did the same work as he did, which would no doubt upset Leo, but he was happy he had some connection to home. It’s not like he didn’t miss it, after all. They spent some time together as he helped show her the ropes and help her to get through the first deadlines. It was fun and he’d always liked how feisty she could be and that had never changed. She was sassy and it wasn’t boring around her. They worked at the same place for years and saw each other round, until she decided to go back to Baberton to write a story about the town. They had both been asked to do it but he let her go alone because he didn’t really want to go back to Baberton. Plus, he was planning to propose to his current girlfriend. But of course for Caleb, Baberton was still home and he would visit his cousins on holidays (and send gifts whenever he couldn’t make it). He wished he could stay more up to date with their lives though.

→ Back to Baberton

After a while Nikki had come back to London at their bosses request and it turned out she’d been actually been engaged (to Alexander Turner’s brother of all people) while she was gone. Caleb listened to all her stories about the crazy things that were happening in their home town. He really couldn’t believe it but it was pretty terrible there right now. Caleb thought he would never go back to Baberton ever again, not for more than a few brief visits to family, and he was happy enough when Brendan moved his family (minus Ruby) out of town too. Though, a few months ago, it didn’t even take him a day to pack all his things up after a call from his little sister, heading straight back for Baberton. The reason? Their dad died and he just couldn’t believe how fast it happened. His old man had seemed so fine and now he was just... gone. Caleb really wished that he would have spent more time with him but he was too busy reaching one life goal after another. He had all this money from work but it didn’t mean anything to him anymore. Their mother died earlier in their life already and their dad was all that they had left. He had to come back to his siblings, he couldn’t just leave them to it.

He’s back living in the house he grew up in, alongside Ashlynn. She’d never moved out of home but his brother Casey had a couple years back. He wants to keep working of course, and he now writes for the online side of the newspaper but it’s hard when you’re not in the place where everything is happening. He spends a lot of late nights chasing emails and contacts and refreshing pages to be the first to get information. He’s glad to see Leo again, though sadly Alexander was killed a few months back and it’s not quite the same without him around. This is just temporary, of course... he has the perfect life in London to get back to, after all. For now he wants to enjoy the benefits of family and friends. Brendan’s children are still in town and it’s nice to see them on a regular basis again, though things are a little strained with Brendan’s ex-wife Haley, but they’d never been the closest anyway. He wants to be as around for his brother and sister as he can, make sure they’re okay, and he’ll take whatever this damn town throws at him while he’s here.

→ What’s His Secret?

In London he met this girl. Wendy was perfect. She was an assistant to a big shot London lawyer and they met in a bar. It was kind of like a movie. They just glanced at each other across the bar and then he walked up to her and they just hit it off. They dated for months when Caleb was just so head over heels in love, that he found himself proposing to her. Unfortunately, Wendy said no and she didn’t really give him a reason. It was a huge kick to his ego and it kind of caved his world in. They stayed together as a couple though and he dropped it for a while... until the night he found out that his dad was dead and he barged into her apartment, catching her with her boss. He was down before this but this just kicked him in the guts while he was on the floor. He’s miserable now, but can’t bring himself to tell anyone this happened. For people who know about Wendy, he would say things were fine. For people who didn’t, he just wouldn’t talk about her. He was hurt and didn’t want anyone to know about it. He doesn’t want to even admit it but he doesn’t want to go back to his old life in London.

His father killed his mother and he saw the whole thing. He knows and definitely believes that it was all an accident. His mother died in a hit and run. His parents used to have heated fights and his mother ended up walking out during one of them late at night. His dad wanted to go and look for her, pick her up, and Caleb was in the car with him when he was fifteen years old. They looked for her and Caleb didn’t see anything for a second before they had hit his mother. His father freaked out completely and drove off again, telling Caleb to lie to the police and say they’d been in all night. This night still gives him nightmares and sometimes causes a huge problem with his sleep, especially when he’s stressed. He doesn’t blame his father because he knows how much he loved his mother despite their arguing, and he knew how much it really broke him and hurt him, but knowing these things doesn’t shake away the effects of the incident. There’s no way he could ever tell his brother and sister either.

#town rp #bio rp #secrets rp #brett dalton #takenm #closedm

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doof-doofblog · 4 years

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"I'm Asking You To Think About It!"

Thursday 24th September 2020

Hi there folks! I'll be posting two posts today, I want to make sure that I'm caught up just as much as you guys are. So the first post, I will be focusing on Thursday's episode and then Friday's episode will follow! Thank you for being patient with me and I hope you're all enjoying my posts!

What a brilliant start to the episode on Thursday, Phil is seen in the Minute Mart debating whether to buy a face mask, I mean - I agree £8 for a face mask is a ridiculous price, especially when I know places that charge less. But of course, this is a soap. Also can I just say how lovely it is to see Honey! We've not seen her for such a long time, I think the last time we saw her, properly - didn't she leave to get help or get control of her eating disorder? If anyone can remember otherwise, please feel free to message me and inform me?! Phil and Honey are marking small talk regarding the masks as Isaac walks in, he also picks up a mask and makes the joke of it being used in a bank robbery. Of course, Phil stares at him - AS IF he's just used those words to describe a face mask!! Of all bloody things! I mean, obviously Isaac is has no idea about Phil's past so he clearly think he's made a harmless joke, if only he'd knew! As Isaac leaves, Jack then appears, on the phone to clearly someone who works with the police, Jack just happens to mention the Mitchell name to the person on the phone and Phil's ears are burning as he listens in on Jack's conversation. Does Jack also know why Ben has been released? Does he know that the police are going to be after Phil?!

In the laundrette, Sharon is once again leaning on Linda's shoulder. She informs her that Linda's advice backfired and Ian actually called her bluff. Linda is shocked but also feels for her friend as she reveals that she doesn't know what to do. She states that if she stays in the Vic, things will only get worse, and yet if she leaves, she has no where else to go. Sharon is really stuck at the minute, will Linda be able to find a way to help her friend in need? Will she possibly suggest Sharon moving in with her and Mick, just until she can find somewhere of her own? Who knows?

At the school, Isaac is doing his job as a teacher and observing the children, Amy waves goodbye to her brother as he rushes in, then saying "Good Morning" to Isaac. She asks him politely to look after her younger brother, as she walks away, Denise approaches him and checks with him once again to keep his distance from Amy, just in case her crush on him seems to escalate. Isaac really seems unfazed by Amy's crush, but I think Denise is right to warn him. He informs her that he's going to take a step back from tutoring her but that'll be the start, if anything else happens I'm sure he'll act fast.

Meanwhile, at the Mitchell household - Ben, Callum and Phil are all sat around together in the living room. Ben is feeling happy and ready to celebrate his being released. Although, Phil cannot seem to keep himself together, he can't understand why Ben is wanting to celebrate. Phil knows something isn't right, and he can't sit and do nothing while the police could possibly be watching his every move. He starts taking the blame out on Ben, for grassing up Danny in the first place - potentially if he hadn't of done that in the first place, Phil wouldn't be worrying for his life right now. Phil mentions how long it's taken for them to build up the Mitchell name, he worries now that word will get out about Ben being a grass, and their name will taking a falling dip. Ben then confronts his Dad, telling him how many times they've had to rebuild their reputation after every time Phil has made a mistake. Callum suddenly comes in between the argument, telling Phil that he's wrong! Both Phil and Ben want to know what Callum means by that, what does he know? He tells them that Danny wanted to drop the case and the police weren't willing to him go for the sake of Ben. He informs Phil that Danny is a bigger catch, he is the one the police want, he suggests to him that they lay low for a while, because if they can't get their hands on Danny, then they will come looking for Phil.

After their encounter earlier in the week, Mitch and Kheerat have met up once again. Kheerat informs Mitch that he doted on Chantelle, he had fallen for her and he thought the world of her. Mitch is silent as Kheerat tells him everything, he explains how close they had gotten over lockdown. He suggests it's such a coincidence that she suddenly passes away the night she's planning on running away with Kheerat. He knows something isn't right, he knows that somehow, someway, Gray is involved in her death. He brings up the possibility - what if Gray found out about them running away together? They possibly had a row and things went badly wrong? Mitch looks as if he can't take in what Kheerat is saying. But he also states that why also would he have her memory box? If Gray hadn't have done anything, perhaps he would've had the box, perhaps he wouldn't be chatting with Mitch and perhaps Chantelle wouldn't be dead. He explains that Chantelle cancelled their plans at the last minute, why would she do that?! She was ready to go and she sounded happy when she told him she wanted to be with him, why would she then change her mind? Also the voice message she left him, she sounded different - like something wasn't right. He tells Mitch that if there isn't any doubt in his mind that something isn't right, then he will drop the suspicion and leave it alone, for Chantelle's sake. But you can see Mitch's brain working, I think he completely agrees with Kheerat, something isn't adding up!

Meanwhile, in the Square, Callum is meeting with DI Thompson again. He is visibly guilt-stricken after giving up Phil to the police. His boss tries his best to persuade him that he's done the right thing. So why does he feel so bad about it all? His boss tells them that they're the good guys and they have won! But Callum makes the valid point that in this current situation, there are no winners! No one is going to be happy about the outcome. Callum has betrayed his boyfriend and he is going to have to suffer the consequences of his actions. While Callum is having this conversation with his boss, Phil has once again gotten his advice from is lawyer, Ritchie. She informs him that just by Callum's role in the police, there is no way he could've got hold of the information he gave Phil, she reveals that he's been lied to, and it's plain to see that he already knows.

In the bar, Max and Linda have decided to go for a drink, after Max's encounter with Ian, it looks like he could do with a stiff one! Max is still waiting for Ian to give him his money back, Ian is just making excuse after excuse and Max is slowly losing his patience. Linda is making small talk before she asks him if the restaurant is doing okay, she puts two and two together and explains to Max that Ian has been making Sharon doing all sorts of crazy jobs in the Vic so she can push for cash. She asks whether Ian isn't in any trouble. It's then that Max reveals to her that he ended up selling his half of the restaurant over to Ian, just so Rainie couldn't get hold of his money from the outcome of their divorce. Linda has clicked - did Ian pay for the Vic with Max's share of the restaurant money? She knows! She's figured it out! Ooooo I hope she'll have some plan up her sleeve, I do hope she'll confide in Max and inform him of what she's thinking.

In another family home we've not seen for a while, the Branning household, Jack is trying to persuade Isaac to carry on tutoring his daughter. He claims she has really progressed since he's been helping her. (Of course us viewers know why!) ... Amy is listening to the conversation, Isaac apologises for not being able to teach her anymore. When he reveals his excuse for no longer being able to tutor her is because he's seeing someone, you can see Amy look deeply hurt, she's sat at the table looking very miserable. Jack tells her not to worry but she doesn't respond and continues to look upset.

At the Vic, Stacey is still trying make amends to her Mum. She is begging for forgiveness, asking whether she can buy her Mum a drink. Jean declines her offer and says she'll get her own. Stacey really doesn't know what else to do, she's convinced her Mum hates her and is never going to forgive her. Kat then informs Stacey that while she's been absent - Jean has lost so much! She's had to battle cancer on her own, she's had to burry Daniel, the man she ended up falling in love with, and now also Kat has also given Cherry back to Hayley. Jean must've felt so alone this year, I think it's then that Stacey realises how much her Mum must have needed her while she was away. How is she going to be able to make it up to her? Suddenly Suki walks in, acknowledging Jean, she rolls her eyes and looks away. Stacey hasn't met the Panesar family yet, so she turns to Kat and asks what that eye roll was all about. Kat also explains that that is something else she's missed. Is Kat going to reveal everything?

Back at the Mitchell's, Callum comes in to find Phil sat in the living room, waiting for him. Callum asks where Ben is but Phil isn't wanting any chit-chat. He instantly tells Callum to tell him the truth, he knows something isn't right. He gives him one last chance to tell him the truth and not to blow it. Callum is backed into a corner, does he tell him the truth .... No! He makes up ANOTHER lie, he tells Phil instead that he caught his boss dipping into cash nearly every time they did a job, and Callum wasn't going to let it go. He fibs and says that he would grass his boss up on every single thing that he's done unless he'd get rid of the CCTV of Ben and let him go. Phil is listening to this story, taking everything in. I'm unsure whether he's convinced Callum is telling the truth, or whether he thinks he is still lying to him. Suddenly Ben walks in, none the wiser, happy to see his Dad and boyfriend together. Callum leaves the room, leaving Phil with his thoughts. Callum looks devastated as he's had to lie for a second time to his boyfriend's Dad. I think he's digging himself a deeper and deeper hole that's going to be hard for him to get out of.

Back at the Vic, Kat fills in all the details of Suki lying about having cancer to Stacey. Jean is sat across the Vic, staring at Suki. Stacey is ready to stand up for her Mum and put Suki in her place. Suki makes a snide comment, insulting both Jean and Stacey. Stacey laughs in her face and threatens her, if she ever bothers her Mum again, she will come for her. Jean sees the commotion and begs Stacey to leave things alone, Stacey snatches Suki's drink out of hand, ready to lash it over her, but Jean stops her in the path, she begs Stacey to stop and says in a soft voice "You're too late to fight my battles for me, Stace!" I think Stacey realises it takes more than just fighting the bad guys to help make amends to her Mum. Upstairs in the Vic, Sharon is seen on the phone, has Linda informed her of Ian's involvement with Max?! Ian can be seen playing on his laptop, as Sharon enters the room he stills speaks to her like a piece of dirt on his shoe. She informs him that she is staying, she tells him that he had better start trying her with the respect she deservers, otherwise she'll tell Max about the money he owes him, and then Max will deal with him. Ian's face is in pure shock! Finally he is the one who is backed into a corner, he now has no choice but to give Max his money back, whether he finds it or not!

At the Taylor household, Mitch is looking through Chantelle's memory box, from what looks like, also downing a bottle of vodka. Karen walks in and realises what he's looking at. Mitch reveals to her what Kheerat had told him, Karen can believe a word that is coming out of his mouth. For a moment, you feel like Mitch has got it, and he's right! Understandably, they're both grieving and coming to terms with her death, but Karen refuses to hear a bad word said about Gray. She claims that Chantelle loved him, she turns the whole thing round to a different scenario, what if Kheerat couldn't accept that Chantelle didn't love him back? What if he killed her?! Mitch's eyes grow big! Is THAT why he had her memory box?! Is Mitch now going to confront Kheerat and blame him for Chantelle's death?! Is Gray going to end up getting away with murder?! As Mitch leaves the room, Karen is left sobbing.

The final scene of this episode, Callum once again walks in on Phil in the kitchen, back at Mitchell's. This scene really left me feeling "Wow!" - Phil more or less opens up to Callum, admitting that he was wrong about him. He describes the fact that they appear to be working on the same side of the fence. Phil makes Callum a proposition, if he'll give him information about the police, so that they'll be one step ahead, maybe they'll be able to find a way of stopping Ben from getting into trouble. I think this is a huge step for Callum, after what he's just done - dobbing Phil into the police, this could be a chance to make things right. Phil could perhaps escape arrest and Ben wouldn't have to lose his Dad or his boyfriend? Surely this could be a win-win situation?! I hope, for Ben's sake, Callum agrees and begins to work with Phil! He even called him "Family!" That is MASSIVE compliment coming from Phil! Callum surely can't say "No"? I hope he'll do the right thing!

Hope you enjoyed this blog post everyone! I'll be back very shortly with Friday's episode! Love you all xXx

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robininthelabyrinth · 5 years

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Fic: An Internal Affair - Chapter 8 (Ao3 link)

Fandom: The Flash Pairing: Leonard Snart/Barry Allen

Summary: Leonard Snart, the CCPD Captain of Internal Affairs, is known as Captain Cold for a very good reason: He hates corrupt cops with a merciless vengeance, and once you’re on his list, you’re in serious trouble.

His next target?

A CCPD lab tech named Barry Allen who’s developed a suspicious habit of disappearing at random intervals.

—————————————————————————————————

Barry's got hearts in his eyes, a song on his lips, and he feels like he could fly.

Not literally, which is a good thing - he can run up sheer building faces if he builds up enough speed, apparently, but flying is still out of the question at the moment, though Cisco, while musing, said something mildly terrifying about the possibility of creating lift using Barry's legs to make a cyclone - but just, you know, metaphorically.

Okay, yes, his life still sucks in basically every way: Captain Cold is still at large and gunning for both of Barry's personas, Iris is still on the new task force (officially, it's supposed to be an investigative and analytical unit dealing in unusual phenomena in Central, but given its new precinct nickname as the Anti-Flash Task Force, Barry's got his doubts), the Man in Yellow is still out there and Barry's no closer to either catching him or proving his dad's innocence, Barry's still having a crisis of conscience over whether what he's doing as the Flash is the right thing to do or not...

But!

His date with Len was - amazing.

Barry's never connected so easily with someone. They talked about - everything. His dad, Iris - Len was so understanding about what Barry was going through, and he opened up, too, about his best friend and his complicated relationship with his sister...

They even root for the same sports teams!

(Okay, Central City only has the ones, but whatever, it's nice to commiserate with someone who understands the sheer euphoric misery of rooting for the worst team in the league...)

Seriously, that might have been the best date of Barry's life, and he's still not sure if Len wants to be more-than-friends or just keep it platonic.

Barry knows which one he'd prefer.

God, he's still not over how absolutely it was. Barry actually had the chance to talk about Iris, really talked about her instead of lying about the depth of his feelings about her, and instead of being repelled, Len understood.

"She's your anchor," Len told him, a small, fond smirk curling his lips. "Someone fundamental. Someone necessary for you to be you. I get that."

For Len, his first anchor had been his sister. He'd practically raised her; she'd been the center of his world for a long time. Only after she grew up did he make a conscious effort to distance himself - for her own benefit, he said wistfully, to make sure she had the room to spread her wings and fly - but Barry can tell that Len still cares for her deeply.

Just like he cares for his best friend, Mick. That's the one in the hospital, following the incident that Len didn't want to talk about – if Barry's theories about Len's history were right, probably the criminal job gone wrong that ultimately inspired Len to get out of the business and go straight, though of course it could be anything. Len made it very clear that while they were purely platonic, he considered his relationship with Mick to be as important as any other relationship in his life, and that he wouldn't sacrifice it for anything, not even while Mick stayed in the coma.

Barry gets that. He totally gets it, really - it's the same way with him and Iris. Sure, he's also in love with her, but he knows by now that barring something horrific happening that he would never wish on anyone, much less his best friend, he's probably not going to be with her, and, well, he's learning to be okay with that. But even accepting that, in no universe can he imagine a life without Iris, a world where she isn't his best friend and a part of his life.

Maybe that's why Barry empathizes with Len so strongly over his situation.

God, it's just occurring to him that Iris was in Len's exact situation - Barry in a coma for nine months, with no idea if he'd ever wake up...

No wonder her bond with Eddie is so strong. He was there for her when she really needed someone.

Yeah, Barry's - no, saying he's okay with it is a lie, but he thinks he's starting to really see a path forward.

That path doesn't lead to the house he'd always dreamed he'd live in, with Iris and their kids calling him Dad and complaining about their day as they settle down to dinner, no, but maybe to something near that: an apartment down the street from Iris' house, swinging by in the afternoon to cries of "Uncle Barry!", Eddie and Iris beckoning him into the living room for homemade smoothies and neighborhood gossip, Eddie looking at Iris with pride and love in his eyes when he thinks she's not looking and Barry watching them both, his heart full, not of jealousy, but of pride and joy that they're letting him be involved...

A pair of hands falling onto his shoulders from behind, a charming smile and a habitually insincere apology about running late after getting caught up at work as Len leans down and presses his lips to Barry's cheek -

Whoa, there, Barry tells himself firmly. Definitely getting ahead of myself there.

Pretty nice to daydream about, though...

"I bet we get another postponement," Detective Lloyd groans in Barry's ear. "What a waste!"

Barry twitches, knocked out of his cheerful musings.

Right.

He's technically at work.

Only technically, though - he's at court to testify about one of the crime scenes he examined and the results of the tests he conducted, including the one that led to the defendant's arrest on numerous charges. It isn't Barry's favorite part of his job - far from it - but it's necessary, and he doesn't mind it.

Besides, if he's finished all of his currently ongoing projects by the time court starts, he gets whatever remains of the day after the court hearing off of work without using up any of his (rapidly dwindling) vacation time.

"I think there's a chance we'll be heard today," Barry says encouragingly to the man. He’s not exactly thrilled to be stuck here with Detective Walter Lloyd, the investigating detective assigned to the same case, but it could be worse. They've been on the same case team a few times, Barry and Detective Lloyd - he'd made it clear that they weren't close enough for Barry to get to use 'Walter', but other than that, Barry thought they worked pretty decently together. Lloyd never questioned Barry's results and even sometimes took Barry's suggestions.

Of course, he has a bad habit of always asking Barry to get him his coffee...

"Yeah, maybe," Detective Lloyd says skeptically. "I bet the perp's lawyers are doing this on purpose, getting us called in and then making a whole bunch of motions so we're just stuck out here, waiting..."

"I'm sure that's not it."

"Shows what you know. Hey, were you planning on getting something from the canteen?"

"I wasn't, actually," Barry says, but he's already resigned.

"Great! Could you get me a coffee? Two sugars, no milk. You're a real pal; I'm dying here."

Barry really wants to tell him to go to hell, but he is getting a bit restless. Might as well go to the canteen.

Maybe Iris' occasional accusation that Barry's a bit of a pushover has a tiny little bit of merit...

Barry's already gone down the stairs and is halfway down the hall when he hears it.

Someone's talking about the Streak in one of the courtrooms!

It must be a hearing related to one of the people Barry caught during one of his earlier exploits, he guesses. He can't resist slipping in through the door to listen, wondering what they're saying about him.

Maybe this will help Barry with his moral crisis regarding what to do about the Anti-Flash Task Force, which has only gotten worse.

Once Joe stopped being ridiculous and trying to forbid Iris from getting involved with the task force at all without explaining why (a futile attempt that only served to piss her off more), he announced that they needed to get Eddie to start feeding Team Flash information from the Force so they could start throwing them off the scent at once. Wells agreed, pointing out that this Force could represent a real threat to Barry's ability to protect the city as the Flash.

Barry expressed his concern - that this was the good intentioned path to corruption - but both Joe and Wells thought he was being unreasonable.

Barry doesn't trust Joe's opinion when he's on a West family warpath, though, and he's still conflicted. Some solid evidence of the good that he's doing would be a great way to reaffirm that he's doing the right thing...

"- in fact, your Honor, not a single policeman can testify to having seen my client committing any crime whatsoever," the lawyer standing before the bar is saying.

The judge is frowning at him. "Are you actually saying that the case against the defendant should be dismissed for lack of, what, eyewitness evidence?"

Yeah, that's totally not going to work - Barry doesn't need to be a lawyer to know that. Most cases these days get proven by circumstantial evidence, not direct eyewitness testimony.

"No, your Honor, not at all," the lawyer says politely. "This is a question of evidence, and whether the State has sufficient grounds to even bring these charges. This case isn't just circumstantial - it's a fabrication! My client and his associates were not arrested in the midst of committing a crime, as the prosecution suggests; on the contrary, every policeman here will testify that the first time they saw my client and his associates was when they appeared, sitting on the ground, in the front hall of the police station."

Oh, Barry remembers this one: they'd been trying to rob a jewelry store when he'd nabbed them.

"And what of the suggestion by the prosecution that your client was brought to the police station specifically to prevent him from committing the crime in question?" the judge asks.

"As I stated earlier, your Honor, the only facts that are accepted are that my client appeared in the police station as the victim of an assault by this so-called Streak," the lawyer says.

What?!

"It was only because he appeared at the station that the police even began investigating my client's activity. There is more than mere reasonable doubt as to what they supposedly 'found' here," the lawyer continues. "This is nothing more than the police sweeping their own incompetence under the rug -"

What?!

"I don't think we need to go that far," the judge says. "On what grounds are you making your motion to dismiss?"

"An illicit search and a violation of the chain of custody for any relevant evidence," the lawyer replies promptly. "Any evidence obtained against my client was unlawfully obtained - the police only began their investigations once my client was in custody. It's all fruit of the poisoned tree."

No, seriously, what the fuck?! Is this lawyer actually trying to get those robbers off the hook by saying that Barry's involvement, what, separated the criminals from the evidence of their crimes so that no one could be sure they were actually committing the crime?!

"I see," the judge says. "An interesting point. What's the prosecution's response?"

Holy crap, is it working?

The prosecutor gets up. "Your Honor, my esteemed colleague has gotten the law of this state exactly backwards," she says. "While it is true that the investigation began after Mr. Daughtry appeared at the police station, that does not render the later-discovered evidence, including the videotapes from the jewelry store showing Mr. Daughtry breaking the lock on the door, videotapes that were obtained pursuant to a lawful warrant, into fruit of the poisoned tree. In fact, as this Court held in Martinez v. State ex rel Gonzalez -"

Barry ducks back out of the courtroom, his good mood well and truly ruined.

He literally caught those guys mid-heist, and they're blaming him for stopping them? Would they have preferred that he wait for them to finish robbing the place first? What a stupid argument!

Ugh.

Lawyers.

Maybe he should look into getting a lawyer's advice as to what would be the best way to keep the chain of custody intact so as not to ruin the evidence for the prosecution of the people he stops...without revealing himself as the Flash. Somehow.

Being a superhero is a lot trickier than Barry originally thought. Justice doesn't end when you've defeated the bad guy, after all.

Ugh, this doesn't help Barry's crisis at all. He'll have to be more careful going forward, obviously, and think more about what he's doing, but that doesn't necessarily mean he should stop or anything. After all, those guys were robbing that store, and the prosecution has video evidence to prove it. Barry's pretty confident the lawyer's argument, however clever, isn't going to fly.

But interfering with an active investigation the way Joe and Professor Wells are suggesting...?

If anyone found out they were doing that, wouldn't that just undermine any future arrests Barry contributes to as the Flash? But, on the other hand, if he gets caught, there won't be anyone to stop the metas, so surely keeping himself free should be the top priority – between saving people from real imminent danger vs. getting the bad guys put away for good, the former is vastly more important.

Clearly Barry needs to keep going.

And yet - where does he draw the line between doing good as the Flash and doing bad things in support of that? Where does it stop being the right thing to do?

What if this is where it starts? A justified, justifiable little thing. And where it ends is - well.

Ralph Dibny.

Barry needs to figure this out. And fast.

And for that, unfortunately, he's going to need help – help straight from the source.

"Where'd you go to get the coffee?" Lloyd complains when he sees Barry coming back. "South America?"

"Uh," Barry says. He'd totally forgotten to get the coffee. "They were - out."

"Typical," Lloyd sighs. "Anyway, one of the jurors got sick, and we got postponed. I told you it'd happen."

"You said it'd be the defense -"

"Whatever. I'm going back to the office; you want a lift?"

"Uh, no, I'm taking the rest of the day off -"

"Right, testifying perk for staff. Doing anything fun?"

"No," Barry says grimly. "Not really."

Barry hasn't exactly kept track of Dibny's whereabouts or anything, but a simple Google search is enough to find a - well, pretty awful and horrifically tacky website advertising the services of Ralph Dibny, Private Investigator, and on the website there's the address of a sketchy downtown office building.

Barry can't believe he's doing this.

Before he can talk himself out of it, though, he zips over to the right address, goes upstairs and knocks at the door with Dibny’s name on it.

"Come in!"

Barry goes in.

It's a ratty little office with Dibny sitting in a chair turned away from the entranceway, facing the window instead of the door.

Weird.

"Welcome to my humble office," Dibny announces in a grandiose manner. "Don't let its appearance mislead you, for I - I am the solution to all of your hopes and dreams and -"

He starts to spin his chair around slowly.

"...oh. It's you." Dibny scowls, dropping the act and spinning the rest of the way around at normal speed. "Barry Allen. What the hell are you of all people doing here?"

Barry's shoulders go straight up to his ears. God, he hates Dibny so much. "What was with that - spin thing, anyway?" he asks instead, because that was weird.

"It's impressive! For the ladies." Dibny's scowl deepens. "I was hoping you were a hot chick."

"Get a lot of those here?" Barry snipes, unable to help himself.

"Don't get a lot of backstabbing cop wannabes, either," Dibny sneers.

"Backstabbing?!"

"Oh, please tell me you've come crawling for my help," Dibny continues. "Because man, turning you down would make my month -"

"What the hell are you on, backstabbing?" Barry demands. He doesn't even care about the 'wannabe' part of it, cops always imagine that everyone not on the beat longs to be, but backstabbing? "What are you talking about? You broke the law! You! That's all on you!"

"You were the one who turned me in!"

"Yeah, I did, because you broke the law. You tried to frame someone!"

"Oh, so what?" Dibny snaps. "We all knew he was guilty -"

"That doesn't give you the right to fake evidence -"

"I was pursuing justice for that poor murdered woman -"

"Oh, bullshit! You didn't care about her. You don’t even remember her name! You just wanted everyone fawning over you for getting the collar -"

"So? That's a reasonable thing to want. There's nothing to say that I can't have them both, is there?"

"Ugh, I can't believe I ever came here," Barry says, scowling. "I must have lost my mind."

He turns to go.

"No, wait!"

Barry pauses and glances back at Dibny, who eels out of his chair and around to the front his desk.

"You came all this way," Dibny says. "You might as well sit down and talk a bit."

He gestures at the empty chair near Barry.

Barry's pretty sure Dibny just wants an excuse to rub this whole thing in Barry's face.

But he does want those answers...

Reluctantly, he steps back away from the door and towards the chair.

"Great!" Dibny says, popping himself onto the desk. He uses the opportunity to shove a folder on his desk underneath his computer, like Barry would even care what sort of stupid cases he’s working on. "No harm in a bit of talking, am I right?"

"I can think of plenty of harm," Barry shoots back. "Mostly to my ears."

"Hey, remember, you're the one who came to me," Dibny points out.

Sadly, he's got a point.

"And speaking of which, what does bring an upstanding member of the CCPD down to my oh-so-humble abode? Got a job you need little old me for?"

"As if," Barry scoffs. Literally never going to happen.

Dibny grits his teeth. “Okay, fine, not a job – you here about the mayor or something?”

“What? No. What does the mayor have to do with anything?”

“He doesn’t,” Dibny says, like that makes any sense. “So it’s information you want, then. You want me to mine my contacts for information -"

"You have contacts? You?" Barry asks. He knows he should stop being a dick, but Dibny makes it so very difficult. "What do you pay them with, birdseed?"

"Hey, I have plenty of contacts," Dibny protests. "And I'll have you know, some of them pay me. A lot, too! I've got all sorts of valuable intel from my time on the force, all the old office gossip, the secret stuff most people don't know - not that you'd know anything about that, you being an antisocial weirdo and all."

"I am not an antisocial weirdo!"

"Are too!"

"Are not!"

"Are too!"

"Are not - you know what, this is stupid."

Dibny coughs. "Maybe a bit, yeah. Seriously, though, what do you want? You didn't exactly leave me in a position where I can turn down work." He sounds bitter. "But it damn well better be paying work, Allen, or are you wasting my time?"

"I just want to ask you a few questions," Barry protests.

"I charge by the hour."

"Ugh, fine, whatever. Answer my questions and I'll pay for, like, the fifteen minutes of your time it's going to take."

"For you, Allen? You pay two hours, whether or not we use them."

"No way. Half-hour, max."

"Hour and a half."

"One hour."

"Fine."

"Deal. And you'd better not try to inflate your prices," Barry warns. "I know what you charge; it's on your website."

"Fine, whatever. Cash first."

Barry pulls out some money and tosses it on the desk.

It disappears.

"Okay, fine," Dibny says. "What do you want to know?"

Barry hesitates.

"Listen, ask or don't ask," Dibny says. "I don't care, I've gotten paid either way."

He's such a jackass.

"Why'd you do it?" Barry asks. Then, as Dibny frowns in confuses, adds, "The thing with the knife. Planting evidence."

Dibny looks surprised. "What, that? You already know, don't you? You said it yourself earlier on - I was trying to solve the case."

"I know that much," Barry says impatiently. "But - you couldn't have just woken up one day and decided that was the way to do it, right? You know the rules as well as I do -"

"Maybe not quite as well as you do," Dibny mutters. "Brownnoser."

"- and you knew what you were doing was wrong. So why'd you do it?"

"Because there was no other way to get the guy," Dibny says, like it's obvious. "We exhausted everything else."

"It was still wrong," Barry says. "You broke the law."

"It was getting a criminal off the streets -" Dibny says.

"By becoming one yourself!"

"Oh, grow up, Allen. It's not like fudging a bit of evidence is the same as murdering someone. Besides, I'm a cop - I was a cop. Are you really saying that a cop and an asshole that probably murdered his wife are the same?"

"I'm saying that it's a small step down the same road," Barry says. "If you're cutting corners to get someone off the streets, who's to say you might not decide to shoot someone instead of going to the trouble of arresting them?"

Dibny shrugs, callous as ever. "Maybe for some people that’s how it goes, but not me. I was a cop! A good cop! And I knew this guy was guilty!"

"Just because you believe something doesn't make you right! What if you were wrong, huh? What if he was innocent, and you planting the evidence sent him to prison for a crime he didn't commit? You're not infallible, and you don't get to ignore the laws just because you're a cop. If anything, you're supposed to hold yourself to a higher standard - and you didn't."

"Damnit, Allen, you make it sound like I was actively committing felonies while on the payroll or something. It's not like I was a cop on the Family payroll or anything; we all know who those assholes are and they're freaking untouchable."

Ugh, Dibny sounds almost wistful.

"The department likes to know who the Family leaks are," Barry says, rolling his eyes. He doesn't like it, no one does, but there's no real way to avoid it. "It's not the same thing; no one ever lets them onto anything actually secretive. Besides, it's not like you weren't friends with some of those guys!"

"They were coworkers! It made sense to be friendly with everyone in the department - still does, since it’s the cops I was friendly with who are the only ones with enough compassion to toss me cases when they're available. They know what it's like to need help when money runs tight."

Of course. Barry should've known; it all comes down to money for Dibny.

Or at least, it does now. It hadn't back then.

"It wasn't about money, though, the knife," Barry says, getting back to his point. "You made a decision."

"I made a mistake," Dibny says. "And you took every inch of it out of my ass. Why are you so obsessed about this, anyway?" He grins, wide and malicious. "Thinking about doing some planting yourself?"

"No!" Barry exclaims.

"Oooh, that was quick on the draw - is that guilt I hear? Is pure, perfect Barry Allen - no, you wouldn't. Not you. But maybe someone else - someone you're thinking of covering for...?"

Dibny's eyes glitter like beetles.

"You're disgusting," Barry tells him, scowling. "I have no idea why I thought you might have ever had a sense of morality or that you struggled with the decision or anything -"

"Hey, that's not fair," Dibny protests. "I struggled. I thought about it. But there wasn't any other way, that's all."

"But planting evidence isn't an acceptable way," Barry says, frustrated. "It was better to let him go than to get him the wrong way – they did an informal double check of all your cases, you know, because of that, and the only reason they didn’t officially reopen the whole lot of them was because you quit."

"Because of you."

"Because of you - what you did..." Barry trails off, realizing. "You really just don't get it, do you? You got so good at convincing yourself that it was the right thing to do that you can't bring yourself to admit that you were wrong."

Dibny crosses his arms, glaring. "Oh, whatever, Allen. No one asked for your little pop psychology. Anyway, you haven't told why you want to know."

"Trying to get insight into a case," Barry lies. "That's all."

"A corruption case?" Dibny asks, suddenly looking somewhat concerned. His fingers start playing with the edge of the file he shoved under his desk. "What type? Like - another cop, like me? Or we talking more like blackmailing, bribery, that sort of thing? With whom? Some public official in particular?"

Barry rolls his eyes. Dibny’s probably worried that one of his private investigator cases might get preempted by a real investigation. "You know I can't discuss active cases -"

"With anyone outside the precinct, I know, I know. I used to be a cop, I know the deal. But that's why you can trust me - I'm not about to squeal!"

"Yeah, right," Barry says. "You literally just told me that you exchange information as a business."

"Not about active cases," Dibny says. "Only old stuff, you know, old cases that never got solved or cops that used to be on payroll or stupid shit like that."

"Dibny, even if I was the sort of person who’d tell you stuff about an active case, you also hate me personally and would take any opportunity to throw me under the bus," Barry points out.

"...yeah, fair point." Dibny shrugs. “Is that it, then?”

Barry snorts. "Yeah, that’s it," he says. "Anyway, thanks."

Dibny shrugs a second time, looking somewhat bemused. "Any time, I guess."

Barry goes to the door and opens it.

Then he immediately closes it again.

"What?" Dibny asks.

"Shhhh!" Barry hisses. "There are two Family thugs in your corridor!"

They're immediately recognizable - the dark suits, the swagger, the prison tattoos on their wrists and the Family mark on their necks.

God, Barry hates the Families.

"This isn't exactly a great part of town," Dibny sniffs. "I'm not exactly able to be picky about my neighbors." Still, he hesitates. "Uh, what Family?"

"What? Isn’t there a set territory –”

“I don’t know whose territory this is, Allen! What do they look like?”

“Santinis, I think. Blood sworn."

"Shit," Dibny says. "Probably here for protection stuff, then - oh, not me, Allen, don't look so horrified; I'm much too small fry for them to bother with me."

"Then who? We should -"

"Do nothing," Dibny says firmly. "No one will thank you for it and you know it."

Damnit, but Barry does know it.

As the Flash, sure, he could do something, but - what? It might technically be a crime to belong to a racketeering organization like the Families, but only if you can prove that they've done something. There's no point in dropping these thugs off in the CCPD HQ; they'd be back on the street within the hour, and the Flash would have to tackle mob problems for the rest of his life.

Not ideal.

Barry's definitely not prepared to fight the Families.

"I'll report it to Organized Crime," he decides.

"Like that'll do anything," Dibny snorts. "Oh, hey, say hi to Garry and Willy for me if you do, though."

Barry rolls his eyes. "Sightings are still important to report," he says. "You never know when it might be helpful. And you say hi to them yourself if you want; I'm not going to."

"You're no use to anyone at all, are you, Allen?" Dibny says, rolling his eyes back in an exaggerated fashion. "All high and mighty and self-righteous, and not a shred of sympathy for those you leave in the dust."

"Oh, I've got plenty of sympathy," Barry says, glancing around the dirty little office. Dibny had been a pretty good cop; he deserves better than this. But his own choices have brought him here. Besides, it isn't as though he was convicted or anything, merely fired and informally blackballed; there's nothing stopping him from getting a security job or even switching to another career entirely instead of spending over two years building up a stupid private investigator practice. "But not enough for you to manipulate me with, which I think is your real complaint."

He glances out the door. The Family guys are gone.

"Right," Barry says. "That's all I have. Thanks for the answers."

"Thanks for the easy cash," Dibny replies. "I'd say it was nice to see you again, but, well, it really wasn't."

"Ditto," Barry says, and leaves.

He manages to wait until he's in a secluded alleyway outside before he puts on his speed, even though he's itching to get out of this place.

Still, even at high speed, Barry has a moment or two to reflect.

Talking with Dibny felt utterly pointless, but maybe it wasn't, not really. He'd gone there to find out how Dibny ended up doing what he did, and, well, he's gotten his answer: Dibny convinced himself it was the right and only thing to do, that there was no other way, that it had to be done.

He just couldn't conceive of allowing what he considered to be a miscarriage of justice, and that had been enough to cause him to commit one himself.

He saw himself as above the law.

He wasn't.

And neither is Barry.

Oh, he isn't going to stop being the Flash - the city needs him. Unlike Dibny, he’s actually in a unique situation, with unique powers that make his illicit actions necessary to save people’s lives. He's going to keeping doing what he can to help people and, in the meantime, do what he can to make sure he doesn't get stopped.

But he's not going to let Joe or Eddie compromise their integrity, and the integrity of their work, in the process.

"Hey, Barry!" Cisco exclaims happily when Barry arrives. "Good to see you, man; we missed you yesterday."

"How did court go?" Caitlin asks.

"It didn't," Barry tells her with a shrug. "We got a postponement. But I still get the second half of the day off!"

"I'm glad to hear that, Mr. Allen," Wells says from behind Barry, causing him to jump a little. "Does that mean you'll be working with us on your speed for the rest of the afternoon?"

"That's right," Barry says, already mentally girding himself. "I need to get faster. A lot faster. There's no other way to defeat the Man in Yellow. That's the top priority right now."

"That's right," Wells says. "After all, we must make sure to prioritize what's really important. Isn't that right, Mr. Allen?"

"Absolutely," Barry says, thinking of his decision to stay on the right side of the law as much as possible and feeling good about it. He made the right choice; he's sure of it. "That's totally right."

"I'm glad we agree," Wells says, and smiles.

#coldflash #barry allen #leonard snart #ralph dibny #my fic #an internal affair

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somerandomwriter1234 · 5 years

Text

Riley and Maya: I Think I Wanna Marry You - Chapter 4 (Will You Marry Me?)

Riley and Maya were holding hands as they were walking down the school hallway together as Riley said, "Come on Peaches. We have to make this announcement to our classmates together." Maya then said, "Come on Riles. It's one week from graduation. Plus, they all saw us dance together at prom." Riley then said, "But they probably still think we were just dancing as friends. Come on Maya. It's to come out to the world!" Riley and Maya then walked into their first period classroom and saw Farkle, Lucas, Zay, and several other classmates of theirs were already sitting in the classroom and talking to one another. Riley waved to everyone and said, "Good morning! Hey listen. I am really glad to share this news with you guys!" Riley then cleared her throat and then with a big smile on her face, threw her arms into the air, and yelled, "MAYA AND I ARE DATING!" Everyone then sat with blank expressions on their faces for a moment in silence. However Farkle eventually broke the silence and said, "Well Riley... anybody knows th..." Suddenly without Riley realizing it, Maya held up a sign that said: "WHY AREN'T YOU SURPRISED". Farkle then suddenly in a fake surprised voice put his hands up and said, "NO WAY! YOU AND MAYA? I've never thought of that." A happy looking Riley then said, "Yay Peaches! We finally said it!"

Later that day, Riley and Maya were both in Maya's bedroom sitting on Maya's bed next to each other in the middle of kissing. The two had their arms wrapped around each other as they moved their lips against the others'. Eventually the two moved their heads apart as Riley said, "Wow. I think that was our longest kiss yet." A smiling Maya then said, "Well now that I've started kissing you, I don't think I can stop now." Riley blushed a bit and said, "Maya... this is like emotional overload for me. You're making my happiest dreams come true to extreme." Maya smirked and said, "And you're just so unbelievably adorable and beautiful to the extreme." Suddenly the two heard a knock on the door. Riley and Maya then immediately scooted away from each other as Maya said, "Come in!" Shawn then stepped into the room and said, "Hey kiddo. Just came to give you some mail that came in for you. Oh hey Riley. Watcha doin here?" With a nervous face Riley said, "Doing nothing to nobody." Shawn then bent down a bit and looked carefully at Riley and Maya's faces as he said, "Were... were you two making out before I knocked on the door?" Maya then said, "Um... I... uh..." Riley then looking like she was about to have a nervous breakdown yelled, "I can't lie. We were smooching like there was no tomorrow!" Shawn's eyes then widened a bit as he said, "Okay. Maybe I shouldn't have asked. But you both don't need to be nervous. I trust you both and know you're perfect for each other. I mean I know what real love looks like. I spent years looking for it in all the wrong places. So I'm an expert in all the ways it doesn't look like. And you two... definitely have the real deal." A calmer and smiling Riley said, "Thanks Uncle Shawn." Maya then said, "Yeah. Thanks dad." Then Shawn said, "Well... I'll leave you two back alone so you can... you know what, I'm gonna stop talking now." Shawn then walked out of the room as Riley said, "Hey. How about you open your letter?" Maya then quickly opened the envelope and said, "Well lets see. According to this... Oh my God. Oh my God!" A confused Riley then said, "What!? What is it?" Maya then said, "I got accepted into a college. With a full scholarship, room and board, and everything!" A happy looking Riley then said, "Maya! This is amazing! You were worried you wouldn't get into NYU! Now we can start freshmen year together and..." Maya then interrupted Riley as she looked at her with an upset face and said, "I didn't get accepted into NYU Riley. I got accepted into another major university... in Rhode Island."

The next day: Riley and Maya were having a party at Riley's apartment with Cory, Topanga, Auggie, Shawn, and Katy. As the two families sat together Katy sat right next to Maya with her arm around her as she said, "I am so proud of you baby girl. You worked hard and finally made it." Topanga then said, "You really have Maya. The Rhode Island School of Design is one of the best universities for art students in the country. You're really going to grow and blossom there." Maya made a small smile as she said, "Thanks everyone. I... I really couldn't have made it this far without all of your help." Auggie then looked at Maya as he said, "But Maya... why do you look a little sad?" Maya then said, "Well... going to this university means I'm gonna have to move away. And that means being away from my family, friends... and Riley... the one person I care about most in the world." As Maya looked into Riley's eyes, Riley said, "Maya, we'll make it work. This school is your chance for you to achieve all of your dreams! You'll finally be able to become the greatest artist in the world! Just like I knew you'd always be!" Riley then stood up and picked up a nearby champagne glass and with a big smile said, "Everyone, lets have a toast. To Maya! For finally being able to have her dreams come true!" Everyone then picked up their own glass and said, "Here, here!" Everyone then had a quick drink. Then Riley said, "Ooo. Stomach not feeling good. Excuse me while I go to the bathroom." Riley then ran out of the room. Once she was gone Cory said, "Well Riley seems to be taking this really well. Don't worry Maya, we'll help chip in with paying for any bus or plane fare so you two can see each other throughout the year." Maya then looked away as she said, "Thanks but... excuse me. I need to check on something." Maya then got up and walked out of the room.

Maya walked towards Riley's bedroom door and saw it was closed. As Maya put her ear against the door, she began to hear the sound of Riley sobbing. Maya then opened the door and saw Riley sitting curled up in the bay window with her head buried between her legs. A concerned Maya said, "Riley?" Riley then put her head up and said, "Oh Maya. Um... what are you doing there?" Maya then said, "Looking for you. Riley, are... are you crying?" Riley then said, "No. I'm just happy for you Maya. You finally achieved your dreams and..." Suddenly tears began to come out of Riley's eyes as suddenly Riley's face broke down into complete sadness as she said, "No. I'm not okay Maya. I don't want to be without you. I don't want you to go! I love you Maya! I can't let you go!" Maya then immediately sat next to Riley and held her close in her arms. Tears began to come out of Maya's eyes as she and Riley both began to hug each other tightly.

At the dinner table in Maya's home, Maya was sitting in front of Shawn and Katy as she said, "Mom, dad. I love Riley. I can't move away from her. But... I can't just give up this opportunity I have either." Shawn then said, "Look Maya. I know how much it hurts to be away from your best friends. But as much as I regret the time I spent away from Cory and Topanga, I did see new things and gain new experiences. Sometimes being away from the people you love for a season of your life, helps you better realize how much they really mean to you." Katy then said, "Yeah. Besides. Maybe this distance will help you and Riley see what your relationship is really made of." Maya looked down as she said, "Yeah... maybe."

At the dinner table in Riley's home, Riley was sitting in front of Cory and Topanga as she said, "Mom, dad. I love Maya. I can't let her move away. But I can't just stop her from this opportunity she has." Cory then said, "Riley, you're still young and you have to realize... change is a part of life." Topanga then said, "Yeah. Remember, me and your father were very hesitant about moving away from Philadelphia. But if we didn't make that change, we wouldn't have found our current jobs and wouldn't have been able to help all of the people we have." Cory then said, "Riley... you have to let change happen. So rather than fight it, embrace it and find a way to live with it." Riley looked down as she said, "Yeah... I guess."

Several nights later, Maya was laying in her bed wide awake as she starred at the ceiling. Maya then heard a knock on her window. Maya then got up, walked over to the window, and opened it seeing Riley outside. Riley then said, "Hey. Did I wake you?" Maya turned her head and said, "No. Couldn't sleep. Looks like you couldn't either." Riley then stepped in and then she and Maya sat on the bed next to each other. Riley looked at Maya as she said, "I've been thinking a lot about what's supposed to happen to us Maya." Maya then said, "I know. My parents say I should go forth and gain new experiences and that this will maybe test our relationship to see what it's really made of." Riley then said, "I know. My parents reminded me about how good it was when they moved away from home, and how I should embrace change rather than fight it." Maya then said, "So... I guess that's that then." Riley then said, "But the thing is... a few years ago my mom had the choice to move away again. But she didn't because she realized she had finally found what she had always wanted. And Maya... you're what I've always wanted." Maya then said, "Yeah Riley but your mom was already a successful lawyer. We're gonna need jobs at one point in the future. And college is my one way trip to finding a really good job that I'll like." Riley then said, "Yeah. I guess the whole university thing for you is unavoidable." Maya then said, "Yeah. It is." Then Riley said, "But.. you said your college scholarship was offering free room and board to you. What about letting someone else live with you?" Maya then said, "Riley, the university won't just let anyone share in that benefit with me. The only way they'd led a scholarship student let someone else live with them is if they were marri..." Maya then suddenly stopped talking as she had a look of nervousness on her face. Riley then said, "If they were what?" Maya who continued to look nervous said, "Um... well..." Riley then said, "If they were... married?" Maya then slowly nodded her face. Riley then turned her head away a little bit as now she looked nervous as well. Maya then said, "Riley... I... I wouldn't want you to do something you weren't ready for." Riley then said, "I know. I wouldn't do that either. We shouldn't just jump into a super huge life commitment just because we feel like we're on a ticking clock." Maya then said, "Agreed." Riley then got up and said, "Well... um... I think I'm gonna go home. See ya tomorrow at graduation." Riley then stepped out through the window as Maya waved and said, "Yeah. See ya then."

The next day at the high school graduation ceremony, many high school students sat together wearing caps and gowns as the school principal gave a speech. As the principal spoke, Riley and Maya sat next to each other not saying a word. Eventually Riley broke the silence and said, "So here we are. High school graduation." Maya nodded her head and said, "Yep. The day everything changes." Riley then said, "Maya... no matter what happens... we'll always be together, right?" Maya nodded and said, "Yeah. You and me forever. We'll take on the world together, right?" Riley nodded and said, "Yeah. It's only going to be me and you for the rest of our lives. Till death do us part." Riley and Maya then began to blush a bit as they looked away from each other and back on the ceremony. Then the school principal said, "And now everyone. I present to you the Abigail Adams High School Graduating Class of 2020!" All of the high school students then stood up and threw their hats into the air except for Riley and Maya who turned their heads to look at each other. Riley then said, "Maya..." Maya then said, "Riley..." Then with looks of certainty on both of their faces, Riley and Maya at the exact same second both said, "WILL YOU MARRY ME!?" Riley and Maya then both sat with stunned looks on their faces. But then their stunned faces both turned into faces of happiness as at the same second they both yelled, "YES!"

TO BE CONTINUED...

*Special Note - The first scene of this chapter was taken from a fan art comic story created by Hikimi9614 (who makes amazing Girl Meets World fan art on Tumblr) with permission. Be sure to check out their amazing work!

Upcoming Chapters For the Series:

-Chapter 5: When Good News Becomes Bad News (Coming to Tumblr 3/17)

-Chapter 6: The Engagement Period (Coming 3/18)

-Chapter 7: Wedding Day (Coming 3/20)

#girl meets world #girl meets world fanfiction #gmw fanfic #rilaya #riley and maya #riley x maya

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draayder · 5 years

Note

I'm curious to see you answer all those OC asks for Kanemoto. Or as many as you can.

oh boy here we fucking go

What is your OC’s favorite color?Purple, but he generally likes anything in the cool range

Does your OC collect anything? What do they collect?He started collecting coins with his dad when he was a kid and while he’s not an avid collector he’ll still pick up a neat one if he finds it

What kind of things is your OC allergic to?he’s mildly allergic to dogs

What kind of clothing does your OC wear?he’s pretty much always dressed up, colored suits are about as flashy as it gets though

What is your OC’s first memory?He’s got flashes of a family breakfast when he was very young, though he can’t remember his mom’s face anymore. She left shortly after that

What’s your OC’s favorite animal? Least favorite?He likes cranes a lot, and thinks frogs and toads are gross

What element would your OC be?Water/Dark

What is your OC’s theme song? fuck dude I suck at these

Do you have a faceclaim / voiceclaim for your OC?nope I don’t ever do those

What deadly sin would best represent your OC?man that’s tricky for Kanemoto.... probably greed since he easily had enough money to just stop being a yakuza and still pay for all his dad’s treatment when his last like 3 families fell apart but he just keeps joining back up. He’s got this hangup about being absolutely sure he could cover ANYTHING that comes up

What are your OC’s hobbies?He likes to read, historical fiction is a favorite because he is a big nerd. He also has a few pet beetles and when he’s busy he sends his boys around to take care of them

How patient is your OC? How hot-headed are they?he’s pretty damn patient, he knows he ain’t great in a fight so he doesn’t jump into them often which Saejima appreciates as a leadership quality

What is your OC’s gender / sexuality / race / species / etc.?Japanese Bisexual Cis Man

What foods does your OC like to eat? What are their least favorite foods?Surprisingly he likes pizza and has a fondness for mochi. He does not like ketchup which Akanishi takes great personal offense to

If your OC could have any pet, what would they choose? Why?He’s already got a few beetles which he considers ideal because they take up very little room, make very little noise, and he can buy beetle jelly at donki

What does your OC smell like? he wears nice colognes most the time and favors citrus scents

How do they make a living? What kind of job do they want / not want? What is their dream job? What do they think of their current job?Kanemoto is yakuza babey. He got accepted to college and was on his way to becoming a lawyer but his dad’s medical issues forced him to drop out and the cost of everything pushed him into that line of work, so he kind of got stuck in a “being a yakuza is my job and my only option” mindset even after he had plenty of cash. He enjoys the business side of things and runs things fairly legit if you ignore the massive money laundering and tax evasion. He would rather die than work in fast food again

What are your OC’s greatest fears? Weaknesses? Strengths?He’s got this irrational fear that everything’s gonna fall apart financially. Outside of that he’s got the usual job fears of getting shot or knifed in his sleep, but he’s more scared of the pain than the dying part of it. His strength is that he’s got a rock solid grip on his composure

What kind of music do they listen to? Do they have a favorite song?he’s a whatever song’s on the radio kind of guy. He was so busy with school and then work and then yakuza that he feels like he kind of missed the bus on a lot of songs guys his age are really into, and he struggles to concentrate if music is playing so his musical knowledge is pretty limited

If they came from their world to ours (if not already in our’s) how would they react? What would they do?n/a

What personal problems/issues do they have? Pet peeves?puts up with stuff for too long, a big “lying for their own good” kind of guy, a little judgmental. he does not like these freshly recruited chinpira who won’t learn their damn manners and think since they’re yakuza they shouldn’t try to play by business etiquette when dealing with civilians

What kind of student were they/would they be in high school?he was a stellar student and a total dweeb

What is a random fact about your OC? He and his ex-wife split amicably and she runs a lgbt bar now which he frequents

What is their outlook on life? What is their philosophy / what do they think in general about living?He thinks a lot about the meaning of it all and decided it’s about how you treat those you care about, so he’s gonna give it his all

What inspired you to create them / how did you create them? Were they originally a fancharacter? What was their personality / design like when you first made them?honestly he was 100% someone to bounce Akanishi off of that no one could accuse me of making OOC when I did

Who is the most important person in their life? Why? Who is the least important to them (that still has an impact) and why?He’s got a couple, his dad was obviously a huge influence on him and he was proud to give him as long of a life as he did, Saejima’s his first boss after his father passed away and let him leapfrog a lot of the normal drudgery he’d have to do starting from the bottom, and Akanishi has become very important whether he wants him to be or not. The least important to him was probably Dojima who was his first boss but also died within a year of him joining up

What kind of childhood did your character have?His mom left when he was about 4 or 5, he’s not really sure where she went or what happened and he’s content enough not knowing. His dad was a great father and did amazing as a single parent, they didn’t have a ton of money but it was enough

What kind of nervous habits do they have? Do they stim? Do they have any kinds of addictions?tends to pull at his tie/collar when particularly nervous but he’s got a pretty strong grip on himself

If they could choose their epitaph for their grave, what would they choose?oh fuck that’s a hard one..... I think he’d go simple with like “Kanemoto Sho, loyal friend, devoted son”

Do they want to get married? Why or why not? Would they ever want kids? Do they have kids? Why?he’s been married and would definitely be open to it again but he hasn’t really pursued anyone, it doesn’t line up with his line of work and anyone in the yakuza tends not to be the marrying type. He’s too old for kids at this point and once again the line of work just doesn’t agree

What is their most traumatic memory/experience? What is their favorite memory?the first time he properly got his shit wrecked as a young yakuza in a street fight, he had to lie to his dad and say he got mugged and sent to the hospital. It kind of set him up to think he never wanted to be in a position where he had to fight. His fave memory is a fishing trip he took with his dad during high school

If they could have one thing in the world, what would it be?now you’d think the answer would be “his dad back” but he’s a pretty big believer that when it’s someone’s time that’s just how it is and that he provided the best life he could for him. If he could just snap his fingers and make it happen it’d definitely be getting strong enough to be a real contender in the yakuza realm. If that wasn’t possible, he’d like his scar and hearing fixed

Would they ever kill someone? What would someone have to do to push them to kill someone? If they would kill someone, why? he avoids it when possible, but he has shot a few people in very high stakes negotiations. He’s a good shot but prefers not to carry a gun due to the police risk

What social groups and activities does your character attend? What role do they like to play? What role do they actually play, usually?the Saejima family has drinking nights and occasional other excursions but they’re fairly laid back. However he gets dragged to most of the Majima family events by Akanishi and ends up playing baby sitter with Nishida when Minami is breathing fire and Akanishi is lighting sparklers off of it and oh fuck oh god Majima brought fireworks????

How is your character’s imagination? Daydreaming a lot? Worried most of the time? Living in memories?He’s not super imaginative but is a worrier. Can’t really blame him with how many times the family he’s in has crumbled around him

What does your character want most? What do they need really badly, compulsively? What are they willing to do, to sacrifice, to obtain?he does not need more money but he still spends a lot of time getting more, tho now it’s more for the family than taking much of a cut for himself. He’s willing to work his ass off for that

What’s something that your character does, that other people don’t normally do?So Kanemoto has a big complicated money laundering scheme that Saejima doesn’t fully understand but it gives the family a lot more clean money to use than anyone really expectsHe owns several real estate firms, and the employees are ‘encouraged’ to eat at the restaurants across the street that he also owns, and to spend time at the hostess clubs he owns. They’re given large bonuses to go out to these clubs via happy hours. They also are encouraged to spend time at the golf club that Kanemoto owns, and the hostesses are told to bring their dates to there as well. A cut of the profits of everything gets taken back in by the family as it’s now been successfully laundered and very very hard to trace

What would your character do with a million dollars? what he’s currently doing with a million dollars, making it into more money

What is in your characters refrigerator right now? On their bedroom floor? Nightstand? Garbage can?he’s got an embarrassingly bachelor fridge with some leftovers and beer, he is not a good cook and spends most of his time out dining with business people or working late and ordering in. He keeps his room clean, his nightstand has whatever book he’s currently reading and a pair of readers that he isn’t thrilled with needing to wear. His garbage has a surprising amount of condoms

Your character is getting ready for a night out. Where are they going? What do they wear? Who will they be with?Akanishi is dragging him to a bar for karaoke and he doesn’t bother dressing up more than usual, but then Saejima is there and he regrets it

What does your character do when they’re angry? Why?it takes a lot to get him really angry but when it happens he is like incoherent rage and yelling (see here)

Does your character have any scars? Where did they get them from? he’s got some minor ones from a couple scuffles but the major one on his head is from a grenade that went off near him. He’s completely deaf in that ear and is annoyed that he’s lost his normal business man look and is more clearly a yakuza

What was the most offensive thing your character had ever said?this is more dumbass than offensive but he had very little experience with trans people before he got assigned kyoudai with Akanishi so he definitely said some stupid shit. He had a handle on MtF since he’d been around some trans women and other gnc individuals at his ex-wife’s Sachiko’s bar Oniyuri but didn’t put two and two together to figure out that FtM was also a thing, which lead to some major confusion when Akanishi said he was trans Akanishi, dropping his pants at the hot spring the first day they met: Oh yeah I’m trans that ain’t gonna be a problem, right?Kanemoto: so you’re... a woman?Akanishi: No!!!!Kanemoto: Oh sorry, so you’re a man...Akanishi: Yes!Kanemoto: ...who’s transitioning to female?Akanishi: NO!!!!! Literally the opposite get it together man!

How does your character react/ accept criticism?Depends on who it comes from, but he takes it pretty seriously.

If your character was given a slice of pineapple pizza and they HAD to eat it (or something bad would happen), how would they react? Do they even LIKE pineapple pizza?he likea the taste

Your character is given a voodoo doll of themself. What do they do with it? Do they see if it actually works?yeah he’d try pinching it to see if he felt anything and then probably keep it around to scratch his own back (and hide it under as many locks as he can so Akanishi can’t get his hands on it)

Can your character draw? What do they like to draw? Do they doodle?he has no talent for art

What were their parents like? How has that affected how they are as an adult?as mentioned previously his mom left when he was young and his dad raised him as a single parent, his dad was hugely impactful on his life

Does your character like candy? Do they get sugar rushes? What are they like when they get a rush?he’s got a sweet tooth but never really got sugar rushes

If your character was presented with imminent and unavoidable death/fatality, how would they react? Would they try to avoid death anyways? Would they try to make their last days count? If he knew with certainty that he would die in 3 days he would spend every minute getting everything in as much order as he could to keep the Saejima family secure and just spending time with his closets friends. He’d rather leave a positive impact on them than try to avoid death, he’d consider doing so to be unforgivably selfishHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOGH that was a lot

#yakuza #yakuza ocs #kanemoto #akanishi #siketreeker

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spiicemarket · 6 years

Note

idk if you are still doing this, but im evil so for the ask thing: 1-65

UGH SOMEONE ALWAYS DOES THIS whatevs nonny ty for the ask also i did some of these already but imma just do em again cuz im basically a new person than yesterday. under the cuttt

1. Do you ever doubt the existence of others than you? i honestly have no idea what this means so.. no?

2. On a scale of 1-5, how afraid of the dark are you? unreasonably.

3. The person you would never want to meet? hitler

4. What is your favorite word? *moist*

5. If you were a type of tree, what would you be? the one rotting from the inside out

6. When you looked in the mirror this morning what was the first thing you thought? “wow look im wearing boots with heels 2day im so tall”

7. What shirt are you wearing? a plain black t shirt

8. What do you label yourself as? an annoying female

9. Bright room or dark room? dark but i want a pastel one

10. What were you doing at midnight last night? trying to sleep and failing

11. Favorite age you’ve been so far? i rlly enjoyed being 6 actually

12. Who told you they loved you last? probably my mom lmao

13. Your worst enemy? hitler

14. What is your current desktop picture? the one that comes with the laptop lolol

15. Do you like someone? i mean i like people (some of them) but i dont have a crush on anyone fjekomd

16. The last song you listened to? sippy cup by melanie martinez

17. You can press a button that will make any one person explode. Who would you blow up? nobody id rather push them off a cliff

18. Who would you really like to just punch in the face? umm the kid that calls me fat at recess lolol

19. If anyone could be your slave for a day, who would it be and what would they have to do? hmm my brother and i would basically just make him bring me chickfila

20. What is your best physical attribute? (showing said attribute is optional) hmm i like my hair its really long and

t h i c c

21. If you were the opposite sex for one day, what would you look like and what would you do? umm i would just look like myself with short hair and less chubby cheeks lol

22. Do you have a secret talent? If yes, what is it? i took hula dance class for 4 years

23. What is one unique thing you’re afraid of? burning to death

24. You can only have one kind of sandwich. Every sandwich ingredient known to humankind is at your disposal. okay i would have a sub with ham+lettuce+extraextraextra pickles+ pepper + oil + vinegar and thats it lol im v picky

25. You just found $100! How are you going to spend it? parenthood pack and dine out pack

26. You just got a free plane ticket to anywhere in the world, but you have to leave immediately. Where are you going to go? England!

27. An angel appears out of Heaven and offers you a lifetime supply of the alcoholic beverage of your choice. “Be brand-specific” it says. Man! What are you gonna say about that? Even if you don’t drink booze there’s something you can figure out… so what’s it gonna be? apple juice plz

28. You discover a beautiful island upon which you may build your own society. You make the rules. What is the first rule you put into place? everyone is equal is society BUT there are representatives so like people dont have to vote for everything

29. What is your favorite expletive? bitch

30. Your house is on fire, holy shit! You have just enough time to run in there and grab ONE inanimate object. Don’t worry, your loved ones and pets have already made it out safely. So what’s the one thing you’re going to save from that blazing inferno? laptop man

31. You can erase any horrible experience from your past. What will it be? idk man i dont wanna erase any of my memories bcuz thats what builds me as a person.

32. You got kicked out of the country for being a time-traveling heathen who sleeps with celebrities and has super-powers. But check out this cool shit… you can move to anywhere else in the world! England!

33. The Celestial Gates Of Beyond have opened, much to your surprise because you didn’t think such a thing existed. Death appears. As it turns out, Death is actually a pretty cool entity, and happens to be in a fantastic mood. Death offers to return the friend/family-member/person/etc. of your choice to the living world. Who will you bring back? My grandfather but only if he wasn’t sick anymore because I never got to know him even though he was around until i was 10.

34. What was your last dream about? i was in a quidditch game.

35. Are you a good….[insert anything you’d like here]? simblr? cuz no lmao

36. Have you ever been admitted to the hospital? yes once but i also went to urgent care when i broke my arm so idk if that counts

37. Have you ever built a snowman? no

38. What is the color of your socks? not wearing any

39. What type of music do you like? pop/alternative like melanie martinez

40. Do you prefer sunrises or sunsets? sunsets because it gets cooler

41. What is your favorite milkshake flavor? oreo mint

42. What football team do you support? (I will answer in terms of American football as well as soccer) um green bay packers cuz thats what my family likes but i dont like sports..

43. Do you have any scars? nah

44. What do you want to be when you graduate? photographer but that aint happening so lawyer..?

45. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? i push people away because i cant talk about my feelings to them

46. Are you reliable? what like, a secret because yesssss but if it means not being late to something then lol no

47. If you could ask your future self one question, what would it be? whats ur follower count? LOL IM JUST KIDDING DONT COME FOR ME

48. Do you hold grudges? yes literally all the time

49. If you could breed two animals together to defy the laws of nature, what new animal would you create? a cat-corgi

50. What is the most unusual conversation you’ve ever had? one time i spent a solid ten minutes debating with my step sister about whether or not my dog was a good boi

THE ANSWERS YES

51. Are you a good liar? no (or maybe thats a good lie????????????? the real answers yes lol)

52. How long could you go without talking? approximately 2 seconds

53. What has been you worst haircut/style? i had bangs when i was little

54. Have you ever baked your own cake? nope

55. Can you do any accents other than your own? nope

56. What do you like on your toast? dont like toast

57. What is the last thing you drew a picture of? my teachers making us draw a poppy :(

58. What would be you dream car? a hybrid

59. Do you sing in the shower? Or do anything unusual in the shower? Explain. LMAO YOU THINK I HAVE TIME FOR THAT I HAVE 50 POUNDS OF HAIR

60. Do you believe in aliens? sometimes my step dad says he was abducted when he was 11

61. Do you often read your horoscope? nope

62. What is your favorite letter of the alphabet? omega

63. Which is cooler: dinosaurs or dragons? dragons OBVI (mostly cuz harry potter)

64. What do you think about babies? adorable

65. Freebie! Ask anything interesting you can think of. THE ANON DIDNT ASK SO ILL TELL A STORY:

one time i fell out of a shopping cart and broke my arm

the end

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waveridden · 7 years

Text

FIC: Venus (2/5)

“What’s the final countdown?” Tryst snorts. “Geez, kid, it’s like it’s your first national tour or something.” (A Campaign rock band AU. Tryst/Leenik/Aava, with background Zero/Blue.)

Read on Ao3 || Chapter 1

MONDAY

Las Vegas, NV

From: tubaik 911 emergency

From: tubaik ren wake the fuck up

From: tubaik it’s past noon wake UP

From: tubaik REN

From: tubaik ZERO CANCELED, REN

From: sneak So don’t freak out but our headliner for tonight just canceled on us

From: sneak

And we’re up shit creek without a paddle

From: sneak Good morning, we’re fucked

From: zeroni Don’t kill me.

“Zee.” Rendezvous tries to stifle a yawn and probably, definitely fails. “The fuck’s going on?”

“You don’t need to pretend you’ve been awake all day,” Zero says. He sounds on edge, not as calm or cool as she’s used to, and if she’d been awake for longer than three minutes she might be worried about that. “I get it, bartender hours, you probably went to bed at five in the morning.”

“Six, actually,” she admits, and rolls over in bed. “You mind explaining why I woke up to the boys freaking out about you canceling?”

“That would be because I canceled.”

“You canceled your big DJ gig headlining in a Vegas bar?”

“I’ve headlined in a dozen Vegas bars before. I’ve headlined in your Vegas bar before, and not just on a Monday night, either.”

“But not tonight?”

“Not tonight.”

Rendezvous raises her eyebrows. Zero doesn’t cancel gigs lightly, especially not when those gigs are for friends. “Everything okay, big guy?”

Zero makes a frustrated noise. “Personal emergency.”

“Should I be worried?”

“Not about me.”

Rendezvous hums. That narrows down the options. “What did Blue do?”

Zero sighs heavily. If Rendezvous listens - and she does, now that she can guess what to listen for - there are hospital noises in the background, quiet beeps and hushed voices. “He tripped down the stairs and dislocated his hip.”

“From tripping down the stairs?”

“I don’t know how he does these things,” Zero says, palpably frustrated. “He dislocated his shoulder while he was conducting an orchestra a few months ago, so this isn’t even out of the ordinary.”

“He gonna be okay?”

“Only if I don’t throttle him. But he’s gonna be more insufferable than normal if I leave while he’s injured.”

“I’m sorry, Zee,” Rendezvous says, and she’s surprised by how much she means it. Zero’s boyfriend isn’t her favorite person - she’s pretty sure he’s not anyone’s favorite person, other than Zero’s - but he’s still a decent guy. He knows a thing or two about music, at least, and that makes him okay in her book. “Don’t worry about missing the gig or anything.”

“I promise you, that was one of the last things I was worrying about.”

“And now it’s off the list altogether.”

“At least you guys were doing that whole mystery guest thing,” Zero offers, although his heart’s certainly not in it. “You know, trying to hype that up. Maybe you can nab a different mystery guest. No one will know.”

Rendezvous snorts. “Yeah, because there’s gonna be someone dumb enough to agree to headline for us on seven hours notice, right?”

“You’re in Las Vegas, you’re gonna tell me there aren’t enough musicians to get a headliner?”

“Maybe,” she allows. “I’ll let you go now, no need to make small talk. Make sure you remember to eat and all that shit, okay?”

“I have a friend who dragged me out to lunch earlier. Hospital cafeteria lunch, but still lunch.”

“Good. Take care.”

“Yeah, you too.”

Rendezvous hangs up and stares at her phone, and she finally lets the dread hit her. She can’t begrudge Zero wanting to stay at home with his dumbass injured boyfriend, but they’ve been hyping up his surprise appearance for weeks. They were supposed to announce him formally in a couple of hours, get people scrambling to come see the DJ Zero live and in person. It was going to be huge. And now they have nothing.

Sneak and Tubaik’s texts are still there, waiting for an answer, and she guesses she should fucking figure something out. She’s the manager of this bar, goddammit, she can’t let things end like this.

“Goddamn it,” she says aloud to her empty apartment. “Where am I going to find a big name musician?”

She could call someone, maybe. Heatseekers has had their share of big names perform there, and maybe one of them would do it if she paid out her ass for how last-minute it is, but that would defeat the point of making money. She could try and find some contractual way to make Zero do it, but that’s not good business, and she’s not enough of an asshole for that. She could find some up-and-coming starry-eyed kid to take advantage of and promote like they’re already famous. She could walk back the social media campaign and eat crow. She can bitch about this whole thing tomorrow at lunch with Tryst, and maybe with his hot drummer friend if there’s time.

Holy shit. Tryst and his band.

Rendezvous dials his number before she can second-guess it. This is her best shot, probably, if only because Tryst is a sucker for family. She’s banking on that.

He picks up almost immediately. “Are you dying?”

“I call you when I’m not dying too.”

“Uh, okay, you don’t get to lie to me right now.”

She has to give it to him: that was definitely a lie. She doesn’t call him nearly as often as she should. “Fine. Trystan.”

“Rendezvous.”

“How many favor points do you owe me?”

Tryst swears quietly. “Uh, like, six? Is this going by the old favor point system?”

“What’s the new one?”

“The one we switched to at the memorial.”

Rendezvous rolls her eyes. “You don’t need to be bitchy about me skipping Dad’s memorial.”

“You know, I don’t need to be, but I think I’m going to anyways.”

“So you owe me six points.”

“I do.”

“Do you wanna get rid of all of those, right now?”

Tryst goes quiet. Mostly, the Valentine favor point system is used for things like buying each other lunch, or that time Rendezvous picked Fling up when the cops crashed a party she was at. One or two points per favor, maybe three in big cases. Six points is unprecedented. At last, Tryst says, “Do I need a lawyer for this conversation?”

“My big music act at the bar canceled tonight. I need someone to fill in.”

“God, I actually might need a lawyer,” he mutters. “You would need to pay us.”

“I’ll pay you what I was going to pay Zero.”

“I need to talk to the rest of the band.”

“All six favor points, Tryst.” Rendezvous puts her phone closer to her mouth. “All six . Have we ever had a six-point favor before?”

“I don’t think any of us have ever owed someone six favor points before,” Tryst says, which is completely correct. He’s just really bad about paying Rendezvous back for her favors.

“There’s a first time for everything.”

“We’d be making history, huh?”

“I think this is a good six-point favor. You can clean the slate, right now.”

“This system is completely outdated,” he mutters, which is as good as a yes.

Rendezvous grins. “I’ll even pay for lunch tomorrow.”

“Doesn’t that mean I’ll owe you another favor point?”

“No, that’s just a kind gesture from your big sister.”

Tryst snorts. “Yeah, okay, sure. I gotta go, Vous-Vous, I’m driving for the next four hours. I’ll get Bacta to text you with whatever we decide.”

“Don’t crash,” Rendezvous says.

“Jesus, I wasn’t worried about it till now,” Tryst mutters, and hangs up.

Rendezvous stares up at the ceiling for a little while longer. There’s a shot here. Tryst is a sucker, he’ll make this happen. He has to make this happen.

From: hot drummer Legally we can’t do a full-on concert. Contract stipulations about tours.

To: hot drummer i sense a “but”

From: hot drummer But if Tryst and Lyn did an acoustic set of covers…

To: hot drummer we’re not a super acoustic place, drummer boy

From: hot drummer It’s the best we can do.

From: hot drummer There’ll be a lot of fans who couldn’t get tickets who would jump at the chance for an exclusive concert experience.

To: hot drummer you have a high opinion of your own importance

From: hot drummer You’re the one who asked us to play at your bar.

To: hot drummer good point

To: hot drummer can you be ready to play by 8?

From: hot drummer Absolutely.

From: hot drummer Tryst wants to know if you have two pianos or if we need to bring any.

To: hot drummer we currently have no pianos

From: hot drummer He asked me to tell you to fuck off with that garbage.

To: hot drummer that sounds like a him problem

To: hot drummer thanks for saving my ass on this

To: hot drummer feel free to do whatever promotional shit you want

From: hot drummer Oh, we were going to do that whether or not you said we could, don’t worry.

HEATSEEKERS BAR @LVheatseekers

You’ve asked, we’re answering. Our mystery guest: @themynockband. Tonight. 8:00.

HEATSEEKERS BAR @LVheatseekers Replying to @LVheatseekers @themynockband

Tryst Valentine and @lluroon will be playing an exclusive acoustic set. $10 cover to get in, standing room only. See you there.

The Mynock @themynockband

Las Vegas! Before we see you tomorrow, you can see us tonight - check out @LVheatseekers for more info.

The Mynock @themynockband Replying to @themynockband @LVheatseekers

(One of us may have a sister there. Maybe. -B)

From: tubaik how

From: tubaik the //fuck//

From: tubaik did you get the mynock to play at heatseekers

From: tubaik with literally seven hours notice

From: tubaik they sold out at mandalay and they’re going to be playing at our bar

To: tubaik how dare you question me

From: tubaik I know that’s an intimidation tactic and it shouldn’t work but that’s actually pretty scary

To: tubaik fucking right it is

In what absolutely has to be an embarrassment tactic, Tryst wrangles Rendezvous into a hug the second he sees her. The kind of hug that nearly sends them both toppling to the floor. At least one of his legs is wrapped around her.

“I’m going to kill you,” Rendezvous says into his shoulder.

“That’s not a way to repay a six-point favor,” Tryst says cheerfully.

“What is a six-point favor?” demands hot drummer Bacta, who is thankfully just as hot as she remembered.

“Valentine secret,” Tryst and Rendezvous say at the same time. She glares at him. He seems completely unbothered and lets her go, at goddamn last. “I’m assuming we’re playing in that conveniently curtained-off section over there.”

“Nothing gets past you, Trystan,” Rendezvous says dryly. “We have our sound system set up as good as we could get it, but none of us are experts-”

“Obviously,” sniffs the one-handed guitarist. “I’m going to go fix that.”

“Please do,” Rendezvous says, and he marches off. “Is he okay?”

“Leenik misses his son,” Tryst says, so deadpan that Rendezvous can’t even tell if he’s kidding.

She frowns. “I thought you took the kid on tour with you.”

“No, that’s my son,” Bacta sighs. God, hot drummer and hot dad, how the fuck did Tryst meet this guy? “He won’t be here tonight, so you don’t have to worry about a kid in your bar.”

Tryst leans in conspiratorially and lowers his voice to a stage whisper. “Our opening act is babysitting him, but Bacta doesn’t know that they’re going to a strip club museum.”

“The kids are not going to a strip club museum,” the new lead singer says exasperatedly. “Honestly, how they have not gotten tired of that joke is beyond me.”

“They’re tired of every joke I make,” Tryst says cheerfully. “Now, Vous-Vous, I know what you’re thinking, and don’t worry, Lyn and I both brought keyboards and guitars.”

“Don’t call me Vous-Vous,” Rendezvous says automatically. “And how long are you planning to play for?”

“Dunno, you didn’t tell us, so we planned three hours.” Tryst grins. “Plus a meet-and-greet afterwards, so, you know--”

“Forty-five minutes,” Lyn says.

Rendezvous lifts an eyebrow at her. “You sound like you’re used to dealing with this asshole.”

“I live with him.” Lyn shoots Tryst a pained look; he grins back at her. “He is… one of a kind.”

“She loves me.” Tryst adjusts the guitar he has slung over his shoulder. “Do we get free drinks?”

“You get free drinks,” Rendezvous sighs. Sneak and Tubaik had insisted. Apparently this band is a big goddamn deal, or something. “But only after your set.”

“Then we’d better get set up so we can start drinking,” Tryst says cheerfully. “C’mon, Lyn.”

Lyn glances at Rendezvous tentatively. “It was nice meeting you.”

“Yeah, you seem okay,” Rendezvous agrees. “Drummer boy, you playing tonight?”

“Drums don’t exactly fit in with acoustic vibes, so no. I’m just here for heavy lifting.”

“And free drinking,” Lyn murmurs.

Bacta laughs, so genuinely bright that Rendezvous is nearly taken aback. “The free drinking isn’t half bad either.”

“Come find me once you’re set up, I’ll mix you up something good,” Rendezvous promises. Bacta’s eyes flick to her, looking bemused, and she shrugs. “Hey, you’re all covering my ass here, the least I can do is give you the good stuff.”

“And also pay us,” Tryst says, and starts towards their makeshift stage. Lyn follows him.

Bacta looks at Rendezvous one more time, opens his mouth, closes it, and says abruptly, “I have a kid now.”

“Yeah, the other singer’s kid,” Rendezvous says, because even if she doesn’t keep up with Tryst’s life, she would’ve had to be under a rock to miss that whole shitstorm. “What about him?”

“I’m going home to check on him tonight,” Bacta says stiffly. He sounds embarrassed, which is positively adorable.

Rendezvous smirks despite herself. “So only quickies in the stockroom, no going home together?”

He looks even more pained. God, hot drummer is fun to mess with. “None of those, either.”

She shrugs. “Suit yourself.”

“You Valentines,” he starts, and then shakes his head and goes towards the stage. Rendezvous watches his ass as he walks away, because life’s too short to deny herself simple pleasures.

“Hey, Ren,” Sneak says, when it’s 7:45 and the bar is almost too packed for anyone to move. “How did you do this?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, did you just fucking call The Mynock and ask them to come here?”

“That’s exactly what I did. My brother’s the band’s bassist.” She cranes her neck. “He’s up there somewhere. Not that you can see him.”

“Your brother is the bassist for an internationally famous rock band.”

“Bass and keyboards. And my sister plays keyboard in another.”

Sneak sighs. “Sometimes, I think I have you figured out, and then you go and say things like ‘I have a brother,’ and I realize I don’t know you, and then those things are ‘he’s the bassist for a famous band,’ and I realize that you’re not even a real fucking person.”

“But I’m still your boss,” Rendezvous says, a little pleased despite herself. “And you’ve gotta serve these nice folks some drinks.”

“You’ve gotta serve them drinks, too.”

Rendezvous shrugs. “I can live with that.”

A couple of songs into the set, Bacta plops down at a bar stool and says, with a touch of desperation, “Whiskey?”

Rendezvous pours him a glass of middle-shelf whiskey and leans onto the bar. “You look a little stressed.”

“There are a lot of people here.”

“You guys sell out stadiums regularly.”

“I’m not normally in the crowd for the stadiums.” He takes a long drink of whiskey and visibly relaxes. “How’ve you been, Ren?”

She shrugs. “Same business as ever, you know. Not a lot of news.”

“We haven’t talked in nearly four years.”

“How am I supposed to remember everything from the last four years?”

Bacta nods, looking altogether too thoughtful. “Any big changes?”

“Nothing as big as you.” She raises her eyebrows. “Got a kid, huh?”

“Got a kid,” Bacta echoes, and sips at his whiskey. “Good kid, too.”

“Are there really any good kids?”

“There’s one, and I’ve got him.”

Rendezvous smirks. “Think you’re a little biased there, bud.”

Bacta rolls his eyes. “Whatever. That kid’s going to turn out great, no thanks to his Uncle Tryst.”

“I’m amazed that you’re letting him help raise a kid at all.”

“He’s not so bad sometimes.” He pauses, considering that, and immediately downs the rest of his whiskey. “Other times-”

“-he’s Tryst,” Rendezvous finishes, and Bacta smiles at her wryly. She thinks, a little absently, that if she were the kind of person for settling down, or for keeping a long-distance friendship, he’d be one of the first on her list. Damn shame she’s not. “I know the single dad thing must be hard, but if you’re relying on him…”

“Him and Leenik, whose other son is a pit bull.” Bacta sighs.

Rendezvous reaches for the whiskey to refill his glass. “Wasn’t there a godmother or something? I thought Tryst said he was dating-”

Bacta glares at the glass so hard Rendezvous is tempted to move away. “Aava’s not in the picture.”

“What about your new lead singer?”

“What about her?”

She sets the bottle on the counter and glances up at the stage as the crowd starts cheering. She waits for it to subside as they start another song and then shrugs. “I dunno, she seems like maybe the most stable one here, after you.”

“She is.” Bacta drinks his whiskey and makes a face. “She’s worried about replacing Grizelle in Tamlin’s life, which I think makes her the best choice for it. It’s all sort of twisted, but she’s just as happy being an uncle.”

“Don’t you mean aunt?”

“Aava’s the only one he calls an aunt.”

“Aava who’s not in the picture?”

“I guess it’s his way of separating the bad relatives from the good ones.” Bacta rolls his eyes. “We’re working on it.”

“At least the kid has a system,” Rendezvous points out.

Bacta smiles, with all the fondness in the world. Rendezvous has never done fondness, or anything even in the realm of parental emotion. And Bacta wasn’t fond, when she first met him. He was too busy figuring out how to love people to deal with something as delicate as fondness. She’d been more than happy to help him ignore his problems back then, but he’s not that person now. Maybe that’s for the best.

“He’s smart,” Bacta says, a little wistfully. “Maybe smarter than the rest of us.”

“Isn’t that every parent’s goal? To have their kids be better than them?”

“I’m not quite sure I’m a parent.”

Rendezvous rolls his eyes. “You don’t get to call him your kid and then say you’re not his parent.”

Bacta blinks at her. “I don’t think I’m drunk enough to talk about that.”

Rendezvous tops him off. Bacta tilts his glass towards her. “To not talking about anything too deep.”

“To things working out where you don’t expect them,” she answers, tipping the bottle towards him. He drinks, and she doesn’t, and Lyn’s voice soars above them both, through the murmur of the crowd.

TUESDAY

MKBX Las Vegas - Interview with The Mynock

Lavali: What’s up, everybody, this is Blur 91.3 Las Vegas, I’m your host Lavali Lithros and today I’m here with the members of The Mynock! If you listen to this station, you’ve heard them, because we play their music all the time. Guys, welcome to the studio, how about you introduce yourself for the folks at home?

Bacta: Well, I’m Bacta, and I play the drums.

Tryst: I’m Tryst, and I’m the beauty to Lyn’s brains.

Lyntel: You mean you play bass.

Tryst: And it’s beautiful.

Lyn: I’m Lyntel Luroon, and I play the keyboards with Tryst, and I sing.

Leenik: Radio is a dying medium, you know. Uh, Leenik Geelo, I play guitar.

Lavali: So you guys are in Las Vegas as part of your national tour, but you had a surprise show last night! What was the deal there?

Tryst: Oh, that’s easy, my sister is the manager at the bar we played. It was a favor to her.

Leenik: I’m pretty sure that’s nepotism.

Tryst: It’s absolutely nepotism.

Lavali: This is a different sister than the one in the Kaiburr Crystals, I’m assuming.

Tryst: Yeah, they’re very different. Vous - that’s Rendezvous, the one who works at the bar - is way more badass than Christmas.

Lyn: Don’t you have a third sister?

Tryst: Oh, don’t worry about her.

Lavali: Now, Christmas - that’s Christmas Valentine of the Kaiburr Crystals, she’s the one who introduced you two, right?

Lyn: That’s right, yes. I used to play keyboard with the Crystals, and after their first international tour I left the band. Christmas was my replacement, and Tryst and I met at a Crystals event.

Tryst: And now Lyn lives with me.

Lyn: [sighs] And now… I have made some mistakes that mean that I live with Tryst.

Tryst: Hey, now. I’m an amazing roommate.

Lyn: You’re better than living alone.

Tryst: Thank you.

Bacta: Lyn is the only one of us who has ever lived permanently with Tryst, and she says it’s not that bad, but-

Tryst: Because it’s not!

Leenik: Lyn, if he’s making you say these things, blink twice.

Tryst: That doesn’t work, I can see her blink.

Lavali: Listeners at home, Lyn is not blinking.

Leenik: Well, that’s just because Tryst can see her blink.

Tryst: Leenik, what is it that makes you think I would be bad to live with? You can move in with-

Lyn: No-

Tryst: -us, you and Tony-

Lyn: We don’t have room for a dog-

Leenik: How dare you-

Tryst: It’ll be perfectly nice! I’m a good roommate!

Leenik: Tony is not just a dog!

Lyn: But he is, at his core, a dog!

Leenik: That’s not the point!

Bacta: We need to change the subject, guys, this is not a fight for the radio.

Leenik: Actually, I want this as public as possible.

Tryst: Yeah, me too, I want the record to show that I’m great to live with.

Bacta: [sighs] Lyn, if you want to remove yourself-

Tryst: Are you trying to get Lyn to move out?

Bacta: I’m trying to save her from this argument, Tryst, I’m sure you’re an excellent roommate.

Tryst: Thank you!

Lyn: Anyways! Bacta has the best roommate out of all of us.

Leenik: What about Tony?

Tryst: What about me?

Lyn: I’m talking about Tamlin.

Tryst: ...okay, maybe.

Lavali: [laughing] The famous Tamlin! What’s he like in person?

Bacta: He’s the smartest kid I’ve ever met.

Tryst: Have you met a lot of kids?

Bacta: I don’t need to, I already know that ours is the best.

Lavali: Not to get too serious here-

Tryst: Oh, god, please get serious, someone here has to.

Lavali: Do you guys all consider yourselves Tamlin’s parents?

[several seconds of silence]

Tryst: You know, I might take it back. Too serious.

Lyn: I certainly don’t. I’m the only one who didn’t know Grizelle personally - I was a fan of The Mynock back in the day-

Tryst: Aw, you were?

Lyn: Well, yes? It was sort of hard not to be.

Tryst: Did you come see us tour?

Lyn: I didn’t come see you tour.

Tryst: Damn it. That would’ve been too good of a story.

Lyn: But back to what I was saying, I didn’t know Grizelle, and I didn’t know any of you until long after the accident. I’m certainly not Tamlin’s parent.

Leenik: I mean, I already have a son. And that's Tony. Although I guess Tamlin counts too.

Tryst: I am amazed that Bacta lets me even have uncle status.

Bacta: The thing is - you know, obviously, it was hard on all of us when Grizelle died, it was a horrible accident-

Leenik: [coughing loudly]

Bacta: Harder on some of us than others.

Leenik: Hey, Lyn, you know what I just realized?

Lyn: What?

Leenik: You never knew me when I had both hands.

Lyn: That’s… I guess that’s true, isn’t it?

Leenik: You never got to meet my left hand.

Lavali: Just in case there are any listeners right now who don’t remember the accident-

Tryst: Oh, god, are there people out there who were too young to remember that?

Lyn: It’s been, what, three years?

Leenik: Almost four, but, you know, who’s counting?

Bacta: You know, a lot of people have been asking about this, just because Grizelle was with us on our last tour.

Lavali: That would be Grizelle Jorun, the lead singer on your first album.

Bacta: Yeah, she was our original lead singer. She was a founding member, and then she and Leenik were in a car accident just after our first tour wrapped up. And we lost Grizelle.

Leenik: And I lost my hand.

Tryst: And then you learned to play guitar right-handed, which is maybe the coolest thing ever. We’re like the Beatles now.

Lyn: What- are you a Beatles fan?

Tryst: Uh, aren’t you?

Leenik: Did one of the Beatles lose a hand?

Bacta: Herding cats. It’s like herding cats.

Leenik: Bacta, did one of the Beatles lose a hand?

Bacta: I think we both know the answer to that is no.

Leenik: Okay, some of us aren’t Beatles fans, maybe some of us weren’t sure.

Tryst: Do you- Leenik, do we need to have a Beatles night?

Leenik: What is that? I’m afraid of bugs, you know that.

Tryst: You’re absolutely not afraid of bugs, and you know what I’m talking about, don’t even play with me. We’re live on the radio.

Leenik: I’m sure all ten of the listeners having a radio listening party appreciate that you acknowledge them. No offense.

Lyn: Leenik-

Leenik: We don’t even listen to the radio, and we’re on a perpetual road trip.

Tryst: Well, yeah, you don’t listen to the radio on road trips, you listen to albums. Like something by the Beatles.

Bacta: Do we need to buy Beatles albums for the next leg of the trip?

Leenik: Am I allowed to buy an Enya album?

Tryst: Leenik, no making up bands.

Lyn: I already have Enya albums on the bus.

Leenik: [gasps] You do?

Lyn: Of course I do.

Leenik: Lyn, we need to play them. We need to play them all the way to San Diego.

Tryst: Veto.

Bacta: Ooh, bad use of a veto.

Leenik: Yeah, because now we can play them all the way except for the last ten minutes.

Tryst: Oh, f***, you can, can’t you?

Leenik: You just used your weekly veto, so that’s a yes.

Lavali: [laughing] Do you guys have veto rules?

Tryst: Of course we have rules, we’re not animals.

Bacta: We get one a week, no rollover because that would be too much power-

Leenik: And because Tryst tried that once.

Tryst: And it worked! Because we didn’t have the rule yet.

Bacta: Tryst is the reason we have… a lot of rules.

Lyn: It’s very hard learning all of your rules, you know that?

Leenik: What?

Bacta: Are you having trouble with our rules?

Lyn: Not anymore, no, but at the time-

Tryst: What part of “one a week” do you not understand?

Lyn: You have some kind of value judgment system for the vetoes that takes a while to learn. Sometimes you all just arbitrarily say that a use of a veto is bad, it’s very frustrating.

Leenik: It’s not arbitrary, we only say it for the bad ones.

Lyn: But what makes a veto bad?

Tryst: When you use it badly. God, Lyn, keep up.

Lyn: You see? You see what I have to deal with? I live with him-

Tryst: And it’s a delight!

Lyn: Only when you are not insulting me for not understanding your completely ridiculous rules!

Leenik: Hypothetically, can I veto Lyn complaining about our veto rules?

Lyn: That would be a waste of a veto, because this is the only time this has come up in the last month so it’s not worth it, and now you have me doing it too! Look at me!

Bacta: We’re all proud of you, Lyn.

Tryst: Yeah, you made a good counterpoint, even if you sort of undercut it there at the end.

Lyn: Well, excuse me for not using your formalized veto procedures correctly.

Tryst: You are excused. Thank you for asking for pardon.

Lyn: Is that another procedure?

Bacta: Have we not explained pardons?

Leenik: Hey, guys, remember how we’re on the radio?

Lavali: I remember.

Leenik: Folks at home, I know the dozen of you in your listening party must be very excited-

Tryst: Wasn’t it ten earlier?

Leenik: A couple of people showed up late. Anyways, I know you guys might be tempted to write down our veto rules. Don’t do that. These rules are verbal only.

Lyn: That’s the only rule we have written down, is that we’re not allowed to write rules down.

Lavali: Isn’t that a little contradictory?

Bacta: No, Lyn wrote it, so it made sense.

Lyn: I believe the list of written rules is “all rules beyond this one will be verbal only.”

Tryst: Lyn likes to act like she isn’t the best thing to happen to our rules system.

Leenik: Guys, I think I changed my mind, radio is kind of awesome.

Bacta: That’s good! I’m glad you’re having fun.

Leenik: Are we allowed to hit any of the buttons?

Lavali: You can hit one in about ten seconds, if you let me do an outro.

Leenik: Oh, of course, please.

Lavali: We’re going to take a quick commercial break, and when we come back I’ll chat with The Mynock about their process for putting together this tour and their second album.

Tryst: See, you say that, but the odds of that happening are-

Lavali: So make sure you tune in! Till then, we’re gonna play you out with some Sugar Death Ray. Leenik, that one-

[“Fly” by Sugar Death Ray starts playing]

Leenik: Nailed it.

Lavali: Don’t go anywhere, we’ll be right back.

Leenik: No, but I’m actually curious about your listenership-

[the interview audio cuts out]

“You’re late,” Tryst says, because he’s an asshole.

“I went to bed at six,” Rendezvous says, and drops into a chair. “The fact that I hauled my ass out of bed at noon for you-”

“Reflects poorly on your ability to say no,” Tryst says dryly, but quails when she looks at him. “Listen, I ordered what you texted me, food should be here any minute.”

“Good.”

“Should I be worried that you’re trying to make this lunch go as fast as possible?”

“It’s not you, it’s the fact that I’m tired as hell.”

Tryst shrugs and leans back, tilting his chair onto the back two legs. The restaurant isn’t exceptionally busy, and it’s Vegas, so nobody looks twice at the rock star waiting for his lunch. “Maybe you should work better hours.”

“I set my own hours.”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean they’re good. ”

Rendezvous rolls her eyes. “How many cities have you been in this week, asshole?”

“I’m teaching my nephew the meaning of Americana,” Tryst says, affronted.

And it’s maybe a low blow, but Rendezvous says anyways, “Yeah, then how was Phoenix?”

He cringes a little, like she expected. Fucking baby. “We’re steering clear of Phoenix and also the entire state of Utah until he’s a little older.”

“The whole state?”

“Grizelle’s family is… a little intense.”

“It’s been four years.”

“She left for a reason.” Tryst slams all four legs of his chair down, looking uncomfortable. “I dunno, it’s - Tamlin’s still too young to understand why he has four uncles, an aunt that hates one uncle while dating another, a pit bull for a cousin, and no grandparents to speak of.”

“You haven’t introduced him to me,” Rendezvous says, as though she actually gives a fuck. She knows the kid is her nephew-by-proxy, or something, but she has no interest in meeting him. Just in watching her brother squirm.

“He needs permanence in his life.” Tryst fixes her with a surprisingly genuine glare. “And people who will be there.”

“Is this about the memorial?”

“This is about me wanting Tamlin to have a good family.”

Rendezvous nods slowly. “So it’s about the memorial.”

“I know I wasn’t at the funeral either,” Tryst says, which definitely cut the legs out from underneath Rendezvous’s main counterargument. “But I wasn’t there because one of my best friends had died, and so nobody told me that my dad did too. You just didn’t feel like going.”

“Dad wasn’t great, as a person.”

“You’re not great, and I’d still go to your funeral.”

She snorts. “That’s real sweet, Trystan. You’re setting a great example.”

“ Rendezvous, ” he says, just this side of desperate. Like this actually matters. “Can we just- actually talk about this? Serious conversation, until the food gets here?”

“When did you order?”

“About ten minutes ago. I’m just asking for five minutes.”

Rendezvous takes a deep breath. “Alright. Listen, neither of us went to our dad’s funeral, and that’s fine.”

“Objectively, it’s kind of not.”

“Subjectively, we don’t owe a dead guy any of our time, not when he wasn’t dad of the year or anything. And especially not a memorial get-together two years later.”

Tryst rolls his eyes. “You’re missing the point of that whole thing.”

“What, the point where it was a family get-together more than it was a legit memorial? Where it wasn’t about him, it was about us?”

He blinks. “Yeah, that point.”

“I got the point, Tryst,” she says patiently. “I just don’t care. I don’t owe him, or anyone in the family, any of my time that I don’t want to give.”

“But they’re our family.”

“Weren’t you the one who was just saying you’re not introducing your nephew to his blood relatives?”

He grits his teeth. “That’s different. Grizelle cut ties with them. She didn’t want Tamlin to go anywhere near them.”

“They’re still his family, technically.”

“It’s for his own well-being.”

“And this is for mine.” Rendezvous shrugs. “Listen, I like our family as people, sure, but you’re the only one who’s made any effort to talk to me since I moved away from Phoenix. I don’t need to prioritize people who don’t prioritize me.”

“Maybe they feel the same about you,” Tryst says, but he looks sad in a way that has to mean he gets it. “Vous, listen, you’re my sister. You’re always gonna be my sister, whether you like it or not. And I want you to meet my band. They’re my new family.”

“You know I banged your drummer, right?”

“Again?”

“No, the last time you were touring. But keep going.”

Tryst rolls his eyes. “What I’m saying is, I want you to be a part of this life. My life. But it doesn’t seem like you want to.”

There are a thousand answers to that, and Rendezvous knows most of them sound cold. Not from a distance. Not if it means putting myself second. Not like this, Tryst, you’re an adult now, you should get that. No.

“Not now,” she says, because it’s gentler, and at the end of the day he’s always going to be her kid brother.

Tryst exhales. For the briefest of moments, he looks sad, but he settles back into something more neutral. “You want concert tickets?”

“What?”

“We have a couple of reserved seats at our concert tonight. You can come, or bring a friend, or something. Hang out backstage afterwards.” Tryst gives her a pleading look. “I’m not asking you to move in with us, I’m just asking you to visit.”

Rendezvous opens her mouth, but before she can figure out what to say, she catches sight of a waiter, heading their way. “Food’s here.”

“This was completely unproductive,” Tryst says. “I just want to make sure you know that.”

“I’m not sure what you thought it would be,” Rendezvous says as the waiter arrives. Judging by the look on Tryst’s face, he’s not either.

She runs errands, after. She gets groceries, and goes to the post office, and sifts through the frankly terrifying social media response that comes from having a hit touring band play an impromptu show in her bar. And she goes home, and falls asleep, and wakes up too late to go to the concert. Which is fine, because Tryst never called her about the tickets like he promised he would after lunch.

“Damn Valentines,” she says. If she were a lonelier person, maybe she’d be sad that it doesn’t echo in her bedroom.

Leenik Geelo @themynockleenik

guerilla filming: Tryst’s post-show cooldown (think he’s on a Beatles kick) pic.twitter.com/5ummer17

Leenik Geelo @themynockleenik Replying to @themynockleenik

part 2: now an impromptu jam session w/ all of @themynockband and @wildcardkids pic.twitter.com/18arp3jf

Leenik Geelo @themynockleenik Replying to @themynockleenik @themynockband @wildcardkids

good night, bright light city. three shows left.

This playlist is the acoustic set that Tryst and Lyn play at Heatseekers.

Chapter 3

#campaign podcast #campaign #campaign fic #waveridden.fic

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newstanmarshblog · 4 years

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Carrying a Best Friend: Chapter 1

It all started back when they first meant each other at kindergarten, and ever since then, Stan Marsh, and Kenny McCormick became best buddies. Over the years since then, that friendship grew stronger and closer. This is especially mainly due to whenever their other great friends, Kyle & Cartman often have their drama against each other, Stan & Kenny would just walk away from their argument and the two would do something else together. As they both started high school, Kenny was beginning to see Stan more than just a best friend, but as a secret crush. Stan had it all for Kenny. He was very athletic, super caring, helpful, playful, adorable looking, and above all, someone that he can trust more than anyone else in South Park. And yet despite his deep feelings for Stan, Kenny never actually never told him that he was in love with him. The reason was because just before entering high school, Stan got back together with Wendy, and the two have been dating ever since. Stan’s view on Kenny meanwhile, are pretty much as the same as Kenny’s view on him, except for that he doesn’t have a crush on Kenny, although he does admit that Kenny is just as cute looking as he was. Despite of never admitting to Stan that he was in love with him, Kenny remains super close to him as he is one of the very few people on Earth that gives him so much happiness. And being close to Stan also helps him a lot on dealing with an another secret that has been giving him nothing but pain and misery throughout his entire life.

Ever since he was first born, Kenny has the power of immortally, but his kind of immortally isn’t like that from any Gods. Whenever he gets kill off by anything, he doesn’t stay in the afterlife for too long as he returns to the world of the living usually within less than ten minutes. His mother would give birth to him, and then he’ll be back at his current age by the next morning like if nothing ever happen. And the worse of it all is that no one even remembers of him being killed right in front of them. Even when Kenny first told his friends about his curse and tries to prove it to them, they’ve completely forgotten about it within the next day. Kenny hated it so much. He just wished for one day that his curse will be gone for good and he can finally lie down in peace. The only information that he knows on where his power might’ve came from was that his parents used to visit a cult that’s know as “The Cult of Cthulhu” just for free beers. Other than that, he knew nothing else about the origins of his power. He tried researching on any info that’ll help him lead to finally figuring out on how he really got his power, and how to destroy it aside from having an immortal killing him for good since he knew no one else personally that has the same power as he does, but he found nothing. His immortally upsets him more than anything else in his entire life. So much so that he even broke into sobbing at times. There are only two people in his life that can help ease the pain of his terrible curse. His younger sister Karen, and his best friend Stan. Even though they’ll never understand why he’s crying in the first place, their comfort really helps Kenny a lot. However, Stan isn’t gonna be around at South Park much longer because he’ll leaving for Colorado State University pretty soon. As much as Kenny really wanted to be there with Stan, but due to how poor his family is, they don’t have enough money to send him to college. It really frustrated him big time because his best friend wouldn’t there in person whenever he needs him most.

Stan, Kenny, and the rest of their great friends had all just graduated from high school. They were all happy that their grade years were finally over, and they can spend a little more time together during the summer before some of them were due to start their college years. After the graduation ceremony, they all went to Token’s house to celebrate since his house was the biggest to throw a huge party.

Token’s Mom: I got some more ice cream and soda if anyone want some?

Cartman excited: Me me me me!!

Kyle: Of course only you want more snacks since you’re a piggy after all.

Cartman angry: Shut up, KHAL! Don’t make me kick you in the balls!

Token: Cartman, please. I only invited you here because this will be the last time that we’re gonna be together as one huge group for a long time. And you promise me that you wouldn’t act so negatively here.

Cartman: Alright, alright. Fine.

Token’s Mom: Anyone else want some snacks?

Token: I think a lot of us are full from that huge cake we had.

Stan: Actually, I would like some water to drink, please?

Kenny: Me too!

Wendy: Same.

Token’s Mom: Anyone else want water too?

Nearly everyone expect for Cartman, Butters, and Clyde raised their hand for water.

Token’s Mom: Alrighty, then. I’ll be back with your drinks.

Kenny: Man, does it feel great to finally leave that school or what?

Stan: I’ll admit that while school does have it’s upsides, it also has its downsides. Like I’m super happy on not having to deal with crappy homework like theirs anymore.

Kyle: Yeah, like some of the historical questions they gave us are completely wrong. Don’t get me even started on the Christopher Columbus ones.

Wendy: Agreed.

Butters: How about all the field trips we had? Aside from visiting Denver a couple times, and our recent senior trip to DisneyLand, most of them suck ding dong.

Stan: I couldn’t agree with you more, Butters. The trip to Mile High Stadium was my most favorite out of all of them, while the trip to my dad’s Tegridy Farms was the worst for me.

Jimmy: I still don’t understand on why our teachers took us to that farm in the fir…fir…first place?

Stan: Because they wanted us to fully understand for their love of weed & Tegridy.

Bebe: Definitely the most stupidest excuse for doing that field trip, that’s for sure.

Clyde: Hey, what about our trip to the taco shop? Best field trip ever!

Craig: Only for you.

Cartman: Speaking of tacos, do you guys remember how delicious Chef’s tacos were?

Clyde: Yeah, his were some of the best that I ever had.

Kenny: Chef was not only wonderful at cooking, but a wonderful friend too.

Kyle: His advices that always gave us were so useful. It still helps me get through life at times.

Token: I remember on how he helped me to deal with bullying when I entered the first grade. It made my elementary years so much easier to get through.

Tweek: And his songs were amazing to listen to, even to this day.

Stan: I think we can all agree that Chef played such an important role in our lives. He’s so much like Uncle Remus from that “Song of the South” movie.

Token’s Mom: Here’s your water, guys.

Token: Thanks, mom.

She hands everyone their drinks, and then leaves.

Stan: Everyone…*raises his water bottle*…to Chef!

Everyone raising their drinks too: To Chef!

Timmy: TIMMY!

Everyone stayed silent for a moment.

Cartman: And I also think we can all agree that there’s no better cafeteria food than Chef’s. Any other cafeteria food we had since his passing were never the same afterwards. Some even suck donkey balls.

Timmy agreeing: TIMMY!

As everyone was having a great time partying and talking about past school stuff, Stan & Kenny have their own conversation.

Kenny: So, Stan. I was meaning to ask you about this for a while now, but when are you leaving for college exactly?

Stan: I won’t be leaving until mid August. August 15 is the day when I have to leave for college. Right around Thanksgiving week is when I’ll be here for a short time, and then I’ll be back here again by mid December right until after the new years.

Kenny: I see. It’s gonna suck not having you & Kyle around very often, but I’m pretty happy to see that you two are gonna be at the same college together.

Stan: Yeah, I was very surprised when I learned that he got accepted to the same college as I’m going to. We got even lucky that we’re gonna be sharing the same apartment together.

Kenny: Nice to hear that. What are you two guys main goal while being there?

Stan: I’ll be playing as one the quarterbacks for the University’s football team while also studying on Zoology. And as for Kyle, he plans to become a lawyer like his dad was before him, as well playing for the University’s Basketball team.

Kenny: Cool. Hey umm, in case if I don’t get myself a new phone by the time you & Kyle leave, will it be alright if we can use Skype to talk to each other once a while?

Stan: Of course. It just depends on our schedule. And speaking of phone, how do you plan on getting a new phone?

Kenny: Well, I’m gonna apply a job at the town’s local grocery store sometime after the weekend. I don’t know how long I plan on working there once I get the job, but I’m hoping I’ll least make enough money to get myself a new phone before you leave.

Stan: I hope so too, dude. Have you decided on which kind of phone you want most?

Kenny: I don’t know yet. I was considering getting a Nokia phone.

Stan: How about we go to Best Buy tomorrow and look for a phone that suits you most. That’s where I got my latest Motorola phone.

Kenny: Sounds good to me. And then maybe we can eat out at Chill’s afterwards.

Stan: Ah dude, I freaky love Chill’s! Their chips are definitely something to die for.

Kenny laughing: Yeah, you can say that again.

Stan: Oh, and Ken. I was also meaning to say this to you before our graduation, so here it goes. I know that it’s been tough for you lately after I told you that I was heading to college, and I really wish that you’ve come along too. But no matter how far apart we are, I always feel like that we’re still very close together in our hearts and soul. You’re the greatest friend that I can ever for. I got your back, and you got mine.

Kenny smiles: Thanks, Stan. Our friendship is indeed very strong within us, and I’m determined to keep it that way for the rest of our lives.

Stan smile: Right until the end, dude.

Kenny: And since it’s the start of summer, let’s make it the best summer time for the both of us yet.

Stan: I can’t wait to see what kind of crazy adventures lies upon us.

Both raise their water bottle to make a toast, and then take a sip.

Later at 9:00, everyone were all tired out from partying as they’re all now about to head home.

Token: See you guys, later. And Stan, thank you for making a toast in honoring Chef. I’m sure he’s very humble from above.

Stan: He means a lot to not only myself, but to all of us that knew him best.

Token: Yeah. Have a good night you two.

Kenny: You too, Token.

Both Stan & Kenny make their way to their mothers who were waiting at their cars.

Kenny: What time do you want to meet up?

Stan: Hmm, let’s try to meet up at Best Buy somewhere by 11:00 am.

Kenny: Alright, that should give me just enough time to do my usual morning routines.

Stan: Yeah, mine too. Have a good night, Ken. See you tomorrow.

Kenny: You too, dude.

They both bro fist to each other and start making their way to their moms.

At the Marsh’s car.

Stan: Hey, mom.

Sharon: Hello, sweetie. Did you had a wonderful time at Token’s house?

Stan: I sure did. We played some video games, talked about our old school years, and the cake we had there was really good.

Sharon: Oh, what kind of a cake was it?

Stan: It was a yard size chocolate mousse cake.

Sharon: Wow, that’s a huge cake!

Stan: Token explained to me that his mother bought it online from a bakery shop in Denver.

Sharon: *sigh* Of course.

Stan: Oh, and me & Kenny are planning to hang out tomorrow.

Sharon: What are you two doing together?

Stan: He & I are going to Best Buy to help him find a new phone so that when he has enough money, he can buy it. And we’ll also be eating at Chill’s as well.

Sharon: Anything else other than that?

Stan: I don’t know yet. I guess we’ll discuss that as the day goes by.

Sharon: Alright, let me know when you’re heading home. Just don’t be out for too long after sunset, okay?

Stan: I will.

Sharon: Oh and Stanley. I know that I said this to you once already today and all, but I just want to congratulate you one more for completely high school. I’m so proud of you for making it up to this point, honey.

Stan happy: Thanks, mom. I just can’t wait to see what lies beyond me now that my school years are all in the past.

Sharon smiling: I bet that it’ll be the kind of an experience that you’ll never forget.

Meanwhile at the McCormick’s car.

Carol: How was the party, Kenny? Do you had a good time?

Kenny: I had a nice time. Token’s mom got us a huge chocolate mousse cake.

Carol: Huh, I don’t I’ve ever had that kind of a cake before. What does it taste like?

Kenny: The kind that we had was probably like the most heaviest chocolate taste that I ever had. I may like my chocolates, but that was too much, even for my own taste.

Carol: Are all mousse cakes like that?

Kenny: I don’t think so. I feel like Token’s mom wanted to give us one of the biggest cakes of our life time for congratulating high school.

Carol: Anything else that you did while you were over there?

Kenny: We played some video games, and talked about our old school years. Oh, and me & Stan are gonna be hanging out together tomorrow?

Carol: What are you two planning on doing?

Kenny: We’re going to Best Buy to check out some phones to pick out which one I’ll buy once I get enough money from my new job. And then we’ll be eating at Chill’s afterwards.

Carol: That sounds nice. And speaking of your job, we need to talk about something about it.

Kenny: What is it?

Carol: You know how hard it is for your father to use nearly all of his cash earnings to pay bills and just leaving barely enough to put food in our table?

Kenny: Yeah?

Carol: I believe that you should spilt half of whatever you earn to help us to pay our bills so that way we can start buying better food and get our lives straighten out. I know that you really want to get yourself a new phone sooner than later and all, but in tough situations like this, family has to comes first.

Kenny was a bit frustrated at first when his mom told him that can’t get himself a new phone soon than what he wanted to. However, he soon reminds himself that if there’s anything else in this world that he would want more than a new cellphone, it’s seeing his young sister’s happiness. He didn’t want her to continue to live in such poor conditions that he & his family were living in right now. So, he agreed to his mother’s request.

Kenny: Alright, mom. I’ll do it for our family. But, you must also promise me one thing.

Carol: And what’s that?

Kenny: Promise me that you & dad won’t buy anymore alcoholic drink and cigars for a long time.

Carol: What?! You know how me & daddy love that kind of stuff. It’s like some of our most favorite things in the world!

Kenny: I know that, mom. But it’s like as you said, family has to come first. If I can be more patient on getting myself a new phone for a long period of time, then I’m sure that you & dad can handle without having any drinks and cigars for just as long as well. We have to put our own happiness aside for the time being, and must now do what’s best for our family. Especially for Karen.

Carol was silent for a few moments, and then she makes her reply.

Carol: Okay, sweetie. I’ll stop doing that kind of stuff for as long until life is better for all of us. And I’ll try to talk with daddy about it when we get home.

Kenny smiling: Thanks, mom.

Caro smiling: You know, son. You’ve grown so much a lot faster than we ever expected you too. Despite of the hardship we’re living in, you’re able to keep things positive around the house as much as you humanly can. You especially make Karen so happy all the time. I believe that you’re gonna make yourself a wonderful parent someday, Kenny. Oh, and once again, congratulations for completely high school. I’m so very proud of how much maturity you’ve become.

Kenny still smiling at his mother. And then out of nowhere, a huge elk appeared out from the light just a few inches away from the car as the elk saw them straight ahead.

Carol: SHIT!!

The elk slammed into the car so hard that its antlers goes through the car glass and stabs Kenny’s forehand into his brain.

Kenny screaming in pain: AAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Carol shocked in horror: KENNY, NO!!!

As she witness her son in terrible pain, the car slams into a tree. The impact causes Carol to be launched out of her car seat, hitting through the broken car glass, gets slammed into the tree, and then her body falls to the ground. It all happened mainly because she forgot to put on her seat belt. Kenny was losing consciousness as he saw everything.

Kenny losing his last breaths: M…m…mo…mom!

And then everything went black on him.

In the next chapter, Karen & Stan reacts to the fatal car accident, and Kenny & his mom enters into the afterlife.

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penumbra-rp · 5 years

Photo

Congratulations Riley, you have been accepted for the role of Daisy Hookum!

She doesn’t exactly have natural maternal instincts, but she likes to think she has a good eye for making things work, and that includes her team. If one part of the machine is broken, they might as well all be. She approaches keeping her team in check with a practical philosophy, although she might be a bit more attached to some of them than she lets on.

I’m so excited to have the Auror’s unofficial-mama-bear! Aside from the fact that she’s badass and knows how to whip her team into shape, what I adore about Daisy is how driven she is to succeed. All her life, she has done well and managed to get by without too much of a struggle-- but I think she’ll find her latest career path kicking up a few hurdles. She’s up against a lot and it’s going to take no small amount of work for her to achieve all that she wants with so many ulterior motives fuelling the actions of her colleagues, but if anyone can do it I reckon it’s her. Let’s hope she can persuade her team to see things from her point of view.

Please check out our checklist for joining Penumbra.

01. Out of Character

NAME: Riley

AGE: over 18

YOUR BIRTHDAY: October 12

PRONOUNS: he/him

TIMEZONE: GMT/BST

02. In Character

CHARACTER: Daisy Hookum

CHARACTER’S PRONOUNS: she/her

FACECLAIM: Elodie Yung

CHARACTER’S BIRTHDAY: 22 February

PERSONALITY:

+ Experienced: Daisy had been at this longer than her colleagues on Operation Auror and she’s determined to be a leader. She can be a bit like a dog with a bone. Actually, she’s more like a pit-bull pulling on the trouser-leg of justice. She isn’t like Alasator, someone who doesn’t know when to quit. Daisy knows her limits, but she also likes to test them. She can ask the tough questions and she isn’t afraid of looking like the bad guy if it’s necessary. She can interview her suspects and make it seem as if she’s just making conversation, or she can be blunt and to the point. It’s all about knowing what the situation needs.

+ Perceptive: Daisy has a way of picking people apart like they’re made of lego bricks. She has keen observational skills and a keen eye for bullshit. Daisy knows when someone is pulling her leg and it frustrated her to no end when her instinct that someone is misleading her kicks in but she can’t prove it. In their line of work, a gut feeling doesn’t always cut it, but her gut feelings have been right on plenty of occasions.

+ Protective: She rolls her eyes at being called the mother of her squad, but God, someone has to look out for them. Whether she’s stopping Frank diving down another rabbit hole or cutting in with the press when they get a bit too harsh about her team members, Daisy has taken the role of protector. She’s a little reluctant. She doesn’t exactly have natural maternal instincts, but she likes to think she has a good eye for making things work, and that includes her team. If one part of the machine is broken, they might as well all be. She approaches keeping her team in check with a practical philosophy, although she might be a bit more attached to some of them than she lets on.

- Blunt: It’s almost funny, hearing her swear with her clipped middle-class accent, watching that child-of-a-lawyer temper flare up. Daisy doesn’t exactly try to be aloof or rude, but Daisy has a way of coming off harsh. There’s often an implied ‘wanker’ at the end of her sentences, and though she’s professional, she doesn’t always phrase things in the most delicate way and when she’s frustrated, she does a bad job of hiding it.

- Manipulative: It’s not against the rules for police officers to lie to get you to make a confession. It might be a little unethical, but who cares about that, right? It’s about results. If you’ve gotta tell the rich banker in the interview room that his receptionist turned over print-outs of his emails to get him to confess to everything then so be it. He’s guilty anyway. Some people look at Daisy like they can’t believe she just did that when she steps on the other side of the two way mirror from time to time. It can be scary how good she is, and they’re cautious of her using her tricks to find out who ate the last of the biscuits without replacing them, or maybe even something worse…

- Political: Much as she hates to pull rank sometimes, Daisy is still the senior detective on her squad, and that means she has to make sacrifices sometimes. If she has to drag her team to a fundraiser for an afternoon in order to get the boss to sign off on the over-time they need, she’ll do it. She hates it, but it’s a necessity. It wouldn’t exactly be fair to say that she’s fake. In fact, Daisy can be brutally honest at times, and often is. But she knows when to keep her mouth shut and when to play the game. She’s ambitious and while she would never sell out her squad, sometimes she worries they’re not always convinced of that.

BRIEF BULLET POINT BIO:

God bless the woman with ambition, people say. Or maybe it’s ‘god fear the woman with ambition’. Daisy can never remember. Either way, she somehow wants to prove that point before she even knows what it is, a child determined to win at sports day and get ten out of ten on every spelling test even in primary school.

It’s not something she trains in the beginning. It’s just a gift, an amazing memory and a knack for perception. It starts with something small, her pointing out every car that drives past that’s the same make as her father’s before she’s out of pushchairs.

Her parents make games out of tests and tests out of games, shapes and colours and cards. Daisy doesn’t mind. In fact, she likes it when she ‘wins’.

All parents think their children are exceptional but there’s no denying Daisy is pretty bright. Maybe it’s luck, the resulting genetics of an Oxford Law Graduate turned up and coming lawyer and an Archivist at the National History Museum. Whatever it is, they’re determined not to let her waste it.

She never has the typical teenage rebellion with the drugs and the cigarettes and the staying out too late at night. She just suffers from the frustration at being boxed in, of being told who to be. Her teenage rebellion is teenage laziness, the habit of coasting because she knows she’s clever. It takes her favourite teacher to pull her aside after she bombs a practice exam at sixth form and asking her what’s going on for her to get her head on straight.

Maybe a heart to heart is just what she needed, an honest conversation with someone outside the family, someone independent. She and the teacher have a few cigarettes together and they chat about the pressures of expectation and what she wants from the future. Only Daisy can decide, the teacher says, but she’s going to limit her options if she gives up now.

It works. When the real test comes around, Daisy aces it. She has a goal in mind now. She could no doubt be a lawyer like her dad with the way she can spin a narrative, but she wants something else, something a little more on the front lines. She wants to become a police officer, maybe even an intelligence officer some day.

She goes to Uni in Scotland for a bit of space. After all, with her parents living in London, it’s about as far away as she can reasonably get without going all the way to Europe, and while Scots might seem as if they speak a foreign language at times, at least she can understand them.

The distance works. When she graduates, she does so with honours and she has her pick of jobs, but the only one she wants is back home at Scotland Yard. You can take the girl out of London, but you can’t take the London out of the girl.

People know who her dad is. They respect him. Daisy wants that respect too, and she does whatever she can to get it. She doesn’t want to coast any more, neither on her intelligence nor on her name. Hard work combined with natural intelligence? Now that’ll do the job. She rises through the ranks, her grit and determination blending well with her knack for politics.

She becomes the head of Operation Auror because that’s the job she wants. It’s challenging, it’s exciting, and it’s current. But if the newspapers or her dad ask, most importantly, it’s the right thing to do. After all, even if she’s doing what she believes in, she can’t be seen to be too sappy now, can she?

INTERVIEW:

i. How do you feel about your current occupation?

Daisy has to remind herself that you’re not supposed to be rude to journalists. You’re not supposed to treat them like they’re stupid. It’s their job to ask questions as if the answer isn’t obvious, because they need the words to come out of your mouth, not just from their pen. She puts on a smile she hopes doesn’t come across nearly as forced as it is. She’s gonna kill the Captain for this. Next time, she’s sending Frank. He has that boy next door charm that people love. “I’m one of the youngest supervising officers at Scotland Yard. I’ve got my own team, a good team, and a cause I believe in. My job is difficult, but it’s a necessity–a public service.”

ii. What song would you say describes yourself?

“I’d like to think my life is too complicated to be summed up in a single song,” Daisy answers pointedly. She hates questions like this. They might as well be as abstract as ‘if you were a fruit, what fruit would you be?’ Ultimately pointless, but designed to challenge her own perception of herself. “Just because I listened to this album in the car earlier, I suppose I’ll go with Icarus by Bastille. I always feel like I’m testing my limits, trying to avoid burning out and crashing. But it hasn’t happened yet. So I’m just going to keep pushing.”

iii. Does reputation matter to you?

Too flipping much. Her dad is practically worshipped in his field. More than once she’s heard people whispering behind their back about nepotism, bias, her dad pulling strings. He went from being a brilliant prosecutor to a judge, one of the most respected in London. “Reputation can make or break a person,” she answers, calculated and succinct. “And the frustrating part is that only some of it is in your control. You can turn up early every day and stay late every night, but some people will say you don’t deserve what you’ve got. Eventually, actions speak louder than words. I try and make my own reputation instead of letting other people do it for me.”

iv. What is your relationship with your parents like?

“It’s pressure, time and heat that creates diamonds,” she replies almost too coldly. “That’s what my parents raised me with. Oh, there was praise, but they weren’t the sort of namby-pamby lot that hung the crap drawings on the fridge. Would they love me if I wasn’t excellent?” she asks with a small shrug. “Yes, of course. But they’d also be disappointed. I don’t exceed for them. I do it for myself. But making them proud is a nice bonus.”

v. What languages can you speak?

“Does sarcasm count? Because I speak that fluently.” But that’s not the kind of thing people want to hear. They want to hear things that sound impressive next to a by-line. “Fluent French,” she answers. She was raised speaking both languages her whole life. “And conversational Khmer, from my mother’s Cambodian heritage.” She doesn’t get the chance to practice that one as much.

vi. If your home was on fire and you could only save one item, what would you choose?

vii. Which Hogwarts University faculty did you study at? The Gryffindor School of Applied Science, the Ravenclaw School of Humanities, the Slytherin School of Social Science, or the Hufflepuff School of Art?

“Don’t think my dad would have forgiven me if I’d been anything but a Slytherin,” Daisy says with a low chuckle. She hates this bollocks, feature pieces for the local newspapers, ‘meet the local heroes’ type stuff, but if it helps them budget for the extra surveillance equipment of gets a warrant sighed, so be it. “Criminal Justice and Law. I was always going to be either in a court-room or a police station. Next step is MI-5.” She gives a wry smirk, not clear if she’s kidding or not.

vix. What is your social media username?

She’d hardly bother with the social media stuff if it wasn’t so important in the current world. These days, between snapchat, Instagram and facebook, people were surveilling themselves. “It’s just my name, no dots or dashes. It’s important the police are accountable, and if the public want to check up on me, they can find me easily.” She gives a small, perhaps smug, shrug, smiling wryly. “I have nothing to hide.” And she might be one of the few officers who can really say that.

EXTRAS:

(sorry the links are from when her name was still Florence)

https://keiynan-lonsdale.tumblr.com/tagged/char:%20florence

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/rileyliamm/florence/

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iamdesperatelyaskingforhelp-blog · 5 years

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I Have No Hope left. Please.

I don’t want to bother, but please read the first two paragraphs. Please. My friend Daniel Hompoth has been involuntarily committed the the psychiatric ward of Windsor Regional Hospital - Metropolitan campus, located in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. His psychiatrist, Dr Barry Miller, called an ambulance and the police yesterday, while Danny was sleeping. He woke up to the police at his fire escape and forced into an ambulance. He requested to know why. They would not tell him. Danny was diagnosed with schizophrenia by Dr Barry Miller. He has talked about his symptoms extensively with his psychiatrist, Dr Barry Miller, for years. He has talked about his experiences and his experiences that indicate epilepsy. His mother described her experiences with dealing with his seizures, and all the injuries he has sustained as a result. This includes tremors, shaking, confusion and aggravation, loss of memory. He has fallen down so many times, including staircases. His mother talked about how she always immediately instinctively went to him, to prevent him from injuring himself. She described his convulsions, his blank stare, and other symptoms. Danny was told those are not symptoms of epilepsy. He stated it was because Danny was not taking his medication, and he was suffering from psychosis. This is a lie, as he was actually forced to get injections because “it’s easier”. And he always took his antidepressant, which does help him. But no matter how much he requested trying a different medication because of both lack of positive effects, and the severity of negative effects, which caused a lot of psychological trauma and permanent nerve damage (Abilify). Dr Barry Miller did did not care to consider a second opinion or a change in medication. Every person is legally required advanced notice of involuntary commitment. Danny did not receive any form of notice. There was no indication that he was a risk to himself or others. Regardless of the diagnosis he was given, he was ignored and hurt, instead of listened to. An important note on the subject of his diagnosis: Epilepsy can often manifest the the same symptoms of schizophrenia. One important difference is that epilepsy has additional symptoms, which have been repeatedly dismissed by Dr Barry Miller despite numerous witnesses. This is of dire importance, because the treatment for epilepsy is drastically different from schizophrenia. Danny is being denied proper treatment. Epilepsy I also did something that is wrong or technically illegal. I gave him some of my medication. It helped alleviate his symptoms, and he felt like himself. I apologise, but I don’t regret this. His quality of life is more important, and I chose to go with morals instead. He also uses cannabis, which has a bad reputation of causing schizophrenia. Cannabis also has a good reputation for treating epilepsy. But because of its association with schizophrenia, not only does Dr Barry Miller use it as further evidence of schizophrenia, but his friends and family, also use it as further evidence that he must be schizophrenic. To the extent that they have lost respect for him because they think he is unable to make decisions for himself. But with cannabis, he uses it to medicate, and not to get high all the time. When he uses it, he is himself!!! To be able to see Danny again, his true self, I cried the first time. I was so happy. It feels like he got his soul back, at least temporary. But he has to fight to cherish those moments. As the effects fade, is unable to recall them. Using pictures and videos of him in that state, helps him remember that he has hope, he can get better. So when his motivation is gone, his hope is gone, his trust is gone, he has those to fill him with determination to not give up. Every person is legally required equal right to treatment without discrimination of disability. Every person is legally required equal rights to legal capacity, without discrimination of disability. But above all, every single person deserves freedom from harassment and physical abuse. He was not provided any of the above. His requests for the injuries he sustained from his treatment by staff was ignored. This is inhumane. Whether they assume schizophrenia or epilepsy, he deserves care and respect. He has an intense phobia of hospitals because of the treatment has experienced in the past. He becomes scared and has a fight or flight response. And when he fights, it’s with himself. Because when he tries to use words, he is humiliated and demoralised. Dr. Barry Miller did no blood tests, despite it being requested numerous times. He claimed it wasn’t worth it, because he’ll probably get sepsis... He ignored requests for Danny to be referred to a neurologist. Dr Barry Miller claimed he has no peers, and that Danny did not need a neurologist, just medication. Dr Barry Miller denied Danny’s requests for brain scans, or any other test to determine what Danny was suffering with. (His family doctor was shocked at this blatant negligence). Dr Barry Miller didn’t even have the respect or patience to listen to Danny try to express how he feels during appointments. He tried to tell Dr Barry Miller that the reason he was changing to a new psychiatrist was because he did not feel he had rapport with Dr Barry Miller. Dr Barry Miller instead manipulated the meaning of rapport, which confused and disoriented Danny. I tried to help Danny by asking him a simpler question. “Do you feel comfortable talking to Dr Miller”. Danny said he wasn’t comfortable. I was immediately asked to leave the room. That is the person that forces him into involuntary commitment, and uses it as a threat to Danny. With the permission of Danny, I recorded part of one of his appointments. We are very lucky to legally require one party to consent to this. We don’t know what steps need to be taken. We need help, because the hospital is his biggest fear. It is worsened by the fact that Barry Miller uses it as a threat when Danny does not just do what he says. After I was removed from the office his appointment was in, he was threatened again. Because Dr Barry Miller decided I was a negative influence, and he threatened Danny to remove me from his life. From my knowledge, Dr Barry Miller has broken oaths as a doctor, and laws as a human. Regardless, he caused long term psychological trauma, potential brain damage, a phobia of trusting anyone. He has no hope, because he is reminded that he will never get better because schizophrenia is untreatable. His relationships with friends and family have deteriorated as a result of the years of psychological abuse at the hands of Dr Barry Miller. Please give him hope in humanity, he has almost none. Please help give him his life back. And he’s currently trapped in the hospital. And I hate to say this, because I very much care for and respect his mom and dad, they visited him for five minuets and left. He was devastated and became numb. He felt alone and abandoned by his parents. I never mean to hurt them, but if they truly care, they need to know how much their actions and lack of action hurt him. I called the hospital and various sections, every 20-30 minutes as soon as I found out he was forced into ambulance. I just wanted to talk to him for 30 seconds to give any support. I called the psych ward while he was still in emergency, to let them know he is very scared, anxious, and sensitive to noise. I requested they have patience for him. Multiple times, at different sections of the hospital as he was there, asking if they could please at least write a small note from me saying it’s going to be okay. I just wanted him to know he is cared about. I found out none of these were even acknowledged. A simple note. Asking for patience. None of the people I asked actually gave him a note. One person even told me “I have better things to do”. What’s better than caring for a patient in the psych ward? What makes his mental well being so low on the list? Why would someone go into a field when they don’t actually care about the effects they have on so many people. Please help. I don’t know what to do. I’m in England, so I can’t even be there in person. I couldn’t get through to the patient advocacy line. I couldn’t talk to a lawyer about the situation because they already closed. And I am unable to contact another friend of his, which means I am having trouble finding support. If she somehow finds this post, please contact him. He would appreciate any words of comfort. Please, I don’t want him to suffer. He’s trapped and scared and I don’t know how to save him. Please.

#Help #please

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canaryatlaw · 6 years

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okay, so today was alright. I had my alarm set for 8:45 for church, but when it went off I didn’t have any willpower, so I reset my alarm for 10:35 so I could go to the last service when I had to be in the nursery, which means I missed the actual church part, but oh well. Got up, ran out the door to make the bus, got the rest of the way there and go to the babies room. Since we moved back to three services we haven’t been getting many babies in the third service, so we’ve been combining the babies and walkers, so basically any child under 2. We ended up have 3 today with two leaders, so that was fine. one was the really adorable daughter of a lady I know from the babies team, and she’s getting so big and she’s just the cutest thing, like she would start laughing and I wanted to like, whip out my phone and record it because I knew the internet would love it 😂 (but of course I’d never do that without a parent’s permission). She’s about 18 months, as was our second baby, big little guy who had this perpetual perturbed look on his face haha so we had to make sure we were getting him occupied. Both of them would periodically go back to the gate in the front, which is generally what happens when they want to see their parents, but we were able to call them back each time and there were no tears, so that’s a win in my book. Our last baby was an actual baby, not like the other two who would be considered “walkers” at this point (because they can walk). She was 10 months old, gorgeous little thing, her mom and dad both dropped her off and her dad definitely looks biracial, and her mom looks like she could also be biracial, and the baby had a lot of those features as well, this isn’t terribly relevant haha she was just really adorable. For a while after she was dropped off she sat on my lap while she played with various little toys, then I got her to crawl around a bit and explore with the big kids (making sure they weren’t getting too rough with her). But yeah, it all went really well and there were no tears, so that’s good with me. At one point someone from the 2′s room came in asking if we had an extra diaper, and they had these new “childproof” locks on all the cabinets and well, they were quite complicated little contraptions lol, I did eventually manage to get them off, but did manage to scratch my hand a a pointy edge, and I’m just like shouldn’t childproof things not have sharp edges?? Granted, it was set up so that a child probably wouldn’t be able to get to that part, but still. So yeah. Since things were relatively calm and we got the tv connection to downstairs working I was able to listen to a good amount of the sermon, which was good. Our female pastor was speaking on grieving and the many forms it can kind of take on in our lives, and one of the things she was saying was grieving a season of our lives when we have to move on, and that kinda resonated with me because no matter what ends up happening, my life is gonna be changing somewhat drastically over the next few months, and I can’t shake this feeling I have that I’m going to get the New York job, and part of me has kind of been dreading that, because at this point I’m not really sure if I want to leave Chicago. But as fun as the last few months have been, if I get the job I know that’s going to be a sign that I need to move on from this. And I think that may be the best course of action anyway. Things have been mostly good, but I’ve had some emotional turbulence lately that reminded me of previous negative periods in my life, and that hadn’t happened in quite a while, and I just don’t know if I should stay in an environment where I’m at risk for that happening. I just don’t want to move back to New York and end up friendless and lonely, much like how I was for the first two years I lived in Chicago. But I’m leaving it up to God, if I get the New York job I am going to take it and move back there, trusting that this is what the plan he has for me. One thing the pastor said was “if you won’t move on from a past season, you’re going to miss all of the great things God has for you in the next one” or something along those lines and that really resonated with me. So yeah, that was good. Service ended, cleaned up the room and headed out, ride home was fine, just made the bus from the train by about 30 seconds, so that’s always a good feeling. When I got home I made some food and then dived into more secured transactions studying, I’m somewhere over 200 cards now and up to page 36 out of 47 so not bad at all. I worked on those until around 7, at which point I called it for the day. I was having a bit of a craving for vanilla pudding, but I didn’t want to put all the effort into making homemade when it would take forever to chill and set anyway, and I did have a packet of instant pudding mix, so I made that and well, it tasted quite artificial unfortunately. I tried to improve it by adding some crushed up oreos, which kinda helped, but also made the whole thing a caloric nightmare, so I need up abandoning that plan. Oh well. I went to watch episodes 4 and 5 of Krypton, during episode 4 I paused it to take a phone call from my parents. So I was telling my dad about the Title IX stuff (I have to tell my civil rights professor about it tomorrow, he’s gonna flip) because the girl contacted me today about how to file a complaint and she’s gonna do it, so I was pleased to do that. She did a bit of digging and found that the school was also violating something called the Clery Act which has to do with reporting crime statistics on campus, which was something they were not at all doing, so I hunted down how to file a complaint under that statute as well. I honestly have zero sympathy for the school at this point because they’ve had this a LONG time coming, we were dealing with Title IX bullshit way back in the beginning of my senior year in 2013, and I’ve heard many other stories of them just totally screwing people over, so the former student lawyer they created being the one to take them down sounds like perfect poetic justice to me. So of course my dad was pleased to hear that. If I ever do end up in private practice, or maybe just as a side thing, I would definitely consider doing some Title IX cases in practice, I’ve had some luck with it so far and it’s an area that desperately needs advocates for the students who tend to fall through the (numerous) cracks in the system. He was then telling me about the crazy case my brother was doing that involved this lady coming up to this guy and telling him that his wife was having an affair with her husband, and guy responds with well hey we should have an affair then and she was like um no??? and then he started stalking her and apparently came to the fucking SCHOOL where she works with a fucking rifle in his car, so he got arrested for that real fast, but then his wife, the one that was having an affair with this lady’s husband, bailed him out, but he violated the OP in like two days so he got arrested again and they bumped the bail up from $10K to $50K, so hopefully that will make him stay put for a while, though then again this is the Hamptons so who knows what will happen. I also told my brother there were some real nuts out there. My dad then was talking about his latest campaign regarding opiate addiction and how to potentially approach it from a legal area, because the first suits are only just being filed now, but it looks like the companies are gonna be HELLA liable for taking huge measures to straight up lie to the public that these drugs weren’t addictive when they very much new they were, so they’re gonna get screwed over there (as they should be). When I got off the phone I realized Brooklyn 99 was on, so I tuned into that and of course it was a fantastic episode, I loved Amy chasing down the guy in the wedding dress and using the sash as handcuffs 😂 that was too hilarious. After that I went back to Krypton, watched the rest of episode 4 and then episode 5, so I’m not officially caught up to what’s currently airing, though I still can’t wait it live because we don’t get syfy (ughh). But yeah, I’m digging it so far, it’s super interesting and I want to know more about their society and how it works. I absolutely love Lyta, she’s such a fucking badass who refuses to take anyone’s crap and basically I adore her. I like Adam Strange a lot too, this dork, he’s just fantastic. So yeah, I’m done with that so I guess I’ll go back to GoT when I have free tv time after watching my various currently airing stuff. It was like 9:45 when I finished Krypton, but I didn’t want to go to bed quite yet so I just turned on the news for a bit before starting to get ready for bed, and then I was here writing this. Tomorrow is my last day of class, ever, so that’s kind of exciting? I’m mostly excited to be done, lol. Can’t wait for this to just be over and be on the other side of finals, and only have to worry about the bar and not a bunch of other things. Sigh. So much to do. But I’m pretty tired now so I think I shall end this here. Goodnight lovelies. Have a positive Monday, even if your Mondays suck.

#daily journal #April 2018

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